Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Rick Santorum Blasted For Claiming There Was 'Nothing' In America Before White Colonizers Arrived

Rick Santorum Blasted For Claiming There Was 'Nothing' In America Before White Colonizers Arrived
KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images

CNN political commentator Rick Santorum—a Republican former Senator and presidential candidate—is facing a slew of backlash after he claimed during a speech at a Young America's Foundation event there was "nothing" in the Americas before White colonizers arrived from Europe.

The viewpoint is central to the Manifest Destiny view of the 18th century and is perpetuated in modern society by White nationalist and White supremacist organizations.


Santorum went on to stick his foot more firmly into his mouth by claiming the Indigenous peoples that were already here haven't contributed much to American culture.

"We birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here."
"I mean, yes, we have Native Americans, but candidly, there isn't much Native American culture in American culture."

Santorum's comments ignored the fact that the systemic cultural genocide of America's Indigenous peoples contributed to why he thinks not much Indigenous culture has permeated "American culture." Integral parts of the cultures of the United States, Canada and Mexico are owed to the Indigenous peoples who populated North America for millennia before widespread European colonization, but often is not properly attributed to them in Eurocentric educational materials.

Santorum also ignored the thousands of years of culturally rich and diverse history before the colonizers arrived on the North American continent. 

Hundreds of Indigenous communities existed in the United States before European invaders, conquerors and colonizers arrived. Each tribe had their own culture, values, language and traditions. Any of these communities and cultures that no longer exist are gone as a direct result of colonization.

The lack of Native American culture in the greater American consciousness is the result of intentional efforts to exterminate those cultures—laws against Indigenous people practicing their traditional spiritual or religious practices, the residential school system stealing away young children to forcibly integrate them into colonizers society by stripping them of their families and traditions, the Trail of Tears and other forced relocations, the list goes on and on.

However, the United States Constitution and the very federal structure of the United States is a direct result of studies of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Powhatan confederacies. Three branches of government—with an executive, legislative and judicial branch—mirrors the way the Haudenosaunee handled their federation of the Kanienkéha:ka (Mohawk), Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga and Seneca nations.

The framers of the Constitution wrote of these inspirations, but a White supremacist based educational system buried these contributions for years until they were revived when the bicentennial of the Constitution was celebrated.

Dietary staples like corn, beans, squash, potatoes and chocolate are all contributions from Indigenous peoples. The Code Talkers of WWI and WWII utilized the languages the federal government had outlawed to make a major impact on the war efforts. Indigenous languages remained the unbreakable codes from both wars.

And those are just a handful of examples Santorum ignored.



This is far from the first time Santorum has royally stepped in it, so to speak.

He has had problematic takes that have garnered him online flack about many subjects over the past few years, including school shooting victims should take CPR classes instead of calling for gun control, Trump's abuse of presidential power through executive orders somehow being Obama's fault and Trump gaming the system to dodge taxes was A-OK.

Twitter at large responded to Santorum's callous disregard for Indigenous people's with ire, facts and a heavy dose of snark.


@AmyAThatcher/Twitter










Many people called for Santorum to be fired from his position with CNN.








Native Twitter was, understandably, especially upset by Santorum's incredibly harmful remarks.








@JasonSCampbell/Twitter

Santorum reportedly tried to backtrack and non-apologize for his remark.

One of his aids quoted Santorum saying:

"I had no intention of minimizing or in any way devaluing Native American culture."





You can view Santorum's entire remarks below.

His comment about Native Americans begins around the 20:35 mark.

youtu.be

More from Trending

Screenshots from Dove's ad featuring transgender women
Dove

'One Million Moms' Calls For Dove Boycott Over Hair Care Ad Featuring Trans Woman

The vehemently transphobic conservative group One Million Moms (OMM)—an arm of the Christian fundamentalist nonprofit American Family Association (AFA)—called for a boycott of Dove products after the company featured a transgender woman in an advertisement for their Damage Therapy Intensive Repair Conditioner.

The ad garnered attention after it was shared by the social media account Libs of TikTok—run by the anti-LGBTQ+ conservative Chaya Raichik—which described the ad as an example of "another woke company trying to erase women."

Keep ReadingShow less
Alyssa Milano; Julian McMahon
Michael Kovac/Elton John AIDS Foundation/Getty Images; Marcus Ingram/The Surfer/Getty Images

Alyssa Milano Shares Poignant Tribute To 'TV Husband' Julian McMahon After His Death At 56

Actor Julian McMahon lost his battle with cancer at the age of 56 earlier this week, and to say that the Charmed, Nip/Tuck, and Fantastic Four actor touched many lives would be an understatement.

When the news of McMahon's passing went public, his Charmed costar and "TV wife" Alyssa Milano came forward and expressed her sadness and condolences on Instagram. The pair were a favorite couple on Charmed, and it was clear from her post that their care for each other extended beyond the screen.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Who Slept With Their Best Friend Describe The Aftermath

When two people have a deep and meaningful friendship, the question might eventually come up of whether or not they could be more. Agreeing that their friendship might deserve more, they might try to date or at least explore physical intimacy.

But crossing that line carries with it consequences, and it's only once the pair crosses that line that they'll find out if crossing it was good or bad.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of Hope Walz and Laura Ingraham
@hopewalz/TikTok; Fox News

Hope Walz Perfectly Claps Back After Laura Ingraham Rips Her For Supporting Mamdani

Hope Walz, the daughter of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, responded brilliantly after Fox News personality Laura Ingraham attacked her for praising the mayoral primary victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City on TikTok, saying Ingraham spends her time "not caring about other people.”

Mamdani handily defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary last week, sparking racist and Islamophobic backlash from right-wingers who've claimed his policies would "destroy" the city.

Keep ReadingShow less
child writing on chalkboard
Leonardo Toshiro Okubo on Unsplash

Bilingual People Explain Which Words They're Surprised Don't Exist In English

According to one report, approximately 3.3 billion people worldwide—43 % of the population—are multilingual, meaning they speak at least two languages. According to the last Census, 21.6% of people in the United States speak more than one language, while in the United Kingdom, the number is 36%.

More multilingual people speak English as a second language than English speakers who have learned another language besides English. Worldwide, people who learned English as a first language rate among the lowest in multilingual rates.

Keep ReadingShow less