When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. We lied to them. We cheated them out of their lands. We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept. We turned them into beggars on a continent that gave life for as long as life can remember. And by any interpretation of history, however twisted, we did not do right. We were not lawful nor were we just in what we did. For them, we do not have to restore these people, we do not have to live up to some agreements, because it is given to us by virtue of our power to attack the rights of others, to take their property, to take their lives when they are trying to defend their land and liberty, and to make their virtues a crime and our own vices virtues.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Brando condemns US treatment of Native Americans as unlawful and unjust.
- In plain terms
- The US cheated Native Americans out of their rights and land.
- What can you take from it?
- Power does not make historical actions just or lawful.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we fix past wrongs?
- Is power justice?
Another view
It presents a one-sided historical narrative without specific context.
More from Marlon Brando
An actor's a guy, who if you ain't talking about him, ain't listening.
Permalink to quote #1 I think awards in this country at this time are inappropriate to be received or given until the condition of the American Indian is drastically altered. If we …
Permalink to quote #3 Bertolucci is extraordinary in his ability to perceive, he's a poet...he is very easy to work for.
Permalink to quote #4
Related quotes
'It is more than a crime; it is a political fault,' -words which I record, because they have been repeated and attributed to others.
Joseph FoucheJoseph Fouche quote #1 The natives are very exact and punctual in the bounds of their lands, belonging to this or that prince or people, even to a river, brook, &c. And I have known …
Roger WilliamsRoger Williams quote #4 Anne and five men were put to death by due process of law because the king wished to marry again ... Henry had now so far discarded scruple that to get his way…
Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn quote #9