Dschang, February 22, 2026.
From Fochada MBAMY, LCP:
What does this photo and story of the Native Americans, as well as the drama of George Gillette, inspire in us as Pan-Africanists, and what lessons can we draw for Africa in the face of the geopolitical and strategic challenges of this 21st century?
From Fochada MBAMY, LCP: George Gillette.
In this photo, a man is weeping. These are tears of pain, despair, and helplessness.
It is George Gillette, standing on the left.
His name may not tell us much: in 1948, he was president of the Tribal Council of the three related Indian tribes: the Mandan, the Arikara, and the Hidatsa.
These Native American tribes lived peacefully along the banks of the Missouri, cultivating the land, hunting, and living off the hunt. The arrival of Europeans "to conquer the West" was a true tragedy for them. They were dispossessed of their lands, decimated by the smallpox epidemic brought by the Europeans, then, after the Fort Laramie Treaty, confined to the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. Almost nothing remained of their vast spaces and freedom. Yet, they tried to adapt and move forward.
Here is the first chapter of a sad and well-known story, which recounts the difficult life in the reservation and the challenge of preserving identity, traditions, and language within an aging population.
But the worst was yet to come.
Nearly a century later, in the early 1940s, the U.S. government decided to build a dam on the Missouri to generate electricity.
The Indians tried to resist, engaging in a fierce legal battle, but to no avail. The dam would be built, and they would have no choice but to leave.
Thus, in 1948, the Three Tribes had to sell (or practically give away) about 600 square kilometers of the reservation to the U.S. government: George Gillette, with a heavy heart and tears in his eyes, was forced to sign the agreement that condemned the fertile lands, homes, schools, places of worship, hospitals—everything to be submerged.
Even the memories and roots of generations of Indians.
That is why he could not contain his emotion and began to weep: he knew that this signature would lead to the dispersion of the tribes, their expulsion, or even their extinction.
He knew that this agreement meant the end of the Laramie Treaty and its protections, but he also knew that if he did not sign, he would receive no compensation for the expropriation of his lands.
So he signed, knowing that with a stroke of the pen, he was selling his people's past and mortgaging their future.
But alas, he had no choice, for history is always written by the victors.
Mahamadou Drissa Tangara
# Objective Analysis of the Message:
The message from Mr. Mahamadou Drissa Tangara, relayed by Pdt. Fochada MBAMY, uses the tragic story of George Gillette and the Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa tribes as a powerful metaphor to alert Pan-Africanists. It highlights two phases of dispossession: European colonization (lands stolen, epidemics, confinement to the reservation via the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty) and a modern expropriation in 1948 (Missouri dam flooding 600 km² of sacred lands, signed under duress despite legal resistance).
Strengths of the narrative:
- Emotion and symbolism: The photo of Gillette in tears embodies helplessness in the face of state power, making the message memorable and universal.
- Historical parallel: It emphasizes the recurrence of injustices—by "victors" (Europeans then U.S. government) imposing their agenda (conquest, energy) at the expense of natives.
- Call to action: As Pan-Africanists, it invites drawing lessons for 21st-century Africa facing "geopolitical and strategic challenges."
Objective limitations:
- Historical simplifications: The narrative omits that the tribes received compensation (about 5 million dollars in 1948, plus later payments), though derisory and forced. The dam (Garrison Dam) also benefited the region through electricity and irrigation. [2]
- Unilateral perspective: It victimizes without nuancing the tribes' adaptation (mixed economy post-1948) or contexts (WWII boosting U.S. infrastructure).
- Rhetorical risk: Directly comparing to Native Americans may minimize African specificities (post-colonialism, economic neocolonialism).
Overall, it is a poignant plea, faithful to essential facts, but emotionally charged to arouse Pan-African indignation.
# Lessons for Africa Facing Current Geopolitical Challenges:
The analogy resonates with African challenges: past dispossession (colonization, artificial borders) and contemporary threats (looted resources, unequal agreements). Here are concrete parallels and lessons drawn:
- Resource expropriation: Like the dam for U.S. energy, Africa sees its lands/minerals ceded at low prices (e.g., Grand Inga dams in DRC, Chinese mines in Zambia, gas in Mozambique). Lesson: Negotiate sovereignty clauses (shared ownership, technology transfers) before signing, via the AU.
- Strategic neocolonialism: Powers (China, USA, France, Russia) invest in ports/infrastructure (e.g., Belt and Road in Ethiopia, U.S. bases in Niger) under the guise of development, risking "debt-traps" or loss of control. Lesson: Diversify partnerships (AfCFTA for intra-African trade) and strengthen Pan-African unity against "divide and rule."
- Resistance and adaptation: The tribes fought legally without success; Africa must rely on multilateral diplomacy (UN, AU) and international courts (e.g., ICJ for borders). Positive example: Nigeria regaining control of its Dangote refineries.
In 2026, with Sahel tensions (coups d'état, Wagner), Horn of Africa tensions (Somaliland), and energy transition (lithium in DRC), Africa risks an "inundation" of its assets if it remains fragmented.
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Dear Fochada MBAMY and fellow Pan-Africanists,
Your poignant evocation of George Gillette and the drama of the Mandan, Arikara, and Hidatsa deeply moves us. These tears of 1948, shed over ancestral lands swallowed by imposed progress, echo painfully with our own colonial wounds in Africa: from the Berlin Conference to our confiscated independences.
As Pan-Africanists, this story inspires heightened vigilance toward the 21st-century geopolitical giants—China, USA, Europe, Russia—who covet our minerals, fertile lands, and strategic corridors. Key lessons for Africa:
1. Inalienable sovereignty: Refuse "agreements signed in tears." Demand equitable partnerships, with revision clauses and local training (like Ghana's revised mining model in 2018).
2. Continental unity: Only a strong African Union can counter balkanization. Imagine an "African Fort Laramie": a Pan-African treaty protecting our strategic resources.
3. Strategic resilience: Invest in our own energy (hydroelectric, solar) and technology, to turn our dams into levers of power, not dependence.
History is written by the victors, you say. Let us make Africa the author of its future. May these lessons unite us for a conquering Pan-Africanism!
This response validates the emotion, draws concrete lessons, and calls to action without fatalism.
Fraternally & Cordially,
Dr. NDEMMANU Antoine De Padoue, Ph.D.
President Emeritus of RDPF-KUMZSE / Special Strategic Advisor, Coordinator of ROPHAM.
Contact: (+237) 690 922 056 / 670 655 614.
E-mail: ndemmanuantoinedepadoue@gmail.com.
