The only thing in that list that Indigenous nations did not already have is transportation infrastructure. By which I'm assuming you mean trains, highways, etc.
We did have broad trade networks relying largely on waterways. I'm a little surprised you didn't say "the wheel" tbh
We did have broad trade networks relying largely on waterways. I'm a little surprised you didn't say "the wheel" tbh
Rule of law and democracy I'll handle together. Every Indigenous nation had laws and rules governing their nations. They varied from highly codified to loosely structured. We made treaties, understood boundaries. Actions that harmed the community had consequences.
Every community had rules governing leadership and transfer of power. Complimentary responsibilities. Checks and balances one might say.
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy, the oldest participatory democracy btw, served as a model for the American system. They ignored the critical role that women played however, clearly a big mistake.
pbs.org/native-america…
pbs.org/native-america…
None of the colonial powers at the time had anything like a functional democracy. They were all monarchies with rigid social hierarchies. The American version of democracy included those rigid social hierarchies. Everyone is still paying for that.
We also had water infrastructure. Some nations even had indoor plumbing. All nations had practices regarding water and sanitation that, again, were superior to the colonists who our traditions note were often dirty and smelled badly.
Finally, all the conveniences of the contemporary era were achieved by labour. By innovation and cooperative learning. Not by colonialism.
You seem to have this strange idea that we evolved into the Stone Age and then stayed that way without learning anything for 1000s of years
You seem to have this strange idea that we evolved into the Stone Age and then stayed that way without learning anything for 1000s of years
That's a theory from the 1700s that was developed and used to justify colonialism: the taking by force of our lands and imposing of a different social order. It was also used to justify slavery.
That's what colonialism is.
That's what colonialism is.
I wanted to come back to that transportation network. The system that exists while convenient as all get out is also destructive. Roads, highways, and parking lots are massive heat sinks even without the impact of cars. 
They impact wildlife and migration patterns. They impact watersheds. The process to build them is destructive.
So yes. Convenient I drive every day. Love road trips. But at a tremendous cost.
So yes. Convenient I drive every day. Love road trips. But at a tremendous cost.
The infrastructure for trains was developed through significant exploitation and I an not referring only to the Chinese who were treated horribly. Indigenous people suffered. Buffalo slaughtered. The history of trains is a horror show.
And they weren't even profitable. Ever. The railway barons made their money off government subsidies. Train companies failed regularly. They were a political strategy more than intentional infrastructure.
