--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The American Indians were Communists…" description: "\"The American Indians were Communists. They were. Every anthropologist will tell you they were Communists. No rich, no poor. If somebody needed somethin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/pete-seeger-1942_communism_the-american-indians-were-communists-the_663737.png" --- # The American Indians were Communists. They were. Every… ![“The American Indians were Communists. They were. Every anthropologist will tell you they were Communists. No rich, no poor. If somebody needed something the community chipped in.” quote by Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/pete-seeger-1942_communism_the-american-indians-were-communists-the_663737.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/pete-seeger-1942_communism_the-american-indians-were-communists-the_663737.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b46/pete-seeger-1942_communism_the-american-indians-were-communists-the_663737.png) > “The American Indians were Communists. They were. Every anthropologist will tell you they were Communists. No rich, no poor. If somebody needed something the community chipped in.” [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker claims that American Indians practiced communal living without class distinctions, resembling communist principles. **In simple terms:** American Indians lived communally, sharing resources equally. Key Takeaway Learn from communal values. Themes history social structure equality Mood thoughtful educational Type historical political When to use this quote - community projects - shared economies - social activism Key Concepts collectivism anthropology resource sharing Questions to Reflect On - How can communal principles inform modern society? - What challenges arise in applying them today? A Different Perspective Simplification may overlook cultural diversity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-indians-665019/) [Communism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communism/) [Communist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communist/) [Communists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communists/) [Communists Anthropologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communists-anthropologist-5283776/) [Communists Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communists-rich-5283778/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Indians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians/) [Indians Communists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indians-communists-5283777/) [Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Teamwork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teamwork/) ## Related quotes > [“Among the languages of American Indians there is no word for ‘art,’ because for Indians everything is art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huston-smith/among-the-languages-of-american-indians-there-is-no-word-for-art/) [Huston Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huston-smith/) > [Yes, as an oppressed people, American Indians have this epic burden, but first and foremost, they're human: sometimes a mess, sometimes funny or sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-fuller/yes-as-an-oppressed-people-american-indians-have-this-epic-burden-but/) [Alexandra Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-fuller/) > [Before any final solution to American history can occur, a reconciliation must be effected between the spiritual owner of the land - American Indians…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vine-deloria-jr/before-any-final-solution-to-american-history-can-occur-a/) [Vine Deloria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vine-deloria-jr/) > [Sixty percent of the vegetables you see in the supermarkets came from the American Indians. 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It's such a big dream I can't see it all. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-s-curtis/i-want-to-make-them-american-indians-live-forever-it-s-such-a-big/) [Edward S. Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-s-curtis/) > [The Democratic Party has learned from the terrible mistakes of the past. Our platform requires that we honor, fulfill, and strengthen the federal government's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/the-democratic-party-has-learned-from-the-terrible-mistakes-of-the/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) > [America did not need to be discovered because quite simply America had the American-Indians. There were whole groups of people that already lived there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-castro-espin/america-did-not-need-to-be-discovered-because-quite-simply-america/) [Alejandro Castro Espin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-castro-espin/) > [There are more American Indians alive today than there were when Columbus arrived or at any other time in history. Does this sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/there-are-more-american-indians-alive-today-than-there-were-when/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Then, I realized that there is an indigenous presence in the Solar System. It's us. So, then, I got to wondering what would happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/then-i-realized-that-there-is-an-indigenous-presence-in-the-solar/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) ## More by Pete Seeger > [Honest songs aren't written for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/honest-songs-aren-t-written-for-money/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [My father, Charles Seeger, got me into the Communist movement. He backed out around '38. I drifted out in the 50's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/my-father-charles-seeger-got-me-into-the-communist-movement-he-backed/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Now somebody will ask me, Pete, how can you prove these songs really make a difference? And I have to confess I can't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/now-somebody-will-ask-me-pete-how-can-you-prove-these-songs-really/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [The truth is a rabbit in a bramble patch. 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I read it in The New Yorker, in installments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-was-rachel-carson-s-famous-book-silent-spring-that-got-me-involved/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [When you play the 12-string guitar, you spend half your life tuning the instrument and the other half playing it out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/when-you-play-the-12-string-guitar-you-spend-half-your-life-tuning/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Folks out in the country couldn't afford to pay for anybody else to make music. They had to make their own. So the peasantry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/folks-out-in-the-country-couldn-t-afford-to-pay-for-anybody-else-to/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [If there's something wrong, speak up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/if-there-s-something-wrong-speak-up/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/this-world-is-so-full-of-hypocrisy-the-only-way-you-can-be-honest-is/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [There is a big, beautiful world that could be destroyed by selfishness and foolishness. We musicians have it within our power to help save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/there-is-a-big-beautiful-world-that-could-be-destroyed-by-selfishness/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [And the people in the houses All went to the University And they got put in boxes Little boxes all the same, Little boxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/and-the-people-in-the-houses-all-went-to-the-university-and-they-got/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [A good song reminds us what we're fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/a-good-song-reminds-us-what-we-re-fighting-for/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Most conservatives just want to turn back the clock to a time before the income tax - 100 years or so. I would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/most-conservatives-just-want-to-turn-back-the-clock-to-a-time-before/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) [Explore all 196 Pete Seeger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## More Communism quotes > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [It is popular to call it a crisis of the Western world. It is in fact a crisis of the whole world. Communism, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whittaker-chambers/it-is-popular-to-call-it-a-crisis-of-the-western-world-it-is-in-fact/) [Whittaker Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whittaker-chambers/) > [“Despite Soviet 'defeat' in 1991, the ideas associated with Communism remain shockingly reputable throughout what we still know as the Free World.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-west/despite-soviet-defeat-in-1991-the-ideas-associated-with-communism/) [Diana West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-west/) > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Occult Theft,--Theft which hides itself even from itself, and is legal, respectable, and cowardly,--corrupts the body and soul of man, to the last fibre…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/occult-theft-theft-which-hides-itself-even-from-itself-and-is-legal/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“Socialists and Progressives confuse compassion and compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/socialists-and-progressives-confuse-compassion-and-compulsion/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [If I paint a hammer and sickle people may think it is a representation of Communism, but for me it is only a hammer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/if-i-paint-a-hammer-and-sickle-people-may-think-it-is-a/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [Our power does not know liberty or justice. It is established on the destruction of the individual will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/our-power-does-not-know-liberty-or-justice-it-is-established-on-the/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [I think it's sort of the hypothetical point where communism and fascism meet. They love tragedy, and they love surface beauty. You just watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-forrest/i-think-it-s-sort-of-the-hypothetical-point-where-communism-and/) [Emma Forrest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-forrest/) > [Communism is inequality, but not as property is. Property is exploitation of the weak by the strong. 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