Pennsylvania State Rep. Jake Banta Uses Indigenous Peoples’ Day to Justify Colonization and Call Genocide “Natural Selection”

When The Keystone posted a map honoring the Indigenous nations that shaped Pennsylvania, most people understood the intent: acknowledge the original stewards of this land on Indigenous Peoples’ Day. But Republican State Rep. Jake Banta used the moment to lecture everyone instead — posting a comment insisting that colonization was simply “human nature,” that Indigenous nations “fought amongst themselves,” and that European settlement was “indeed natural selection.”

In one message, Banta managed to downplay genocide, justify displacement, and imply Indigenous communities should stop “begrudging history.” It’s the kind of rhetoric historians have spent decades debunking — the idea that mass violence and forced removal were just inevitable or somehow deserved.

Rather than showing respect on a day meant to honor Indigenous people, Banta chose to excuse the atrocities committed against them. It’s a telling response from a Pennsylvania Republican lawmaker: when confronted with Native history, he doesn’t acknowledge harm or celebrate resilience — he defends the colonizers who caused it.