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Native american culture after europeans
Native american culture after europeans
Native American influences on modern American culture
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The Allotment and Assimilation Era of the 1880’s to the 1930’s had a widespread and devastating impact on the Native American population in the United States. These two policies were attempts by the U.S. Federal Government to separate tribes, and indoctrinate the Native American youth to further assimilate the Native American population into the western body of culture. These policies were allotment, which broke apart the tribal land of the Native American people, and boarding schools, which attempted to teach the Native American youth about western culture and ways. In the 1880’s, it was thought that common stewardship of land was one of the biggest obstacles to cultural assimilation for the Native Americans. This sentiment lead to the creation …show more content…
This Act fractured the tribal communities and, in effect, tore apart the practice of common stewardship of the land, a tenant of Native American tradition and culture. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the act drastically depleted the tribal lands. The Native American people lost approximately 72 million acres, which accounted for almost half of the land that they held at the time. While the Dawes Act of 1887 may have had the biggest impact of the two policies at the time, the implementation of boarding schools had the most significant lasting legacy. This program separated young Native Americans from their tribes and families at a crucial time in their lives. When Native youths should have been learning about their culture, heritage, and traditions, they were instead immersed in western culture and indoctrinated with the ideals of “civilized” society. This created a generational rift among the Native peoples. When the youth returned, they could barely speak their native languages and knew next to nothing of the ways of their own people. This disconnected parents from their children and changed the dynamic of tribal communities going forwards into the
Although the English and Native Americans were both every different in how they viewed the land, there were some similarities between the two cultures. First of all, both agreed to the terms of a monarchy- the idea that a monarch that ruled over the land was more a symbolic figure of a whole people rather than a rich and wealthy land owner. Even though the English called their monarch a King, and the Indians’ a Sachem, the ideas behind the two were virtually the same. Secondly, if hunters were in pursuit of game, both cultures agreed to the fact that they could cross otherwise strict borders in attainment of the game. This shows that even though both were fairly precise in drawing village borders, food superseded otherwise legal boundaries. Lastly, the English and the Native Americans both were little different in their sense of how land could be bought or sold. Now, this does not mean that they thought viewed property the same or that they us...
The land of the Native Indians had been encroached upon by American settlers. By the
The process of assimilation, as it regards to the Native Americans, into European American society took a dreaded and long nearly 300 years. Initially, when the European’s came to the hopeful and promising land of the “New World”, they had no desire or reason anything but minimal contact with the Indians. However, starting in the 1700s the European colonists population skyrocketed. The need for more resources became evident and the colonists knew they could attain these necessities by creating a relationship of mutual benefit with the Native tribes. The Indians, at first skeptical, however became growingly open to the colonists and the relationship they were looking to attain. Indian furs were traded for colonial goods and military alliances were formed.
There are consistent patterns or themes regarding Native American world views and the differentiation of cultural elements and society. Native Americans retained control of institutional and cultural orders against the assimilation effort because all aspects of Native American societies are interrelated, guided by the broader cultural world views. Each cultural or institutional element is, in fact, overlapped with other elements, so change in one element inevitably affects the broader cultural and social complex. While adopting to a new environment and small changes was possible in the West, where social and cultural elements are separate from each other, Native Americans were faced with conflicts and a potential, large disruption of the existing social orders.
In our day and age where our youth are becoming more aware of the history of the country and the people who inhabit it, the culture of Native Americans has become more accessible and sparks an interest in many people young and old. Recent events, like the Dakota Access Pipeline, grab the attention of people, both protesters and supporters, as the Sioux tribe and their allies refuse to stay quiet and fight to protect their land and their water. Many Native people are unashamed of their heritage, proud of their culture and their ancestors. There is pride in being Native, and their connection with their culture may be just as important today as it was in the 1800’s and before, proving that the boarding school’s ultimate goal of complete Native assimilation to western culture has
“By 1840 almost 7 million Americans had migrated westward in hopes of securing land and being prosperous” (Westward Expansion Facts. Westward Expansion Facts. N.p., n.d Web. 16 Sept. 2016). This movement is called Western Expansion. The movement brought new beginnings and hope to many northerners and southerners. Western expansion not only affected the lives of many Americans, but the Natives living on the land. Throughout the 1860s to 1890s, the movement West altered the lives of Native Americans forever. Settlers deconstructed the Native Americans land in the mindset to grow their economy. Americans attacked and killed large amounts of Natives for no reasonable reason. Also, in hopes to Americanize the natives, they taught and imposed their
Oklahoma, in its earliest organized forms, consisted of over forty independent Native American Nations, though they arrived through a complex process. Native American migration predated European contact but by the mid eighteenth century Native American nations saw their lands being progressively threatened by Euro-American settlement. Migratory push/pull factors such as warfare, famine, and encroachment resulted in movements of native cultures for centuries. However, by the beginning of the nineteenth century Native American migratory patterns began to be forced and regulated on European terms. Treaties, lands sales, and forced relocations onto predetermined reservations changed the way Native Americans would relate to the land and their environment, as well as, intertribal relations. By the 1820s and 1830s most Native American nations had ceded their lands east of the Mississippi River to the newly created United States by treaty or ultimately through the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Trade and Intercourse Act of 1834 further defined ‘Indian Territory’ as “all that part of the United States west of the Mississippi and not within the states of Missouri, Louisiana, or Arkansas Territory, or any other organized territory.” Over time, this vast reserved land shrank to the limits of Eastern Oklahoma as the insatiable demand for cheap land for white settlers increased.
The Dawes Act was a policy passed on February 18, 1887, by Massachusetts senator Henry Dawes. The act stated that the president (which at the time was Grover Cleaveland), could break up land in Reservations, and organize them into plots. The plots ranged in size from forty to one-hundred sixty acres. The plots were then distributed out to the Indians. From there, they were expected to farm it. That was an attempt to assimilate them. Assimilating the Indians was very important to settlers. They believed that if they could make them “more American”, they could have more control over them.
Immigration has always been a major part of America. In fact, without immigration the creation of America would not have been possible. The majority of immigrants came to America for religious freedom and economic opportunities. However, for the most part before the 1870’s most immigrants were Protestants from northern and western Europe. These immigrants often migrated to the United States as families and usually lived on farms with family or friends who had already migrated beforehand. A lot of immigrants came to America with a plan or goal in mind. They often had saved up money for the long immigration overseas, were skilled in a certain trade, or had already been educated at a high level. Sadly, this would not last. Immigration became so prominent in America between 1870 and 1900 that the foreign-born population of the United States had almost doubled. A lot of German and Irish Catholics had immigrated in the 1840’s and 1850’s, and more decided to immigrate after the Civil War. A portion of Americans were biased against Catholics. Thankfully, the Irish spoke English and the German Catholics reputation was improved because of their Protestant countrymen’s good reputation. However, their children often lacked any skill or education, but they were able to blend in quite well with the American society. More and more immigrants would migrate to the United States without any skill or education and on top of that they were usually poor. These immigrants were called “new” immigrants and they came from all over the world including Italy, Greece, Poland, Hungary, and Russia. However, you cannot blame immigrants for migrating to America. Many immigrants faced religious persecution in their home countries which pushed them away, otherwi...
The history of the relationship between Indigenous Peoples of the North America and European settlers represents a doubtlessly tragic succession of events, which resulted in a drastic decline in Indigenous population leading to the complete annihilation of some Native groups, and bringing others to the brink of extinction. This disastrous development left the Indigenous community devastated, shaking their society to its very pillars. From the 1492 Incident and up to the 19th century the European invasion to the North America heavily impacted the social development of the Indigenous civilization: apart from contributing to their physical extermination by waging incessant war on the Indian tribes, Anglo-Americans irreversibly changed the Native lifestyle discrediting their entire set of moral guidelines. Using the most disreputable inventions of the European diplomacy, the colonizers and later the United States’ government not only turned separate Indigenous tribes against each other but have also sown discord among the members of the same tribe. One of the most vivid examples of the Anglo-American detrimental influence on the Native groups is the history of the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. Indian Removal Policy. The Cherokee removal from Georgia (along with many other Indian nations) was definitely an on-going conflict that did not start at any moment in time, but developed in layers of history between the Native Americans, settlers of various cultures, and the early U.S. government. This rich and intricate history does not allow for easy and quick judgments as to who was responsible for the near demise of the Cherokee Nation. In 1838, eight thousand Cherokees perished on a forced march out of Georgia, which came to be called the T...
Through Laws, treaties and proclamations it becomes clear of the transfer of power between Native Americas and colonizing powers within the US and Canada. One significant treaty was Treaty NO. 9 in which Native Americans gave up their aboriginal title and land for money, hunting right, entrance into the christian school system and a Canadian flag presented to the Chief. The treaties described define the cascading effect of how western powers came into control of land at which Native Americans resided in. Specifically converging on the using Native Americans “elites” to influence other Native Americans into adopting western cultural beliefs, overshadowing the diverse Native American cultural practices. The overshadowing and belittling of Native American culture is not only expressed through the several treaties presented to Native Americans across history but also through real life accounts of Native American children adopted into the western school system. This sections places into the prospective the monopolization of Native American land and
On February 8, 1877, Congress passed the Dawes Act. This was named after its author, and Senator Henry Dawes from Massachusetts. The federal government stopped signing treaties with Native Americans, and replaced that with a new law, giving individual Indians ownership of land that had been tribal property. This showed the treatment of Native Americans as individuals, instead of members of their tribe. It also gave them the chance to be known as U.S citizens. This new policy made its focus on breaking up the reservations and giving the Native Americans land. The entire purpose of the Dawes Act was to protect Indian property rights of Native Americans, but the providing of the law, was fixed in a way that the members of the tribe would be taken
In 1887 the federal government launched boarding schools designed to remove young Indians from their homes and families in reservations and Richard Pratt –the leader of Carlisle Indian School –declared, “citizenize” them. Richard Pratt’s “Kill the Indian… and save the man” was a speech to a group of reformers in 1892 describing the vices of reservations and the virtues of schooling that would bring young Native Americans into the mainstream of American society.
The Indian Boarding School Experience sanctioned by the U.S government decultralized Native Americans through Anglo Conformity which has led to a cultural smudging of the Native American mores generations later, disrupting centuries of cultural constructions and the norms and values of the Native American people.
The assimilation of the Native Americans began in the late 18th century, and changed the lives of Native Americans forever. Today, Native American’s make up about 2 percent of our current population (census.org), and chances are if you ask a crowded classroom how many students know of any Natives, less than 10 will raise their hand and the majority will give a stereotypical description of how they have viewed Native American’s in their lifetime. It’s almost as if the assimilation never occurred if this is our lasting memory of the Natives.