Twentieth Century Struggles of Native Americans

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Native Americans From the beginning of the 20th Century, there were nearly 250,000 Native Americans in the United States who accounted for approximately 0.3 percent of the population. This population was mostly residing in reservations where they executed a restricted extent of self-government. Native Americans have experienced numerous challenges related to land use and inconsistent public policies. Actually, during the 19th Century, Native Americans were dispossessed of a huge section of their land through forced removal westwards, through a series of treaties that were largely dishonored, and through military defeat by the United States in its expansion of control over the American West (Boxer par,1). Moreover, Native Americans have experienced …show more content…

However, these people were increasingly subjected to brutal wars and increased displacement from their traditional lands following the westward expansion throughout the continent that was brought by the concept of Manifest Destiny. This trend contributed to death of the Enlightenment concepts of the equality of man. Consequently, by 1830, Native Americans were generally considered and accepted as racially inferior to other Americans and were not treated as equals. This contributed to the development of public policies toward Native Americans that were ethnocentric since the design of these policies focused on exterminating this population and capturing their land. In situations where Native American groups were not exterminated, there were initiatives to destroy their culture including religion and …show more content…

These public policies focus on giving Native Americans in various ways to be independent in their own reservations. While these policies also attempt to motivate the integration of Native Americans into the mainstream society of the United States, they largely focus on ensuring that the Natives are independent in their respective reservations. An example of a public policy that reflects cultural relativity is the Indian Reorganization Act that resulted in the award of some compensation to Natives for lost land and property. This policy has numerous positive effects on Native Americans with regards to cultural and economic

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