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The destruction of the Sioux’s native land had a great impact on their idea of home. When the Wasichus destroyed pieces of the physical being of their home, they also destroyed the emotional and mental ideas of home as well. The killing of the bison, had a very strong impact on the tribe, as well as when the whites forced the Sioux, to conform to their ideals of living, by forcing them to live in the square houses.
Throughout the book Black Elk Speaks, the bison is very important to the people of the Sioux tribe. The bison provided food, shelter, and clothing to the people so when the whites would kill the bison just to kill, it took all of that away from them. “I can remember when the bison were so many that they could not be counted,
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but more and more Wasichus came to kill them until there were only heaps of bones scattered where they used to be” (171). It seemed like just a few years ago there was an abundance of bison, and Black Elk’s tribe went on a bison hunt. However, now there is no more bison to eat, and use. As told in the passage, there were only piles of bones left when the Wasichus were done with them. And they didn’t use most of the buffalo. Sometimes they would kill just to kill. “They just killed and killed because they liked to do that. When we hunted bison, we killed only what we needed. And when there was nothing left but heaps of bones, the Wasichus came and gathered up even the bones and sold them” (171). When the Sioux tribe went out on bison hunts, they were careful to only hunt and kill what they needed. Hunger was among us often now, for much of what the Great Father in Washington sent us must have been stolen by the Wasichus who were crazy to get money” (171-172). The death of the bison left the people hungry, and they were not getting anymore food from the Great Father because the whites were stealing it for money. “Whereas the Wasichus didn’t care and they slaughtered all the bison that they wanted, destroying a part of the Sioux tribe’s home in the process. Throughout the book, power and strength is a big piece of the Sioux’s home.
It is shown through the nation’s hoop, through visions, and especially through the bison. Not only were the bison physically important to the Sioux, they were also mentally and religiously a big part of their lives. And when the Wasichus took the bison away from them, they also shattered the mental idea of home. “I know now what this meant, that the bison were a gift of a good spirit and were our strength” (30). Buffalo, to the Sioux, were a symbol of strength, and in Black Elk’s vision he saw that his tribe would lose that strength in his vision. And that’s exactly what happened. The Wasichus took the strength of the people away and therefore destroyed a piece of their psychological home. The bison also represented power among the people. “I felt like crying, because I thought right there they were throwing part of the power of my people away” (176). Not only are the bison a physical source of power, in the sense of energy coming from food, but it was also a spiritual power. And when the Wasichus took and threw away the bison, especially when they threw the bison over the side of the boat, it was like they were also throwing the Sioux’s power away as
well. The whites over the years, continuously forces the Sioux tribe to conform and live to their idea of home so that they could end up taking over the land for themselves. The main example of this was when the Wasichus forced the tribe into living in square homes. “Others came too, and we made these little gray houses of logs that you see, and they are square. It is a bad way to live, for there can be no power in a square” (155). The Wasichus no longer let the Sioux live in the circular teepees, that all formed in a circle. This was not good for the tribe as said by Black Elk. “All our people were settling in square gray houses, scattered here and there across this hungy land, and around them the Wasichus had drawn a line to keep them in” (171). Even though the Wasichus had already placed the Sioux in boxed homes, they had forced them to live in an even larger square by drawing the lines of a square, instead of in curves that form a circle. “The people were in despair. They seemed heavy to me, heavy and dark; so heavy that it seemed they could not be lifted; so dark that they could not be made to see anymore” (171). Forcing the tribe to live in the boxes was not healthy for the Sioux physically. The destruction of their homes has left these people sick and unhealthy and even though it would not keep the people from their fate, Black Elk still tried to heal them. But the damage was already done. Their home, and the nation’s hoop was destroyed. Destroying the Sioux’s way of living physically, by having them in live in the boxed houses, the Wasichus also destroyed the mental concept of home for the Sioux. They destroyed the nation’s hoop, took away their power, and threw a lot of things off for the tribe. “All our power came to us from the sacred hoop of the nation, and so long as the hoop was unbroken, the people flourished” (155). Because the Wasichus destroyed the tribe’s circular teepees that formed a circle, they also destroyed the nation’s hoop. The basis of the Sioux’s home. The nation’s hoop was a safe haven within the mental part of home. As it was said in the text, as long as the nation’s hoop was still intact, the people would be well and thrive. “But the Wasichus have put us in these square boxes. Our power is gone and we are dying. For the power is not in us anymore” (156). The destruction of the nation’s hoop, and the Sioux’s way of living, also destroyed the power that came along with the mental state of home for the tribe. It both physically and mentally destroyed the tribe, as well as their home. The physical destruction of home had a big effect on the mental idea of home. This was evident during the killing of the bison, as well as when the Wasichus forced the Sioux tribe to live in square houses. It took away their sense of power and endurance, as well as it broke the nation’s hoop, as well as….. These events proved that the Wasichus actions not only devastated the psychological ideals of home, but demolished the concrete idea of home in the process.
Neidhardt in Black Elk Speaks offers an introspective narrative of the spiritual atmosphere surround the Sioux’s spiritual legacy. In doing so, the author promotes the validation and worthiness of spirituality in the so-called modern society. It is his intent to use the prayer as a vehicle to transmit the message that transcends the mere formulation of an apologetic thesis. Hence, Neidhardt seeks to penetrate the reader’s soul by presenting with a healing body of text, which he structures following two main themes: spiritual leadership and everyday human struggle against the corruption of the mind by the limitation to see beyond one’s physical strength.
When chief Sitting Bull and his people ran away from their native lands to Canada, they lost all the resources they had once relied on. This led to multiple deaths due to the lack of food, warmth, and much more. A little girl of the Sioux died due to hunger and the harsh weather. M...
War is always destructive and devastating for those involved leaving behind a trail of death and barren landscape leading to heartbreak and shattered lives. War has its subjugators and its defeated. One enjoys complete freedom and rights while the other has neither freedom nor rights. Defeated and broken is where the Eastern Woodland Indians found themselves after both the Seven Years' war and the American Revolution. The Europeans in their campaigns to garner control of the land used the native peoples to gain control and ultimately stripped the rightful owners of their land and freedoms. The remainder of this short paper will explore the losses experienced by the Eastern Woodland Indians during these wars and will answer the question of which war was more momentous in the loss experienced.
When people started to see the declining of wildlife animals include bison and many colorful birds; it cause a rise of conservation. A cause of the extermination of bison is “From the Great Slave Lake to the Rio Grande, the home of the buffalo was everywhere overrun by the man with a gun; and, as had ever been the case, the wild creatures were gradually swept away, the largest and most conspicuous forms being the first to go.”(Doc.2) And the new information about the number of beautiful birds used to furnish women’s hats caused further conservation movement. “It if high time for the whole civilized world to know that many of the most beautiful and remarkable birds of the world are now being exterminated to furnish millinery ornaments for womenswear. The mass of the new information that we have recently secured on this
In the introduction, Hämäläinen introduces how Plains Indians horse culture is so often romanticized in the image of the “mounted warrior,” and how this romanticized image is frequently juxtaposed with the hardships of disease, death, and destruction brought on by the Europeans. It is also mentioned that many historians depict Plains Indians equestrianism as a typical success story, usually because such a depiction is an appealing story to use in textbooks. However, Plains Indians equestrianism is far from a basic story of success. Plains equestrianism was a double-edged sword: it both helped tribes complete their quotidian tasks more efficiently, but also gave rise to social issues, weakened the customary political system, created problems between other tribes, and was detrimental to the environment.
Growing up Black Elk and his friends were already playing the games of killing the whites and they waited impatiently to kill and scalp the first Wasichu, and bring the scalp to the village showing how strong and brave they were. One could only imagine what were the reasons that Indians were bloody-minded and brutal to the whites. After seeing their own villages, where...
During the time of the building of the transcontinental railroad, a lot of white men killed the buffalo. They found that as a sport, and even used it to harm the Plains Indians. At that time the buffalo was a main source of food, fur, and a hunting lifestyle for the Plains Indians and by the white man killing it off it effectively hurt them. The white man killed the buffalo in large numbers that almost made them go instinctively, and they hurt the Plains Indians huge. Although the Plains Indians did kill the buffalo for their food and furs, their hunting did not have a large impact on the buffalo population.
The film Dances With Wolves focuses mainly on one man named Jon Dunbar and his growing relationship with the Lakota Sioux Indian tribe. The Lakota Sioux Indian tribe migrated in the 1700's to different areas in South Dakota. For over one hundred and sixty years, the Lakota tribe held a massive piece of land in the plains to support their numerous herds of bison, which they also hunted in order to survive. They lived in the typical teepees and were exceptional horsemen, hunters, and warriors. They culture contained no written language and their heritage was trusted upon storytellers and drawings made on the bison hides. One bison hide could represent over fifty years of Lakota history.
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria’s book reveals the White view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging affect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems and build a better future for their children.
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria book reveals the Whites view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging effect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems.
“Quantie’s weak body shuddered from a blast of cold wind. Still, the proud wife of the Cherokee chief John Ross wrapped a woolen blanket around her shoulders and grabbed the reins.” Leading the final group of Cherokee Indians from their home lands, Chief John Ross thought of an old story that was told by the chiefs before him, of a place where the earth and sky met in the west, this was the place where death awaits. He could not help but fear that this place of death was where his beloved people were being taken after years of persecution and injustice at the hands of white Americans, the proud Indian people were being forced to vacate their lands, leaving behind their homes, businesses and almost everything they owned while traveling to an unknown place and an uncertain future. The Cherokee Indians suffered terrible indignities, sickness and death while being removed to the Indian territories west of the Mississippi, even though they maintained their culture and traditions, rebuilt their numbers and improved their living conditions by developing their own government, economy and social structure, they were never able to return to their previous greatness or escape the injustices of the American people.
But the treaty was destined for failure. Commercial buffalo hunters essentially ignored the terms of the treaty as they moved into the area promised to the Southern Plains Indians. The great southern herd of American bison, lifeblood of the Southern Plains tribes, was all but exterminated in just four yearsfrom 1874 to 1878. The hunters slaughtered the animals by the thousands, sending the hides back East and leaving the carcasses to rot on the plainsand the U.S. government did nothing to stop them. The disappearance of the buffalo impoverished the tribes and forced them to depend on reservation rations.
The removal of Indian tribes was one of the tragic times in America’s history. Native Americans endured hard times when immigrants came to the New World. Their land was stolen, people were treated poorly, tricked, harassed, bullied, and much more. The mistreatment was caused mostly by the white settlers, who wanted the Indians land. The Indians removal was pushed to benefit the settlers, which in turn, caused the Indians to be treated as less than a person and pushed off of their lands. MOREEE
The Native American Indians are a vital piece of the society of the United States. While their kin have existed on this land for many years, today their numbers are reducing. Once, the Native Americans lived on this continent with little discourse and disturbance. They were overall nourished, content, and established. Truth be told, the men and women generally were set in regular parts. The men were seekers, warriors, and defenders, while the women watched out for the youngsters, their homes, and cultivated. It relied on upon the tribe when it came to craftsmanship. In a few tribes, the men would really weave baskets and blankets. Common nourishments were expended and chased. Deer, wild ox, fish, and different feathered birds were the wildlife of decision. Corn, beans, squash, berries, nuts, and melons were the leafy foods that were expended. Berries were additionally frequently utilized as a characteristic color for fabrics. While the late 1800’s into the 1900’s and past started to bring battle to the Native American Indians, they battled an intense...
To the Native Americans, the misuse of natural resources caused a disruption in the natural order of the environment. They lived in harmony