For my book report, I chose to review the book, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West”, which was written by Dee Brown in 1971 and published by New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston. The book contains 298 pages total and has around 265 pages of content. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is an emotional recount of the Native American experiences during the latter half of the 19th century. Throughout his book, Dee Brown examines and discusses the many difficulties and horrors faced by Native Americans at the hands of American settlers, government, and military. The book introduces the many diverse tribes of the North Americas, showcasing their connection to the lands and highlighting their cultures and traditions. However, …show more content…
The Sand Creek massacre is another notable relocation; Cheyenne and Arapaho civilians were slaughtered by US troops, and the remaining people were forced to relocate. The book also lists several key figures, showcasing the resistance efforts led by leaders like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Geronimo. Despite their courage and determination, Native American tribes faced overwhelming odds as they struggled to defend their way of life against settlers and government that aimed to assimilate. However, one of the most tragic and bloody events by far described in the book is the massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890, where hundreds of unarmed Lakota Sioux, including women and children, were killed by US Army troops (this instance is where the title of the book comes from). This incident serves as a parallel to the larger patterns of violence, dispossession, and dispossession, and cultural destruction that Native Americans endured during this period. Brown's purpose in writing his book is to provide a comprehensive account of the injustices suffered by indigenous peoples at the hands of the US government, military, and …show more content…
In Dee Brown’s writing, he sympathizes with Native Americans, but the bias does not affect the contents of the text. He states the facts: indigenous people have faced brutality and suffered at the hands of colonial settlers, and he provides ample evidence and recounts to back up his claims. His bias ultimately amplifies the voices of indigenous peoples and highlights the historical trauma they faced. As a reader, “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee”, is an incredibly impactful and eye-opening dark chapter of American history. The book is both informative whilst also able to emotionally resonate with readers, offering vivid and detailed portrayals of cultural genocide and the subsequent effects of colonialism. I found “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee” to be a compelling and educational read, and it provided insight into a period of history that is often overlooked or hidden away. While reading, I felt that I was able to gain a deeper understanding of the prejudices faced by Indigenous Americans, as well as their courage and resilience in the face of
Luke 6:31 says, “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.” History proves that our nation didn’t keep with verse in mind when we treated the Native Americans unfairly. Some examples of not treating them fairly was the Trail of Tears, The Massacre of Wounded Knee, and The Battle of Tippecanoe. This essay will explain how in these events Americans treated Native Americans how we shouldn’t of.
The film, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, documents the annihilation of the American Indians in the late 1800s. The film starts out in the Black Hills of the Dakotas, a land sacred to the Sioux Native Americans. The Sioux claimed the land and their population flourished due to the good resources in the area. The white people want to gain control of the land and force the natives to relocate to another area. They want the natives to assimilate and believe that this strategy will improve the nation. Senator Henry Dawes comes up with the plan to relocate the natives to several reservations, where they can learn the ways of the white people. Dawes uses an americanized native named Ohiyesa, or Charles, as proof of the success of assimilation. The Sioux are forced to assimilate in order to protect their lives.
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
Native American’s place in United States history is not as simple as the story of innocent peace loving people forced off their lands by racist white Americans in a never-ending quest to quench their thirst for more land. Accordingly, attempts to simplify the indigenous experience to nothing more than victims of white aggression during the colonial period, and beyond, does an injustice to Native American history. As a result, historians hoping to shed light on the true history of native people during this period have brought new perceptive to the role Indians played in their own history. Consequently, the theme of power and whom controlled it over the course of Native American/European contact is being presented in new ways. Examining the evolving
In An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s reexamines the American historical record and moves it passed the typical narratives of colonialism, revolution, and American exceptionalism. Dunbar-Ortiz’s analysis will impact the field of Native Studies and even general United States history with its examination and focus on settler colonialism as a genocidal policy. It is, as Dunbar-Ortiz argues, impossible to write American history without the acknowledgment of Indigenous peoples. Dunbar-Ortiz shatters the myth of “free land” and conquered Natives. She instead focuses on “the absence of a colonial framework (7),” which she believes is the reason that most historians overlook Indigenous history. In other words, historians need to view colonization as an ongoing process and not a
The United States government initially celebrated the Battle at Wounded Knee as the final conflict between Native Americans and the United States military - after which the western frontier was considered safe for the incoming settlers. Over 20 medals were awarded to the soldiers for their valor on the battlefield. However, the understanding has changed regarding what actually took place at Wounded Knee on December 29, 1890. The Hollywood version of the Battle of Wounded Knee accurately presents the case that the Battle at Wounded Knee was actually a massacre of the Sioux - the culminating act of betrayal and aggression carried out by the United States military,
Author and Indian Activist, Vine Deloria makes compelling statements in chapters one and five of his Indiana Manifesto, “Custer Died for Your Sins.” Although published in 1969 this work lays important historic ground work for understanding the plight of the Indian in the United States. Written during the turbulent civil rights movement, Deloria makes interesting comparisons to the Black struggle for equal rights in the United States. He condemns the contemporary views toward Indians widely help by Whites and argues that Indians are wrongly seen through the historic lens of a pipe smoking, bow and arrow wielding savage. Deloria forcefully views the oppressors and conquerors of the Indian mainly as the United States federal government and Christian missionaries. The author’s overall thesis is that Whites view Indians the way they want to see them which is not based in reality. The resulting behavior of Whites towards Indians shows its affects in the false perception in law and culture.
The Indians were being confined to crowed reservations that were poorly run, had scarce game, alcohol was plentiful, the soil was poor, and the ancient religious practices were prohibited. The Indians were not happy that they had been kicked off there land and were now forced to live on a reservation. The Indians then began to Ghost Dance a form of religion it is said that if the Indians were to do this trance like dance the country would be cleansed of white intruders. Also dead ancestors and slaughtered buffalo would return and the old ways would be reborn in a fruitful land. Once the Bureau of Indian affairs noticed what was going on they began to fear this new religion would lead to warfare. The white peoplewere scared that this new dance was a war dance. They called for army protection. Army was called in to try to curbed this new religion before it could start a war.
The systematic racism and discrimination in America has long lasting effects that began back when Europeans first stepped foot on American soil is still visible today but only not written into the law. This racism has lead to very specific consequences on the Native people in today’s modern world, and while the racism is maybe not as obvious it is still very present. These modern Native peoples fight against the feeling of community as a Native person, and feeling entirely alone and not a part of it. The poem “The Reservation” by Susan Cloud and “The Real Indian Leans Against” by Chrystos examine the different effects and different settings of how their cultures survived but also how so much was lost for them within their own identity.
Wounded Knee was a terrible event in US history. It showed how the US government didn't understand the Native Americans and treated them badly and unfairly.
One of the darkest times in American history was the conflict with the natives. A “war” fought with lies and brute force, the eviction and genocide of Native Americans still remains one of the most controversial topics when the subject of morality comes up. Perhaps one of the most egregious events to come of this atrocity was the Sand Creek Massacre. On the morning of November 29th, 1864, under the command of Colonel John Chivington, 700 members of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry raped, looted, and killed the members of a Cheyenne tribe (Brown 86-94). Hearing the story of Sand Creek, one of the most horrific acts in American History, begs the question: Who were the savages?
“What have the ‘hostiles done? It seems to be so far a white man’s war” (Qtd. in Hines 30). The Indians that were killed at Wounded Knee committed no crime on their reservation in the time before the battle (Hines 36), they only practiced religion. The Ghost Dance movement resulted in a massacre at Wounded Knee which had a lasting impact on many people.
Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, New York, Bantam Press,1970
The video “Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee,” tells the story of being pushed onto reservations in the Midwest and Black Hills negotiations. The main characters include Charles Eastman, Red Cloud, and Sitting Bull. These characters each play a significant role in capturing the emotional state of life among the governing agencies and tribal members.
Native American literature from the Southeastern United States is deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the various tribes that have historically called that region home. While the tribes most integrally associated with the Southeastern U.S. in the American popular mind--the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole)--were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) from their ancestral territories in the American South, descendents of those tribes have created compelling literary works that have kept alive their tribal identities and histories by incorporating traditional themes and narrative elements. While reflecting profound awareness of the value of the Native American past, these literary works have also revealed knowing perspectives on the meaning of the modern world in the lives of contemporary Native Americans.