Author Dee Brown presents a factual as well as an emotional kind of relationship among the Indians, American settlers, and the U.S. government. The massacre at Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota on December 29, 1890, provides the setting for the story. In his introduction, Brown states the reason for his effort. Numerous accounts about life in the American West of the late nineteenth century are written. Stories are told of the traders, ranchers, wagon trains, gunfighters, and gold-seekers. Rarely is the voice of the Indian heard. The pre-European occupant of the land was classified only as a burden to the spreading of American civilization to the West Coast. In this book, Brown seeks to set right the historical injustice done to the Native …show more content…
American. With hopes of a cheerful spirit that everyone reading this book will come away with a better understanding of what the American Indian is and was. Brown’s chronological interpretation begins with the attitudes of different groups of Europeans toward the Natives and what they encountered in America. Although Christopher Columbus expressed respect for the Natives of the West Indies, the Spanish were often brutal. The English, capable of brutality when the time called for it, usually tried refined methods. Brown recounts early disgraces against Indian leaders, including that of the skeleton of Black Hawk, a Sauk and Fox chief who resisted American expansion, being on display in the office of the governor of the Iowa Territory. Black Hawk was the grandfather of Jim Thorpe, an Olympic gold medal athlete in 1912. The remaining parts of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is a review of the Western Indians, tribe by tribe, event by event, and leader by leader.
The story begins with the Navajo of the Southwest, led by Manuelito. Like many later Indian leaders, Manuelito at first tried to be realistic and to accept the presence of Americans in their territory on reasonable terms. When those terms were violated by the Americans, the Navajo retaliated. The result was war that involved killings on both sides. Brown supports his story by direct quotes from participants in the conflict, such as a white soldier’s version of a massacre of Navajos at Fort Wingate in New …show more content…
Mexico. Next turns to Little Crow, a chief of the Santee Sioux in Minnesota. After many years of trying to adopt the white man’s lifestyle and dress, even visiting President James Buchanan in Washington, Little Crow became disillusioned and angry. The result of that anger was Little Crow’s War. The war ended with the Santee Sioux moving west to the Great Plains and with Little Crow’s scalp and skull being put on display in St. Paul. Then a meeting at Fort Laramie, Wyoming.. Leaders of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, Crow, and several smaller tribes met with United States government representatives. The agreements made there permitted the building of roads and military posts in Indian territory, but no land was surrendered by the Indians. The Pikes Peak gold rush resulted in the arrival of thousands of white prospectors, ranchers, and farmers to the lands of the Cheyenne and Arapaho. Despite the loss of much land, the Indians remained peaceful until 1864. Black Kettle, the Cheyenne chief, heard about the experiences of the Navajo and the Sioux; he hoped to spare his people that suffering. War did break out, when soldiers attacked some Cheyenne on the South Platte River. The fighting ended in November with the well-planned Sand Creek Massacre of Black Kettle’s Cheyenne by a United States Army. Dee Brown returns to the Sioux, centering on Red Cloud, chief of the Oglala Sioux. It describes the Powder River Invasion of the northern Great Plains by white gold-seekers, traders, and United States Army regiments. Red Cloud was trying to keep the area between the Black Hills of South Dakota and Big Horn Mountain in Montana as the domain of the Indians, including bands of Cheyenne and Arapaho as well as the Sioux. In 1866, the United States government began preparation for a road through the Powder River country into Montana. The result was Red Cloud’s War, beginning with the Fetterman Massacre of a contingent of soldiers in an ambush. After two years of conflict, Red Cloud triumphantly signed a treaty at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, that closed the Powder River road. The exact terms of the treaty after approval by the United States Senate were disputed, but it did result in several years of peace. Recounting of the struggle of Black Kettle of the Cheyenne and other Indians of the central Great Plains against white occupation of their lands. This includes the great council at Medicine Lodge Creek in Kansas. Although Black Kettle could only bring a few Cheyenne, more than four thousand Kiowa, Comanche, and Arapaho were present to negotiate an honorable peace with the United States government. At this meeting, Ten Bears of the Comanche gave an persuasive appeal on behalf of the Indians. Brown later includes a quote from that speech. The saddest event in this chapter is the death of Black Kettle, who survived the Sand Creek Massacre, in another massacre led by George Custer. Which included the infamous words of General Phil Sheridan, “The only good Indians I ever saw were dead,” which over time became “The only good Indian is a dead Indian.” Heart-rending movement of Chief Joseph and his Nez Perce from their home in the Northwest, the final Cheyenne subordination, the troubles of the Poncas and Standing Bear, the removal of the Utes from their Rocky Mountain homes to undesirable land in Utah. With the last Apache resistance, first by Victorio, then by Geronimo. After years of violent rebellion, Victorio was killed by Mexican soldiers. Geronimo then led the opposition until his surrender, after which the once-fierce Apache were in oppression to the United States. Brown describes the Ghost Dance, a ritual credited to Wovoka, a Paiute from Nevada. The dance was supposed to bring back dead Indians and the buffalo with the elimination of whites from Indian lands. Sitting Bull of the Sioux, after years of Canadian exile, imprisonment in the United States, with appearances as a feature in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, became an advocate of the Ghost Dance. Growing anguish among the Sioux intensified attention in the dance and led to Sitting Bull’s death. In the confusion that followed Sitting Bull’s death, one group of his supporters joined Big Foot, also a Ghost Dance believer. Big Foot’s group was taken into custody by the U.S. Army and forced to camp along Wounded Knee Creek in southwestern South Dakota. The next day, as the Sioux were being disarmed, a minor incident involving one deaf warrior led to the massacre of the Sioux by the soldiers. Of about 350 people in the group, 51 wounded were left to be taken to the Pine Ridge Sioux Agency. Some catchphrases repeat themselves throughout the decline of these Indian tribes. Indians were moved from their homes to lands that are undesirable, even dangerous. Communication blocks allow the government to leave out important information in treaties or re-interpret them. Moreover, whites often attempt to integrate Indians into their culture, seeing American culture as more civilized. This book was certainly interesting. I do know that among the Native American community, Some say Author Dee Brown, is historically inaccurate and a genocide launch could possibly reeducate Americans about the killings that happened to Native people everywhere. I have heard a lot was taken out of content in this book, like the Ghost Dance had been brought to the Lakota through the teachings of a Paiute medicine man known as Wovoka. It taught that the buffalo herds would soon return, and the Lakota would return to their days of power. The Lakota had seen much death among their people and one of the most interesting aspects of the Ghost Dance was that the members would see their deceased loved ones once more. The Ghost Dance religious belief was not one of violence, but of peacefulness. And yet, the journalists of the day quickly took it upon themselves to condemn this sacred practice labeling it as that of extremist’s intent upon killing all the white people. That’s not what it means to the Native Americans. It’s a sacred ceremonial the Sioux performed to bring back the buffalo and return the Native American tribes to their land. A religious dance of Native Americans looking for communication with the dead; that began in Nevada. I have even been told this by my grandmother. I feel a lot has not been explained correctly throughout history because many did not understand the Native Americans and their beliefs. Plus, many Native Americans themselves did not understand. For instance, when treaties were continually being broken. I feel Native Americans believe the land was their no matter what, but it was not the case. They reacted the only way they knew but to resist and try to save their land that was really not theirs anymore. It was like they did not vote or anything so they did not really have a say in anything. Most were not educated back in those times and only went with their instincts or beliefs of what they thought was right. With years passing Native American will still remember December 29, 1890 as a day of massacre with a lot of sad, angry, hurtful feelings.
It does not matter how many books get printed to clarify, the Native people don’t forget, let alone easily forgive. At this stage I can understand their pain but with today’s society hopefully there will be no more most can learn from it and move on with their lives to make it better for today’s generations. I feel this book appears to be on point in regards to timeline. If there is talk, that can be just individuals that hurt and only uttering the author is inaccurate. In the 20th century and beyond, Wounded Knee continues to fuel controversy and debate over the motivation and intent of the government that day, the role of the military, and the conflicting ways the tragedy is remembered today. Although agreement may never be reached on the causes or blame for the tragedy, the 1890 massacre at Wounded Knee, originally known as a “battle,” remains a revered symbol of colonial repression and Native resistance for indigenous people throughout the
world.
On December 29, 1890, the army decided to take away all of the Sioux weapons because they weren’t sure if they could trust those indians. Some people think a deaf man did this, but one man shot his gun, while the tribe was surrendering. Studies think that he didn’t understand the Chiefs surrender. The army then opened fire at the Sioux. There was over 300 indians that died, and one of them was their chief named Bigfoot. This is an example of how we didn’t treat Native Americans fairly, because if it was a deaf man then we probably should of talked it out before we killed all those innocent
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.
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
Grua details how, although this massacre was initially "heralded as the final victory in the 400 year 'race war ' between civilization and savagery," it now is "an internationally-recognized symbol representing past massacres and genocide, as well as indigenous demands for recognition and sovereignty." Grub gives examples of how the survivors of this massacre found ways to record their eye-witness accounts, challenge the army 's "official memory," and persistently seek compensation from the government for the losses suffered by the Lakota people on this tragic day. The written documentation provides unchanging evidence of the injustices suffered by the victims of the Wounded Knee massacre. Oral history, kept alive by survivors ' descendants, has also preserved the stories of that terrible day. Wounded Knee has gained symbolic power "in hopes that such remembrance will lead to the eradication of violence, massacre, and
To understand Jackson’s book and why it was written, however, one must first fully comprehend the context of the time period it was published in and understand what was being done to and about Native Americans in the 19th century. From the Native American point of view, the frontier, which settlers viewed as an economic opportunity, was nothin...
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.
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?
All in all, the treatment of the American Indian during the expansion westward was cruel and harsh. Thus, A Century of Dishonor conveys the truth about the frontier more so than the frontier thesis. Additionally, the common beliefs about the old west are founded in lies and deception. The despair that comes with knowing that people will continue to believe in these false ideas is epitomized by Terrell’s statement, “Perhaps nothing will ever penetrate the haze of puerile romance with which writers unfaithful to their profession and to themselves have surrounded the westerner who made a living in the saddle” (Terrell 182).
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.
After watching the documentary We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, the situation that prompted the occupation at Wounded Knee was a long awaiting protest against the United States government's mistreatment of Native Americans. For instance, mistreatment by creation of Indian schools, relocation, termination, etc. Although, the final setoff was the murder of a Native American by a white man. Basically, the white man only got a slap on the wrist and the Native Americans rioted against this. The court system did not give the murdered Native American any justice. White man who was only charged with second degree manslaughter was not given the correct charges the Native Americans saw but given a privilege because he was a white man. Ultimately, this
In the article review “ How the West was Lost” the author, William T. Hagan explains that in a brief thirty-eight year period between 1848 and 1886, the Indians of the Western United States lost their fight with the United States to keep their lands. While nothing in the article tells us who Hagan is, or when the article was written, his central theme of the article is to inform us of how the Indians lost their lands to the white settlers. I found three main ideas in the article that I feel that Hagan was trying to get across to us. Hagan put these events geographically and chronologically in order first by Plains Indians, then by the Western Indians.