Summary Of Chief Joseph's Views Of Indian Affairs '

677 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What was the treatment of Native Americans by white settlers

Fear, agony, misery, these are the feelings that the Native Americans had to endure on a daily basis. The Native Americans were persecuted and oppressed because of their beliefs and their race. The settlers believed that the Natives were not even to be considered humans based on their religious beliefs. Unlike the settlers, the Native Americans were not given the freedom to live their lives as they pleased. In Chief Joseph’s “An Indian’s Views of Indian Affairs”, the purpose of this excerpt affects the speaker by making him more committed and driven to help make a difference for his people. The purpose of this excerpt is to give the government an insight on the reality of how the Natives were being treated on their own land. The purpose directly …show more content…

In the text, Chief Joseph states, “We only ask an even chance to live as other men live. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If the Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If the white man breaks the law, punish him also.” This shows how Chief Joseph and other Native Americans wanted to have equality amongst all of the people living in this area. They no longer wanted to be separated by their religious beliefs or race. In the text Chief Joseph also states, “If you pen an Indian up on a small spot of earth, and compel him to stay there, he will not be contented, nor will he grow and prosper.” This shows how they wanted to be able to fulfil their purpose in life which is to live, grow and prosper. Chief Joseph also mentions that he does not mind if he is not allowed access to his own home, if it means that his people are able to live in better conditions where they are not dying as rapidly. This shows the reader the severity of their situation and how Chief Joseph was willing to do anything to help his people go through this unfortunate situation. As a Native American, Chief Joseph felt that it was a part of his responsibility to ensure a better lifestyle for himself and for his

Show More
Related

  • Chief Joseph And Helen Hunt Jackson: A Comparative Analysis

    435 Words  | 1 Pages

    Chief Joseph and Helen Hunt Jackson are two very important people who both share strong yet different perspectives toward the treachery of the U.S. Government along with the unfair treatment of Indians around the 1800’s. Chief Joseph was born in 1840 in the Wallowa valley of Oregon, and belonged to the Nez Percé tribe, which was made up of some 400 indians. The Government had made many valid promises among the tribes, just to come back and break these words with more conflict and war. All Chief Joseph was in search for was for the chaos among the whites and indians to be replaced with peace, brotherhood, and equality. Stated in the text, “We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men.” In other words, Chief Joseph believed that people

    Read More

  • The Founding Indian Fathers Summary

    297 Words  | 1 Pages

    The article “The Founding Indian Fathers” by Jack Weatherford is about how the Indians contributed to the American Government and how we went off the Indians system. We see how they had a council of each of the separate nations just how we do now. We also followed how one person wasn’t allowed to hold one position and hold another so they wouldn’t be so powerful. Another thing was that in their meetings there were no interruptions when someone was speaking. The caucus was another thing that was copied. One thing that I learned was that the Chiefs of the Indians had nothing to do with the government he was to perform rituals and other ceremonies. I think the authors main point was to show how the American government derived from that of the

    Read More

  • English Colonists vs Native Americans: Property Rights in the New World

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    To many of the English colonists, any land that was granted to them in a charter by the English Crown was theirs’, with no consideration for the natives that had already owned the land. This belittlement of Indians caused great problems for the English later on, for the natives did not care about what the Crown granted the colonists for it was not theirs’ to grant in the first place. The theory of European superiority over the Native Americans caused for any differences in the way the cultures interacted, as well as amazing social unrest between the two cultures.

    Read More

  • Native American Policy: The Board Of Indian Commissioners

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Board of Indian Commissioners was a committee that advised the United States federal government on Native American policy. The committee also had the purpose to inspect the supplies that were delivered to Indian reservations to ensure that the government fulfilled the treat obligations to tribes. The committee was established by congress on April 10th, 1869, and authorized the President of the United States to organize a board of ten or less people to oversee all aspect of Native American policy. President Ulysses S. Grant wanted to come up with a new policy, which would be more humane, with Native American tribes. The policy would be known as the Peace Policy, which aimed to be free of political corruption. This policy was prominent on

    Read More

  • Native Reactions To The Invasion Of America By James Axtell

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    The article, “Native Reactions to the invasion of America”, is written by a well-known historian, James Axtell to inform the readers about the tragedy that took place in the Native American history. All through the article, Axtell summarizes the life of the Native Americans after Columbus acquainted America to the world. Axtell launches his essay by pointing out how Christopher Columbus’s image changed in the eyes of the public over the past century. In 1892, Columbus’s work and admirations overshadowed the tears and sorrows of the Native Americans. However, in 1992, Columbus’s undeserved limelight shifted to the Native Americans when the society rediscovered the history’s unheard voices and became much more evident about the horrific tragedy of the Natives Indians.

    Read More

  • A Century Of Dishonor, By Helen Hunt Jackson

    678 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Diction Good Hair

    957 Words  | 2 Pages

    gain whilst simultaneously pressuring actual Native Americans to assimilate into western European society. This connects to the poem as a whole because it connects to the after effects of

    Read More

  • The Impact Of The Colonization Of Turtle Island

    999 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”

    Read More

  • Displacement and Mistreatment of Native Americans

    2250 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Two Different Perspectives of Life Experiences with Indians

    943 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mary Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson” and Benjamin Franklin’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America” are two different perspectives based on unique experiences the narrators had with “savages.” Benjamin Franklin’s “Remarks Concerning the Savages…” is a comparison between the ways of the Indians and the ways of the Englishmen along with Franklin’s reason why the Indians should not be defined as savages. “A Narrative of the Captivity…” is a written test of faith about a brutally traumatic experience that a woman faced alone while being held captive by Indians. Mary Rowlandson views the Indians in a negative light due to the traumatizing and inhumane experiences she went through namely, their actions and the way in which they lived went against the religious code to which she is used; contrastingly, Benjamin Franklin sees the Indians as everything but savages-- he believes that they are perfect due to their educated ways and virtuous conduct.

    Read More

  • History: The Indian Removal Act

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    “It will separate the Indians from immediate contact with settlements of whites; free them from the power of the States; enable them to pursue happiness in their own way and under their own rude institutions; will retard the progress of decay, which is lessening their numbers, and perhaps cause them gradually, under the protection of the Government and through the influence of good counsels, to cast off their savage habits and become an interesting, civilized, and Christian community.” (Jackson).

    Read More

  • Conflicts in the Antebellum Era

    587 Words  | 2 Pages

    Native Americans, namely the Cherokees, had been living on the lands of the eventual Americas without European contact for years until the 1700s. After contact was made and America had gained freedom, people like President Andrew Jackson, believed that the Cherokees should be removed from the land that was rightfully the United States’. President Jackson even hired Benjamin F. Curry of Tennessee to help with the removal of the Cherokees from east of the Mississippi River. Curry believed that his job was to try to drive the Cherokees to either want to leave without a second thought or sign a treaty agreeing to America’s terms. Curry’s actions led to the natives of the Cherokee nation’s objections of being removed so miserably. Many complained about how their significant others or children were either forcibly removed or held to get the natives to agree to leave. Some of the natives decided that they would try to fight their way out of being removed, but some, like Rebecca Neugin, a member of the Cherokee nation’s father were persuaded not to resist so that they or their families would not be harmed more than necessary. When some of the Americans, like Evan Jones, saw this, they tried to spread awareness of how the Cherokees were being treated,...

    Read More

  • Native American Reservation Life and History

    1235 Words  | 3 Pages

    Many people today know the story of the Indians that were native to this land, before “white men” came to live on this continent. Few people may know that white men pushed them to the west while many immigrants took over the east and moved westward. White men made “reservations” that were basically land that Indians were promised they could live on and run. What many Americans don’t know is what the Indians struggled though and continue to struggle through on the reservations.

    Read More

  • The Inequality Of The Native American Society

    1627 Words  | 4 Pages

    All men are created equal (Declaration of Independence). Yet, the Native Americans continue their fight for decades since colonization. There is a constant struggle to urge for equality from William Apess in his 1833 essay, An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man. In modern day, the fight continues after his lifetime. Equality and freedom is the goal for most Native Americans. Although securing the rights of the Native Americans are progressing, it is slow. Therefore, the inequality continues at a faster pace, as opposed to major changes that would impact the Native Americans positively. Throughout history, they are exploited for their land and natural resources and severely underfunded. As a matter of fact, the common theme seems to be that the Native Americans are continuously suppressed by the “superior race”, which showcases the prevalent thoughts in America. William Apess and

    Read More

  • Arguments Against Indian Removal

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    The removal of Native-Americans from their homes to the region east of the Mississippi is one of the most tragic and controversial episodes in American History. It affected the Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, and Cherokee people. This tragic event killed approximately 2,000 to 6,000 of the 16,543 Cherokee Indians who were forced to move during the winter of 1838. There were many legal and moral arguments for and against this policy. In this paper I will point out the reasons why the argument against Indian removal was a more convincing argument.

    Read More

More about Summary Of Chief Joseph's Views Of Indian Affairs '

Open Document