Over the years, there have been many discussions on whether Mount Rushmore, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is classified as a desecration of sacred Sioux land. For many years I would say that Mount Rushmore is not, the desecration of sacred Sioux land as this land is not the site of an Indian burial ground. After looking to see what sacred land is considered, my statement about Mount Rushmore has changed; Mount Rushmore is a desecration of sacred Sioux land. In order to understand why this has been a discussion one must first understand what is considered sacred land. To the Native American Indians, a place or object, such as a mountain, is considered sacred if it provides a gateway or connection in which the Native American Indians …show more content…
can use as a means to contact with what is called the sacred in other words a place that they are able to contact the sprits. These locations were often used to “conduct ceremonies . . . gathered the sacred medicines-the plants-that they needed for healing and for ceremonial use”. 1 For many years the Black Hills were called home by many different tribes, these tribes included the Lakota, Cheyenne, Omaha, Arapaho, Kiowa and the Kiowa-Apache; together they make up the Sioux nation. When the United States purchased the land from the French the Black Hills of South Dakota was included but it seemed that no one was aware of the Sioux nation and their connection to the land.
The many features within the area of Black Hills region had Indian names, as the Native Americans were the only ones on the land at the time after the French sold the land. This all changed when the United State conducted illegal expeditions into the area, in search of gold, claiming that the area was uninhabited, and the United States may claim the land as their own. In the year 1884, Bill Challis claimed the lad did not have a name when asked by Charles E. Rushmore, at this point Challis declared the land is known as Mount Rushmore from that day forward. In that very moment, the name was changed with no regards to the Sioux nation. According to the Native American Netroots forum Mount Rushmore had been known to the Sioux as Six Grandfathers, this name was important to them, as it was a part of their oral tradition along with their association to the land.2 The Black Hills region known as Paha Sapa, the heart of everything that is, which include Mount Rushmore was a part of the 1868 treaty. The Fort Laramie Treaty set aside 20 million acres of land for was to be used only by the Native Americans but was seized by the United States in 1877 after the discovery of
gold. The land that was seized from the Sioux held great spiritual meaning to them and their ancestors as it signified who they are and how they developed on this land, the Black Hills was a part of them and that was taken away. A United Nations human rights official has stated that the “indigenous people feel they have too little control over geographic regions considered sacred to them”.3 At the time that the United States seized the land the Sioux were given two options, one, agree to sell Black Hills to the United States or two, starve to death on the land. Congress approved the sale of the land with only a tenth of the Sioux members agreeing forcing them off their lands through violent means at times. Over 140 Sioux members were killed during this process. Almost a 100 years later the Sioux are still fighting to regain the land that is sacred to them and that was promised to them in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. It has been pointed out that in 1970 one of the Sioux spiritual leaders journeyed to Mount Rushmore in order to perform a ceremony that re-connects the Sioux nation to its religious relationship they have to the land.4 This ceremony alone I feel provided enough evidence that the Black Hills held a great significance to the Sioux and the lands sacredness should be evaluated. This evaluation would allow the United States to see why the Sioux nation was doing everything in their power to regain control over the land that was granted to them not only through their spiritual connection but also through a treaty from 1868 between the United States and the Sioux. This opportunity to evaluate the sacredness of the land never came, instead the Supreme Court case United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians came about. Stated in the Indigenous Religious Traditions the Supreme Court ruled in 1980 that Black Hills was taken from the Lakota, a Sioux nation tribe, unconstitionally under the Fifth Amendment.5 In order to rectify the situation the United States claims commission office offered to pay the Lakota people for the value of the land in 1877, the year that it was seized, along with interest. This offer was denied by the Lakota and grounds of the spiritual connection that they have with the seized land that makes the land sacred to them. Lakota spiritual leader, a part of the Oglala tribe, Rick Two-Dogs states they are not able to accept the payment of the Black Hills land because “all our origin stories go back to this place. We have a spiritual connection to the Black Hills that can’t be sold.”6 The original purchase offer of $120 million for compensation continues to sit in a trust and continues to grow through interest. The amount that is in this trust today is over $570 million dollars but yet the majority of the Sioux nation members still do not wish to sell the land to the United States.
In the novels Counselor Ayres’ Memorial by Machado de Assis and The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata, there are common themes and motifs that are present in both books. There is a strong element of love (both romantic and familial) and of separation. These themes have significant effects on the characters and the plot. Both novels also present a similar message about life and the world. Although the novels have similar themes, they are expressed differently in each.
The Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889 is one of the most pivotal points in American History. The massive event entailed: American settlers performing their best bull impression. They made Oklahoma seem as if it were painted in the color red. A jaw-dropping amount of land settled in a day. Finally, to a victimized community that was on the verge of drowning in a sea of unwanted roommates. Oklahoma’s great land rush gave America the space to stretch out their territory, even though it nearly wiped out the Native Americans' land.
Political. As an esteemed war hero during the Civil War, Custer was an icon who carried the support of the American people. With the people’s support our government could shift the nation’s progress westward for expansion. Custer had confined the Indians to the Black Hills reservation, and they had made it their home, then he discovered gold in the region. The government immediately wanted the land back in exchange...
The land of the Native Indians had been encroached upon by American settlers. By the
Army in 1874, when General George A Custer said that gold had been discovered in the Black Hills of the Dakota Territory. This was a sacred area to many tribes and had always been off-limits to white settlement since the signing of the Fort Laramie Treaty. The government tried to purchase this land, but failed, so the Fort Laramie Treaty was set aside and ordered that all Lakota were to leave their land by January 31, 1867. Sitting Bull refused to leave so he and his tribe stood their ground. They later realized that there were more army men than Lakota, so they joined forces with other
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,
America’s history-both good and bad-has much to teach us. Taking down, destroying these monuments is erasing, rewriting the physical symbols of the nation. This type of cultural whitewashing is inglorious. We can treat these monuments as a cautionary tool to remind ourselves what we are and what we are not. The cost forebears paid for the freedom of the nation should be remembered; therefore, people should retain these statues to remind of themselves what these monuments represent.
History has a strange way of coming back around when it comes to human civilization. It has been said repeatedly that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. However, just because there is a potential for danger in the future, this does not mean that humanity must ignore what once was. History is normally remembered through what is known as a memorial. When a memorial is put into a physical representation, it is then known as a monument.The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. Examples of such feats are the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and even Mount Rushmore. For the latter of the
The journey of exploration to the western territories brought the white man many great things, but they did face some opposition. The US government made plans to explore the Black Hills, after hearing of the gold it contained. This was not an easy task. The Sioux, with strong force, were not giving up their sacred land easily. The only way to gain the territory of the Black Hills was to wage war against the Sioux. The Battle of the Little Big Horn was one battle that the US will never forget. General George Custer led an army of men to take out the Sioux, one of the battalions was completely wiped out including Custer. The Sioux were very strong, but US had a lot more power and technology. Why did we get massacred? This question has been a mystery to many people throughout the years. Sergeant Windolph, of Benteen’s cavalry, and John F. Finerty, from General Crooks cavalry, bring us some personal accounts and memories of this tragedy.
America has had many people that have made a positive difference to this nation by showing perseverance and putting others first for the greater good for the cause. People from low levels of society and from high levels of society have contributed to change this to become great. Robert E. Lee and his family did not enjoy fantastic wealth (“American Experience”). Robert E. Lee had an impact on this nation from the military standpoint. He had many difficult choices and decisions to make, like to stay with Virginia or to lead the Union Army. Lee served his country with everything he had. He fought on the battlefield, and commanded troops to victories and defeats. Lee never complained about the situation he was in or gave up when the going got tough. How did Robert E. Lee’s successful military career affect his life and how is he considered a prominent figure in American history?
Whilst there has been countless attacks on the Native American people the Battle of Wounded Knee, if you can in fact call it a battle, is the event that can be held as the most accountable for the destruction of the native American culture; the obliteration of their hope and dreams. The Battle of Wounded Knee resulted in the death of three hundred Native Americans, half of which were women and children. White Plume, in the article In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, explains that “the whole Sioux Nation was wounded at that last terrible massacre, and we’ve been suffering ever since”. This sentiment is expressed throughout the remaining article as well as in Sherman Alexie’s Reservation Blues.
As the West of the Appalachian Mountains became known as the “Indian Land” proclaimed by the King of England in 1763, as properly known as the Proclamation Line of 1763, the U. S. government believed it to be part of their land after their gain of independence from Britain. The reason for this happening was due to the fact that the Indians lost to the French in the French and Indian war which was also known as the brutal Seven Years’ War from 1754-1763. As a result, The U.S. took advantage of the situation and insisted on acquiring the land of the Indians in the West through three different policies (Chris ...
Cemeteries are a place for people to bury their loved ones for them to rest to be visible and visitable later. People chose the location of their burial sites very carefully. Some people chose their cemetery because of its proximity to something meaningful (childhood home, family memory, current location) or to honor something greater (soldiers being buried at Arlington National Cemetery). Although the cemetery itself may have meaning, the gravesite within the cemetery itself can also be very important. The tombstone can be a sign of class, wealth, or nationality with the location and design of the tombstone. For my fieldwork was centered around the cemetery which my grandfather was buried at, and it shows the progression of a community of people and tells some ways to
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction.” These are the words of Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States of America, speaking on the topic of freedom, a subject he frequently dealt with during his long presidency. Over the years, freedom in the U.S. has become an increasingly controversial topic, and the effectiveness of the government in affording these freedoms has been called into question. Through certain historical documents and events, the government’s effectiveness at ensuring freedoms for all can be confirmed. The occurrences of several major events in the history of America eventually gave all blacks equal rights and fostered a culture of change in American society. The Emancipation Proclamation of 1862, written by President Abraham Lincoln, was one of the most
Wes Anderson’s second film, Rushmore, was released in 1998. Co-written by Anderson and Owen Wilson, the film stars Jason Schwartzman as Max Fischer, an eccentric and bright 15 year old whose main passion in life is attending Rushmore Academy. He befriends Herman Blume, two of Max’s classmate’s father and the owner of a successful steel company (played by Bill Murray). Though the wide age gap, Blume and Fischer fall in love with the same woman, a recently widowed first grade teacher named Rosemary Cross (played by Oliva Williams). This unlikely love triangle tears Fischer and Blume apart and sends them each on personal journeys of growth and self-discovery. The small cast, only three main characters, of Rushmore are well developed and when the film ends, there is a sense that you know each personally. On the surface, Rushmore looks like a movie about a private school, the complexities of friendships, and an unlikely love triangle.