Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Native American and colonial relationships
Native American culture
Culture and history of native americans
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Native American and colonial relationships
“Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are literally millions of human beings whose lives have been snuffed out by people who conquered under the banner of a white god” (Tim Wise). White superiority has been in effect for hundreds of years. Every culture has experienced it. With Native Americans they had their land and customs stolen by the arrival of the European. With the Jews they were victimised by Hitler and his racist policies. One culture that was affected by this is/was the Cherokee. People who were neither for or against the Treaty of New Echota. They were herded together, like cattle into groups made up of hundreds. Told …show more content…
The treaty was not signed by the principal chief John Ross. Nor was it approved of the Cherokee National Council. It was still amended in 1836 which made it legal for the removal of the Cherokee, and started the trail of tears. Historical Trauma is described as the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over one’s lifetime and from generation to generation following loss of lives and vital aspects of culture.(Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart). It has led to alcoholism, drug addiction, a high suicide rate, domestic violence, and sexual abuse . These are just examples of what historical trauma is like, but there is hope overcoming such a horrific genocide The Cherokee now. Have their own functioning government, court system, and educational system. They were one the first Indigenous nations to publish in their native tongue. They are all little victories in their own way. A male survivor had said “he was thankful everyday that he woke up, that he lived.” Much like the Cherokee, the Cheyenne and Arapaho have gone through historical trauma due to the white man trying to terminate …show more content…
For nothing more than the land that they accompanied. As the Indian land grew more and more in need by the European. Native peoples were “reluctant” to give it up. The European were planning on taking their land, and giving them less important land. Sand Creek village in Oklahoma had about 900 people living on it at the time. The Cheyenne and Arapaho people were promised their by the treaty of 1851, a chief went and talked with an army representative. He was assured that his people and land were protected from being taken or hurt. The morning of November 29th 1864 a group called “Colorado Volunteers” enclosed on the Sand Creek Village people.Chief Black Kettle then raised an American flag in the hopes of friendship. His plan did not help.That’s when Colonel John Chivington gave the order “Kill and Scalp all, big or little”. The invasion killed about 400 people, mainly women and children. If any tried to escape they were
The Apache Indians of North America prospered for years throughout Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona. They were a religious society who believed in a “giver of life';. As any complex society today, The Apache had many inter-tribal differences, although the tribe as a whole was able to see through these conflicts. Women and the extended family played an important role in the society and also in the lives of young children. Groups of different extended families, called bands, often lived together and functioned democratically. The Apache also evolved as the coming of the white man changed their lives. These Indians became adept at using horses and guns, both introduced to them by the coming settlers. As with most Indian tribes in North America the lives of the Apache were destroyed as their life-blood, the buffalo were slaughtered by the whites. The Apache were forced into surrender after years of struggle. One leader, Geronimo, was especially hard for the whites to capture. After years of evading white soldiers Geronimo was taken to Florida and treated as a prisoner of war. Government sponsored assimilation saw English forced upon the Apache robbing them of their culture. In 1934 The Indian Recognition Act helped establish the Indian culture as a recognized way of life. This act gave the Apache land, which the Apache in turn used for ranching. The destruction of the Apache culture was not recoverable and saw the Apache lose much of their language.
Approximately three hundred and thirty-four years ago, there took place an uncommon and captivating story of American Indian History. This historical story was called the Pueblo Revolt, and it included the defeat of the dominant European Spaniards. The Spaniards were defeated by an assortment of Native American tribes that were not able to communicate in the same language. The Pueblo Native Americans resided in the area that is now considered northern New Mexico. This area remained combined with the territory of Spain for about eighty-five years. There were Spanish conquistadors guarded the superior area of Rio Grande. They forced Spanish regulations and brutality upon the Pueblo Indians.
The tragedy of the Cherokee nation has haunted the legacy of Andrew Jackson"'"s Presidency. The events that transpired after the implementation of his Indian policy are indeed heinous and continually pose questions of morality for all generations. Ancient Native American tribes were forced from their ancestral homes in an effort to increase the aggressive expansion of white settlers during the early years of the United States. The most notable removal came after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Cherokee, whose journey was known as the '"'Trail of Tears'"', and the four other civilized tribes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, were forced to emigrate to lands west of the Mississippi River, to what is now day Oklahoma, against their will. During the journey westward, over 60,000 Indians were forced from their homelands. Approximately 4000 Cherokee Indians perished during the journey due to famine, disease, and negligence. The Cherokees to traveled a vast distance under force during the arduous winter of 1838-1839.# This is one of the saddest events in American history, yet we must not forget this tragedy.
The article analyses the effect of the Indian Removal Act, which was approved by Jackson, on various native tribes. “The Cherokee, on the other hand, were tricked into an illegitimate treaty. In 1833, a small faction agreed to sign a removal agreement: the Treaty of New Echota. The leaders of this group were not the recognized leaders of the Cherokee nation, and over 15,000 Cherokees -- led by Chief John Ross -- signed a petition in protest. The Supreme Court ignored their demands and ratified the treaty in 1836.
The Cherokee Trail of Tears resulted from the execution of the Treaty of New Echota (1835), an “agreement” signed under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 (The Cherokee and the Trail of Tears). With the expansion of the American population, the discovery of gold in Georgia, and the need for even more land for American results in the push to move the Natives who were “in the way”. So with the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Congress acted to remove Natives on the east coast of the United States to land west of the Mississippi River, something in which was never embraced or approved by them (The Cherokee and the Trail of Tears). Many state governments, such as Georgia, did not want Native-owned land within their boundaries, while the Natives did not want to move. However, under the Removal Act, the United States Congress gave then-President Andrew Jackson the authority to negotiate removal treaties.
The federal government proceeded to find a way around this decision and had three minor Cherokee chief’s sign the “Treaty of New Echota” in 1835 giving the Cherokee lands to the government for 5.6 million dollars and free passage west. Congress got the treaty ratified by only one vote. Members of their tribes murdered all three chiefs who took part in the signing of the treaty. After this event there was not much the Cherokee’s could do and were forcibly moved west on what they called and are known today as the ‘Trail of Tears,’ which became a constitutional crisis in our history. In this instance the lack of cooperation between the branches of the government was the downfall for the Cherokee nation. The way the Cherokee’s were forced west caused losses of up to twenty percent of the nation. This figure is only a guess and scholar’s think it was more a third of the nation was lost. The ‘Trail of Tears’ was also a morale issue in the United States, later having an impact on our history the way other Native American races in general are treated in the future.
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 Trail of Tears was a horrific time in history for the Cherokee Indians. May 18, 1830 was the beginning of a devastating future for the Cherokee Indians. On that day, Congress officially passed Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. This policy granted President Andrew Jackson the right to force the Cherokee tribe consisting of about 13,000 people off of their reservations consisting of about 100 million acres east of the Mississippi River in the Appalachian Mountains and to attend a long and torturous journey consisting of about 1,200 miles within nine months until they reached their new home, a government-mandated area within present-day Oklahoma. They left their land which was home to the “Five Civilized Tribes” which were assimilated tribes including, the Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminoles.
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
The removal of the Cherokee Indians from their lands in the southeast is the largest Indian relocation in American history (Sides 362). It was unjust for the Americans to seize Indian land in order to make room for more Americans and immigrants. The Indians had done nothing to deserve this type of brutal treatment. These Indians had no way of fighting back to the Americans, so it was both unfair and unjust. The Trail of Tears, or as Indians called it The Trail where the Wept, was a trail of sickness and despair (Ehle 385). No person should ever have to go through what the Cherokees and other tribes went through. Even though the Americans had some viable reasons to desire the Indian land, they had no right of forcibly removing the Indians out without all of their consent.
As stated in Addressing the Oliphant in the Room: Domestic Violence and the safety of American Indian and Alaska Native Children in Indian Country “The National Congress of American Indians declared violence against Native Americans, particularly those living on tribal lands, as the most critical issue faced by Native Americans.” What are the causes of domestic violence on reservations? This is an important issue because domestic violence is a huge issue on reservations and being aware of the causes can play an important role in helping to lower domestic violence rates and give less of a stigma on the stereotypes against Native Americans. Domestic violence includes, physical abuse, sexual abuse as well as psychological abuse, including a combination of all of these. The domestic violence is not limited to only certain tribes, but is common among many tribes all across the United States. Native Americans are known for being alcoholics and living in poverty, but there are many other factors that play into the violence that
In 1829 Andrew Jackson wrote a message to congress discussing the problem with the Indians living within the states. He said that they were either to live by the laws of the state or they would move them somewhere else by force. When they put this into place they offered the Indians free land and happiness. The trip to their new homes which was in Kansas was long and hard. Many people died on the trip to Kansas and once they got to their new homes it was cramped and a desert land which was what Lewis and Clark called it when they visited Kansas before the Indians came. The good thing was that even though they didn’t know at first Kansas had really rich soil which
...(Perdue 20). It gave them two years to prepare for removal. Many of the Cherokees, led by John Ross, protested this treaty. However, in the winter of 1838-1839, all of the Cherokees headed west toward Oklahoma. This removal of the Cherokees is now known, as the Trail of Tears was a very gruesome event. During the trip from the southern United States to current day Oklahoma, many of the Cherokees died. Shortly after their arrival in Oklahoma, they began to rebuild. They began tilling fields, sending their children to school, and attending Council meetings (Perdue 170).
To many the trail of tears has no meaning or relevance in their life, but for some the Trail of Tears has great meaning since many of the native ancestors endured the hardships of this time. In the 1830s, Native Americans occupied many acres of land in Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Florida. The main reason for the Trail of Tears was because the Americans wanted the Indians’ land for themselves so they could raise their cattle, and because of the good soil so they could grow and harvest crops. Their ancestors had lived on and cultivated this land for generations, and by the end of that generation very few Native Americans remained anywhere in the Southeastern United States. Many think that The Trail of Tears was just the “Five Civilized Tribes”, but there were many other smaller tribes involved too. Some tribes agreed to sign, and others were forced into it, but either way it went they all had to leave. Many Native Americans suffered from exposure, disease, and starvation on their way to their destinations, making The Trail of Tears one of the greatest hardships in Native American history.
Unconcerned about the legitimacy of their actions, European colonisers took lands unjustifiably from indigenous people and put original inhabitants who had lived on the land for centuries in misery. The United States also shared similarities in dealing with native people like its distant friends in Europe. Besides the cession of vast lands, the federal government of the United States showed no pity, nor repentance for the poor Cherokee people. Theda Perdue, the author of “Cherokee Women and Trail of Tears,” unfolds the scroll of history of Cherokee nation’s resistance against the United States by analyzing the character of women in the society, criticizes that American government traumatized Cherokee nation and devastated the social order of