The first movie, which had the biggest impression on me, is called Let Them Eat Grass. It describes the Dakota War of 1862. This warfare between several tribes of Dakota, also regarded as Sioux by French people, and the United States of America was the fiercest and sanguinary part of Sioux Wars. The Federal government treated Dakota people poorly for many years. In addition, local traders and American settlers did not regard the members of this tribe as equal and free citizens of the US. Consequently, they searched for any possibility to make life of the indigenous tribes worse and worse. The movie gives a very detailed description of the main events, which occurred during the Sioux Uprising. The situation in 1862 was very challenging for the …show more content…
Dakota people because they had no means of sustenance. The leaders of this tribe strived to convince the representative of the government traders, who was Andrew Myrick, to prolong credit to the members of this tribe and help them overcome the starvation. Since he proposed them to eat grass or their own dung, the leaders of this tribe, including Little Crow, decided to wage a war against the traders and settlers. Several men of the Dakota tribe killed five settlers, expressing their indignation and resentment against the traders. This tribe continued their battles against oppression and discrimination. Although the US government and settlers achieved to fight down this insurrection, the riot demonstrated willingness of Native Americans to struggle against inequality and stigmatization. The Dakota War of 1862 was the signal to the US government, which informed the authorities of the recent problems. There were a lot of issues, which the authorities should resolve in a short period. Many trustworthy politicians understood that they had to amend the legislation, regarding the life of Native Americans, the members of African American community, and people of other ethnicities and races. These measures would ensure the rights and freedoms for all the citizens of the USA, including a wide variety of ethnic and racial groups of the American society. The result of the Dakota uprising was tragic for the members of the Dakota tribe. The government interned many people in jails, but the policy makers thought that it was not a sufficient punishment. Consequently, 38 Dakota people were hanged, and it is regarded as the largest execution in history of America. Other members of this tribe were expelled, so that they could not unite in case of a new riot. However, this uprising showed that the tribe of Dakota people appreciated freedom. They fought for their rights and freedoms without doubt. Native Americans knew that their attempts to secure their property and their families were the biggest challenge to their oppressors, to the people who had humiliated and intimidated them for many years. The Dakota War showed unbelievable audacity and unfathomable prowess of this tribe. The representatives of this tribe appeared to be the bravest people. The majority of the tribe laid down their lives for the sake of their families, children, homes, and lands. They considered their rights and freedoms the most indispensable thing in their life. Consequently, the feats of this tribe live in the hearts and souls of their descendants and people who have a sense of deep respect to the Dakota people. This movie is very useful, because it provides the audience with the detailed description of the Dakota War of 1862.
Moreover, modern representatives of this tribe participate in this movie, so the viewers obtain a lot of interesting information from these people. Furthermore, a main narrator does his best with a view of creating a brilliant work. I admire Dakota people the most because they were intractable and tough warriors, and did not allow any settlers and representatives of the US government to oppress them and deprive them of their rights and freedoms. This film is a very talented work, the producers of which achieved to emphasize the significance of the struggle of Dakota people and their feats against unfairness and inequality. It describes the main events in a true and comprehensive manner, which almost every viewer …show more content…
admires. Other three movies describe the expansion of such tribes as Mohawk, Cherokee, and Chiricahua Apache people.
Although these movies also comprise the detailed information on these tribes, I do not admire the activity of the tribes, which this creation portrays. Speaking about the tribe of Mohawk people, one of the five members of the Iroquois League, it is important to stress that they regard British authorities as their allies, so they sold the British government a lot of their lands. It was a mistake, which made this tribe poor and unhappy. The film The Trail of Tears about the Cherokee people shows that they also gave in without the serious struggle against the settlers who pushed their boundaries onward. John Ross, the leader of the Cherokee National Council, decided not to battle against the settlers, so the lands of the Cherokee people was sold for $5million. Like the Mohawk people, this tribe had to face the biggest challenges to their existence and future life. They did no attempts to resist, so many of them were destined to starvation and poor
death. The fourth movie describes life of Geronimo, who was the representative of the Chiricahua Apache people. Geronimo inspired people of this tribe with hope and fortitude for starting the struggle for their lands and freedom. This person forced this tribe to resist the settlers and the government, but the strength of the resistance was unstable because of the periodical surrenders of Geronimo. Eventually, they had to accept life on the Apache reservations. Although they did not like the reservations, they could not do anything else but stay in these places. Consequently, like the Mohawk and Cherokee people, the Chiricahua Apache people were forced to accept this way of life because they did not have any possibilities to overcome the settlers and their allies. These three tribes chose not to sacrifice their lives for the purpose of making their future and the future of their children brighter. This feature distinguishes them from the representatives of the Dakota people, who continued fighting until the end.
An astounding number of about 16,000 Cherokees were gathered and involuntarily placed into camps when they refused to sign the treaties.... ... middle of paper ... ... Thus, conquering the humans and keeping their home.
In 1845, Ebenezer Carter Tracy published a book titled, Memoir of the Life of Jeremiah Evarts. Within this book is a statement from the Cherokee people from 1830 called, “Appeal of the Cherokee Nation.” In this statement, The Cherokee Indians refuse to move west of the Mississippi River. They made this refusal for two main reasons. The Indians believed that they had a right to remain in the lands of their ancestors and they also insisted that their chances of survival would be very low if they moved west. Their survivability would be impacted by their lack of knowledge of the new lands, and by the Indians that were already living in the western lands, and who would view the Cherokee as enemies.
In the essay, “The Trail of Tears” by author Dee Brown explains that the Cherokees isn’t Native Americans that evaporate effectively from their tribal land, but the enormous measure of sympathy supported on their side that was abnormal. The Cherokees process towards culture also the treachery of both states and incorporated governments of the declaration and promises that contrived to the Cherokee nation. Dee Brown wraps up that the Cherokees had lost Kentucky and Tennessee, but a man who once consider their buddy named Andrew Jackson had begged the Cherokees to move to Mississippi but the bad part is the Indians and white settlers never get along together even if the government wanted to take care of them from harassment it shall be incapable to do that. The Cherokee families moved to the West, but the tribes were together and denied to give up more land but Jackson was running for President if the Georgians elects him as President he agreed that he should give his own support to open up the Cherokee lands for establishment.
The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress in order to allow the growth of the United States to continue without the interference of the Native Americans. Jackson believed that the Native Americans were inferior to white settlers and wanted to force them west of the Mississippi. He believed that the United States would not expand past that boundary, so the Native Americans could govern themselves. Jackson evicted thousands of Native Americans from their homes in Georgia and the Carolinas and even disregarded the Supreme Court’s authority and initiated his plan of forcing the Natives’ on the trail of tears. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Indians, however Jackson ignored the ruling and continued with his plan. The result of the Indian Removal Act was that many tribes were tricked or forced off their lands, if they refused to go willingly, resulting in many deaths from skirmishes with soldiers as well as from starvation and disease. The Cherokee in particular were forced to undergo a forced march that became known as the Trail of
... the unwilling tribes west of the Mississippi. In Jackson’s letter to General John Coffee on April 7, 1832, he explained that the Cherokees were still in Georgia, and that they ought to leave for their own benefit because destruction will come upon them if they stay. By 1835, most eastern tribes had unwillingly complied and moved west. The Bureau of Indian Affairs was created in 1836 to help out the resettled tribes. Most Cherokees rejected the settlement of 1835, which provided land in the Indian territory. It was not until 1838, after Jackson had left office, that the U.S. Army forced 15,000 Cherokees to leave Georgia. The hardships on the “trail of tears” were so great that over 4,000 Cherokees died on their heartbreaking westward journey. In conclusion, the above statement is valid and true. The decision the Jackson administration made to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands west of the Mississippi River was a reformulation of the national policy. Jackson, along with past Presidents George Washington, James Monroe, and Thomas Jefferson, tried to rid the south of Indians This process of removing the native people was continuous as the years went on.
Many tribes resisted this policy. Wars were fought as a result. The Sac and Fox Indians in Wisconsin and Illinois reoccupied their lands after having been forced to move west of the Mississippi. They were defeated. The Seminole Indians refused to sign a treaty to give up their lands. They, too, fought and lost a bitter war to remain on their land.
Andrew Jackson signed the indian removal act in 1830. This act allowed him to make treaties with the natives and steal their lands. The Trail of Tears was a forced relocation of more than 15,000 cherokee Indians. The white men/people gave the natives 2 options: 1. Leave or 2. Stay and Assimilate (learn our culture). The natives couldn’t have their own government. There were 5 civilized tribes including the cherokees. They learned english and went to american schools and when the cherokees went to court they won.
...(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).
The leaders’ inability to act for the overall well being of their tribe cost the Cherokee supplies, land, and most importantly lives. In a huge sense, it was John Ross being jokingly overambitious during his negotiations with the President that caused a lot of their pain and suffering. He also was the main voice behind trying to resist the government even after the two years was over, not to mention the whole two years they had to leave.
The Chickasaws and Choctaws submitted quickly. The only tribe that resisted until the end was the Cherokees. President Jackson’s presidency was tarnished by the way the U.S. government handled the Native Americans. Although financially, and economically, Jackson truly was a good leader, some people view him in a negative way because of the “Indian Removal Act.”
As a result, both films represent Natives Americans under the point of view of non-Native directors. Despite the fact that they made use of the fabricated stereotypes in their illustrations of the indigenous people, their portrayal was revolutionary in its own times. Each of the films add in their own way a new approach to the representation of indigenous people, their stories unfold partly unlike. These differences make one look at the indigenous not only as one dimensional beings but as multifaceted beings, as Dunbar say, “they are just like us.” This is finally a sense of fairness and respect by the non-native populations to the Native Indians.
Natives were forcefully removed from their land in the 1800’s by America. In the 1820’s and 30’s Georgia issued a campaign to remove the Cherokees from their land. The Cherokee Indians were one of the largest tribes in America at the time. Originally the Cherokee’s were settled near the great lakes, but overtime they moved to the eastern portion of North America. After being threatened by American expansion, Cherokee leaders re-organized their government and adopted a constitution written by a convention, led by Chief John Ross (Cherokee Removal). In 1828 gold was discovered in their land. This made the Cherokee’s land even more desirable. During the spring and winter of 1838- 1839, 20,000 Cherokees were removed and began their journey to Oklahoma. Even if natives wished to assimilate into America, by law they were neither citizens nor could they hold property in the state they were in. Principal Chief, John Ross and Major Ridge were leaders of the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern band of Cherokee Indians lost many due to smallpox. It was a year later that a Treaty was signed for cession of Cherokee land in Texas. A small number of Cherokee Indians assimilated into Florida, in o...
The cries from Americans did not stop President Van Buren from giving General Winfield Scott orders to remove the Cherokees. The Cherokees, despite their grossly horrific predicament, still were proud. They were once a great people, and they maintained that they would remain that way.
Since the beginning of European colonization whites have taken Native American’s lands in order to expand their own settlements. Throughout the years there have been many disputes and up rises because Indians have refused to give up or sell their lands. With an escalating white population, Native American communities have been disintegrated, killed in conflicts, or forced to move into Indian Territories. The year of 1828 would again demonstrate how white settlers would obtain Native American’s lands with the Cherokee Indian Removal. Known as the Trail of Tears, the Cherokees would start their tragic journey to Indian Territory in which thousands of Indians would die along the way and soon after their arrival due to illnesses or violent encounters. The Cherokee Indian Removal was not only cruel but injustice, the Cherokees shouldn’t have ceded their lands because before the removal they attempted to be “civilized” by the Americans giving up their cultural and religious beliefs and the federal government by treaty had to protect Indians from any state oppressions.
As white settlers poured across the mountains, the Cherokee tried once again to compensate themselves with territory taken by war with a neighboring tribe. This time their intended victim was the Chickasaw, but this was a mistake. Anyone who tried to take something from the Chickasaw regretted it, if he survived. After eleven years of sporadic warfare ended with a major defeat at Chickasaw Oldfields (1769), the Cherokee gave up and began to explore the possibility of new alliances to resist the whites. Both the Cherokee and Creek attended the 1770 and 1771 meetings with the Ohio tribes at Sciota but did not participate in Lord Dunnmore's War (1773-74) because the disputed territory was not theirs. On the eve of the American Revolution, the British government scrambled to appease the colonists and negotiate treaties with the Cherokee ceding land already taken from them by white settlers. To this end, all means, including outright bribery and extortion, were employed: Lochaber Treaty (1770); and the Augusta Treaty (1773) ceding 2 million acres in Georgia to pay for debts to white traders. For the same reasons as the Iroquois cession of Ohio in 1768, the Cherokee tried to protect their homeland from white settlement by selling land they did not really control. In the Watonga Treaty (1774) and the Overhill Cherokee Treaty (Sycamore Shoals) (1775), they sold all of eastern and central Kentucky to the Transylvania Land Company (Henderson Purchase).