Mani Sirichantho Bradley Honors U.S History 20 December, 2016 The Nature of Society on the Indian Frontier The Cultural Genocide of Native Americans was lead by the United States government’s Manipulation of Native Americans into attaining their land. Native Americans lived a peaceful life until the U.S government came with the intention of wanting to gain wealth off of Native American Territory and innovate. The U.S government and the Native Americans had two separate concepts for their use of land. They bribed, threatened , and forced the indians to give up land and adhere to Assimilation. Many people may claim that they had only acted upon violence because the Native Americans began the violence first, but they are misinterpreting the …show more content…
events that occurred to suppress the fact that they were morally wrong. They wanted to take land for their own benefits and to avoid the blame.The conditions of life changed for especially the Native Americans over time. The U.S. government and the Native Americans had two distinct concepts of proper use of land. “ The Indian believed that he was a steward of the Earth, but the white man had a different understanding of land(PBS).” Native Americans lived on their land peacefully. They live by sharing the land and using their livestock to their needs such as the buffalo or the cattle. The United States used the land for profit. Life on the United States Frontier was more focused on industrializing and wealth. They were eager to discover ways to make more profits. They intentionally settled there with the insights of mining for gold and making money. “ The white man may think that he owns the land, but he does not own the Earth(PBS).” Not only did they want the land for the gold but they wanted it for other valuable resources and economic benefit(American journey). “ The Transcontinental railroads was built on Indian Territory. Although the railroad benefitted the Americans and made transportation more efficient, it caused conflict between the two social groups. The railroads allowed the American settlers to come to west and use their land for mining gold and settling. The air on the territory was polluted by the railroads and trees were deforested to build the railroad(PBS). Also ,they couldn’t hunt like they usually would, the railroads ceased their way of getting food(PBS). The Native Americans were coerced into surrendering their land to the U.S. Government. The U.S government had already stripped the majority of the land that belonged to the Natives away from them. This left many Native Americans furious.The fact that the transcontinental railroad ran through Native American Territory, means that there are many settlers that are taking over. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the Native Americans off their own land(American Journey). “The act gave the president the power to exchange lands in the West—beyond the Mississippi River—for the Indian homelands(American Journey).” Also, the Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged settlers to come to the west(Grow 1). This act allowed for the American settlers to own up to 160 acres of land(Riggs 1), The Morill Land Grant Act provided grants to the states which allowed them to sell the land to those who want to use it for business, agriculture, etc,(Justin S 1). These government policies allowed all the settlers to come and make use of the land. The Native Americans could not possibly do anything to keep their land land because the U.S government was going to end up taking it anyway, It was inevitable that the Native Americans had to leave. Native Americans were forced into assimilation. They were stripped down their identity and even killed. The Americans wanted them to adapt to their ways. The Dawes Severalty Act was the first initiative step taken towards assimilation(Lerner). This Act gave the chance for Native Americans to have the opportunity to gain citizenship(Lerner). There were also and grants granted to the Native Americans(Lerner). This allowed them to try to cultivate crops(Lerner). “After twenty five years if they had been successful on their piece of land, full ownership is possible(Lerner).” This act was supposed to help the Native Americans but it has also failed. “The act removed the land from the Native American control(Lerner)”. Although they are granted land , the U.S government is the one that actually controls all(Lerner). Children were forced to go to boarding school to learn American culture and academics which seems normal , but many of these children were most likely kidnapped from their homes (Aguilar 1). “ Families risked imprisonment if they stood in the way or attempted to take their children back (Aguilar).” This is just unacceptable and cruel. “ They did not want their culture to be abolished by the white men nor did they want to become like the white men(The Wounded Knee Massacre). The Native American are not allowed to have a say in anything. They believed that the Native American are savages and they do not know how to live a civilized life. Americans think that Native American do not contribute to helping the society in anyway so they should adhere to assimilation. “The ultimate goal was to "civilize" the children(Aguilar 1).” This led to the culture genocide of Native Americans. Many claim that the U.S government only acted upon violence in response to the Native Americans beginning it first, but they are misguided.
To prove this , in the Wounded Knee Massacre the Native American lost hope and faith, so they decided to do the Ghost dance because it was believed that the ghost dance will restore that faith and hope (The Wounded Knee Massacre). “The U.S government had mistaken this as a rebellious ritual and as a threat so they decided to march down there and disarm the Native Americans(The Wounded Knee Massacre).”. “One of the men on the U.S side pulled the first trigger and that was when the Native Americans ran for their weapons and formed the nasty fight(The Wounded Knee Massacre).” This shows that the Native American were not the ones to start a fight. Not only did the events of the Ghost dance prove this, but also the fact the the Americans wanted to come to settle for the gold .This was clearly not a coincidence, Many may also claim that stripping the Native American of their culture allowed the US to abolish traditional and underdeveloped ways to construct a better foundation, but it does not make up for the high alcoholic and suicidal rate of the Native American that still occur in present time(Suicide …show more content…
Alert). The Cultural Genocide of Native American was composed of significantly distinct concept and ways of living, the obligations to surrender land because of government policies, and Native American assimilation. The U.S Government manipulated the Native Americans in several ways for their own benefit. Works cited "American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 10 Jan. 2017. Aguilar, Rose. "New Documentary Tracks Cultural Genocide of American Indians."Truthout. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2016. "The Wounded Knee Massacre: December 29, 1890." Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History. Ed. Jennifer Stock. Vol. 6: North America. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2014. U.S. History in Context. Web. 25 Oct. 2016. The wounded knee massacre occurred when the U.S government was in the process of forcing Native American into the Native American assimilation.
The U.S government had already stripped the majority of the land that belonged to the Naives away from them. This left many Native Americans furious. They did not want their culture to be abolished by the white men nor did they want to become like the white men, The Native Americans were far much better off before the United States invaded the amount of selfishness, The Native Americans began to lose hope, they began to lose faith. Soon they began to follow through with the Ghost Dance. This dance was use to restore their hope and their faith. The U.S government had mistaken this as a rebellious ritual and as a threat so they decided to march down there and disarm the Native Americans. One of the men on the U.S side pulled the first trigger and that was when the Native Americans ran for their weapons and formed the nasty fight. This is biased towards the native Americans. Although American wrote this textbook themselves they are saying that what they done is morally incorrect. This will help my paper by showing me that even Americans know they are
wrong. Dawes Severalty Act 1887." Human and Civil Rights: Essential Primary Sources, edited by Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner, et al., Gale, 2006, pp. 382-387. U.S. History in Context, The Dawes Severalty Act was the first initiative step taken towards assimilation. This Act gave the chance for Native Americans to have the opportunity to gain citizenship. There were also and grants granted to the Native Americans. This allowed them to try to cultivate crops.After twenty five years if they had been successful on their piece of land, full ownership is possible. This act was supposed to help the Native Americans but it has also failed. The act removed the land from the Native American control. Although they are granted land , the U.S government is the one that actually controls all. This is biased because it was written in a different time period. This will help my paper because it gives me information about forcing native Americans into assimilation. Congress, U.S. "Indian Removal Act of 1830." The Native American Experience, Primary Source Media, 1999. American Journey. U.S. History in Context The Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the Native Americans off their own land. The U.S government really wanted to take the Native American’s land. Not only did they want the land for the gold but they wanted it for other valuable resources and economic benefit. They just wanted to make profits and money off the land. At this point the Native Americans had no other option but to leave. Everything is going to be taken away from them if not already done so. This was the U.S plan to attain their land. They believed that the Native American are savages and they do not know how to live a civilized life , so they need to leave. They believed that the Native Americans are not innovating or benefiting at all , so they should be removed because of the lack of knowledge. This is not biased because it just states information on the Indian removal act. This helps my paper by giving me solid information to work with. "U.S. Congress Strips Native Americans of Their Sovereignty, 1871." Gale U.S. History in Context, Gale, 2015. U.S. History in Context, Michno, Gregory. "The Last Stand: Custer, Sitting Bull and the Battle of the Little Bighorn." Wild West, Dec. 2010, p. 77. U.S. History in Context, United States. National Park Service. "Battle of the Little Bighorn." National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016. History & Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. Morrill, Justin S. "Morrill Land-Grant Act." Westward Expansion. Woodbridge, CT: Primary Source Media, 1999. N. pag. American Journey. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2017. "Suicide among Native Americans Remains High." Indian Life January-February 2011: 1. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2017. "Suicide Alert." America 25 Apr. 2016: 11. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2017. Grow, Galusha A. "Homestead Act of 1862." Social Policy: Essential Primary Sources. Ed. K. Lee Lerner, Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, and Adrienne Wilmoth Lerner. Detroit: Gale, 2006. 94-96. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2017. "Homestead Act of 1862." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Riggs. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2015. 566-69. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2017. "Government Land Policy (Issue)." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Ed. Thomas Carson and Mary Bonk. Detroit: Gale, 1999. N. pag. U.S. History in Context. Web. 4 Jan. 2017.
“Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native” by Patrick Wolfe In this reading the author argues that genocide and the elimination of the American Native population through colonial settlement are inextricably linked, though are not always the same. Also,during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, Indian tribes located in the Southeast United States were forcibly removed from their homes and ordered to relocate to the
The American Indians were promised change with the American Indian policy, but as time went on no change was seen. “Indian reform” was easy to promise, but it was not an easy promise to keep as many white people were threatened by Indians being given these rights. The Indian people wanted freedom and it was not being given to them. Arthur C. Parker even went as far as to indict the government for its actions. He brought the charges of: robbing a race of men of their intellectual life, of social organization, of native freedom, of economic independence, of moral standards and racial ideals, of his good name, and of definite civic status (Hoxie 97). These are essentially what the American peoples did to the natives, their whole lives and way of life was taken away,
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
People know about the conflict between the Indian's cultures and the settler's cultures during the westward expansion. Many people know the fierce battles and melees between the Indians and the settlers that were born from this cultural conflict. In spite of this, many people may not know about the systematic and deliberate means employed by the U.S. government to permanently rid their new land of the Indians who had lived their own lives peacefully for many years. There are many strong and chilling reasons and causes as to why the settlers started all of this perplexity in the first place. There was also a very strong and threatening impact on the Native Americans through the schooling that stained the past and futures of Native Americans not only with blood but also with emotion. It was all a slow and painful plan of the "white man" to hopefully get rid of the Indian culture, forever. The Native American schools were created in an attempt to destroy the Native American way of life, their culture, beliefs and tradi...
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,
When the Dawes Act, a Native American Policy, was enforced in 1887, it focused on breaking up reservations by granting land allotments to individual Native Americans. At that time, people believed that if a person adopted the white man’s clothing, ways and was responsible for his own farm, he would eventually drop his, as stated by the Oxford University Press, “Indian-ness” and become assimilated in American society. The basic idea of this act was the taking away of Native American Culture because they were considered savage and primitive to the incoming settlers. Many historians now agree the Native’s treatment throughout the Dawes Act was completely unfair, unlawful, and unethical. American Society classified them as savages solely on their differences in morals, religion, appearance and overall culture.
American Indians shaped their critique of modern America through their exposure to and experience with “civilized,” non-Indian American people. Because these Euro-Americans considered traditional Indian lifestyle savage, they sought to assimilate the Indians into their civilized culture. With the increase in industrialization, transportation systems, and the desire for valuable resources (such as coal, gold, etc.) on Indian-occupied land, modern Americans had an excuse for “the advancement of the human race” (9). Euro-Americans moved Indians onto reservations, controlled their education and practice of religion, depleted their land, and erased many of their freedoms. The national result of this “conquest of Indian communities” was a steady decrease of Indian populations and drastic increase in non-Indian populations during the nineteenth century (9). It is natural that many American Indians felt fearful that their culture and people were slowly vanishing. Modern America to American Indians meant the destruction of their cultural pride and demise of their way of life.
Most all ethnicities and cultures have been prosecuted at one time or another from an oppressing source. In the case of the Native Americans, it was the English coming in and taking their land right from underneath them. As the new colonies of the cohesive United States of America expanded, they ran into the territories of the then referred to Indians. These people were settled down south on the east coast, for example Georgia, Tennessee, Florida and the Carolinas. America obtained this land through the Louisiana Purchase, where they bought it from France. The Native Americans were already there before anyone, yet the big power countries bargained with their land. The Native Americans did not live the way the American democracy did, and they
The Indians were being confined to crowed reservations that were poorly run, had scarce game, alcohol was plentiful, the soil was poor, and the ancient religious practices were prohibited. The Indians were not happy that they had been kicked off there land and were now forced to live on a reservation. The Indians then began to Ghost Dance a form of religion it is said that if the Indians were to do this trance like dance the country would be cleansed of white intruders. Also dead ancestors and slaughtered buffalo would return and the old ways would be reborn in a fruitful land. Once the Bureau of Indian affairs noticed what was going on they began to fear this new religion would lead to warfare. The white peoplewere scared that this new dance was a war dance. They called for army protection. Army was called in to try to curbed this new religion before it could start a war.
In the colonization of Turtle Island (North America), the United States government policy set out to eliminate the Indigenous populations; in essence to “destroy all things Indian”.2 Indigenous Nations were to relocate to unknown lands and forced into an assimilation of the white man 's view of the world. The early American settlers were detrimental, and their process became exterminatory.3 Colonization exemplified by violent confrontations, deliberate massacres, and in some cases, total annihilations of a People.4 The culture of conquest was developed and practiced by Europeans well before they landed on Turtle Island and was perfected well before the fifteenth century.5 Taking land and imposing values and ways of life on the social landscape
The whites took the Native American children with the purpose to assimilate the children to the white culture. They would force all the native children to choose white names, cut their hair like a white man or woman, and gave them a strict schedule to follow along, they were also not allowed to speak their native language or else they would be punished heavily. Even though this action was for a good purpose, the white people ended up killing many of the Native children, which broke the promise they had made to the children’s parents back at the reservation. These events had occurred because the whites had the power to control the children to do, and follow the ways of the whites.
With buffalo numbers decreasing fast, Native American tribes faced starvation and desperation. There were many different actions the Americans did to destroy the land of the Native Americans. Western expansion caused a shift in the lives of Native Americans because many tribes, including women and kids, were being murdered by the new settlers. S.G. Colley, a U.S. Indian Agent, writes in a Report for the Committee on the Conduct of War, “That notwithstanding his knowledge of the facts as above set forth, he is informed that Colonel Chivington did, on the morning of the 29th of November last, surprise and attack said camp of friendly Indians and massacre a large number of them, (mostly women and children,) and did allow the troops of his command to mangle and mutilate them in the most horrible manner” (Colley, 1865). This quote shows the Americans were exterminating innocent American Indians for no justifiable reason.
In the 30 years after the Civil War, although government policy towards Native Americans intended to shift from forced separation to integration into American society, attempts to "Americanize" Indians only hastened the death of their culture and presence in the America. The intent in the policy, after the end of aggression, was to integrate Native Americans into American society. Many attempts at this were made, ranging from offering citizenship to granting lands to Indians. All of these attempts were in vain, however, because the result of this policies is much the same as would be the result of continued agression.
Native Americans have felt distress from societal and governmental interactions for hundreds of years. American Indian protests against these pressures date back to the colonial period. Broken treaties, removal policies, acculturation, and assimilation have scarred the indigenous societies of the United States. These policies and the continued oppression of the native communities produced an atmosphere of heightened tension. Governmental pressure for assimilation and their apparent aim to destroy cultures, communities, and identities through policies gave the native people a reason to fight. The unanticipated consequence was the subsequent creation of a pan-American Indian identity of the 1960s. These factors combined with poverty, racism, and prolonged discrimination fueled a resentment that had been present in Indian communities for many years. In 1968, the formation of the American Indian Movement took place to tackle the situation and position of Native Americans in society. This movement gave way to a series of radical protests, which were designed to draw awareness to the concerns of American Indians and to compel the federal government to act on their behalf. The movement’s major events were the occupation of Alcatraz, Mount Rushmore, The Trail of Broken Treaties, and Wounded Knee II. These AIM efforts in the 1960s and 1970s era of protest contained many sociological theories that helped and hindered the Native Americans success. The Governments continued repression of the Native Americans assisted in the more radicalized approach of the American Indian Movement. Radical tactics combined with media attention stained the AIM and their effectiveness. Native militancy became a repertoire of action along with adopted strategies from the Civil Rights Movement. In this essay, I will explain the formation of AIM and their major events, while revealing that this identity based social movement’s radical approach led to a harsher governmentally repressive counter movement that ultimately influenced the movements decline.
Similar to this topic, genocide of a group is brought on by the abuse of power. Such as, the white settler’s decision to wipe out a group of Native Americans for their own benefit in expanding their territory. Due to this circumstance, Chief Joseph, a member of this Native American tribe, gives a speech in “Surrender at Bear Paw Mountain, stating “My people… have no blankets and no food”(Joseph).The selfish desires of the white settler’s to secure their high status through new territory and resources drives them to push out their “obstacles”. Hence, they chose genocide for a more effective solution to the problem, leaving the tribe members helpless to overcome survival. However, while some may argue that the genocide of Native American’s shaped America’s history and future, it tore the Native American’s own home down through violence in the process, laying the foundation for more acts of unnecessary uses of power to come.