Native Americans

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Native Americans

• Broken Promises and a Trail of Tears

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Native Americans Posed Problems for Western
Settlement

• Racism
• Viewed as backward savages/inferior in
  intelligence, technology, culture, morality
• DifferentInferiorskin color, language, religion
  and way of life
• Ethnocentrism-Disrespect of Native Culture
• Private ownership unknown to Natives, opens the
  door to exploitation
• View of Indians as savages used as excuse to
  justify broken treaties, cheating, and slaughter

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What was U.S. Policy towards Native Americans?

• Initially friendly and cooperative and
  respectfulLewis and Clark, etc.
• Treaties promised independence, fair prices for
  some land, protection of sacred hunting grounds,
  cultural preservation, later relocation to lands
  that would be theirs As long as grass grows and
  water runs.
• Treaties were violated, ignored, led to forced
  migration and ultimately slaughter for many

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Andrew Jackson

• Frontiersman
• Indian Fighter
• Land Speculator
• Man of the People

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Jackson and Indian Removal

• Simple plan relocate natives across West side of
  Mississippi River to Indian Territory in barren
  Oklahoma
• Indian Removal Act of 1830, forced migration of
  over 70,000in chains, little food, thin blankets
  in Winter.
• Over a third died from cold, starvation disease
  and exhaustionknown as Trail of Tears
• A happy and certain consumation of a wise,
  humane, and undeviating policy-US pres. Martin
  Van Buren

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Natives did NOT go quietly

• Cherokees sued the U.S. government in Supreme
  Court for national independence and freedom from
  individual state laws. They won their case in
  Cherokee Nation V. Georgia.
• Jackson refused to enforce the decision saying of
  the Chief Justice, John Marshall has made his
  decisionNow let him enforce it.

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More Acts of Resistance

• Failing to gain civil rights via court, numerous
  attempts were made to militarily protect sacred
  lands
• Tecumseh travelled from Canada to Alabama
  attempting to organize a military alliance of all
  tribesrubbed out at battle of Tippecanoe
• Black Hawk defeated in Black Hawk War
• Other tribes attempted to form military
  coalitions but were unsuccessful

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What Advantages did Whites have?

• Weaponry
• Agricultural output/food
• Manufactured goods-used to trade for land
• Alcohol, used as weapon against Indians
• Immunity to European diseases
• Political organizationWhites organized under
  governments and militias while Indians were not
  organized

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Americanizing Native Americansin the late
1800s/early 1900s

• To help assimilate Native Americans and
  Americanize them
• The main vehicle for this was education
• Boarding schools were set up to teach English,
  eliminate Native culture, dress, hair, history
• Students wore uniforms, cut their hair, lost
  their language
• Many felt unaccepted both by whites and their own
  tribes and families, trapped between two worlds
• This was part of a wider Americanization
  movement directed at several immigrant groups
  including Irish, Itallian, and Jewish immigrants.

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Modern Indian Issues

• Poor Health-malnutrition, infant mortality,
  50-year life expectancy
• Poor education, high illiteracy
• Poverty
• Alcoholism
• Still battling racism
• Lack of Social Services
• No official apologies for past treatment