Native Americans Flashcards
How many NA tribes were in USA at start of 1800s?
86 independent tribes identified across USA
-> generalising = difficult and dangerous
largest conc = on Great Plains (Plains Indians)
- nomadic
- followed buffalo herds on which they depended for everything
Relationship between NA and gov
periods of cooperation w/ gov and time when hostile
some fought against gov and eachother
only towards end of period where there any sign of unity bet tribes and even then some oppsoed leadership methods
aims of NA and gov = v different (NA wanted to live according to own customs, tribal culture and laws with tribal leaders and self-determination but gov wanted to assimilate NA into society to destroy tribal culture and make NA self-supporting)
NA resited gov policy of assimilation in various forms and gov failed to understand stength of spiritual and cultural legacy of NA (not easily destoryed)
NA orignially left alone to live in complete contrast with WA (nature, nomadic, own tribal gov, own languages, own cultures)
-> by 1865 under threat
What was westward expansion?
threatening NA rights by 1865
American gov had encouraged settlers to move west to open up rest of continent for growing population and because of belief in Manifest Destiny
-> NA consequently being driven out of traditional lands
1830 Removal Act
saw tribes moved from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Virginia on to Great Plains in Oklahoma (designated as Indian Terriotry)
-> process continued in 1840s as trails on tracks originally used fby fur trappers or mineral prospectors earlier in century provided routes to West and encouraged settlers to move to fertile lands of Oregon and Cali
-> given further encouragement by discovery of gold and other minerals in region
settlers dispured and displaced tribes already in areas (many NA = fishers and if they stayed, they were deprived of their fishing rights but if mmved in land to plains they couldn’t continue to trad practice and died out
Where did Westwod expansion take settlers?
beyond Appalachian Mountains which had acted as a natural frontier between settlers and NA - on to GP where many NA lived
Chief Washakie of Shoshone Indian tribe explained damage this caused “the white man kills our game [buffalo]” “make superior tool and terrible weapons [guns]”
no of tribes began to hand land over to the gov
Tribes who handed land over
1851 - Fort Laramie Treaty - Arapaho, Cheyenne, Sioux
1861 - Fort Wise Treaty - Arapaho, Cheyenne
1867 - Medicine Lodge Treaty - Comanche, Kiowa, Plains Apache
1868 - Fort Laramine Treaty - Arapaho, Lakota, Sioux
impact of westwood expansion on NA
losing land and impacting on lifestyle - no longer able to follow buffalo herd
gov made promises to esnure NA were fed, often not kept
-> gov had greater issues during CW
- many hungry NA rose up against gov -> Plains Wars 1862-1868
during CW gov withdrew troops that had been on Plains - NA had traded w/ forts where soldiers stationed but volunteers that replaced them often poorly disiplined w/ little interest in NA
-> violence between 2 groups - Sand Creek Massacre 1864
Massacre at Wounded Knee 1890 - cavalry killed over 100 NA men, women and children (elderly and babies). Black Elk (survivors)
- gov = determined to control land in West and created federal territories, which were governed by officials
- gov aim was to populate region w/ small scale farmers
- Homestead Act 1862 encouraged even more movement to west
- some 20,000 people on Plains by 1865
The railways
final impact of Westward expansin and threat to NA - development of railways
liens crossed Plains and rail companies encouraged people to come and live on land they had been given by gov
railines disrupted buffalo herds and brought WA to hunt them
-> added to dramatic fall in buffalo no (impact NA life)
position of NA already in decline by start of period
- signed no of treaties and handed over much of land to white settlers
- railways and loss of land - harder to follow buffalo (food and way of life)
- lack of aid from gov
- much of NA pop declined through starvation and those who survived faced poverty.
NA culture and way of life impacted heavily
Position of NA before WW1
Federal gov aim = assimilate NA
1877 report by agent of yankton Sioux in Dakota
“as long as Indians live in villages they will retain many of their old and injurious habits”
policies to achieve this aim may have changed over the period but the aim of assimilation remained consistent
gov would have to destroy tribal lifestyle and bonds of the Native peoples
How did the government destory NA way of life?
- education
- conversion to christianity
- turning NA into farmers
- establishment of gov reservations
Reservation policy
prevented them from moving freely and pursuing what was left of buffalo herds
-> allowed gov to destory way of life as
- polygamy had to abandoned
- braves could no longer demonstrate their skills
- herbal remedies were forbidden
- tribal laws were abolished
- communal living was ended
- the power of the tribal chief was ended
What happended to the NA?
forced to become farmers who inhabited a specified area of land
parents forced to send their children to school where they were forbidden from speaking their own language and were made to completly renounce their traditional beliefs
two off-reservation boarding schools were set up becuase the equality of education provided on the reservations was poor
-> schools in Virginia and Pennsylvania -> provided boys w/ vocational training and girls w/ skills for domestic service
-> education provided some NA w/ opp to find better jobs (Indian Agency Officials and interpreters, scouts to army units)
rights of NA to determine what happened to their land was agreed at first
- after 1871 they lost this rights and congress was given the power to decide on setting up reservations, relocating tribes and redrawing any reservation boundaries
- this approach continued and the size of reservations was further reduced after defeat of General George Armstrong Custer at Battle of Little Bighorn 1876
The way of life on reservations
life = far from easy
NA = unable to cultivate much of land (unsuitable for farming)
-> depended on food supplies from gov (often failed to appear) - many starved
humiliating for them to be dependent on gov aid but position became worse in 1880s when drought hit crops and disease killed many of the cattle they now kept
- General Crook (LB campaign) “found them in a desperate condition”
many died from highly infectious diseases (measles) while others died bc moved from native lands and could not adjust
whiskey = new (NA never accustomed to it) - alcohol addiction became widespread due to psychological trauma
by 1900 only 100,000 of the 240,000 NA inhabiting plains in 1860 remained
- NA lost freedom
- not taxpayers
Life on reservations (positive)
exceptions to negative trend
Navajo Tribe who adapted to new farming practices and built large flocks of sheep and goats
increased farming
size of reservations
growth in no (8000 in 1868 -> 22,000 in 1900)
The Dawes Severalty Act 1887
gave cr but discriminated
reservations allowed tribal life to continue - culture and customs
1887 Dawes Severalty Act introduced to counteract this
Act turned NA into landowners and gave them full rights of citizenship because they now payed tax
further undermined their position - ignored belief land belonged to all creators and could not be owned by individuals
resulted in a decline in land held by NA - much of it brought by WA when NA unable to farm it
-> recieved money from sale but unable to manage it and slipped further into poverty and debt
Act worsened position and status of many NA women
-> particually true of matriarchal tribes like Iroquois and Cherokee (property belonged to women but under Act given to men)
Curtis Act
5 Civilised Tribes had originally been exempt from DA but in 1898, Curtis Act ended exception
-> tribes attempted to prevent this by proposing that their lands became the State of Sequoyah
- due to failure, NA lost a further 2 million acres of land
Cherokees challenged congress’ right to deny them their rights to live according to laws in Cherokee Nation v Hitchcock Case of 1902
1903 Lone Wolf v Hitchcok case gave gov right to remove all treaties made with NA ‘ignorant and dependent race’ - not citizens, no rights
=> lost pride and self-respect
WW1 -> end of WW2
witnessed no of changes
granting of citizenship and improvement of QOL in ND era of 1930s
many improvements only improvements in eyes of federal gov and not NA
NA not particually interested in gaining citizenship and right to vote (many already had through DA and extension of right to those on reservations not intended to increase pol involvement but to increase speed of assimilation)
attacks on culture continued w/ Dance Order (banned from practicing some of their traditional dances)
continued reduction in amount of land avalible to NA - added to poverty
ND - improvement in NA position (although many adbandoned after WW2)
Indian Reorganization Act (Wheeler-Howard Act)
1934
first move to preserve NA culture and involve them in admin of reservations. Gave NA:
- right to practice religion
- right to undertake ceremonial dances and celebrations (reversing order of 1883)
- ability to prevent sale of NA land to indiv buyers
- extension of pol rights to women
improved conditions on reservations as agencies of ND built schools
encouraged women to take on greater roles and higher education
brought an end to alltoment policy but did not end policy of assimilation - to be achieved through reforms and belief NA would recognise benefits of American way of life
did not lead to tribes becoming indepednent or self-sufficient
lands that should have been returned were not
-> lots of funding transferred to war efforts
=> limited progress
The post-WW2 period
divided into 2 parts
1) 1945-69 : gov policy of termination from 1953 onwards (cond worsened)
2) 1969-92 : NA regained many of their rights
1945 - 69 (negative)
position of NA deteriorated in period after WW2. Two major elements to this decline:
1) policy of termination - ended recognition of NA tribes and any remaining treaty rights and instead treated them as independent and self-supporting
2) movement of many NA to urban areas
movement to urban areas = traumatic as they were forced to leave the reservations and relocate (even for those who went voluntarily the experience was bad)
-> worse accomodation and poorly paid
-> literacy rates remained low and disease high
-> 1960 estimate that 25% were ‘poor’ and accom unable to support any extended family (elederly people return to reservations but cond had declined further)
-> difficulty in finding jobs reflected in unemployment rate of up to 18%
-> life expectancy = 44 yrs (20 yrs below national av)
-> many did not settle in urban areas (lifestyle =alien) but when they returned they found worse conditions on res as funding of projects from ND was cut
1945 - 69 (positive)
cities grouped together in ghettos and unntentionally perserved culture
-> also saw how AA developed rights through cr movement and were inspired to end assimilation - developed own groups
1969 - 92 (positive)
determination to preserve way of life and culture finally triumphed
NA lands gradually returned to them in some nations that had lost their status regained recognition and rights while educational opp were also improved
process = slow but some tribes did regain some land
gain respect for religious traditions and right to worship freely (some 30 states passed laws protecting burial grounds)
moved nearer to self-sufficiency as tribes were able to negotiate responsibility for health, education and other social services
process of self-determination further encouraged by recognition
-> restored self-confidence reflected in census data (rise in no from 800,000 in 1970 to 1.8 million in 1990)
ended assimilation and sig move towards self-sufficiency
1969 - 1992 (negative)
not all aims achieved
-> in some cases compensation was awarded rather than the return of land (comp often considerable but some tribes such as Sioux wanted return of land instead)
education and employment levels still v low and well below national average in 1992 (poorest element of nation)
position hit by cuts in funding due to economic decline and this hit areas like healthcare
Federal governent attitudes and actions
for most of period did not support rights of NA
Manifest destiny
Legislation encouraged settlement
1862 = Homestead Act (apply to own gov land)
Pacific Railway Act (take materials to build lines)
land grants cut across Plains
gov granted 155 million acres from 1850-71 -> deprived NA of their land
The outllok of presidents and congress
1865-1930: continuity in attitudes towards NAs
Initially allowed NAs right to determine what happedned to their lands BUT this ended in 1871 -> from then until 1930s gov destroyed their rights
consistent assimilation policy - Americansing NAs as tribal life = at odds
3 policies the gov persued
Reservation Policy 1871-87
Allotment Policy 1887-1934
Termination Policy 1953-1969
Reservation Policy 1871-1887
aim = end nomadic life and seperate them from buffalo -> allow gov to control them
easier to educate them and remove all elements of tribal customs
gov defined those living on reservations as wards/dependents of the state so did not allow then CR
at first, reservations were part of treaties but after 1981 NAs lost that right and gov pursued more aggressive assimilation policy -> unwilling to negotiate
