Days of Theft, Days of Restoration Attempts to assimilate Native Americans and destroy their culture are a recurrence throughout the history of the United States. Chris Hedges' main argument in the first chapter of his book Days of Destruction Days of Revolt is that, for Native Americans, reconnecting with the culture that was forcibly stolen from them, in this case Lakota culture, could be immensely healing and restorative. He proves his argument with the specific examples of Verlyn Long Wolf, Michael Red Cloud, Leonard Crow Dog, and Duane Brewer. Hedges uses the stories of these people to show how restorative it is to reconnect with the culture that was stolen from them.
Throughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity.
Losing one’s cultural knowledge, and therefore the reality of their culture, allows others to have control over their collective and individual consciousness as well as their destiny. In this case, it is clear that the United States government has had the dominant relationship over the Native
Hilary Weaver argues in her piece of writing; that identifying indigenous identity is complex, complicated, and hard to grasp when internalized oppression and colonization has turned Native Americans to criticize one another. Throughout the text, Weaver focuses on three main points which she calls, the three facets. Self-identification, community identification, and external identification are all important factors that make up Native American identity. The author uses a story she calls, “The Big game” to support her ideologies and arguments about the issue of identity. After reading the article, it’s important to realize that Native American’s must decide their own history and not leave that open for non-natives to write about.
Theda Perdue and Michael D. Green argues that although the Cherokee nation had a vibrant and dynamic culture, the fight for their lands brought to surface voices from social groups a part of the American nation that disagreed with the government decision to remove the Cherokee nation from what was rightfully theirs. “If the separate existence of the Indian tribes were an inconvenience to their neighbours, this would be a slender reason for breaking down all the barriers of justice and good faith” (Perdue and Green, 109). Not only did the discussion for Indian removal bring about a new revolution, it sets the political foundation for American women “…with the opportunity to focus their benevolent concerns on a political issue” (Perdue and
Indigenous people were lied to constantly, given false promises, and false hope. Document 3 emphasizes this, Chief Joseph, leader of the Nez Perce, mentioning how “Good words do not last long,” and ,”Nothing is done.” The perspective of this document is significant considering how a chief of an Indigenous tribe speaks up about the injustice done to his people and dozens of other tribes as well. Native Americans were taken advantage of during westward expansion, their land forcefully taken from them and are treated inhumanely. Westward expansion caused for unjust treatment towards Indigenous people, they were given false hope of a country that would be better, however, their homes and people were taken away.
The United States sent armies into the Native American lands, mistreating the Native Americans, and caused trouble against them by sparkling conflicts and wars. “It is not, of course, to be understood that the government of the United States is at the mercy of Indians; but thousands of its citizens are, even thousands of families. Their exposed situation on the extreme verge of settlement affords a sufficient justification to the government for buying off the hostility of the Savages, excited and exasperated as they are…by the invasion of their hunting grounds and the threatened extinction of their game.” (Document 4) The United States government introduced policies for Native Americans to have a better life, but in fact, they kept them in
Merrell’s article proves the point that the lives of the Native Americans drastically changed just as the Europeans had. In order to survive, the Native Americans and Europeans had to work for the greater good. Throughout the article, these ideas are explained in more detail and uncover that the Indians were put into a new world just as the Europeans were, whether they wanted change or
Have you ever had a family and a bright future in one place and were forced to move the place where you have lived for most and or all of your life? Well the Native Americans have or “The First Americans.” North America had people living in it long before the first explorers and settlers arrived. Unfortunately, they were pushed off of their land to make way for white settlers, who felt they had the right to own the land. In my essay I will be explaining how and if the way we treat the Native Americans over time has changed.
In Life Among the Piutes, sarah winnemucca hopkins describes what happens when soldiers came to their reservation based off what white settlers tell the government. The most shocking instance of this happened when Winnemucca encountered a group of soldier who told her the white settlers accused the natives of stealing cattle, “the soldiers rode up to their [meaning the Piute’s] encampment and fired into it, and killed almost all the people that were there… after the soldiers had killed but all bur some little children and babies… the soldiers took them too… and set the camp on fire and threw them into the flames to see them burned alive”(78). This is an abhorrent act that is unthinkable in a functioning society. The natives had done nothing but want to hold some shred of land from the settlers who had taken everything from them and are exterminated like vermin. This was something that stayed hidden from many white settlers because of its barbarism and by exposing it Winnemucca truly educates the reader, past and present, on how natives are
The Indian version of the Wounded Knee Massacre was spoken by multiple Indians, including Turning Hawk, Captain Sword, Spotted Horse, and American Horse. In the Indians versions, the Indians recalled how the killings conducted by the whites were near indiscriminate, from men to women, from school children to infants, which makes the reader feel more sympathetic for the Indian’s side. In American Horse’s statement, he mentions that, “Right near the flag of truce a mother was shot down with her infant; the child not knowing that its mother was dead was still nursing, and that especially was a very sad sight. The women as they were fleeing with their babes were killed together, shot right through, and the women who were very heavy with child were
With the arrival of Anglo-Americans, Native Americans lost much more than just their land. Tribes were forced onto reservations, stripped of their culture, wealth and place in society, with no hope of regaining what they owned unless by complete assimilation. For the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, many Anglo-Americans continually pushed for Native Americans to abandon their cultures and “savage” ways. However, despite the many attempts to force Natives into Anglo-American culture, many Native Americans found ways to negotiate with the demands of the Anglo-Americans through mainly social, economic and legal means.
Throughout the 19th century Native Americans were treated far less than respectful by the United States’ government. This was the time when the United States wanted to expand and grow rapidly as a land, and to achieve this goal, the Native Americans were “pushed” westward. It was a memorable and tricky time in the Natives’ history, and the US government made many treatments with the Native Americans, making big changes on the Indian nation. Native Americans wanted to live peacefully with the white men, but the result of treatments and agreements was not quite peaceful. This precedent of mistreatment of minorities began with Andrew Jackson’s indian removal policies to the tribes of Oklahoma (specifically the Cherokee indians) in 1829 because of the lack of respect given to the indians during the removal laws.
This is displayed when they are not permitted to their complete spate justice system as well as their inability to be a sovereign nation without U.S. government intervention. Ross and Gould (2006), also address how their book it would be impossible to address everything throughout history that Native Americans have subjugated to. Yet there is hope that new technology and procedures could lead to better treatment and understanding of Native Americans. Nonetheless, most of this will only be possible if funding towards Native Americans is increased. The lack of resources has destroyed a lot of Natives culture.
“Native Americans had it the worst of any group! There’s really nothing that can be done now… Seriously…what “struggles” do they face now anyway?” (F).
