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Assimilation amongst native nations
Assimilation amongst native nations
Assimilation amongst native nations
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When European nations discovered the vast new world in the western hemisphere, it sparked many unfortunate and unforeseen events that almost lead to the eradication of the people whom already called this “New World” their home. The article, Were American Indians the Victims of Genocide? Guenter Lewy clearly explains how the deaths of the American Indians cannot be classified as genocide since it did not represent the U. S’s goal; however, the intent of genocide did exist amongst certain groups of people. Depending on how it is looked upon, the argument about whether the deaths of the American Indians could be considered genocide all boils down to which group of people did the killings. To be able to grasp and understand if American Indians
Document F illustrates a different point of view of this same idea with the actual native people who were being overtaken by Europeans and Americans
Native Americans who emigrated from Europe perceived the Indians as a friendly society with whom they dwelt with in harmony. While Native Americans were largely intensive agriculturalists and entrepreneurial in nature, the Indians were hunters and gatherers who earned a livelihood predominantly as nomads. By the 19th century, irrefutable territories i.e. the areas around River Mississippi were under exclusive occupation by the Indians. At the time, different Indian tribes such as the Chickasaws, Creeks, and Cherokees had adapted a sedentary lifestyle and practiced small-scale agriculture. According to the proponents of removal, the Indians were to move westwards into forested lands in order to generate additional space for development through agricultural production (Memorial of the Cherokee Indians).
It is believed that the Indians modified the environment because of abundance of game (Bison and carrier pigeons) in America after their disappearance. It is believed that the Indians were keystone species who controlled the number of game based on their hunting habits. (Pg. 53) When the later settlers came into America they noticed that there were multitudes of bison and pigeons to hunt. While early settlers claimed that these multitudes did not exist while the Indian population was thriving in the New World.
This is why the numbers went down so drastically. Secondly, while the Native Americans were dealing with a decrease in population. They were also dealing with diseases. According to The Washington Post, “The Native Americans brought over measles.”
Before Columbus arrived, Native Americans were already here in present day United States. They already had established their civilizations and the continent was filled with several hundred tribes with their own culture. However, centuries later their population massively declined due to various reasons. The decline of Native Americans was contributed to by reasons such as constant and relentless wars against them, their own illusion of a wrong prophecy and dishonest acts and treaties made to eliminate them and their culture. Americans in the mid 1800’s had imagined the west to be “virgin lands” that was awaiting the settlements of white people.
From 1865 onward, Native American culture was greatly changed by the westward expansion of the united states. Government action effectively destroyed native culture. The US was not justified in its ruthless westward expansion because of the harm dealt to the native people and the change in the American economy. One reason that westward expansion was not justified was the damage done to the native people. When the US really started to settle the west in 1865, we would offer chiefs compensation to move their tribes farther west or on to reservations.
American Indians resisted European attempts to change their beliefs and world views through the use of violence. For example, in 1680, an Indian religious leader named Pope led a revolt against European settlers who suppressed Native American beliefs. As a result, hundreds of European settlers were killed.
Cherokee, Cheyenne, Seminoles Option #2 During the nineteenth-century, the federal Indian policy changed and it forced the removal or relocation of many different Indian tribes. The federal government sought to expand its control of territory and resources across America. The one big problem the U.S. faced were the Indians who resisted their removal. Georgia signed the Compact of 1802 which stated that if Georgia were to give up their western claims, the U.S. would eradicate American Indian land titles in Georgia and remove them (Lecture 14).
They were being taught the American culture. Assimilation was the main reason as to why Native Americans lost their culture. The U.S. expansion greatly affected Native Americans. They lost land, their culture, and many lives.
The American government of the late 1800’s adopted the policy of assimilation because they were influenced by the desire to expand westward into territories occupied by these Native American tribes. All Native American tribes, lived to the west of the Mississippi River. These American Indians, some from the Northwestern and Southeastern territories, were confined to Indian Territory. The Native Americans had endured nearly a century of forced removal westward.
By 1550, there five hundred. A report of the year 1650 shows none of the original Arawaks or their descendants left on the island.” The rapid decline in the population in a mere 150 years is staggering. Before the arrival of the Europeans, there were millions of Native Americans across America. After their arrival, their populations were wiped out due to many circumstances, many of which where the Europeans are directly at fault for.
Native Americans flourished in North America, but over time white settlers came and started invading their territory. Native Americans were constantly being thrown and pushed off their land. Sorrowfully this continued as the Americans looked for new opportunities and land in the West. When the whites came to the west, it changed the Native American’s lives forever. The Native Americans had to adapt to the whites, which was difficult for them.
Adam Sorenson Prof. Riggs COMP 01112 2/12/18 Misrepresentation of Native Americans Native American’s for many years now have been viewed as lone warriors or squaw, some people don’t even know that they still exist! People just think of the Native American people in storybook tales and nothing more then that. The Native Americans have been living in the United States for awhile now and were the first ones on the country’s soil. They were here way before Christopher Columbus and the other European Colonists even discovered America and they are still present in the U.S.
In 1910, James Mooney made the first scholarly estimate of the indigenous population. He believed that in 1491, North America had 1.15 million people living there. Given his reputation, many accepted his estimates to be facts. However, as time progressed, other estimates were made, despite Mooney’s claims. In 1966, for example, Henry F. Dobyns published “Estimating Aboriginal American Population: An Appraisal of Techniques With a New Hemispheric Estimate” in Current Anthropology.