The Negative Stereotypes Of Native Americans

Throughout American history, Native Americans have mostly been perceived with negative connotations such as savage, uncivilized, and violent. These stereotypes have made it to today's social media and films. These stereotypes came from white European settlers and explorers who misunderstood Native American culture, traditions, and societal norms and instead saw them as ugly differences which became misrepresented and negative stereotypes. The negative stereotypes in films and social media of Native Americans seen as savage, uncivilized, and violent were not always true throughout history. While violence between Native Americans and settlers did occur, there were also many peace treaties, diplomacy, and trade deals that did not reflect the

During the 1900s, Native Americans found hope and reassurance in the ghost dance, a ceremony where the natives would dance in a circle As in the Ghost Dance Movement by Timothy Demy, “a means of enduring increasing hunger, poverty, disease, and reservation life in the aftermath of the Indian Wars”(155). These Natives held ceremonies to hopefully bring better life in the future after the Indian wars. This dance was a means of resistance against the destruction of Native American cultures and practices. For the Native Americans, it offered hope and a way to persevere their cultures and connect to their ancestors. However the government “Saw the movement as threatening and therefore opposed it.”(156) The government, knowing pretty much nothing about the dance, saw it as threatening to the United States and banned it. To enforce the ban, they sent soldiers to stop the Native Americans which resulted in “the death of more than 150 Lakota men, women, and children(some estimates are as high as 300).”(156). From being assimilated in the United States, many natives felt displacement and the loss of their culture, and found reconnection in this dance. However the government misunderstood the dance and saw it as a threat which led to violence and many natives were targeted and lost their lives. Even though this was a peaceful resistance to losing their

While violence did occur, Native Americans also sought out peace treaties, diplomacy, and trade deals even when they were not wanted by settlers. Many white explorers such as Christopher Colombus, while having had a good relationship with the natives, still only saw them as simple, easy to convert to Christianity, and a potential use for Europe. While the Native Americans on the other hand, did not want to change their lifestyle and believed to have more advantages in their lifestyle which was a more desirable life than Europeans. The Fur trade brought both groups together and helped both nations grow with the mutual benefit of the trade. With the fur trade both nations received a cultural exchange that improved both lifestyles. When the Indian Removal Act was first established, the Native Americans did not want to leave or resort to violence. Instead they wanted to keep the peace they had and attempted to persuade the United States to understand the peace treaties they had broken and the wrongs of kicking the natives off their land. Even with the Native Americans attempting to reconnect with their ancestors through the ghost dance and rejecting losing their culture and identities, the government decided to ban it and take yet another thing from them. With all the peace treaties, diplomacy, and trade deals that the Native Americans have fought for