APush Book Report, Lewis and Clark Among the Indians Essay examples

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will

The journey along the Oregon Trail was a very long and rough experience. Stretching out to almost a whopping 2000 miles it usually took the pioneers 4-6 months travelling at 12 to 16 miles per hour. Throughout this journey the pioneers had to battle with cholera, poor

In 1800 Thomas Jefferson was elected president. With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Jefferson had the vision of the United States growing from sea to sea. However, it was unknown what was out there. Jefferson planned an exploratory expedition and called upon Meriwether Lewis to lead it. Jefferson was very interested in what was in the west lands. Much was involved in the carrying out of this expedition; the preparations for this trip, what happened during their long journey west, and the return home. This expedition was very important in the development of the United States.

To begin with, the Cherokee tribe was one of the three primary Native American tribes in South Carolina that called themselves “the real people.” Upward in the mountains, they lived in these villages called “longhouses.” For the girls, their daily lives consisted of doing work in the field, planting and hoeing corn, then harvesting it. On the other hand, the boy’s daily lives consisted of being taught to fish and hunt. Their food was examples of fruits, nuts, corn, pole beans, squash, pumpkins, bottle gourds, and tobacco. Next, the Catawba tribe was another one of the three primary Native American tribes in South Carolina that called themselves the “river people. They used Carolina clay to make their pottery which they were known for. The Catawba dwellers lived in villages that had an open rounding on the top. The Catawbas were primarily farmers because every day they planted crops by the river, fished and hunted. Therefore, the Yemassee tribe was the third primary tribe in South Carolina that was from Spanish Florida. Throughout the summer, they lived on a beach, staying in Wigwams concealed in palmetto leaves. However, during the fall, winter, and spring they stayed in wattle and daub homes with a roof of leaves like the Cherokee. Every day they would eat clams which were part of their diet and equip the land for crops. Women were obligated for child rearing, making clothes, and served food and the men congregated the rest of the food in fishing and hunting.

The expedition of Lewis and Clark was a landmarking event in American history, but its significance goes beyond just the land they discovered.The Lewis and Clark Expedition was put forward so the two would be able to see and map out western America in search of new trade routes and passages. Lewis and Clark would have doubtfully survived had it not been with the aid of the Indians they met on their travels. Upon their controversial meetings with several Indian groups, Lewis and Clark were not respectful to the Americans they met on their journey. The controversial messages behind the peace metals, the reference to the Indians as “children”, and the physical

Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the “blood thirsty savage” of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the “Noble Savage,” a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate.

In her book American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa's central role as both an activist and writer surfaces, which uniquely combines autobiography and fiction and represents an attempt to merge cultural critique with aesthetic form, especially surrounding such fundamental matters as religion. In the tradition of sentimental, autobiographical fiction, this work addresses keen issues for American Indians' dilemmas with assimilation. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," for example, she vividly describes a little girl's nightmares of paleface devils and delineates her bitterness when her classmate died with an open Bible on her bed. In this groundbreaking scene, she inverts the allegation of Indian religion as superstition by labeling

Jefferson had secured agreement form the ambassadors of England, France, and Spain that their counties would not try to interfere with Lewis and Clark expedition. The explorers met with Osage Indians on their way of expedition but the Indians were peaceful. For unknown to Leis and Clark, the Spanish had reneged on the promise of safe conduct given to Jefferson by the Spanish ambassadors. Yrujo had warned his Spanish men that American were taking toward the South Sea and he urged commandant Salcedo general of Viceroyalty of New Spain to arrest Lewis and his followers and to seize all the documents that may be found on them. Then Salcedo encouraged his Indian allied to attack Lewis and Clark, but Comanches Indians never found them. The Lakotas was invited to the council by a French-Canadian interpreter who had lived among them and the first meeting with the Lakota was done well. I think Lewis and Clark could have exacted amicable relations if they were acting on their own because they both worked under the order of Jefferson to explore.

On May 14, 1804 in the eastern city of Saint Louis, William Clark and Merry-weather Lewis set of on the westward adventure that would change America as we know it today. Their journey began on the Mississippi River, those rapids would propel Lewis and Clark into the "Corps of Discovery". Across the vast land that these men would soon travel lived the many native-american tribes. The Native people hunted freely across their western lands, lived their life as one with the ground they so carefully treaded on. Soon, the great American adventurers and the native people would meet, but one brought with them the foreshadowing of a new era. An era when American life would be greatly improved with new natural resources and plentiful free land, but only at the cost of ruining the native american people of their way of life. The Lewis and Clark Expedition expanded the knowledge and lifestyle of America but began the elimination of the original American natives way of life and culture.

Joseph Ellis does one thing that sticks out the most he goes into detail on how much effort the main four put into transition into a national government. Ellis puts in time and effort to make sure that he gets every detail that he feels is important to show how the four main characters were able to get the confederation into a nation. Joseph Ellis put nearly as much relevant information into the book as

In two years, Lewis, Clark, and all of the men that traveled with them did the impossible. They mapped the territory, collected ample samples of flora and fauna, and made peace with the various Indian tribes, all while keeping more than thirty men alive in the wilderness. If they hadn’t been efficient packers and effective diplomats, none of this would have been possible. Their journey was a huge success, and all of the men made it back alive, despite risking themselves several times by splitting up. The journey of Lewis and Clark will be remembered for centuries to come, and rightfully so.

Nelson. Lewis and Clark and the Indian Country: the Native American Perspective. Urbana, IL, University of Illinois Press, 2008.

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Exploration has always been a central theme in the development of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, made the government more eager to expand west. The newly acquired lands were in need of exploration. A team needed to be established to survey and document the new territory. The Lewis and Clark expedition would answer the unknown questions of the west. The expedition would not have been successful without the leadership, determination, discipline of the Corps of Discovery, and the cooperation of the Native Americans. President Jefferson wanted the leader to have the same passion and intensity toward the discovery of the west as he possessed. Jefferson hand-

Regarding the article, “Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress, Dr. Howard Zinn argues that there is another perspective to consider as to Christopher Columbus’ adventures. Dr. Howard Zinn’s position is that history books have omissions of slavery, death and innocent bloodshed that accompanied the adventures of Christopher Columbus. In the following statements Dr. Howard Zinn describes his perspective; “The writer began the history, five hundred years ago, of the European invasion of the Indian Settlement in the Americas. That beginning, when you read Las Casas- even if his figures are exaggerations (were there 3 million Indians to begin with, as he says or 250,000, as modern historians calculate) is conquest, slavery, and death. When