Decline of Indian Southwest Essay

The American Indian Movement is an organization in the United States that attempts to bring attention to the injustice and unfair treatment of American Indians. Aside from that, the AIM works for better protection and care for the American Indians and their families. They have been changing the American perception of Indians since the late 1960’s, as well as aiding our awareness of their existence.

Raiding had been something to Apache had only done once in awhile but now that they couldn’t hunt buffalo any longer raiding became necessary for their survival. The hostility between the Apache and the Spanish settlers increased when New Mexico became a Spanish Colony . From the time of the Spanish colonization until 1886 they were noted for their warlike disposition. According to the written history of whites, Apaches have always been hostile; in truth, serious warlike behavior could usually be attributed to belligerent behavior on the part of the whiteman, or misunderstandings between the two peoples.

Has America always been true to its ideals of freedom reigning throughout its people and diverse culture? Throughout history the relationship as well as interactions between Native Americans and eager-faced settlers have been at the least discriminatory. "America the land of the free, home of the brave," this iconic line has seemed to be America's anthem time and time again. Throughout the periods and trials involving Native Americans and other settlers, this theme has seemed contrary in the Indians eyes.

In 1874 the US Army sent a force under Colonel Custer into South Dakota. When gold was discovered in the area, the federal government declared that all Sioux Indians not in reservations would have to be subjugated by Custer’s troops. Many Sioux refused to cooperate, and Custer began to attack. At the battle of Little Bighorn, in June 1876, Custer split his troops, and a larger force of Indians wiped out all of his men. After this defeat, the army took a different course by harassing the Sioux in attrition. Indians eventually lost the will to resist as these strategies were commonly successful against the Sioux. In the December of 1890, approximately 300 Indians were killed by US troops at Wounded Knee. This massacre was the indication to the end of Indian opposition. The Plains Indians were eventually conquered and forced into reservations.

In Letter from Governor Edmund Ross of New Mexico to President Grover Cleveland, Governor Edmund Ross wrote to President Grover Cleveland regarding the white resident’s reactions towards Geronimo’s escape from military custody and Ross’ attempt to further convince the government to rid and even potentially kill off some of the American Indian tribes surrounding their settlements. Despite their small number, which was had a population of “less than five hundred”[ Kent McGaughy, American Perspectives: Readings in American History, Volume 2 (New York City: Pearson Education, Inc., 2015), Page 80] people, the white settlers felt uneasy about the fact that they lived in such close proximities to the tribes and that if some of the tribes (particularly, the Chiricahua and the Warm Springs bands of the Apaches group) were removed, they would feel safer and that the removal of the tribes would have a positive and tranquil impact on their territories and industries as they believed the American Indians were “at constant war with the white race”[ McGaughy, Page 80] and that those wars and raids hindered the settler’s way of life.

The Apache were one of the most feared Native American nations in the American Southwest, and even today they are one of the most well-known and publicized tribes. In 1871, legal documentation submitted from the Territory of Arizona alone recorded 25 pages of sworn affidavits attesting to the Apache outrages from 1869 to 1870 alone. The Apache reputation as fierce warriors, capable of extreme acts of violence and torture, was known across the nation and internationally. Close to home, the Apache had an entrenched conflict with Mexico, characterized by each side antagonizing the other and escalating hostilities, long before representatives of the US government and military made their bid to civilize the American Southwest. The

In 1885, the United States government found themselves facing a dilemma in the American Southwest. Years of raiding by some members of the Chiricahua Apache under the leadership of the famed leader Geronimo finally reached its climax and subsequent conclusion. Geronimo and his band of Apache warriors surrendered, and they were promptly incarcerated at Fort Bowie, Arizona. Consequently, the United States Government faced a dilemma on how best to manage the incarcerated Apaches and how to ensure that the Apache would never again be able to raid settlements in the American Southwest. The government’s response to this dilemma was severe. They decided to use the children of all of the Apache, whether those parents supported Geronimo or not, as leverage to ensure that the Chiricahua Apache would never again resume the war raids typical of Geronimo.

When the United States began its Westward Expansion in the second half of the 19th century, many Native American Chiefs lost much more than they gained. The first time that Apache Chief Geronimo ever saw white men was about 1858, shortly after the massacre of “Kaskiyeh”. Although he was a warrior, he was not interested in killing every white soldier or settler that he came across. Instead, his initial attitude towards the white soldiers and settlers was stated on page 117 of his autobiography as, “The Indians always tried to live peaceably with the white soldiers and settlers.” (117) This statement, along with a few others in the autobiography such as “Then we made our camp near

How did miners in Arizona treat Apaches? In return, how did Geronimo treat American settlers?]

Oklahoma was once referred to as the “Unassigned Lands” (Fugate,138). This land was land inside Indian Territory that had not been claimed by one of the tribes (Hoig). Whites believed they were entitled to this land and wanted to get the statement across that America is a “white man’s country” (Dorman, 38). Immediately after Benjamin Harrison, the United States of America’s president at the time, announced the land would be opened for settlement, people began gathering their belongings, loading their wagons, or preparing their horses for travel. Thousands of people crowded the borders of the Unassigned Lands in hopes of establishing a settlement in the area (Fugate,140). At noon on April 22, 1889, people dashed across the land with their belongings seeking a plot of land. The Oklahoma Land Run was an exciting, puzzling, and in some cases, a violent day in Oklahoma’s history.

From its birth, America was a place of inequality and privilege. Since Columbus 's arrival and up until present day, Native American tribes have been victim of white men 's persecution and tyranny. This was first expressed in the 1800’s, when Native Americans were driven off their land and forced to embark on the Trail of Tears, and again during the Western American- Indian War where white Americans massacred millions of Native Americans in hatred. Today, much of the Indian Territory that was once a refuge for Native Americans has since been taken over by white men, and the major tribes that once called these reservations home are all but gone. These events show the discrimination and oppression the Native Americans faced. They were, and continue to be, pushed onto reservations,

Native Americans have felt distress from societal and governmental interactions for hundreds of years. American Indian protests against these pressures date back to the colonial period. Broken treaties, removal policies, acculturation, and assimilation have scarred the indigenous societies of the United States. These policies and the continued oppression of the native communities produced an atmosphere of heightened tension. Governmental pressure for assimilation and their apparent aim to destroy cultures, communities, and identities through policies gave the native people a reason to fight. The unanticipated consequence was the subsequent creation of a pan-American Indian identity

In early 1848, cries of gold findings flooded the West. White settlers flooded the area like a hurricane in search of riches never seen before to the common man. It was the single greatest migration of people in a shortest amount of time. The gold rush was a very dark period in American history and it shouldn’t be celebrated; the Native American’s were slaughtered in American thirst for gold Explosions of violence from both natives and settlers were common in this environment of prejudice and greed. Between 1850 and 1890 eighty percent of the total number of Native Americans in California died due to murder and massacre, disease, starvation, and forced migration from their native lands. The destruction of the culture and lives of the people native to California and the Black Hills of South Dakota. Greed changed the morals and values of the miners and Americans alike in the Gold Rush. The gold rush brought riches and highlighted racism of white Americans, while systematically destroying Native Americans in that region.

In the early nineteenth century, white supremacy and military individuals claimed that American Indians were dying out; however, other whites disagreed with this and believed that the American Indians were enduring and adapting to the new times under the influence of civilized whites; though there are sources from both sides, it is clear that American Indians did, in fact, endure the changing times and adapt to the modernizing America. American Indians were, from the start, viewed in two different ways by the whites of European descent in America. There were those of a more intolerant and racist nature that simply wished to use the American Indians as slaves or simply eliminate them entirely. The other faction however, believed that converting the American

“We do order and command from this time forward no cause of war or other reason even rebellion shall justify making a slave of any indian or otherwise for they shall be treated as subjects of the crown for so they are”