Essay On The American Indian Movement

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

In 1800 the government viewed the tribes as savages hence, in 1828 Andrew Jackson committed to remove or relocate the Indians even if force is needed(PBS indian country diaries, Relocation). Correspondingly the girls from St. Lucy’s were forced to stay at the school even though the nuns did leave the gate open, this is done because the nuns acknowledged that if they return the girls would be shunned by their family, accordingly being tortured (ST. Lucys). In the fall and winter months of 1838-1839 Jackson's wishes came true, when seven thousand troops under command of General Winfield Scott rounded up Cherokee indians at bayonet point (PBS Indian country diaries, Relocation). Furthermore these cold months on the trail ends up killing four thousand

The pacifism displayed in the opening half of the period contrasts heavily with forceful campaign and protest movement in the latter. Pressure groups such as ‘The National Congress of American Indians’ and the ‘Native American Rights Fund’ despite slow progress, secured some landmark decisions, partially during the 1960’s and 1970’s. For instance, the successful land claim secured in the 1972 case Passamaquoddy vs. Morton, in which opened the floodgates for similar land claims, resulting in either monetary compensation or less commonly the return of their native lands. The method of campaigning through the courts was considerably successful, yet this alone given its sluggish progress can hardly be solely responsible for the eventual gains made. However this was not the only method adopted by the Native Americans, with a more militant form of protest employed from the 1960’s onwards. The ‘Native Indian Youth Council’ continued these legalistic approaches with more vigor to protect the Native Americans Youths. Whilst AIM took this further, responsible for large-scale

The reservation was also the place where the Battle of Wounded Knee occurred (“History of the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation”). As the Ghost Dance movement grew in strength and popularity, so did the uneasiness of the United States government. Sitting Bull was captured and killed. The U.S. 7th Cavalry attacked Black Elk’s Sioux encampment, killing 200 men, women, and children. Black Elk also experienced the poverty and starvation forced upon them by the policies of the U.S. government (“Black Elk”). The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 guaranteed land to the Great Sioux Nation. This was cut down to create the present day Pine Ridge Reservation (Martinez).

Native Americans, or Indians, as they were mistakenly called, have been the “pathetic footnotes to the main course of American history” (Axtell 981). But James Axtell, the author of Colonial America without the Indians: Counterfactual Reflections, would beg to differ. He says that instead, Indians played a key role in making America great. James Murray gives another term to describe America’s greatness: America’s “exceptionalism.” Throughout his article Axtell makes many points as to why Indians played a vital role in “American Exceptionalism”. He even says that America wouldn’t have been colonized nearly as soon if the Indians were gone, because Columbus would know he was not in the Indies and move on. So because they simply existed in the first place, Axtell says they were significant in the history of our country. Furthermore, he says Indians specifically played a vital role in the exceptionality of America’s early economy, culture, and historical events and places.

The soldiers told the Sioux that as long as they gave up some of their land they would give them a peace treaty.The Sioux no longer wanted to fight so they agreed and gave up some of their land to the government.

The 1960’s and 70’s were a turbulent time in the United States, as many minority groups took to the streets to voice their displeasure with policies that affected them. During this time period a large movement for civil rights, including Native American’s, would seek to find their voices, as largely urbanized groups sought ways in which they could reconnect with their tribe and their cultural history. In their book, Like A Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee, Paul Chaat Smith, and Robert Allen Warrior take an extensive look at the events leading up to the three of the largest civil rights movements carried out by Native Americans. Beginning with the takeover of Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay by Indians of All Tribes in 1969; the authors tell in a vivid fashion of the Bay Area activism and Clyde Warrior 's National Indian Youth Council, Vine Deloria Jr.’s leadership of the National Congress of Indians, the Trail of Broken Treaties and the Bureau of Indian Affairs takeover, the Wounded Knee Occupation and the rise of the American Indian Movement.

The Dawes Act of 1887 began the process of allotment. By trying to force Native Americans to become farmers, the federal government cast many groups into poverty. The land which the United States held in trust for Indians was usually not choice farmland. Those trying to make a living off the inhospitable lands of the West found little success. During the interwar period of the early twentieth century, the government made new efforts to alleviate Indians’ position as a marginalized group. Over 10,000 Native Americans volunteered and served with distinction in the armed forces during World War I. In recognition of their efforts, Congress passed the Indian Citizenship Act in 1924, making all American Indians United States citizens.

Jackson had been fighting Native Americans for their land before he became a president. In 1788, Jackson and several white settlers tried to force the Cherokee Indians off their homeland in Georgia.2 The Cherokees fought to keep their land from white settlers and they even brought their case to the Supreme Court. Under the Constitution, the United States government must negotiate with the tribe leaders before seizing their land. Many political figures tried to bribe, threaten, or use military force to make tribe leaders sign the treaty so they would leave, however some of them would not budge so easily. Some political

I took the Native American IAT and the Age IAT tests. I thought my results would be that I would have some association with Native Americans because I have Native American in my ancestry. My results were that I had little or no association between Native American and American with Foreign and American. I am not sure if I agree with them or not and that maybe from family history. I have no ideal if this method is truly effective and I would try to make sure that I am being considerate about other people's culture when teaching students and interacting with their families. I took away from this test that I learned new things about my thought process.

What if everyday in America there was not an action someone could take because someone of an opposite race sexually assaulted or domestically abused that person? Often news outlets only focus on major even in cities or towns, but never the reservations. With the lack of awareness of the number of rapes and domestic abuse victims on reservations, at large society is saying America doesn’t care due to reservations having sovereignty. Even with new laws signed into place by President Obama to deal with the rape and abuse problems to Native American women, that come from non Native Americans, the problem with this is it’s a pilot only on three tribes (Culp-Ressler,1).It is said it will expand soon, but how soon? America is not known for being

The Alcatraz opposition was followed by another major event in the struggle of native America’s civil right at Wounded Knee south Dakota. In 1972, they requested the government for land ownerships, rights for their water and mineral recourses in their land, and for equality according to the constitution. This was followed by the huge damage of the Bureau of Indian Affairs-BIA. In 1973, the government came with denying the requests and then the leaders of American-Indian movement -AIM, promised to keep struggling (Kent 1769). The leaders of the AIM were Russel Means and Denis Banks. There were also some internal differences among the Indian-American tribes. For instance Oglala Sioux Tribe leaders were criticizing the oppositions. As a result, The AIM leaders were also critical to those tribes and to the tribal president Richard Wilson. They blamed Wilson for his mismanagement of his tribe’s fund. Wilson had responded with serious attack on his opponents and their families. Hence, the government supported Wilson and convinced as the leaders intended to size BIA on February 12, 19763 which was followed by 60 heavily armed marshals (Kent). As a result, on February 23, 250 people of Oglala tribe and AIM members agreed and broke on arm store to fight Wilson at Wounded Knee.

The AIM was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota by Dennis Banks and Clyde Bellecourt, mainly to stop the police brutality and other violence going on within the Indian communities. In the 1950’s the United States government had decided to establish a policy that included taking all the land they had given to Native Americans back. This would

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.

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