Immigrant Rights in the Shadows of Citizenship by Racheal Ida Buff

The two main actions that the United States government issued towards the Plains Indians were the Homestead Act and the Dawes Act. The Homestead Act correlated with the trend of Manifest Destiny and encouraged settlers to migrate west. The Homestead Act encouraged western migration by providing 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. After six months of residency, homesteaders also had the option of purchasing the land from the government for roughly $1.25 per acre. (Primary Documents in American History) The land that the government was distributing belonged to various tribes of the Plains Indians. By having the Homestead Act in effect and encouraging settlers to migrate west, Plains Indians were forced into reservations. The real impact of Manifest Destiny was that it sent many settlers west, without realizing that the settlers were taking land from the Indians. The Indians that lived in the reservations had just enough food to keep their population alive, as well as living in unsanitary conditions with bacteria and diseases everywhere. The two options that the Indians had was to either live in the reservations with little to no food or to face genocide. Some Indian tribes tried to make amends with American troops who ushered the natives to reservations, but some American troops turned on the Indians. One incident of the American troops killing Indians was the Nez Perce war. This war was over a conflict of land and how some US troops did not agree on the settlement of the land. The war resulted in over 100 casualties towards the Indians and was stated as a genocide of and Indian tribe. The second act that was passed by the United States government was the Dawes Act. The Dawes Act authorized the President to survey American

government has unspecified and unorganized policies, which were unprotected for Native Americans who lived in the west because of all the new coming Americans. During westward expansion, a majority of who moved were whites, who didn’t know the Native Americans who already lived in the west. The Natives felt their land was being conquered, because of the U.S government policies(Louisana Purchase & Homestead Act) and the whites not wanting them to be there, which lead to fighting between the Natives and the whites. These acts and policies such as the Indian Removal Act often resulted in violated treaties and violence. The Indian Removal Act was the removal of Native American homes and tribes. “This also confines the Indians to still narrower limits, destroys that game which in their normal state, and constitutes their principal means of subsistence.” Resulting in westward expansion, Native Americans began rapidly decreasing in the area by wars and new diseases caught by new coming

In 1830, the Jackson administration instated the Indian Removal Act. This act removed the Native Americans from their ancestral lands to make way for an increase of additional American immigrants. This act forced many Native American tribes from their homes including five larger tribes, Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creek, and Seminole. These tribes had populations were estimated to be around 65,000 people strong that lived in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. (Foner, 2012) The American Indians fought for their rights and beliefs through the American court system. Their other objective other than fighting for their rights was but in the end, they were forced out of their homes to move

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.

There has been much documentation on the plight of Native Americans throughout the beginnings of this nation. In spite of the attempts by the early government of the United States, the culture of many Native American tribes has survived and even flourished. The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 is just one of many examples of how our government attempted to wipe out Native American culture. This paper will discuss the Dawes Act, particularly the time leading up to the act, the act itself, and finally its failure. By understanding the past failures in the treatment of a particular race of people, the government can learn how to protect the rights of all people, especially in a day and age of cultural diversity.

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.

Historically, the people of the United States and the Native tribes couldn’t live together, they fought because the two sides competed for superiority. The United States Government sought to put an end to the violent clashes with the American people and the Natives tribes. A resolution was the Indian Removal Act, with this, the United States became safer, wealthier, and stronger; And the Natives, which they saw as inferior, would leave. This Act wasn’t easy for the Native tribes, they left the land their ancestors had built them, and experienced a long road ahead of them to rebuild again.

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,

The treatment of the Native Americans by the United States government to try to control all the land was poor. The United States Government pushed the Native Americans to the coast. At first, they gave the Native Americans the Great Plains then realized that they could use it. The United States held a meeting with the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Sioux, and Crow tribes. They signed treaties with the Native Americans saying that if they moved they would give them more land that they could keep, they broke all of these treaties which angered the Native Americans.

Soon children were removed from their homes and placed in Indian Boarding Schools some of which were off the reservations. The goals of the boarding schools, which were run by the religious orders that were being paid by the government for the purpose of assimilating the young Indian population and desecrating their culture, were to Christianize Native Americans in hopes that they would accept our capitalistic system. “Kill the Indian…Save the Man”.

Long ago on the great plains, the buffalo roamed and the Native Americans lived amongst each other. They were able to move freely across the lands until the white men came and concentrated them into certain areas. Today there are more than five-hundred different tribes with different beliefs and history. Native Americans still face problems about the horrific history they went through and today 's discrimination. The removal of American Indian tribes is one of the most tragic events in American history. There are many treaties that have been signed by American representatives and people of Indian tribes that guaranteed peace and the values of the Indian territories. The treaties were to assure that fur trade would continue without interruption. The American people wanting Indian land has led to violent conflict between the two. Succeeding treaties usually forced the tribes to give up their land to the United States government. There were laws made for Native American Displacement that didn’t benefit the Native Americans, these laws still have long lasting effects on them today, and there was a huge number of Native Americans killed for many reasons.

Xenophobia is the fear of people from other countries. History tells us that many people had this fear and acted upon it. Nowadays, it is not so common. I think xenophobia was worse one hundred years ago than it is today even with recent global events.

Firstly, cultural differences are easily argued to have been the greatest cause of fear in America towards immigrants. Many immigrants had been sold the idea that America was a 'Melting Pot' of cultures, but upon arriving in America, they'd realise this was not the case.

So, why do some Americans feel threatened by the presence of others, from other origins; other than their own. That’s because these immigrants cross the borders illegally in hopes of a new-found freedom, while coming here to look for help through that of government assistance for medical, jobs, housing, and health; taking away from the local people that it rightfully belongs too. They do this by illegally crossing our secured borders for a life of freedom, and to possibly gain financial stability from a country other than their own; just to make ends meet. However, by doing this it puts people on edge, causing them to put these individuals into a certain class, the in-group, or the out-group; depending on one’s sole opinion of their values and standard within their own cultural norms (ethnocentrism). Just like with Donald Trump he fears the world to which he runs, from children attending our schools; to those immigrants and refugees that live among us leaving them with nothing but rejection and scares of hatred and mistrust. Others treat these immigrants as foreigners and start racial profiling these individuals due to their color, race, and natural origin; for they feel that the United States could only consist of their own kind and no outsiders should be allowed in. One example, is the white folks believe that African Americans (or blacks), don’t belong here in our native land, and for centuries has made this quite clear; by retaliating

In the movie Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them, they show one of the main points in the movie in the beginning of how the Magical Congress of the United States of America which is an organization that helps maintain the peace in the U.S but also protect the No-Maji, people with no magic aka humans from the magical world of wizards and witches. They enforce strict laws in order to prevent much more hate towards the wizards of people that have abnormal powers. It leads into towards a illness known as xenophobia which is a fear of people that are from a different country and it shows that people that are xenophobic are more immune to fear those that are referred to as “different’ from them. Humans show great fear from the witches and wizards because they possess powers that humans do not have and that humans may think that they are not humans but just monsters that can destroy them, therefore lead to the discrimination against witches and wizards. Even today we still see so much discrimination against other races and people fear that if people are Mexican or Muslim they are considered a terrorist or rapist in society and discriminate them from entering the U.S. The parallel that the illness and the discrimination draws is that humans will see people that aren’t normal are to be from a different country and