Native American Federal Policies

government, thought Westward Expansion would positively impact Native Americans. President Andrew Jackson felt that Indian Removal would protect the Native Americans and give them more freedom. He also thought that, eventually, the influence of European Americans would guide them to become a more “interesting, civilized, and Christian community” (Doc 9). Additionally, government believed that boarding schools would be very beneficial for children, teaching them valuable skills, and helping them become more civilized “ladies and gentlemen” (Doc 8). However, these people were blinded to the impact it had on the lives of Native American by their own desire for land and power. The mass slaughter of buffalo robbed the Native Americans of their most valuable resource and the source of all their daily necessities. Forced assimilation killed Native American culture and identity, and uprooted their lifestyles. By taking away and selling Native Americans’ land, the U.S. government was constantly driving Native Americans of their homes, onto undeveloped, cramped land, making it nearly impossible for them to sustain themselves and their way of life. How is someone positively affected by having their means of survival, identity, and home taken

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

The United States federal government tried to resolve its bond with many different Native tribes by treaties. The treaties were formal agreements between the United States government and the Native Americans. Treaties were made by the executive branch on behalf of the president and then ratified by the United States Senate. The treaties made it where Native American Indians would give up their rights to hunt and live on huge sections of land that they had inhabited in exchange for trade goods, houses, and assurances that no further demands would be made on the said treaties (NebraskaStudies.Org). The United States broke many treaties between the Native Americans, but there were three major treaties that had an impact on the extinction of the

By 1940, Native Americans had experienced many changes and counter-changes in their legal status in the United States. Over the course of the nineteenth century, most tribes lost part or all of their ancestral lands and were forced to live on reservations. Following the American Civil War, the federal government abrogated most of the tribes’ remaining sovereignty and required communal lands to be allotted to individuals. The twentieth century also saw great changes for Native Americans, such as the Citizenship Act and the Indian New Deal. Alison R. Bernstein examines how the Second World War affected the status and lives of Native Americans in American Indians and World War II: Toward a New Era in Indian Affairs. Bernstein argues

During westward expansion, the Native Americans got kicked to the side. The settlers coming west often saw the Indians as a threat to them and their families. However, this was not the main reason the Indians were pushed aside. The settlers saw the Indians had fertile land and wanted it for themselves. The Indians were the opposite of what the settlers thought they were. The Indians often helped the people moving west across the plains; giving them food, supplies, and acting as guides. However, the U.S. Government did not see this side of the Indians, instead they forced the Indians onto reservations. During the time of the expansion of the United States to the present, the Native Americans went through many things so that the United States could expand; they were pushed onto reservations, and forced to give up their culture through the Ideas of Manifest Destiny and Social Darwinism.

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,

Another negative impact of this Act, was that the Native Americans were pushed out of their land and eventually put into Indian reservations. Americans also hunted and killed the Native Americans major food sources. Conflict between Native Americans and the US Government and the settlers arose when their values differed. The Indians had this land as their home, while the government wanted to expand the country and access the resources in the West. The American Government thought their rights were more important than the Native Americans.

This torturous trend did not stop with the settlers. Even the American government that had previously promised, through the words of American founders like Thomas Jefferson, to protect the Indians, treated the Indians cruelly. For example, President Andrew Jackson’s vision for America was not accommodative of the Native American. His policies were notorious for punishing the Cherokee community especially the most assimilated and civilized members. The American government made and broke all the vows it made to the Cherokee community concerning the protection of the native people and their lands. By 1838, the American government was not even attempting to make vows of friendship. Instead, it gave the Cherokee the choice of voluntarily leaving their productive lands or facing a forced eviction. This ultimatum set pace for what was to become a Trail of

The most basic function of government is to protect its citizens from all types of oppression, whether it be militarily, economically, or socially. Paternalism is a method in which an authority, in this case the United States Government, limits a person or group’s rights or autonomy for their own good. It is compared to the relationship between a parent and a child, were the parent will take a stance over their naive and incapable child because they know what is best for them. This practice of paternalism has been used throughout much of the United States’ Indian policy, dating back to the 1800s.

What were the significant treaties, policies, and events that defined US Government and Native American Relations? How did the Native American respond to these treaties, polices, and events historically? How did these treaties, policies, and events affect the subsistence, religion, political, and social structures of the Native American people? I will answer these questions through the examination of two centuries of US history in six time periods that define clear changes in the relationship between the Native American and the US Government.

The Native Americans were far worse off under the reservation system. The small amount of benefits from the reservation system was mostly for the Americans, who now were able to freely take the lands that the Native Americans inhabited. Many problems resulted from the reservation system, one being that the Native Americans were forced to rely on agriculture instead of living nomadic lives. This is only one problem of the many that arose from the reservation system. In addition, the government chose to further complicate things for Native Americans by enforcing the Dawes Act, making the tribe-owned land become private instead of

Looking back on the construction of society and life today, everyone’s lives would be drastically different if these changes had not been forced upon these Native. We will never know what could have happened if these changes were not forced on the Natives and they could have made their own choice, but it is too late to change what happened. The equal opportunity for Native Americans to create their own life and decide their own future was taken from them, but it was also taken from all their future generations. Their future generations never got a chance to decide who they wanted to be or what they wanted to do because the American government decided where they live and what they would do for

What this saying is instituting is that if your government is repeatedly not representing the interests for a group, in this case Native Americans then an increasing number of Native Americans should take part of the policy process. Alternatively speaking, as studied in class one way to increase representation for minority groups can be achieved through substantive representation. Those elected in office do not need to belong to a certain ethnic group to represent the interests of their constituents. Despite the 115th congress being labelled as the most racially “diverse” congress in American history, minorities do not stack up against the amount of white politicians. The current numbers confirm this notion, there are 102 minorities in total and 0 of them are of Native American descent. The last serving Native American congress member was Markwayne Mullin, who held office back in 2013. This begs the question as to how we can increase representation for minorities, specifically for Native Americans who can influence members of congress to agree

Termination, Relocation and Assimilation; three words used by the United States government to describe programs designed to solve the “Indian problem”. These policies would provide the Indians an escape from impoverished reservations and a chance to live the American Dream. To the Indians, these three words described the incalculable loss of the “old ways” which included their culture, heritage and language. Without the support of their communities, thrust into urban life, many Indians found the experience demoralizing. Despite the unduly positive assertions made by those supporting the policies, in reality, termination and relocation

The Indian new deal gave certain rights to native Americans.the act restored to native Americans that help restore their land.It gave Indians direct ownership of their land. They were controlled by the federal government.Villages were made but there where also problems such as tribes didn't have their own government.The Indians were also unaware of the things that were going on. The U.S. policy wanted to take away Indian reservation. The act pretty much divided their land and gave it to individual Indians. Two-third of the land where made into private ownership, when the Indians try to sell the land it wasn't worth anything. The goal was to stop Indians from getting robbed from their