Native American Interactions

The Lakota, an Indian group of the Great Plains, established their community in the Black Hills in the late eighteenth century (9). This group is an example of an Indian community that got severely oppressed through imperialistic American actions and policy, as the Americans failed to recognize the Lakota’s sovereignty and ownership of the Black Hills. Jeffrey Ostler, author of The Lakotas and the Black Hills: The Struggle for Sacred Ground, shows that the Lakota exemplified the trends and subsequent challenges that Indians faced in America. These challenges included the plurality of groups, a shared colonial experience, dynamic change, external structural forces, and historical agency.

Throughout the course of history there have been numerous accounts regarding Native American and European interaction. From first contact to Indian removal, the interaction was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, leading from times of peace to mini wars and rebellions staged by the Native American tribes. The first part of this essay will briefly discuss the pre-Columbian Indian civilizations in North America and provide simple awareness of their cultures, while the second part of this essay will explore all major Native American contact leading up to, and through, the American Revolution while emphasizing the impact of Spanish, French, and English explorers and colonies on Native American culture and vice versa. The third, and final, part of this essay will explore Native American interaction after the American Revolution with emphasis on westward expansion and the Jacksonian Era leading into Indian removal. Furthermore, this essay will attempt to provide insight into aspects of Native American/European interaction that are often ignored such as: gender relations between European men and Native American women, slavery and captivity of native peoples, trade between Native Americans and European colonists, and the effects of religion on Native American tribes.

The question arises of why Thomas Jefferson commenced the great expedition of Lewis and Clark. “ Jefferson wanted to form an expedition that were able to gather valuable information about Western Indians while living at peace with them” (Ronda 1). This was important because the people that were going to move into the Louisiana territory had to make sure they had peace with the Native American. If people take away the Native’s food source, or destroy the materials they make a living out of, is going to cause conflict between the two. “The expedition was fashioned to explore the vast wilderness of what is now North Western United States. It was sponsored by the United States government and was led by U.S. army officers

The relationship between Lewis and Clark and the Native Americans is an extremely controversial topic. It is generally in question whether Lewis and Clark were respectful to the Indian tribes they encountered on their expedition. The answer is much more complicated than a simple yes or no, and the answer changes through each person’s opinion. From multiple pieces of evidence, I believe that Lewis and Clark were mostly disrespectful to the Indians with a few exceptions. The evidence for this position come from: a passage of a letter from Jefferson(document A), a diary entry of Meriwether Lewis(document B), a modified Time Magazine article(document C), and Lewis’s speech to the Otoe(document E). These documents help to support the notion that

The Native Americans, at the time of the first encounter, were still very culturally and socially primitive compared to the Europeans. They moved a lot, lived mainly of fishing and hunting, spent their time cultivating and used primitive tools and equipment in their daily activities.

The Lewis and Clark expedition was a truth that was to become the crowning accomplishment in the lifetime of the brilliant thinker, inventor, and founding father, Thomas Jefferson . It has become a profounding turning point throughout America’s history. Investigating the recently obtained Louisiana Territory, which nearly doubled the size of the country, arranged Jefferson the opportunity to widen the boundaries of the United States to include both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The threat of the unknown lay ahead for Lewis and Clark’s team. The explorers had no idea what they would e be confronted with on their journey, but still they advanced into the unknown area that could officially be called part of America. Thanks to the addition of Lewis, Clark, their essential guide Sacajawea, and the many men that traveled with them America was able to expose land as well as providing important information about the topography, the biological studies, the ecology, and the studies of the American Indian as they discovered the mysteries of the Louisiana Purchase. Although it was a treacherous and costly journey, the Lewis and Clark expedition was the most important exploration in American history.

During the early 1800s, the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, bought the Louisiana Territory. This acquired piece of land came to be known as the Louisiana Purchase. The territory consisted of various Native Indian tribes which Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore. Based on the provided documents, the conclusion that can be made is that Lewis and Clark were not respectful to the Native Americans because not only did they kill members of their tribe, but they wiped out their culture as a whole. In document A, Thomas Jefferson, the current President at the time, sent a letter to Meriwether Lewis with specific instructions on how to approach the Native Indians which was in a placatory and friendly fashion (Document A).

The early 1800s was an era of progressive action in regards to the Native populations of the United States - growing populations of western-bound individuals required that the already-present Natives be formally addressed. As Meriwether Lewis among others documented what the far-west was really like, Thomas Jefferson spoke of the ideals he held concerning the junction between Indians and Americans. Upon comparing Lewis’s discoveries and Jefferson’s wishes, we are able to discuss several things: the inconsistencies in Jefferson’s expectations versus reality, the two men’s thoughts on the potential for Native assimilation into American society, and the success (or lack thereof) of such assimilation.

When my Corps of Discovery party and I first encountered the 8 Blackfeet Indians, it was obvious that they were very threatened by our presence, possibly because of our weapons. Even though we were outnumbered four to eight, they still had weapons pointed at us and were very cautious. I had a feeling that they would kill us with no hesitation if we had actually tried anything. However, after a while, they put their weapons down, but I could still feel some tension in the air. I then invited the 8 Blackfeet Indians to camp with us to discuss the topic of peace between the tribe and the United States.

The Pequot War was a salient event, as it influenced the political and economic landscape of the New World in a drastic way. The Pequot War was the first sustained conflict amongst Europeans and Native Americans. This event certainly wasn’t going to be the last of its kind; according to Schultz (2010), “The blood shed during the Pequot War foreshadowed the dark nature of Indian-colonist relations that was just over the horizon.” (Page. 41)

The Lakota Indians had the sad and unfortunate luck of becoming personally acquainted with the westward thrust of American development when the Americans’ attitudes toward Indians had grown cynical and cruel. This interaction caused the Lakota culture to change a great deal during the nineteenth century. Horses and guns brought about a dramatic change in the Lakota’s culture. They “enabled them to seize and defend their rich hunting grounds, to follow the great migrating herds of buffalo that shaped their distinctive way of life, and by the middle of the nineteenth century to evolve into the proud and powerful monarchs of the northern Great Plains (R6).” They acquired their first horses and guns, along with the knowledge of how to handle

In reading Zenas Leonard’s account of his party’s interaction with the Shoshone and Paiute people, one gets the clear sense that the American fur trappers did not understand, nor trust the natives of the Great Basin. The native’s continued presence and persistence in interacting with the fur trappers is seen as a threat. The fur trapper’s stollen beaver traps further insight some of the American trappers to seek their own revenge and justice on the natives--death. Although, Captain Walker put an immediate stop to the “revenge” the trappers were committing, the effects of the trappers revenge proved to be detrimental to future interactions with the Indians. Now, the fur trappers saw any approach from the the natives as a hostile and aggressive stance against them in revenge for their murdered comrades.

Lewis and Clark explored tons of new lands, keeping careful and orderly maps and journals of everything they found. Many of the maps that Clark drew up are accurate to today. They explored more than 8000 miles in 2 and a half years. Lewis and Clark explored the proper, and improper ways to communicate with the indian chieftains and tribes which had positive and negative effects. One instance, there was a standoff with the Teton Sioux, almost resulted in a bloody breakout because the Chief wanted one of the supply boats for passage but eventually called off before anyone got hurt, meanwhile when the corps found the Shoshone, they had good relations and traded for many horses and received fresh

Ambrose, E Stephen. “Preparing for the Expedition.” Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1996. 80-92. Print.

The outcome of this expedition was that Lewis and Clark discover new plant,people,and animals. When Lewis and Clark began to travel back home in the year of 1806 They thought it was best if they split up to get back home because they wanted to explore more of the land. In the article Lewis and Clark it say that ‘ On the way back in 1806, Lewis and Clark split up to explore more of the territory and look for a faster route home”. ( Perry, Douglas. "Lewis & Clark Expedition." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration) During the journey back home Lewis and his group were in danger because a group of Blackfeet Indians wanted to steal from him in late July, later in the journey he killed two Blackfeet Indians. Later in his journey home he was shot by one his own men in a hunting accident. Later Lewis group and Clark group ment in the Missouri River and made the rest of the trip home to St. Louis