The Decline Of The Native American Indians

Assimilation of the native Indians occurred in different phases. The United States in the early years adopted an Indian policy that they used to build good relations with the bordering tribes which helped politically and in trading with the natives. However, they reserved to stop the good relationships in order for them to acquire more land as the moved west to expand their territory. (Keller,1983)

Native American’s greeted the new colonists in a friendly, welcoming manner from the start. The new colonists considered this a sign of weakness, stating how easy it would be to dominate the native people. When Columbus arrived, there were 12-15 million Native Americans in the Americas, in 1890 there was under 250,000, with 98% of the population gone. With the belief in Manifest Destiny, the colonists forced the Native American’s off their own land, farther and farther from where they originated from, and eventually onto reservations, removing them from their way of life and their culture. During the transition from their homeland to reservations, many of the Native American’s died due to disease, cold, hunger, and the hardships of travel. Along with the annexation, the colonists demanded assimilation.

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.

During the sixteenth century European pilgrims migrated across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in North America. North America had just been introduced to the Western Civilization. The America’s were home to the indigenous people, that were made up of several tribes that were called Indians by the early settlers. Together the Indians and settlers began to thrive. Growth and development in the new world was made possible by the abundant amount of natural resources.

Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European Colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worst. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture.

1)Paleo-Indians, the first Americans lived in bands of fifteen to fifty people, and traveled within their territory to hunt. Archaic Indians experienced a warming climate. One of the results of the warming climate was better hunting. Forest grew larger with a greater variety of plants and animals. The changes allowed some Indians to reside in permanent homes. The ample supply of food allowed more peoples to live on less acreage. The weather also allowed for specialization of caring for plants; this was the beginning of controlling crops to better supply the people.

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.

European came to the new world of North America and they brought out advanced technology and culture to American continent. Over time, their lives changed as they adapted to different environments and they brought tremendous changed to American Indian tribes. New trade goods became another big change that European explorers and colonists brought to American Indians. Indians was trying to use these product that the explorers provided in their daily lives. Soon, American Indian men put away their bows and arrows for European firearms and lead shot. The desire to get European goods changed ancient trading patterns and American Indians began depended on European items for daily needs. The new goods brought from European totally changed Native American

American history frequently centers on the issues of ethnic diversity and resource allocation. In the contemporary, we begin to see the experiences of the Native inhabitants of the Americas in contrast to European settlers and colonizers, is a prime example of this process in motion. When European settlers first arrived to the New World in the 15th century, firstly the Spanish, they brought with them a material cultural based upon an economic standard of resource exploitation, which in a sense was hostile to most of the Native peoples of the Americas. For instance, as Blackhawk notes that, Europeans built permanent settlements consisting of immovable structures, whereas many of the Great Basin peoples were semi-migratory in nature. Additionally, as Europeans claimed possession over the land, its resources, and began a process of territorial delimitation, Native peoples whose lives

During the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had formed policies which reduced land allotted to Native Americans. By enforcing these laws as well as Anglo-American ideals, the United States compromised indigenous people’s culture and ability to thrive in its society.

In “Times are Altered with Us Indians by Colin Calloway,” Indian peoples are shown to have created thriving communities before the Europeans arrived in their lands. They had developed long histories, effective fishing, farming, and hunting techniques, political systems and social structures, hundreds of languages, had advanced culturally in the form of artwork and architecture, as well as have far reaching networks of trade and communication, way before Europeans had “discovered America.” Once Europeans had arrived however, they had caused Native Americans prosperity to falter. The most devastating cause of change for the Indians were diseases like smallpox, plague, measles, yellow fever, and influenza brought by the Europeans, and caused several tribes to be completely wiped out and some tribes to only have a few survivors. The diseases, as well as alcohol, caused the social and political structure to be affected negatively because elders, providers, family members, healers, and counselors perished so all the resources and knowledge in these people perished with them and were not able to be passed on to the survivors. Eventually, Indian life began to be taken over by European ideals as a way to survive, by converting to Christianity, trading with the Europeans, having the Europeans interfere in their politics, and having war-caused by the Europeans- ruin their remaining communities. Indians role in colonial America are different than they are portrayed in traditional

The Native Americans sustained and took care of their home, while the Europeans pushed and pulled for more money to fall from it. This caused the land to lose a lot of its density and eventually the Europeans’ wealth as well. Things that were lost were proper farming grounds, culture of the Native Americans, and wild life. Different views of the Europeans and Native Americans caused a lot of conflict. The Europeans’ views on the Indians’ way of life became critical once they saw and felt as if their society was not controlled

Before the arrival of the European, Indian have already inhabited the places living by hunting animals and growing crops, having their own languages and cultures their land have been rooted there for generation after generation. But the Europeans, have taken those away from them, killing countless Indian with their diseases, and driving them out of their house, trying to convert them into Christian, viewing them as savage animal condemned them into an endless inexpressible sufferings. The North American Indians traditions and cultural been burn down in a matter of time, their traditions were obscured, and the chain of their recollections broken the moment when the European set foot on the New World. As the European tyranny increasing Indian habits started to change their becoming restless, and when they were pushes to their limited the Indian become more warlike, and more barbarous desperately fighting in order to earn some respect from the European. After American become independent the problem with Indian was still an issues, many war between Indian and the American has happen. More and more Indian having to move westward into the Louisiana territories continues losing their home and their lifestyles, they have also tried to bring this issues to court but was turn down, not only the Indian trying to adapted to the new environment, by creating their

The American government and society has played a substantial role in the decline of both the Native American and Inupiat culture. They created inhumane boarding schools and oppressing laws that inhibited those of a different culture from being themselves and partook in the urbanization of cultured communities. The following practices need to be stopped and never forgotten so that such ethnocide doesn't happen again.

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.