What Is The Assimilation Of Native Americans

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.

Chapter 7 of Alan Taylor’s American Revolutions begins by describing the tense state of affairs between American Patriots and Native Indians in 1775. Both sides feared the other and were determined not to let their enemy defeat them. The Patriots were angry with the British for seeking alliance with the Indians, compromising their “racial solidarity”, in order to gain a military advantage. The Natives believed that American independence would be the catalyst for their downfall into slavery and landlessness. The author moves on to say that this was not the case with all tribes. For example, weak bands of Indians in the Carolinas allied with Patriots and fought in their army in hopes for protection after the war. However, the reality was that

For almost as long as European settlers have interacted with the native peoples of the Americas, they have had a notion: what many call ‘assimilation’. To Europeans, assimilation of native peoples meant for their culture, which they believed to be superior, to be accepted over time by the natives. And as they grew more and more European in language, religion, customs, organization, morals, and behavior, they would slowly shed off all of their old culture which the European culture would be replacing. The Europeans believed this process was for the best for the natives and that they would be happier living ‘civilized’ lives as opposed to practicing their own traditions.

Before the arrival of white people to the continent, Native Americans still engaged in war between the various different tribes. Their reasons for fighting each other were drastically different than the reasons they had when fighting non-Indians. Some Native American battles were fought for revenge. The most common cause of war between Native American groups was probably to defend or enlarge tribal territory. Later, their conflicts with white people were fought for trying to prevent the theft of their land, or in raids for food and supplies they were denied. There have been many famous clashes between Indians and the United States government. On November 4th 1791, In what is considered the worst ever defeat administered by Indians to U. S. troops more than 600 soldiers were killed by a force of mostly Shawnees and other Indians. The cause of the conflict was settlers moving into the Indian’s land in large numbers, ignoring Indians rights and demanding military protection if the Indians opposed them. This kind of situation was the cause for many of the largest fights with Native Americans, for example the battle of little big horn (otherwise known as Custer’s last stand) in which Indians that were ready for the arrival of the Calvary killed every soldier under General Custer’s command. A battle which United States

Native Americans thrived from nature and their way of life depended on the land of the grassy Great Plains. Their life changed due to horses, and then afterward guns, being introduced to them by the Spanish; which made it easier for them to move and hunt. As settlers moved in, the Native nations were treated poorly and had little to no ability to stand up for what they believed in and how they wanted to live with all the restrictions laid upon them. The federal government created policies, such as The Concentration Policy, “relocation”, and The Dawes Severalty Act, as settlers began moving west which eventually lead to many warfares’s.

In the early nineteenth century, the United States wanted position in the West, power was still in the hands of Native peoples. The Native Americans outnumbered whites and controlled the resources and routes of movement. Native Americans were not only fighting with the U.S. but with other Indian nations. Natives started to become even more unsettled as the U.S. government removed most eastern Native groups beyond the Mississippi River.

Assimilation is the manner in which people of a cultural group start to lose their individuality that makes them different from the more dominant culture, as they seek to fit in. America has been a melting pot of different cultures for centuries, whether it was by choice, forced or for a better life. History has proven that assimilation in America was not acceptable but that has changed over time.

The Native Americans biggest conflict was white expansion into their territories. They faced the biggest obstacles after the war, they had no alliances, their biggest alliance was the British who were no longer in the northwest (Brinkley, 211). The Native Americans also had no rights to defend their land. On the other hand, the Americans, and especially the Federalist party, faced serious consequences after the war of 1812. The United States army was defeated by the Great Britain numerous times. As a result, the Federalist government was regarded as unpopular and was oppressed in New England. When The federalists tried to withdraw themselves from New England, they failed which ultimately led to the downfall of

During the 18th Century the Americans were fighting for their independence from the British, through the American Revolutionary War, which gave hope to the Native Americans. This war lasted for eight years, from 1775 to 1783. By fighting with the revolutionaries, they hoped it would help them protect their land, liberty, and their culture. They would later find out that those revolutionary visions were left unfulfilled. Europeans always misunderstood the Natives way of living and their culture, by calling them savages, and killing off their entire population just to take their land from them.

Native Americans have had a long history of resistance to the social and cultural assimilation into white culture. By employing various creative strategies, Native Americans have attempted to cope with the changes stemming from the European colonial movement into the Americas. There are fundamental differences in world views and cultural and social orders between Indians and Europeans, which contributed to conservatism in Native American cultures. In this paper, two aspects of such cultural and institutional differences of Native American societies will be examined: holistic Native American beliefs versus dualistic world views and harmony versus domination. These two aspects are important in terms of explaining changes (or lack thereof) in

Before the Europeans ventured into what is now America, it was inhabited by many different tribes of Native Americans. These indigenous peoples' needs were minuscule compared to that of the Europeans as they only needed nature to provide them with sufficient food and materials for weapons, shelter, etc. Once the Europeans arrived, they introduced “firearms, iron, and brandy” and in turn for these items, the Native Americans would offer rich furs from their hunts (Tocqueville). However, as the needs of the Native Americans grew, their assets would substantially decrease. Because of the establishment of the European settlers within the Native American territory, the animals that inhabited the lands would “take fright” as they were put off by the loud noises of labor within the European settlements (Tocqueville). This caused entire Native American tribes to suffer as they could not hunt for sufficient food, pelts, furs, or materials, making them virtually unable to engage in trade with others. As a result, the Native Americans followed the tracks of the various animals in hopes to escape their fate of famine. The Native Americans were then presented with two choices, assimilate themselves with the European Society or preserve their way of life by engaging in war with the Europeans. However, the American Indians refused to conform to European customs, and did not possess the power to win a war against their enemy. The Native Americans were simply incompatible with the ever-changing civilization and were treated harshly by the Union and the States. The only people that seem to share in their misery are those from Africa.

The Native Americans did not like America’s expansion into their land. The British used this to their advantage as they supplied the Native Americans with weapons and information. During the War of 1812, 10,000 Native Americans fought on the British side. The Native Americans hoped to regain their land and to be recognized as their own “nation”. It was Britain’s goal to create an Indian State.

Throughout United States history, various Native American tribes responded differently to the European colonization process. The various ways that the Native American tribes responded to the Europeans coming to their land resulted in different outcomes for each of the tribes as well. When the Europeans first came to America, they did not know how to interact with the various Native American groups that were spread out all over the United States, and the Native Americans also did not know how to respond to the new settlers trying to take over their land.