During the period between 1850 and 1900, there were conflicting ideas toward Native Americans. There were two contradictory impulses that were designed to fight “the Indian problem”; one desire was to commit violence upon Native Americans, including massacre, rape, and forced removal, and another was a paternalistic approach of forced assimilation. Many, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, adopted an assimilation policy, especially through the creation of Native American boarding schools. Their policy was to “kill the Indian, save the man,” to eradicate all Indian cultures and force them into white American life. However, happening during the same time as this policy, many people had the goal of murdering Indians, examples including the …show more content…
All five qualifying acts of genocide took place in the period between 1850 and 1900, whether through assimilation or acts of violence. In Madley’s article, he states that “at various times a range of perpetrators committed all five acts of genocide” with an intent to destroy against the Yuki Indians in California (328). This shows that Native Americans tribes were being destroyed, if only on the tribal level. However, these acts were not only directed toward the Yuki. All the instances of these five acts come together to create a national epidemic of Native American …show more content…
The land the Navajo Indians were forced to move onto was without much water, as “in no season [did] the rain falling exceed 10 inches” (Bosque Redondo 1868, 4). The Navajo Indians were frustrated by “the almost total failure of the Indian farm” (Bosque Redondo 1868, 2). Many people were starving, leading to malnutrition. Additionally, the Yuki Indians did not receive enough calories a day from the United States government to survive, another example of failure to help the Native Americans (Madley). The failure of the United States government to provide Native Americans of proper land for farming and proper supplies for life qualifies as a creation of an environment mean to cause physical harm. The government was aware of the arid land and the lack of food and did not solve the problems, showing an intent to cause the destruction of the Native Americans on reservations. Furthermore, because the federal government was aware of the problems of “imposed conditions of malnutrition and overwork [that] predictably lowered Indian fertility while increasing miscarriages and stillbirths” various actions against Native Americans also meet the criteria for the fourth qualification of genocide, preventing births (Madley,
Even though the U.S. got more land from the Indian Removal Act and gave the Indians a new home with covered expenses it was a downcast for many Native tribes and a miserable event throughout history. In the writing of John G. Burnett’s Story of the Cherokees, he discusses how terrible and sad the removal of the Indians were and how it negatively affected the Indians. Specifically, “Woman were dragged from their homes”(2),”Children were often separated from parents, with the sky for a blanket and the earth as a pillow.”(2) In general, all of the Indians and even the women and kids were treated horrible as if they were seen as savages, and as if they were animals. Although, when being treated like savages, were the Indians the true savages or
T.S. Eliot once said, “Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions.” This is most certainly true when looking at early Indian history in the United States. In the 1880s, the young government did not know how to deal with the indigenous people who were already living in the land. The US wanted to continue expanding, culturing, and claiming land but land, in the Indian’s perspective, was not something that you could own but a privilege to be shared. Faced with this dilemma, the government passed an act in 1887 known as the Dawes Severalty Act.
On September 8, 2000, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) made a formal apology for the their participation in ‘Ethnic Cleansing’ of the Indigenous Nations of the Western Territories of the Unites States.2 From forced relocation to obscure lands and forced assimilation into the white man’s view of the world, the BIA previously set out to ‘destroy all things Indian’.3 Through the colonization of Turtle Island (North America), the American Federal policy set out to eliminate in part or as a whole, the Indigenous populations.4 The attitudes of the colonists were intentionally detrimental and the process is naturally exterminatory.5 The process of colonization was often exemplified by violent confrontations, deliberate massacres, and in some cases, total annihilations of a people.6 The culture of conquest was developed and practiced by Europeans well before they landed on Turtle Island as the practice was developed, and perfected well before the fifteenth century.7 Taking land and imposing values and ways of life on the social landscape created a conflictual relationship with the Indigenous peoples and forced a new way of life that ultimately destroyed those that previously existed there.8 Modern Europe
Throughout the period of colonization, several aspects of genocide can be identified. From the Genocide Convention of 1948, genocide was lawfully defined as any of the following committed with the intent to destroy in whole or part a national ethnical, racial, or religious group as such: killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions to bring about its destruction, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and/or forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. In what is modern day North America, European settlers began colonizing the area in hopes of achieving their goals of expanding Christianity, acquiring wealth for their countries, and/or gaining personal wealth and power. The European settlers had little care about the indigenous people of the areas they were colonizing, leading to the American Indian Wars (Lasting from 1622 - 1924) and the genocide of Native Americans. During this time period, the Native American population decreased dramatically as a result of brutal war, disease, and torture. The modern day New Mexico area in particular was home to Indian Pueblos, who showed an extreme act of resistance against their Spanish conquerors. What later became known as the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 showed how resistance to genocide can be achievable and the impacts it may have.
The unjust history of America contains the many Native American genocides executed throughout the 1790s-1920s over
One factor that also playe a role in their struggle for survival was the Shortage of supplies. While on the Trail of Tears, many crops and food went rotten or got frost bite. Later in the year, “[b]y 1820 the United States had defeated or destroyed most of the Native American tribes east of the mississippi river and whites has taken over much Indian land” (Nardo 76). Many Native American tribes were wiped out completely as a result of the
Genocide is defined as a large killing of a specific group of people, usually ethnic. Although known as the “World’s Police Officer”, the United States is responsible for the longest genocide ever recorded and the most lives lost. According to Dr. Stanton there are eight stages of genocide, and the United States fulfilled most, if not all of those stages. Native Americans were classified as “indians” and “redskins”, both inaccurate and derogatory terms that were commonly used, even by government officials. They were also seen as poor, weak, and uneducated brutes in the public eye. The government and media made natives seemed as they were barbarians who attack innocent Americans so that it would seem justified to take their land and torture
The Native Americans began to be stripped of their customs and even forbidden to speak their native languages (All About history.org 2002). Children were taken from their tribes and sent to schools to civilize them forcing the children to abandon their heritage. Eventually U.S. government forced the Native Americans to live on ‘reservations’ were the majority of Native Americans still reside today. Thousands of Native Americans suffered with this relocation there was five tribes total “Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole and a few others (Bryan, 2007). Theses Native Americans were promised the Indian Land where they would be free from any settlers and able to live free on Indian land. Many consider these Native Americans are as very resilient people.
For more than 300 years, since the days of Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Government, an attempt of genocide of the Native American Indian has existed. From mass brutal murders and destruction by Spanish and American armies, to self-annihilation through suicide, homicide, and alcohol induced deaths brought about because of failed internal colonialism and white racial framing. Early Explores used Indigenous inhabitants upon first arriving to the America’s to survive the New World and once they adapted, internal colonialism began with attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity, repressing their values and way of life, forcing them into slavery, and nearly exterminating an entire culture from existence.
Compliant to these treaties the process began, but to their surprise, instead of having aid from army officers which would have provided the supplies such as food and the knowledge of living off the land they were appointed an Indian Department consisting of wealthy agents and officials whose intents were not in favor of the tribe. These men only sought to watch and fend for themselves instead of abiding to what was promised through the treaties. From the establishment of this department and forth it was quickly seen how the hope and promises were only a mirage to something that could only be described as unsettling, as they found it difficult to get a hold of the government through this Department and quickly began to realize this was nowhere near the end of their trouble. It is seen how by moving this group and by giving these promises that were never to come true that” great efforts were made to break up [their] customs, but nothing was done to introduce the customs of the whites” (Red Cloud). They did not get the means to work their land as promised and their rations also reduced leading to the deaths of many due to starvation. Leaving many weak and unable to even have a thought of fighting back, and those who did have the strength to have the thought saw no point to it. “The people were desperate from starvation—they had no hope”, having children die in the hands of their parents, leaving those in power of the tribe weak and unable to fill
The American government's treatment of Native Americans in the 19th century should be considered genocide. Genocide is the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group or nation. And what American governments were doing is literary killing innocent Native Americans which are one hundred percent genocide. They were killing a lot of Indians, but they didn’t want to kill all Indians because they needed some of them to work in the fields. There were a lot of diseases and bacteria speared around which was killing a lot of them. There were estimated about 12 million Indians and about 75-80% were killed by the strategic diseases. In 1890 the last major battle between Native American Indians and U.S. soldiers occurred. It was called the Battle of Wounded Knee and occurred near the Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota. Approximately three hundred Sioux Indians were slaughtered. Native Americans found themselves overwhelmed by Anglo-Americans' financial and military resources. But their response to events was neither
I wish to dedicate this paper to their memory, and to the memory of all Native Americans who lost their lives during this abominable period of American history. The atrocities they endured are undoubtedly classifiable as acts of racism.
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)
b. causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;<br>c. deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;<br>d. imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;<br>e. forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.<br>(Destexhe).<br><br>In this paper, I will argue that the act of genocide as here defined, has been committed by the United States of America, upon the tribes and cultures of Native Americans, through mass indoctrination of its youths. Primary support will be drawn from Jorge Noriega's work, "American Indian Education in the United States." The paper will then culminate with my personal views on the subject,
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