Savagery and the American Indian Savagery and the American Indian is a two part documentary that tells the of Native American Indians, and how they disappeared from history, both through physical presence, and cultural aspects. Native Americans, despite being one of the stepping stones that allowed America to thrive, have all but become a cultural stereotype. Alvin Josephy, a historian states that Indians have been going through a constant holocaust that has lasted over the last five-hundred years. And it is because of this, mistreatment that many other colonies have thrived. But how did this come to be? How did an entire history get swept under the rug and rewritten in order to show the natives as 'savages'? Religion. One may call it a …show more content…
This in turn caused the native population to quickly decay as up to 80% of the population had been entirely wiped out. The Puritans, being unaffected by such disease viewed this as God's divine intervention, meaning that the Indians were not the true holders of the land. The Indians that had survived were without leadership, and were disheveled for over-hunting left them starving, causing thousands of more Indians to die of …show more content…
In the 1860s, when the migration path of the bison became disrupted due to American trade-routes Indians found themselves beginning to die of starvation. It was then that the Indians began to fight back, often mutilating corpses which only fueled the savage Indian ideology. However, this was just the beginning of the war for the Indian Great Plains. In the Sand Creek Betrayal American troops gathered and slaughtered over a hundred Cheyenne, despite the American Flag, and the white-flag that Chieftain Black Kettle flew above his tipi. As news about the massacre spread, the United States erupted into war against the Indians. This war would be the only war that the Americans lost against the Indians. As a result, the Sioux gained a 300-miles worth of
Inventing the Savage: The Social Construct of Native American Criminality. Luana Ross. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1998.
The journey of exploration to the western territories brought the white man many great things, but they did face some opposition. The US government made plans to explore the Black Hills, after hearing of the gold it contained. This was not an easy task. The Sioux, with strong force, were not giving up their sacred land easily. The only way to gain the territory of the Black Hills was to wage war against the Sioux. The Battle of the Little Big Horn was one battle that the US will never forget. General George Custer led an army of men to take out the Sioux, one of the battalions was completely wiped out including Custer. The Sioux were very strong, but US had a lot more power and technology. Why did we get massacred? This question has been a mystery to many people throughout the years. Sergeant Windolph, of Benteen’s cavalry, and John F. Finerty, from General Crooks cavalry, bring us some personal accounts and memories of this tragedy.
The massacre at Wounded Knee was the last action in a long and bloody war that pitted Native American Indians against U.S Military forces. For roughly 300 years the two sides had been in constant conflict across America in a battle for land, resources, and ultimately; freedom. This final massacre solidified the American hold on the west and closed the final chapter on a way of life that can never be brought back. Lakota Indians, having learned of the death of Sitting Bull started to move towards Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in hopes of finding protection from Red Cloud. However, the harsh South Dakota winter weather had different plans, causing Chief Big Foot to become extremely ill. The Lakota came across cavalry forces and showed white flags in order to show they were no threat and in need of assistance. The army had orders to move the Indians to a camp on Wounded Knee Creek in order to provide shelter, food, and aid. 1 It is evident that a misunderstanding combined with an already tense situation led to the confrontation and ultimate demise of many elderly men, women, and children at the hands of the United States Calvary. Was this an intentional act or just an unfortunate turn of events for the Lakota and Unites States Army.
A. Plan of the Investigation I. Subject of the Investigation How did the Manifest Destiny ideal affect the Native Americans in the 1830’s? II. Methods a. Research the origins of Manifest Destiny and the history of the Native Americans from 1830 to 1839. There were two websites that were particularly helpful to me. Reliability, how recently it was updated, and how easily it could be edited by Internet users were the main criteria used when selecting a website.
The Sioux and other Native Americans have always been treated poorly by some people. They had to deal with the same racism that the African Americans were dealing with in the South. No one was fighting a war for the Sioux though. The truth is white supremacy runs amuck everywhere and wreaks havoc on society. Racism separated the Sioux from the settlers, but the tipping point was something else entirely. The US made a binding contract, a promise, to pay the Sioux a certain amount of Go...
One of the darkest times in American history was the conflict with the natives. A “war” fought with lies and brute force, the eviction and genocide of Native Americans still remains one of the most controversial topics when the subject of morality comes up. Perhaps one of the most egregious events to come of this atrocity was the Sand Creek Massacre. On the morning of November 29th, 1864, under the command of Colonel John Chivington, 700 members of the Colorado Volunteer Cavalry raped, looted, and killed the members of a Cheyenne tribe (Brown 86-94). Hearing the story of Sand Creek, one of the most horrific acts in American History, begs the question: Who were the savages?
Throughout our country’s history there have been several groups who have fared less that great. Every minority group was treated unfairly, Indians were uprooted and had no control, I can’t imagine for a second being a soldier in combat, women struggled for basic rights, and many people fell victim to the changing ways of our economy, losing their jobs and fighting to survive. It seems wrong to pick one group over another, as if to say some people who were treated horribly or who faced mounting obstacles didn’t actually have it as bad as another group. But throughout all the years we’ve studied, one group that stood out to me who were dealt a horrible fate were Native Americans living in the west during the 19th century. When Americans began to expand westward, Indians unwillingly had their lives flipped upside down and changed drastically. After years of displacement, they were being forced to live in certain areas and follow certain rules, or risk their lives.
Along the way 4,000 Indians died because of the harsh terrane and the cruelty of the soldiers and many of them are buried in unmarked graves along the trail of tears. The trail of tears has been Know according to a white Georgian the “Cruelest work I ever knew”(Tindall pg 343).A few Cherokees Indians hide in the mountains and became knew as the Eastern Band of Cherokees. Later the Creeks and the Chickasaws went back to try to take back control of their lands. During the trail of tears nearly 100,000 Indians were forced to relocate to the west. The government during that time sold about 100 million acres of Native American lands, and most of the land was prime cotton growing
It might be easy to think of more miserable people than the unnamed group of people at this point of time in history, but surely their misery is certainly their undesirable kind. Brutality, distrust Horror is dispersed in the air, men breathe it in and die of it. The life of every man hung on a thin thread and the hope of being alive was tainted with convincing uncertainty. Trust and reliance sporadically gave way for mistrust and suspicion. It was certainly a world of no man’s life.
When a person thinks of a “gang,” Native Americans are often not the first group of people that come to mind. Throughout the past 20 years however, Native American gangs have begun to draw attention to themselves. Though they often contrast their urban counterparts, Native gangs are a difficult force to be addressed by tribal leaders and authorities, as well as parents, and educators. Understanding such gangs is a difficult concept, using Native history and culture; this essay will provide insight into the emergence of Native gangs, as well as some prevention strategies taken on by the tribal communities.
This triggered the largest population decline in all recorded history. Fifty percent of the Native American population had died of disease within twenty years. Soon after, Native Americans began to question their religion and doubted the ability of the shaman to heal. This was the first step towards the destruction of Native cultures. The Native Americans had never experienced anything like these deadly diseases before, and they came to believe that Europeans had the power to kill or give life.
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
Benjamin Franklin wrote “In Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America”, because he made observations and describes it in this essay the difference between the society of White English America and Native Americans. Furthermore, he needed people to understand that those supposed savages are different from us and that is acceptable. In every culture, whether White English America, or Native Americans, we all have some practices of disrespect and courtesy. Not all cultures are the same, as well as everyone’s life is different. Benjamin explains the differences between our society and their nation; moreover, he explains that their manners differ from ours as well.
At the conclusion of the battle, the stories of the Indian savagery were used to demonize their culture and there were no survivors from the 7th cavalry to tell what really happened. The Strategic Setting In 1875, Custer had made a commitment to the Sioux (aka. Lakota) that he would no longer fight Native Americans. Custer's promise came as a U.S. Senate commission meeting was taking place with the Lakota in an effort to purchase the gold mining fields in the Black Hills (which Custer had discovered a year earlier). The Lakota rejected the Senate’s offer in favor of sticking with the 1868 treaty that promised protection of their lands.
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were