Crime In Native American Crime

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As most of us know by now, living in The United States of America and committing a crime is something that is looked down upon. Crimes can vary from many things; whether it is stealing something that isn't yours or killing someone that you may or may not know. Crime is taken seriously. For Native Americans, "crime" was looked at through a different way. From my knowledge that I've gained in this class and readings, Native Americans believe that if you killed someone, for example, it is acceptable to take someone from that person who committed the crime tribe. Or even in order to "repay", make up for what that tribe may have lost. It's a very different perspective on things from what many of us have learned and follow by today, but the Native Americans believed this was a way to solve things, which was solved multiple times. The Major Crimes Act of 1885 changed that, and still exists today. In 1881, a Native American man named Crow Dog, who was a traditional medicine man, believed that Native Americans needed to get back to their old ways of living and doing things, and if that was done, everything would end up being okay. A Native American man named Spotted Tail had a different view on things. Spotted Tail believed, in a short way of putting it, "if you can't beat them, join them." This means, that he was willing to convert over the "American way" of life and give up his Native American background and culture. Because of this strong disagreement amongst the two men, Crow Dog took action. Crow Dog killed Spotted Tail. Because of Crow Dog's actions and what Native Americans beliefs are, Crow Dog covered the dead. This means that Crow Dog paid Spotted Tail's family in money. Because Crow Dog did this, it was set... ... middle of paper ... ...s Act made this murder crime different, making Kagama convicted of murder. The result was getting hung. The Major Crimes Act is still used today for reservations, but now includes fifeteen crimes instead of only seven. This affects Native American culture, and is a prime example of how Native Americans have been "Americanized" and forced to follow the way of living because another group of people didn't like the way Native Americans lived or did things. Native American way of doing anything wasn't good enough, and the Major Crimes Act shows that is how Americans gained power over Natives. Today, this is linked with FBI. As told about how things were handled before the act, and then after the act, just makes me realize on how much "power" Americans had and how Native Americans had no opinion, say, or excuse for how they wanted to live their life and do things.

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