Hostile Takeover of the New World

Hostile Takeover of the New World

The Effects of the United States Government on the Indians

"The responsibility of any nation, and the particular

responsibility of elected officials of any nation, is not to justify

what has passed for legality but to anticipate the conditions

and problems of tomorrow and attempt to deal with them. The

current confusion and violence in Indian Country are a result

of the failure to do so by generations of elected officials in this

country. To continue to perpetuate myths about American

Indians which have no basis in fact or in law is merely

avoiding the larger issues confronting the nations of the

world," said author Vine Deloria, Jr. (Deloria, Prologue) The

United States government failed miserably in its attempt to

deal with the Indians. By pushing them further and further

West, they pushed the Indians to hate and distrust the white

man to the point of war. These wars resulted in hundreds of

white deaths. However, the wars resulted in the destruction of

several entire Indian tribes and the near extinction of Indian

spirit throughout America. The tale is a sad one, one that

Americans should not be proud of. After every broken treaty,

the Americans blamed the Indians for existing, despite the

want of the Indians to simply live on their lands peacefully.

The "Trail of Tears" was a great tragedy and many thought it

would be the last now that all of the Indians were out of the

eastern United States. But the U.S. government became land

hungry and due to their idealism of "Manifest Destiny," the

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... guide them as time passes and the Indians are further

stereotyped as drunks and crooked casino owners. Alas, the

ways of the Indians were replaced. Sacred hunting territories

gave way to railroads and ranches. Buffalo are an animal of

the past and often thought of as an animal of mysticism. Both

the buffalo and the Indian culture are romanticized in movies

that are neither truthful nor accurate. Stereotypes and

prejudices replaced unity and togetherness. Pollution haunts

every city on the planet. Respect of one's fellow man gave

way to crimes unthought of by the Indians. They lived their

lives honorably. They died honorably. Even despite hardships

and misconceptions, they will continue to live honorably. That

is one thing the government can never take away from them.