Wassaja, which means signaling or beckoning was born into the Yavapai tribe in 1866. The Yavapai people were nomads, roaming the land for food. They lived in Central Arizona and occupied an area of approximately 20,000 square miles from the Gila River near Florence, to the San Francisco Mountains in the north near Flagstaff. Wassaja was five or six years old when the Pima Warriors attacked the Yavapai camp. His father was not in the camp during the attack, as the Yavapai warriors were away at a peace conference. His sisters, brother and mother were all captured during the raid. Wassaja was captured while hiding in a bush and taken on a journey to be sold or traded for goods. Wassaja was purchased for thirty silver dollars by an Italian photographer named Carlo Gentile. Mr. Gentile was a cultured, kind and gentle man, but had a great sense of adventure. He and Wassaja began traveling together. Mr. Gentile had Wassaja baptized in November, 1871 in a Catholic ceremony. Gentile named Carlos after himself and the name Montezuma as a memory of his heritage. The exact date of his birth is unknown so they chose March 27, 1866 as the date of record on his baptismal entry. In 1871, Carlos and his father began traveling with a party of explorers throughout Arizona. During this trip, Montezuma found many of his old tribe who encouraged him to escape and join his parents. He refused and later said he was afraid of starving if he returned. They then traveled into New Mexico, Colorado, Washington, New York, Michigan and Illinois, eventually settling in Chicago, where Montezuma became part of a stage production known as the Buffalo Bill show. This show was the issue for Carlos once he became an adult. He felt that I... ... middle of paper ... ...hough Montezuma was no longer alive, this was a right he fought for, starting in 1915 when he joined with the Society of American Indians. His newsletter and lectures helped promote his ideas and encouraged Indian people to fight for what was theirs. Today, American Indians have the same rights and responsibilities as all other Americans. Their land is protected and they are guaranteed health care and quality education because of the work of Carlos Montezuma. Carlos Montezuma died on Wednesday, January 31, 1923 from pulmonary tuberculosis. He was living on the reservation. He was buried in Fort McDowell. Carlos Montezuma was a Yavapai and is an extraordinary American hero. He was a hero in history fighting for the rights of American Indians and a hero to the White American showing all what an American Indian could be in a time when they were not valued.
It had previously been the policy of the American government to remove and relocate Indians further and further west as the American population grew, but there was only so much...
“Support for Indian Extermination” was a congressional speech given by James Michael Cavanaugh. This speech is considered a primary source document and has to do with race and humanitarian rights. Cavanaugh was a white man originally from Springfield, Massachusetts, but later moved to the mid-west in 1854. He gave this speech in 1868 during a hearing with regards to a conversation with Benjamin Butler, a republican representative of Massachusetts, while he was serving as a democrat congressman for the territory of Montana. The Montana territory was home to the Blackfoot, Sioux, and northern Cheyenne tribes. The speech took place a few years after the civil war had ended and in the middle of the Indian wars. The Indian wars took place for roughly 20 years. Theses wars emerged around the same time as the civil war and lasted till the late 1870’s and started due to the Americans moving west and settling on Indian ancestral ground. There had been numerous treaties between the American government and Indian nations stating that the Indian nations had complete ownership of their ancestral grounds. This war is a major contribution to the
The nineteenth century introduced several great leaders into this world, many recognized by historians today. These men, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and others, have all been honored and commemorated for their contributions. One such leader, José Martí, continues to remain anonymous outside the Hispanic community, and hidden in the shadows cast by these men. His name does not appear in the history books or on the tongues of many proud Americans, for he was neither a citizen of America nor an American hero.
stood up to take action and plead for all the Indians to unite and resist against the white settlers.
A debutante’s life came at a price; for the 16 year-old Dolores it was an arranged, loveless marriage to lawyer Jaime Del Rio. Jaime was 18 years her senior, his family one of the oldest and most influential in Mexico. Their wealth allowed for a European honeymoon, where they were invited to dine with the Spanish Royal family. The honeymoon morphed into a three year romp, with Dolores delighting in voice and dance lessons at stately Madrid and Paris schools. In 1921, the couple returned to Mexico City, Jaime intent on advancing his career whil...
The tragedy of the Cherokee nation has haunted the legacy of Andrew Jackson"'"s Presidency. The events that transpired after the implementation of his Indian policy are indeed heinous and continually pose questions of morality for all generations. Ancient Native American tribes were forced from their ancestral homes in an effort to increase the aggressive expansion of white settlers during the early years of the United States. The most notable removal came after the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Cherokee, whose journey was known as the '"'Trail of Tears'"', and the four other civilized tribes, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole, were forced to emigrate to lands west of the Mississippi River, to what is now day Oklahoma, against their will. During the journey westward, over 60,000 Indians were forced from their homelands. Approximately 4000 Cherokee Indians perished during the journey due to famine, disease, and negligence. The Cherokees to traveled a vast distance under force during the arduous winter of 1838-1839.# This is one of the saddest events in American history, yet we must not forget this tragedy.
From the foothills of Barcelona in Spain, a man came to be. Full of strength, honor, wisdom, and courage, this man was named Hernan Cortes. He, as the Spaniards would say, was a god among men. Legend says he had cat-like reflexes, and also had the mind filled with strategies. He may not have been the tallest person in the crowd, but he had the most will to achieve greatness. He is one of Spain's most influential, if not the most, conquistadors.
The emotional letter that Juan left for his mother might be one of the most emotional scenes in the documentary. The pure emotions that the letter was written by Juan to her mother leaves the audience with the bonds and emotions felt between the kids and families. Juan Carlos’s father abandoned the family years ago and left to New York, consequently Juan believe it is his responsibility to provide for his family. He also wants to find his father in New York and confronts him about why he has forgotten about them. The story of Juan is not just about migration of children, but also the issue of family separation. The documentary does not dehumanize but rather bring the humane and sensitive lens to the story of Juan where the human drama that these young immigrants and their families live. Juan Carlos is not the first of Esmeralda’s sons to leave for the United states, his nine-year-old brother Francisco was smuggled into California one month earlier. Francisco now lives with Gloria, his grandmother, who paid a smuggler $3,500 to bring him to Los Angeles, California. Once Juan Carlos is in the shelter for child migrants his mother eagerly awaits him outside. After she sees him she signs a paper that says if Juan Carlos tries to travel again, he will be sent to a foster home.
Francisco De Montejo was a Spanish conquistador in the time period of the conquest of the Aztec Empire with Hernan Cortes. Francisco was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1479. In 1514 Francisco moved to the Island of Cuba, while in Cuba he helped established Havana the Modern capital of Cuba today.
The American Indians were promised change with the American Indian policy, but as time went on no change was seen. “Indian reform” was easy to promise, but it was not an easy promise to keep as many white people were threatened by Indians being given these rights. The Indian people wanted freedom and it was not being given to them. Arthur C. Parker even went as far as to indict the government for its actions. He brought the charges of: robbing a race of men of their intellectual life, of social organization, of native freedom, of economic independence, of moral standards and racial ideals, of his good name, and of definite civic status (Hoxie 97). These are essentially what the American peoples did to the natives, their whole lives and way of life was taken away,
Both the Mexicans and Indians fought many battles for rights, land and social issues, but in the end they lost.
Towards the development of the United States of America there has always been a question of the placement of the Native Americans in society. Throughout time, the Natives have been treated differently like an individual nation granted free by the U.S. as equal U.S. citizens, yet not treated as equal. In 1783 when the U.S. gained their independence from Great Britain not only did they gain land from the Appalachian Mountains but conflict over the Indian policy and what their choice was to do with them and their land was in effect. All the way from the first presidents of the U.S. to later in the late 19th century the treatment of the Natives has always been changing. The Native Americans have always been treated like different beings, or savages, and have always been tricked to signing false treaties accompanying the loss of their homes and even death happened amongst tribes. In the period of the late 19th century, The U.S. government was becoming more and more unbeatable making the Natives move by force and sign false treaties. This did not account for the seizing of land the government imposed at any given time (Boxer 2009).
One of the critical tasks that faced the new nation of the United States was establishing a healthy relationship with the Native Americans (Indians). “The most serious obstacle to peaceful relations between the United States and the Indians was the steady encroachment of white settlers on the Indian lands. The Continental Congress, following [George] Washington’s suggestion, issued a proclamation prohibiting unauthorized settlement or purchase of Indian land.” (Prucha, 3) Many of the Indian tribes had entered into treaties with the French and British and still posed a military threat to the new nation.
Prior to the 1830’s, the United States government did not make it’s aspirations of attaining Indian lands, but rather Indians were given rights to be treated as nations, and protected their rights according to the Constitution. According to the letter to President George Washington from Henry Knox, “The Indians being the prior occupants, possess the right of the soil. It cannot be taken from them unless by their free consent, or by the right of conquest in case of a just war” (Doc B). To add on, the United States believed that “intrusions upon the lands of the friendly Indian tribes, is not only a violation of law, but in direct opposition to the policy for the government towards its savage neighbor” (Doc G) was considerate of the Indians’ territories. Therefore, this indicates that the government of the United States did not want to take any risk and was rather cautious against having the desire to obtain the Natives’ land.
Many people today know the story of the Indians that were native to this land, before “white men” came to live on this continent. Few people may know that white men pushed them to the west while many immigrants took over the east and moved westward. White men made “reservations” that were basically land that Indians were promised they could live on and run. What many Americans don’t know is what the Indians struggled though and continue to struggle through on the reservations.