THE NATIVE AMERICANSTHE NATIVE AMERICANS

CHAPTER 6CHAPTER 6

Early European ContactsEarly European Contacts• Misunderstood and ill treated by their

conquerors for several centuries• Diverse Ethnicity

• Culture• Language• Kinship system• Political – economic• In 1500, 700 distinct languages spoken in the area

north of Mexico

• Columbus’ diary• ““It appears to me that the people [of the New It appears to me that the people [of the New

World] are ingenious and would be good World] are ingenious and would be good servants…. These people are very unskilled in servants…. These people are very unskilled in arms…. With fifty men they could all be subjected arms…. With fifty men they could all be subjected to do all that one wishes” (Akwesasne Notes to do all that one wishes” (Akwesasne Notes 1972:22).1972:22).

• Estimated 10 million in 1500Estimated 10 million in 1500• About 600,000 in 1800About 600,000 in 1800• 1n 1900, less than 250,0001n 1900, less than 250,000

• This loss of human life can only be judged as This loss of human life can only be judged as catastrophiccatastrophic

Summary of Contact and PoliciesSummary of Contact and Policies• 1492 Arrival of Columbus• 1607 Jamestown was founded • 1620 Pilgrims landed at Plymouth• 1622 First major Indian retaliation• 1744 Treaty of Lancaster• 1778 First treaty between US and

Indians• 1803 US Louisiana Purchase

• 1824 BIA established and placed in the Department of War

• 1830 Indian Removal Act• 1854 Indian Appropriation Act • 1862 Railroad Act• 1868 Fort Laramie Peace Conference• 1887 General Allotment Act (Dawes)• 1924 Indian Citizenship Act• 1944 National Congress of American

Indians• 1947 Indian Claims Commission Act

• 1948 Indians allowed to vote in Arizona• 1953 Termination Act• 1962 Indians allowed to vote in New

Mexico• 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act• 1972 Indian Education Act• 1975 Indian Self-Determination Act• 1978 American Indian Religious

Freedom Act• 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act• 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act• 1990 Indian Art & Craft Act

Treaties and WarfareTreaties and Warfare• US formulated a policy during 19th century

that followed precedents established during colonial period• Not to antagonize Native Americans

unnecessarily• Exploits of the Forty-Niners were glorified

• Authorities offered bounties to settlers for the heads of American Indians

• State reimbursed about $1 million to reimburse people for bullets used to shoot them

• The Case of SiouxThe Case of Sioux• Treatment was especially cruel and remains fresh

in the minds of tribal members even today• Fort Laramie Treaty (1868)Fort Laramie Treaty (1868)

• Government agreed to keep Whites from hunting or settling on newly established Great Sioux Reservation, which included land that is now South Dakota west of the Missouri River

• Whites entered Sioux territory spurred by Col. George Custer’s exaggerated reports of gold in Black Hills

• Battle of Little Big Horn (1876)Battle of Little Big Horn (1876)• Last great Sioux victory

• Millenarian Movement (Ghost Dance)Millenarian Movement (Ghost Dance)• Movement founded on the belief that a cataclysmic Movement founded on the belief that a cataclysmic

upheaval would occur in the immediate future, upheaval would occur in the immediate future, followed by collective salvationfollowed by collective salvation

• Originated among the Paiutes of Nevada

• English learned by Native Americans gave the means to overcome barriers of tribal languages and communicate with one another

• Functionalist perspective views millenarian movement as a means of coping with the domination of White intruders

• Battle of Wounded Knee (1890)Battle of Wounded Knee (1890)• Anticipating Ghost Dance, cavalry arrived and a Anticipating Ghost Dance, cavalry arrived and a

random shot led to the death of 300 Sioux and 25 random shot led to the death of 300 Sioux and 25 government soldiersgovernment soldiers

• Despite effects of disease and warfare, 250,000 Indians still lived in 1890

• According to the government, Indian problem still remained

• Reservation system established forms the basis of the relationship between Native Americans and the government from then until the present

Ruling The Native AmericansRuling The Native Americans• Internal ColonialismInternal Colonialism

• The treatment of subordinate groups like colonial The treatment of subordinate groups like colonial subjects by those in powersubjects by those in power

• The Allotment Act (1887)The Allotment Act (1887)• A disastrous policy that bypassed tribal leaders A disastrous policy that bypassed tribal leaders

and proposed to make individual landowners of and proposed to make individual landowners of tribal memberstribal members

• The Reorganization Act (1934)The Reorganization Act (1934)• Tribes could adopt a written constitution and elect

a tribal council with a head• Imposed foreign values and structures

Reservation Life and Federal PoliciesReservation Life and Federal Policies

• Over 1/3rd of Native American live on 557 reservations and trust lands in 33 states• A bit more than 2% of the land throughout the US

• Reservation Native American, more than any other segment of the population, except the military, find their life determined by the federal government

• Many 20th century policies were designed to “get out of the Indian business”

Native American Legal ClaimsNative American Legal Claims• From 1836 to 1946 Native Americans could

not bring a claim against the government without an Act of Congress• Policy prevented most charges of treaty violations• Only 142 claims were heard during this period

• Indian Claims Commission (1946)Indian Claims Commission (1946)• Established by Congress to hear claims against

government• Led to an increase in claims

• Commission extended until 1978• Cases are now heard by the U.S. Court of

Claims• Over the course of 50 years, commission and

Court, paid claims totaling an average of $1,000 for each American Indian for all treaty violations and related claims

• Allotment Act Trust estimated at $3 billion• Annually, government pays beneficiaries about

$500 from the fund• Handling of trust called:

• ““The God standard for mismanagement by the federal The God standard for mismanagement by the federal government for more that a century.”government for more that a century.”

• BIA shut down website over fear information it gives out could be wrong

• Native Americans express a desire to recover their land rather than accept financial settlements

• Congress finally agreed to pay $106 million for land illegally seized in aftermath of Little Big Horn• Sioux rejected money and lobbied for return of the

land• Despite need for housing, food, health care, and

education, Sioux prefer land to original settlement, which now totals more than $330 million

The Termination Act of 1953The Termination Act of 1953• Most controversial governmental policy Most controversial governmental policy

toward reservation Native Americans in the toward reservation Native Americans in the 2020thth century century

• Policy proposed, at that time, was an attempt to give Native Americans greater autonomy and at the same time reduce federal expenditures

• Services tribes received, such as subsidized medical care and college scholarships, should not have been viewed as special and deserving to be discontinued

• Unfortunately, it reduced costs and ignored individual needs

• Services were to be withdrawn gradually but were stopped immediately

• The effect on Native Americans were disastrous• Unable to establish some of the basic services

• In 1975, the government resumed the services• Signaled the end of another misguided policy

intended to be good for Native Americans

Employment Assistance ProgramEmployment Assistance Program• (1952) BIA began programs to relocate young

Native Americans• (1962) Employment Assistance Program (1962) Employment Assistance Program

(EAP)(EAP)• Primary provision was for relocation at Primary provision was for relocation at

government expense, had unintended government expense, had unintended consequences, and was unsuccessfulconsequences, and was unsuccessful

• Provided educational and business assistance• Impact on the economic development of the

reservation and the brain drain• By 1965, 1/3rd to 1/4th returned to the reservation

Collective ActionCollective Action• Pan-IndianismPan-Indianism

• Refers to intertribal social movements in which Refers to intertribal social movements in which several tribes joined by political goals but not by several tribes joined by political goals but not by kinship, unite in a common identitykinship, unite in a common identity

• Most vividly seen in cultural efforts and political protests

• National Congress of American Indians National Congress of American Indians (NCAI)(NCAI)• Founded in 1944 in Denver, Colorado• 1st national organization representing Native

Americans and has a political role

• American Indian Movement (AIM)American Indian Movement (AIM)• Founded in 1968 by Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis

Banks in Minneapolis, MN• More radical and created a patrol to monitor police

actions and document charges of police brutality• Fish-insFish-ins

• Began in 1964 to protest interference by Began in 1964 to protest interference by Washington State officials with Native Americans Washington State officials with Native Americans who were fishingwho were fishing

• 1969 Alcatraz takeover by Francisco Indian Center

• Red Power movement

• Alaska Native Settlement Act (1971)Alaska Native Settlement Act (1971)• Claim of land rights by Inuit Eskimos and other

Aleuts• Alaskan Federation of Natives (AFN)Alaskan Federation of Natives (AFN)

• Native Claims Settlement Act (1971)Native Claims Settlement Act (1971)

• Battle of Wounded Knee IIBattle of Wounded Knee II• Most dramatic confrontation between Native

Americans and government recently• PowWows (Pau Wau)PowWows (Pau Wau)

• Referred to the medicine man or spiritual leader Referred to the medicine man or spiritual leader of the Algonquian tribes but Europeans used of the Algonquian tribes but Europeans used word to refer to entire eventsword to refer to entire events

SovereigntySovereignty• While collaborative action gathering cannot

be minimized, there continues to be a strong effort to maintain tribal sovereignty or tribal self-rule

• Sovereignty remains linked to both the actions of the federal government and the actions of individual American Indians

• Government determines which tribes are recognized and self-declaration carries no legal recognition

Native Americans TodayNative Americans Today• Public insult is the continuing use of American

Indian names as mascots for athletic teams• Native American population is split between

those on and off reservations and those living in small towns and central cities

• Economic DevelopmentEconomic Development• High rate of unemployment and poverty• Overall unemployment is more than 30%

• Among those with jobs, 1/3rd earned less than $10,000

• Tourism and the double edged sword • source of income but also a source of degradation

• Indian Arts and Crafts Act Indian Arts and Crafts Act • Severely punishes anyone who offers to sell an

object as produced by a Native American artisan when it was not

• Cottage industries• Income from mineral rights

Casino GamblingCasino Gambling• Recent source of significant income and some

employment• Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988)Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (1988)

• States must negotiate gambling agreements with States must negotiate gambling agreements with reservations and cannot prohibit any gambling reservations and cannot prohibit any gambling already allowed under state lawalready allowed under state law

• Gaming money• supports tribal members, is used to buy back

tribal lands, and help underwrite cost of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian opened in 2004

• Tribes that have opened up casinos experienced drops in unemployment and increases in household income

• Three important factors:• Tribes do pay taxesTribes do pay taxes• Nationwide, economic and social impact of

gambling revenue is limitedrevenue is limited• Tribes that make substantial revenue are a small

fraction of all Native American people

• Even on the reservations that benefit from gambling enterprises, levels of unemployment are unemployment are substantially highersubstantially higher and family income family income significantly lowersignificantly lower than for the nation as a whole

• Another major source of employment for Native Americans is the government• BIA, federal agencies, military, and state and

local governments

• Dominant feature of reservation life is unemployment• Also high for urban-based Native Americans• Unemployment statistics range from 23% to

90%

Native American EducationNative American Education• Dropout rate is at least 50% higher than that

of Blacks or Hispanics and three times that of Whites• Many found their educational experience so

hostile that they had no choice but to leave• Kickout/PushoutKickout/Pushout

• More appropriate terms experience of Native More appropriate terms experience of Native Americans with school systemAmericans with school system

• Result of predominance of non-Native American teachers that do not recognize Native American learning styles

• Problems in Native American Education Problems in Native American Education include:include:• Under-enrollment at all levels, from primary grades

through college

• The need to adjust to a school with values sometimes dramatically different from those of the home

• The need to make the curriculum more relevant

• The under-financing of tribal community colleges

• The unique hardships encountered by reservation-born Native Americans who later live in and attend schools in large cities

• The language barrier faced by the many children who have little or no knowledge of English

HealthcareHealthcare• HighHigh rate of:

• 1. Alcoholism and mortality• 2. Under nutrition• 3. Tuberculosis and death• 4. High rate of teenage suicide• 5. High rate of reported crime• 6. High rate of poverty and few job opportunities

• Lack of access to health care resources

Religious and Spiritual ExpressionReligious and Spiritual Expression• American Indian Religious Freedom ActAmerican Indian Religious Freedom Act

passed by Congress in 1978• Act contains no penalties and enforcement

provisions

• Concern with stockpiling Native American relics, including burial remains• Increasingly seeking return of ancestor’s remains

and artifacts

• Native American Church - ritualistic use of peyote and marijuana

EnvironmenEnvironmentt• Concerns:Concerns:

• Environmental literature stereotypes of native people as the last defense against encroachment of civilization

• Many environmental issues rooted in continuing land disputes arising from treaties and agreements more than a century old

• Environmental issues reinforce the tendency to treat the first inhabitants of the Americas as inferior

• Environmental concerns by American Indians often are balanced against economic development needs, just as in the larger society

• Spiritual needs must be balanced against demands on the environment

• CERT was formed in 1976 - Council of CERT was formed in 1976 - Council of Energy Resource TribesEnergy Resource Tribes• Consisted of twenty-five of the West’s largest

tribes • Other tribes were added later• Purpose to protect and develop tribal natural

resources such as natural gas• Environmental justice

QuestionsQuestions

• How have land rights been a continuing theme in White-Native American contact?

• Identify three policies or actions taken by the federal government that have significant impact today in the daily lives of Native Americans?

• How much are Native Americans expected to shed their cultural heritage to become part of contemporary society?

• Do Casinos and other gaming outlets represent a positive force for Native American tribes today?

• What challenges are there to reservation residents receiving effective health care?

• Why would it be difficult for a Native American child attending schools focused on the dominant culture write on the significance of Thanksgiving Day or Columbus Day.

• Is the government’s refusal to encourage business development among reservations an attempt at forced assimilation? Why or Why not?