Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.
At the start of the 19th century, the American government began its efforts to expand into the West of America. During the 20th century, the western side of America was occupied by native American Indians who governed themselves (Debo 3). Native communities had fought with European colonialists who wanted to take over their land and resources during the revolution. Experiences suggested that Indians should oppose the planned expansion to the west. Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.The United States government was ready to expand to the west, thus would take any action to remove the Indians from their land. The signing of treaties between the American government and the Indian tribes was the first strategy used to make expansion possible.
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The government did not honor the treaties made, and various wars began as the native tribes tried to defend their land. Fed up with the Indian wars, the American government decided to strip the native Indians of their self-governance and assimilate them into an American society. Native Indian tribes were forced to adapt to the American way of life. Government efforts to expand into the west led to the loss of many lives and culture. Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.
Indian Wars
Native Americans started fighting the white settlers for their land when the United States government did not honor the treaties with the Indian tribes. The Civil war in Dakota was an aftermath of the treaty with Indian chiefs at Fort Laramie (Debo 223). The war resulted when Sioux Indians attacked white settlers and killed a thousand people. Consequently, the federal army retaliated by arresting 400 and hanging 38 Sioux Indians. The Dakota civil war would lead to a series of attacks between the Americans and Native American Indians with many deaths being witnessed.
The American government heeded to the white settlers’ demands to move the Sioux Indians from the state of Minnesota to crow creek (Prucha 446). Colonel John Chivington led the second attack on the Sioux Indians. Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.He attacked a camp that had already surrendered and killed over 100 people. The massacre led to the signing of the second treaty of Laramie to prevent further attacks. The peace between the two sides was short-lived as the white settlers began moving into the black hills illegally to dig up the gold that had been discovered there. The Indians defended their land against the settlers resulting into the Battle of Little Bighorn. Meanwhile, an attack led by Colonel George Cluster would result into the death of over a hundred people of Indian-American descent. Women and children were taken as prisoners during the raid. The last war was the battle of Wounded Knee that led to the massacre of over 300 men, women, and children. The Indian wars had led to the loss of a significant number of lives and the American government began the process of Americanization as an alternative strategy of taking over the Indian land.
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Assimilation into American society
The assimilation of American Indians into the American society began in the 1880s (Ryan ). The government expected to civilize the native tribes by stripping them of their cultural practices. Enrollment of Indian children in American boarding schools was the first attempt at Americanization. Moving Indian children away from their secluded lives would make the process of changing their behavior and language easy as the impact of their parents would be eliminated. Native American communities were made up of closely tied relations. Separating children from their parents for months or years at a time weakened these close ties and enabled the government to break down the tribes and conquer them. English was the only language the children were allowed to speak in school while their parents were not taught to speak English. A communication breakdown arose within the native communities. Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.Cultural concepts and traditions would not be passed on to the younger generation. Efforts to change the religious beliefs of the Indians, moreover, started at schools. The white settlers termed the sacred ceremonies and practices of the native Indian tribes as evil. As a result, the government declared spiritual ceremonies illegal: Religious practices were a part of the culture and identity of the Indians. After being unable to pass on their cultural concepts to their children, the native Americans lost their way of performing religious ceremonies too.
The history of the American Indians is filled with loss of lives and culture. During the expansion of the American government to the west of America, the native tribes made various treaties with the local Indian tribes. The government did not honor the terms of the treaties and a series of attacks ensued between the two sides. The capturing of 400 Sioux Indians and the execution of 38 of them followed the Dakota civil war that led to the loss of 1000 lives by hanging. A raid on an Indian encampment led by Colonel John Chivington followed and over 100 people got killed. The Battle of the Wounded Knee was the last attack before the American government decided the treaties were not working and they needed a different strategy. The Americanization of the Indian tribes followed. Children were shipped to the military like boarding schools to civilize them. Indian families were destroyed by separating children from their parents. A communication barrier arose because the children could only speak English and parents could not pass on cultural concepts and beliefs to the young ones leading to a loss of culture. The government banned religious ceremonies practiced by the native Indians and started converting them to Christians. The loss of culture and lives characterizes the historical expansion of the American government to the west. Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.
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Works Cited
Debo, Angie. A History of the Indians of the United States. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 2013, pp 3-421.
Prucha, Francis Paul. The great father: The United States government and the American Indians. Vol. 1. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1995, pp 5-607.
Ryan., Robert. Native American Indian Cultural Risk Factors – Contact to Termination. Indigenous Policy Journal, volume 26 no. 2, 2015. Accessed 12 December 2018. http://www.indigenouspolicy.org/index.php/ipj/article/view/338/325
Native American Loss of Culture Study Paper.