Tiffany Hix
Eth/125
11/30/2014
Jade Pumphrey
Abstract
This paper is going to be addressing the experiences throughout history concerning political, social, cultural issues that the Native Americans endured in America. This paper will also discuss what legislation has done to constrain the Native Americans and what they did to fight back. This paper will be written as if a historian was covering this issue. The experience that the Native Americans have had since the first Europeans landed in America has been nothing but discriminating acts and violence. Our American government has stripped nearly all their ancestral roots out from beneath them in order to make them adapt to White …show more content…
The US government thought this would allow the Native Americans to be more like the White homesteaders. Even though they had the land it was a chaotic mess. The Native Americans were prohibited to sell the land for 25 years. This made the situation hard because the Native Americans had no skills on how to take care of the homestead. They were given no assistance to adapting to this way of life and eventually sold the land to the White homesteaders. In 1934 the Indian Reorganization Act benefited many Native Americans. This act allowed tribal members to adopt a written constitution and elect a tribal council with one of them serving as the head council. This act also allowed for tribal identity to be used instead of getting them to assimilate to White society. The act allowed them to approve or reject certain actions that are taken on their behalf as …show more content…
The list of wars and battles that the Native Americans have been through to protect their land, freedom, and culture starts in the 1500’s till the 1900’s. The Native Americans have conquered some battles and had to surrender too many battles they did not want to be in. In the late 1880’s, when their spirits were broken, the Ghost Dance movement came about. This gave them hope when the conditions on the reservations were at their worst. The US government took this as a threat when the tribes banned together. The troops were sent in to take control and this brought about the battle of Wounded Knee Massacre. This was the last military conflict between the Native Americans and Whites. The end result of this battle was at least 150 men, women and children Native Americans lost their lives. The battle of Little Big Horn is the most famous of all the Indian Wars. It was a significant victory for the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes in June 1876. The battle took place because a many of the tribes did not move to the reservations when the deadline to do so came. The US army, including Custer and his Calvary, was sent to confront the tribes. Custer was outnumbered, out powered, and killed when they reached the tribes. Custer and nearly 200 soldiers were attacked by nearly 3,000 Native Americans. Five years later almost all of the Sioux and Cheyenne tribes were moved to reservations despite the