How did the U.S. government treat Native American culture?
When were Native Americans finally recognized as US citizens?
What happened to Native Americans by 1871?
How did the U.S. government change its policy toward Native American land during the 1850s?
Do Native Americans pay taxes?
Who was removed by the Trail of Tears?
What modern day states were once considered Indian Territory?
How many Cherokees died on the Trail of Tears?
How were Native American treated in the late 1800s?
Do you think that the government's treatment of Native Americans in the mid to late 1800s was justified?
Why did the Native American population decline steadily between 1850 and 1900?
What is Native American recognition?
Native American recognition in the United States. For state recognition in the United States, see State-recognized tribes in the United States. President Coolidge stands with four Osage Indians at a White House ceremony. American Indian tribal recognition in the United States most often refers to the process of a tribe being recognized by ...
Which tribes are not federally recognized?
Some examples of state-recognized tribes are the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Houma Tribe of Louisiana.
Why is Indianness a rigid legal term?
Thus Indianness becomes a rigid legal term defined by the BIA, rather than an expression of tradition, history, and culture. Many groups claim descendants from tribes that predate European contact not federally recognized. According to Rennard Strickland, an Indian Law scholar, the federal government uses the process of recognizing groups to "divide and conquer" Indians: "the question of who is 'more' or 'most' Indian may draw people away from common concerns."
What is the American Indian Religious Freedom Act?
It defines an Indian as a person who belongs to an Indian Tribe, which in turn is a group that "is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.".
What are the rights of tribal people?
They may form their own government, enforce laws (both civil and criminal), tax, license and regulate activities, zone, and exclude people from tribal territories. Limitations on tribal powers of self-government include the same limitations applicable to states; for example, neither tribes nor states have the power to make war, engage in foreign relations, or coin money.
What is federally non recognized tribe?
Federally Non-Recognized tribes refers to a subgroup of non-acknowledged tribes which had some sort of recognition by the British prior to the formation of the United States or by the United States but which were determined by the government to no longer exist as an Indian tribe or no longer meet the criteria for a nation to nation status.
What is a non-acknowledged tribe?
Non-Acknowledged Tribes are tribes which have no federal designation as sovereign entities. This is not to be confused with recognition of Native Americans in the US which are defined by the BIA as any descendant of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas which is a US citizen. Federally Non-Recognized tribes refers to a subgroup ...
Why did Native Americans fight in the French and Indian War?
Native Americans fought on both sides of the conflict. The greater number of tribes fought with the French in the hopes of checking British expansion. The British had made fewer allies, but it was joined by some tribes that wanted to prove assimilation and loyalty in support of treaties to preserve their territories. They were often disappointed when such treaties were later overturned. The tribes had their own purposes, using their alliances with the European powers to battle traditional Native enemies.
Who painted the Treaty of Penn with the Indians?
The Treaty of Penn with the Indians by Benjamin West painted in 1771.
What was the Iroquois League of Nations?
The Iroquois League of Nations or "People of the Long House", based in present-day upstate and western New York, had a confederacy model from the mid-15th century. It has been suggested that their culture contributed to political thinking during the development of the later United States government.
Why did the United States settle in the Northwest Territory?
The United States was eager to expand, to develop farming and settlements in new areas, and to satisfy land hunger of settlers from New England and new immigrants. The belief and inaccurate presumption was that the land was not settled and existed in a state of nature and therefore was free to be settled by citizens of the newly formed United States. In the years after the American Revolution, the newly formed nation set about acquiring lands in the Northwest Territory through a multitude of treaties with Native nations. The coercive tactics used to obtain these treaties often left the Native Nations with the option to sell the land or face war. The states and settlers were frequently at odds with this policy. Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance in 1787, which was conceived to allow for the United States to sell lands inhabited by the Native nations to settlers willing to move into that area.
Why did the tribes use horses?
The tribes trained and used horses to ride and to carry packs or pull travois. The people fully incorporated the use of horses into their societies and expanded their territories. They used horses to carry goods for exchange with neighboring tribes, to hunt game, especially bison, and to conduct wars and horse raids.
What were the policies of the United States?
United States policy toward Native Americans had continued to evolve after the American Revolution. George Washington and Henry Knox believed that Native Americans were equals but that their society was inferior. Washington formulated a policy to encourage the "civilizing" process. Washington had a six-point plan for civilization which included: 1 impartial justice toward Native Americans 2 regulated buying of Native American lands 3 promotion of commerce 4 promotion of experiments to civilize or improve Native American society 5 presidential authority to give presents 6 punishing those who violated Native American rights.
Where are the Etowah Indian mounds?
Etowah Indian Mounds ( 9BR1) are a 54-acre (220,000 m 2) archaeological site in Bartow County, Georgia south of Cartersville, in the United States. Built and occupied in three phases, from 1000–1550 CE, the prehistoric site is on the north shore of the Etowah River.
Who were the first Native Americans to capture a white settler?
Ironically, the Delawares were the first Native Americans to capture a white settler and the first to sign a U.S.-Indian treaty four years earlier—one that set the precedent for 374 treaties over the next 100 years. Often employing the common phrase “peace and friendship,” 229 of these agreements led to tribal lands being ceded to a rapidly expanding United States. Many treaties negotiated U.S.-Indian trade relations, establishing a trading system to oust the British and their goods—especially the guns they put in Indian hands.
How many Indians were removed from the East?
From 1830 to 1840, the U.S. army removed 60,000 Indians—Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee and others—from the East in exchange for new territory west of the Mississippi. Thousands died along the way of what became known as the “Trail of Tears.”. And as whites pushed ever westward, the Indian-designated territory continued to shrink.
What was the significance of the Battle of Tippecanoe?
In the early 1800s, the rise of the charismatic Shawnee war leader, Tecumseh, and his brother, known as the Prophet, convinced Indians of various tribes that it was in their interest to stop tribal in-fighting and band together to protect their mutual interests.
What happened in 1782?
In 1782, a group of militiamen from Pennsylvania killed 96 Christianized Delaware Indians, illustrating the growing contempt for native people.
Where did Custer attack the Indians?
Expecting another great surprise victory, Custer attacked the largest gathering of warriors on the high plains on June 25, 1876 —near Montana’s Little Big Horn river. Custer’s death at the hands of Indians making their own last stand only intensified propaganda for military revenge to bring “peace” to the frontier.
How many wars did the US have against the Indians?
government to authorize over 1,500 wars, attacks and raids on Indians, the most of any country in the world against its Indigenous people. By the close of the Indian Wars in the late 19th century, fewer than 238,000 Indigenous people remained, a sharp decline from the estimated 5 million to 15 million living in North America when Columbus arrived in 1492.
Where did Native Americans look at a sailing ship?
A group of Native Americans look at a sailing ship in the bay below them.
Who is the first Native American cabinet member?
He has already appointed the first Native American Cabinet member, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. In doing so, he placed Haaland in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. I wrote to the bureau Monday, asking whether Secretary Haaland is in favor of acknowledging the treatment of Native groups here as genocide. I hope that she does — and that Biden follows suit.
Who was the first governor of California to say the Trail of Tears was a war of extermination?
claimed as its own. Less than 20 years after the Trail of Tears killed 4,000 Cherokees on their march west, Peter Burnett, the first governor of California, told lawmakers that "a war of extermination" that will "continue to be waged between the two races until the Indian race becomes extinct must be expected."
What year did Congress apologize for the National Defense Authorization Act?
There have been a few halting efforts to truly face down America's past. Congress slipped an apology into the 2009 National Defense Authorization Act, citing "years of official depredations, ill-conceived policies, and the breaking of covenants by the federal government regarding Indian tribes." California Gov. Gavin Newsom came closer in 2019:
Who coined the term "genocide"?
That's more people than live in Ireland or New Zealand. But Raphael Lemkin, who coined the word "genocide," was clear from the start that a people need not be annihilated fully for his word to apply.
Did China model its eugenic policies on the American Indian schools?
The horror at realizing that the Nazis built their eugenic and racist policies using America's treatment of Blacks and immigrants as a template doesn't diminish over time. China may not have directly modeled its methods on the American Indian schools, but the effect is the same.
What was the purpose of the American Indian Treaties?
were negotiated to establish borders and prescribe conditions of behavior between the parties.
What is published government sources related to Native Americans?
Published Government Sources Relating to Native Americans provides information about treaties, policies, Congressional hearings and debates, and the implementation of federal law. U.S. Senate records related to Indian treaties are described in Guide to Records of the United States Senate at the National Archives, 1789-1989 Bicentennial Edition.
When did non-tribal citizens have to have a passport?
Non-tribal citizens were required to have a passport to cross sovereign Indian lands. From 1832 until 1871, American Indian nations were considered to be domestic, dependent tribes. Negotiated treaties between tribes and the U.S. had to be approved by the U.S. Congress. In 1871, the House of Representatives ceased recognition ...
What was the form of the Treaty of Paris?
The form of these agreements was nearly identical to the Treaty of Paris ending the Revolutionary War between the U.S. and Great Britain. The negotiations ended in a mutually signed pact which had to be approved by the U.S.Congress. Non-tribal citizens were required to have a passport to cross sovereign Indian lands.
What happened to Native Americans after the French and Indian War?
After siding with the French in numerous battles during the French and Indian War and eventually being forcibly removed from their homes under Andrew Jackson ’s Indian Removal Act, Native American populations were diminished in size and territory by the end of the 19th century. Below are events that shaped Native Americans’ tumultuous history ...
What were the events that shaped the Native Americans' tumultuous history following the arrival of foreign
Below are events that shaped Native Americans’ tumultuous history following the arrival of foreign settlers. 1492: Christopher Columbus lands on a Caribbean Island after three months of traveling. Believing at first that he had reached the East Indies, he describes the natives he meets as “Indians.”.
How did Native Americans respond to the explorers?
As explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt. As explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt.
What treaty was signed in 1785?
1785: The Treaty of Hopewell is signed in Georgia, protecting Cherokee Native Americans in the United States and sectioning off their land. 1788/89: Sacagawea is born. 1791: The Treaty of Holston is signed, in which the Cherokee give up all their land outside of the borders previously established.
What happened in October 1540?
October 1540: De Soto and the Spaniards plan to rendezvous with ships in Alabama when they’re attacked by Native Americans. Hundreds of Native Americans are killed in the ensuing battle.
How many Cherokees died in the Mississippi River?
1838: With only 2,000 Cherokees having left their land in Georgia to cross the Mississippi River, President Martin Van Buren enlists General Winfield Scott and 7,000 troops to speed up the process by holding them at gunpoint and marching them 1,200 miles. More than 5,000 Cherokee die as a result of the journey.
When did Sacagawea join Lewis and Clark?
April 7, 1805 - Sacagawea, along with her baby and husband Toussaint Charbonneau, join Lewis and Clark on their voyage. November 1811: U.S. forces attack Native American War Chief Tecumseh and his younger brother Lalawethika. Their community at the juncture of the Tippecanoe and Wabash rivers is destroyed.
Why did Native Americans resist the Europeans?
They resisted the efforts of the Europeans to gain more of their land and control through both warfare and diplomacy. But problems arose for the Native Americans, which held them back from their goal, including new diseases, the slave trade, and the ever-growing European population in North America. In the 17 th century, as European nations ...
What made Native Americans vulnerable?
Another aspect of the colonial era that made the Native Americans vulnerable was the slave trade. As a result of the wars between the European nations, Native Americans allied with the losing side were often indentured or enslaved. There were even Native Americans shipped out of colonies like South Carolina into slavery in other places, like Canada.
Which two groups were allied in the French and Indian War?
Some famous alliances were formed during the French and Indian War of 1754–1763. The English allied with the Iroquois Confederacy, while the Algonquian-speaking tribes joined forces with the French and the Spanish. The English won the war, and claimed all of the land east of the Mississippi River.
How long did it take for the Cherokee to leave the US?
Thus, in 1838, the Cherokee were forced from their land and “escorted” west. The trip was estimated to take eighty days, but some of the contingents took almost twice as long due to inclement winter weather, unrelenting sickness because of exposure, and dangerous ice flows while crossing the Mississippi River. Before the Cherokee left on this epic trek, almost 1,500 had died from epidemics in the camps they were housed in; another 1600 died on the journey. As a result of their weakened condition, along with the absence of housing and food, many more died soon after reaching their destination. The United States government had guaranteed supplies for the Cherokee’s new home, for a year after their arrival, but rations were hired out to private contractors who made extra profits by providing less than they had agreed to supply. Oftentimes, what they did provide was rotten meat and moldy corn and flour (McLoughlin 7).
How long did the Pequot War last?
The Pequot War lasted almost a year, from 1636 to 1637, with both parties being experienced warriors.
What were the Puritans affected by?
The Puritans being affected by the New World microorganisms and the Indians suc cumbing to European microorganisms brought by the colonists fostered distrust, accusation, and death (Cave 15). The Puritan worldview consisted of two parties: God’s party being white; Satan’s party being dark, heathen and doomed.
What did the Narragansetts and Wampanoags discover?
The Narragansetts and the Wampanoags, once friends of the English in the early 17 th century, both discovered, before the end of that century, that the Puritan conception of God’s providential plan for New England left no room to assert Native American autonomy. Such assertions were an offense to the Puritan sense of mission.
What is the term for the systematic destruction of peoples based on ethnicity, religion, nationality, or race
Source: Chris Parfitt, Creative Commons. Genocide is the systematic destruction of peoples based on ethnicity, religion, nationality, or race. It is the culmination of human rights violations. There are numerous examples of genocide throughout history, some being more infamous than others.
What is the most well known genocide?
For example, Hitler and the Jewish Holocaust is probably the most well-known case of genocide in modern history. There are other cases that are not as well known, especially in our American culture where, historically, we tend to focus on the atrocities of others and ignore our own.
What were the economic changes that occurred at the end of the 17th century?
By the end of the 17 th century, economic changes, such as the declining importance of the fur trade and the expansion of English agriculture and industry, effectively reduced the need for Indian commerce, further jeopardizing the status of Native American communities in New England (Cave 174).
How did the United States reduce its native population?
Through massacres, forced removals, biological warfare, and separation of children, the United States of America managed to reduce their native populations from millions to a mere 230,306 by the 1900 census. Adolf Hitler cited the United States’ as inspiration for his own Holocaust, which accounted for the loss of 6 million Jews.
Who set a precedent for how our government was to regard Native Americans for the next century?
Washington set a precedent for how our government was to regard Native Americans for the next century. “American Progress” by John Gast (1872) depicting Manifest Destiny’s claiming of Native lands. The beloved Abraham Lincoln, venerated for abolishing slavery, was also far from guiltless.
What did Abraham Lincoln do to abolish slavery?
The beloved Abraham Lincoln, venerated for abolishing slavery, was also far from guiltless. His administration displaced tens of thousands of natives with the Homestead Act, which subsequently resulted in thousands of deaths. In Lincoln’s removal of Navajos and Mescalero Apaches from their homelands, the Nations were involuntarily made to make a 450 mile trek, accounting for the loss of over 2,000 lives, only to undergo further intensive ethnic cleansing, crop burnings and raids by the U.S. military. Across the plains in Minnesota, Lincoln signed an 1862 order to execute 38 Dakota Sioux, the largest mass execution in US history. The men sentenced to death were fighting in defense of raiding white settlers, after the government broke peace treaties with the Dakotas. To give perspective on the matter, Lincoln never ordered a single Confederate officer or general be executed, despite the Civil War killing over 400,000 Union soldiers. The sentiment was clear: If you revolt and are indigenous, you deserve execution. If you revolt and are white, you deserve a slap on the wrist and possibly a commemorative statue or two.
How many Native Americans were killed in California?
In line with Governor Peter Burnett’s 1851 vow to ambush Native Americans until they became “extinct,” the State of California had over 16,000 Natives slaughtered by federal troops and state sponsored militias in just 30 years.
How many Yuki people died in 1854?
For the Yuki Nation alone, who numbered between 6,000 and 20,000 in 1854, only 300 remained by 1864. [iii]
When did California apologize for Native Americans?
Despite the California State Department of Education’s refusal to acknowledge these events in their history curriculum, on June of 2019, California State Governor Gavin Newsom gave a formal apology for the state-led ethnic-cleansing of Native Americans.
Did Trump try to steal Native Americans?
Of course, such an apology will realistically have to wait for the next presidential administration. Despite a few sprinkled efforts to aid Native Relations, President Donald Trump has spent his political and business careers actively working to oppress and steal from Native Americans. Through the 90s and 2000s, Trump lobbied, advertised, and spread intentional misinformation against multiple Nations he felt to be competition to his casinos. On several occasions, including before the House subcommittee, Trump exclaimed that certain Native American businessmen should not have the right to own and manage casinos because they “don’t look like Indians to me,” on account of them having both Native and African American ancestry. He further shared the conspiracy that the Native American casino industry was owned by the Mafia, despite the Department of Justice concluding that “there has not been widespread or successful effort by organized crime to infiltrate Indian gaming operations.” Unconvinced, Trump launched an anonymous ad campaign, bankrolled by his own casino company, to spread falsehoods and racially charged fears about a Mohawk Nation’s expansion in the Catskill Mountains. The ads featured heroin needles and cocaine lines, with the narrator accusing the Mohawk Nation of being in the mob, asking the viewer, “Are these the new neighbours you want?” Because Trump never reported the 1 million dollars he poured into the advertisements under his lobbying spending, he was issued a 250,000 dollar fine and made to give a public apology.
Overview
Recognition
In order to become a federally recognized, tribes must meet certain requirements and achieving these requirements can be extremely difficult. The Bureau of Indian affairs defines a federally recognized tribe as an American Indian or Alaska Native tribal entity that is recognized having a government-to-government relationship with the United States, with the responsibilities, powers, limitations, and obligations attached to that designation, and is eligible for funding and services …
Historic judicial and legislative definitions
Federal courts have not universally required membership in federally recognized tribes for a person to be classified as Indian. At times a person's membership in a federally recognized tribe was not sufficient for classification as Indian in the eyes of the courts.
The Major Crimes Act of 1885 placed seven major crimes under federal jurisdictionif committed by a Native American in Native American Territory. The Department of Justice required that a defen…
Recent shift to "political" definition
Because continuing to determine Indian membership by racial criteria, such as blood quantum or Indian descent, would leave the government in a constitutionally indefensible position, it has attempted to change how its statutes and regulations provide for the distribution of benefits to Indians. Native American concerns over equal protection and tribal sovereignty have led the federal government to reduce its role as arbiter of race-based eligibility standards. This policy o…
Footnotes
1. ^ National Register: List of 564 recognized tribes, Oct. 1, 2010
2. ^ Federal Register: Supplement, Listing of one additional tribe, Oct. 27, 2010
3. ^ "Federal Register 2012 list of 566 federally-recognized tribes.pdf" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 19, 2013.
Bibliography
• Barrett, Barbara. (2007) "Two N.C. tribes fight for identity; Delegation split on Lumbee recognition" The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) April 19, 2007
• Bonney, Rachel A. (1977) "The Role of AIM Leaders in Indian Nationalism". American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3. (Autumn, 1977), pp. 209–224.
Overview
The history of Native Americans in the United States began before the founding of the country, tens of thousands of years ago with the settlement of the Americas by the Paleo-Indians. Anthropologists and archeologists have identified and studied a wide variety of cultures that existed during this era. Their subsequent contact with Europeans had a profound impact on their hist…
Eurasian migration
According to the most generally accepted theory of the settlement of the Americas, migrations of humans from Eurasia to the Americas took place via Beringia, a land bridge which connected the two continents across what is now the Bering Strait. The number and composition of the migrations is still being debated. Falling sea levels associated with an intensive period of Quaternary gla…
European exploration and colonization
After 1492 European exploration and colonization of the Americas revolutionized how the Old and New Worlds perceived themselves. One of the first major contacts, in what would be called the American Deep South, occurred when the conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed in La Florida in April 1513. He was later followed by other Spanish explorers, such as Pánfilo de Narváez in 1528 and He…
16th century
The 16th century saw the first contacts between Native Americans in what was to become the United States and European explorers and settlers.
One of the first major contacts, in what would be called the American Deep South, occurred when the conquistador Juan Ponce de León landed in La Floridain April 1513. There he encountered the Timucuan and Ais peoples. De León returned in 1521 in an attempt at colonization, but after fier…
17th century
Through the mid 17th century the Beaver Wars were fought over the fur trade between the Iroquois and the Hurons, the northern Algonquians, and their French allies. During the war the Iroquois destroyed several large tribal confederacies—including the Huron, Neutral, Erie, Susquehannock, and Shawnee, and became dominant in the region and enlarged their territory.
King Philip's War, also called Metacom's War or Metacom's Rebellion, was an armed conflict bet…
18th century
Between 1754 and 1763, many Native American tribes were involved in the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War. Those involved in the fur tradein the northern areas tended to ally with French forces against British colonial militias. Native Americans fought on both sides of the conflict. The greater number of tribes fought with the French in the hopes of checking British expansion. The B…
19th century
As American expansion continued, Native Americans resisted settlers' encroachment in several regions of the new nation (and in unorganized territories), from the Northwest to the Southeast, and then in the West, as settlers encountered the tribes of the Great Plains.
East of the Mississippi River, an intertribal army led by Tecumseh, a Shawnee c…
20th century
On August 29, 1911 Ishi, generally considered to have been the last Native American to live most of his life without contact with European-American culture, was discovered near Oroville, Californiaafter a forest fire drove him from nearby mountains. He was the last of his tribe, the rest having been massacred by a party of White "Indian fighters" in 1865 when he was a boy. After being jailed i…