The Crucial Role of Native Americans Essays

This section highlights that history has created a false narrative depicting the natives as a victimized people, which they were to some extent but only in the fashion that they did not possess the same technology for warfare, immunity of communal diseases transmitted, and they were not anticipating combat. All other factors considered, the natives stood to be a potential threat. In regards to knowledge obtained by Spaniards prior to arrival and knowledge gained from observation, it would be remiss had they not prepared for battle. This argument is not to be misconstrued in approving their actions; I do recognize colonization as an evil for both the reasons employed and its damaging effects, but rather to change the narrative surrounding that of the native people. While they did experience a tragedy, I feel that it is erroneous to write them into history as being incompetent resulting from their

What if everyday in America there was not an action someone could take because someone of an opposite race sexually assaulted or domestically abused that person? Often news outlets only focus on major even in cities or towns, but never the reservations. With the lack of awareness of the number of rapes and domestic abuse victims on reservations, at large society is saying America doesn’t care due to reservations having sovereignty. Even with new laws signed into place by President Obama to deal with the rape and abuse problems to Native American women, that come from non Native Americans, the problem with this is it’s a pilot only on three tribes (Culp-Ressler,1).It is said it will expand soon, but how soon? America is not known for being

“The Indian presence precipitated the formation of an American identity” (Axtell 992). Ostracized by numerous citizens of the United States today, this quote epitomizes Axtell’s beliefs of the Indians contributing to our society. Unfortunately, Native Americans’ roles in history are often categorized as insignificant or trivial, when in actuality the Indians contributed greatly to Colonial America, in ways the ordinary person would have never deliberated. James Axtell discusses these ways, as well as what Colonial America may have looked like without the Indians’ presence. Throughout his article, his thesis stands clear by his persistence of alteration the Native Americans had on our nation. James Axtell’s bias delightfully enhances his thesis, he provides a copious amount of evidence establishing how Native Americans contributed critically to the Colonial culture, and he considers America as exceptional – largely due to the Native Americans.

If one thing is to be respected and understood about the American Indians, it would be that their history and culture goes much further back than contemporary American history. Consequently, the relationship developed between American Indians and the United States is as unique as it is complicated. This unique relationship started because the American Indians were the first faces seen by fresh colonials from Europe. Despite this fact, the American Indians have faced cultural appropriation on a level that cannot be compared to any other ethnic group or minority. Any American who has been through kindergarten can associate Indians and Pilgrims with Thanksgiving, but how many of those Americans can tell about the Battle of Little Bighorn or the Alcatraz Proclamation? The unique relationship between the United States and American Indians has grown over time to allow for the level of appropriation that can be observed today. It is this unique relationship that has allowed the American Indian culture to be exploited because

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man's ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. "Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition" (back cover) is a great way to show that the author's stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa's American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will discuss

The early Native American tribes had a huge influence on the United States of America. They saved the early European settlers from death and starvation by teaching them their knowledge of the New World. One of these influential tribes were the Cherokee Indians. The Cherokee Indians had a fascinating culture and language that formed an important part of American history.

Furthermore the economy would have been utterly different without the Indians in place when the colonial Americans arrived. It is easy for one to see how the agriculture would have been similar but not the same without the Indians. Axtell stated that the mainstay of colonial life would have been farming either for “family subsistence or for capitalist marketing and accumulation. Because of the Indians existence before the Colonial Americas an extensive amount of land was cleared by the Indians which made the farming process somewhat easier for the Colonial Americas. The Indians were able to clear to clear the grub and make “meadows and park- like woods by seasonal burning”. (Axtell.988) Because of the previous clearing work the Indians had done large corn fields and villages were formed. It was relatively easy for the colonist to obtain clear Indian land by “trading a few fathoms of trading cloth, some

Overtime, the conception of American Indians has changed significantly changed. The fact that Columbus's first thought of the Natives was that they were incapable and dull. He took many captive and used them to gather information about the land. It was assumed that the American Indians would quickly learn to accept

The stories Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress and A Patriot’s History of the United States have a greater difference than they do similarities. Each story has a different tale of how Native Americans were treated by the Europeans. One story told of gallons of bloodshed, torture, enslavement, and overworked Indians, while the other one told of glorified Europeans here to help their fellow man. Even though, both stories had their differences; they did tell of a similar time in which explorers reach the New World to establish colonies, and to use and turn the native tribes against one another for the benefit of the European nation.

The historical context of the documents complicate the narrative of the United States' "colonial beginnings" because it shows that the original treatment of the Native Americans shaped the United States' beginning, much more than what most are lead to believe. This is shown through the timing of certain events, the issues that caused the events, and the people who helped make many of the events happen or end.

This cruelty they were put through went on for a very long time; it drove tribes apart, they lost their land and homes, and many lives were taken. Native North Americans did help shape America’s History, they went through so much for their people while early settlers were taking their land, animals, food, and even women.  Many tribes are still around and you can visit many Indian reservations,legal designation for an area of land managed by a Native American tribe, throughout America and even learn the many interesting and good things about the Natives,and learn about their tribe and culture.

The United States and the Native Americans have a rich historical background. Though on the surface it is filled with hatred and injustice, there are a lot more complex interactions once thoroughly examined. The U.S, once a colony of the Europeans, eventually grew into the strong standing nation that it is today. Meanwhile the original inhabitants, the Native Americans, often received the aggression and oppression of this growing nation, but they weren’t the savages the U.S. claimed them to be. In fact, the Iroquois Confederacy was the main influence of the U.S Constitution. This paper will discuss the differences as well as the similarities, which are thought to be controversial, between these two historical documents.

It is no secret that many minority groups in America experience challenges that the average American is not subject to, but Native Americans, who live on reservations, experience a unique set of social hardships. Many of these hardships are due to the fact that they live on reservations where resources and esteem are scarce, but in order to preserve cultural identity and sovereignty, many natives believe it is not only their right to live on reservations, but their duty. Likewise, it is a duty of the United States government to provide these people, who have experienced a protracted history of violence and oppression at government’s hands, with the resources they need in order to live fruitful and happy lives. Native Americans are a group of peoples who deserve appreciation and dignity, but also a group who is struggling to survive as a result of the harm our nation has caused them and it is for this reason, we must increase assistance to natives on reservations.

In the Lakota language, “wicozani” is a word that means wealth by living a happy and well balanced life with a physical and mental well-being in conformity with creation. In order to fulfill a life of prosperity and euphoria, it is crucial to be a well-behaved, humane person. In the Native American culture, being an impish, untrustworthy being goes against everything they believe in. One of the most meaningful values to the Native Americans is honesty. One of the most condemned traits is disrespect.

During the early to mid 1800 's the U.S. was deeply entrenched in a debate over the Native Americans living in Georgia. The somewhat newly formed United States had been pushing westward since its inception and continually ran into Native Americans already occupying the territory. Georgia along with other states had passed a series of treaties with the Natives to decide these land disputes but conflict still arouse. Many settles pushed for the federal government to make a final decision and remove the natives from these lands which sparked the debate about the natives. The debate came down to two sides those believe it was a matter of human rights and those who believed it was about economics.