A photo of Cherokee people. The Cherokee are currently one of the largest recognized tribes in the United States. |
In the 1800s, the government passed several pieces of legislation that systemized removing native populations from areas desired by Europeans and forcing Native Americans to assimilate into white, Christian culture. As native Americans were forced off of their sacred lands, the government was forced to find someplace for them to stay. Initially, they were forced to move west, into land unsettled by the white colonists. This led to conflict between the tribes who lived in the west originally, and the nomadic tribes who were seeking land. In 1851, the Congress authorized Indian reservations, allowing settlers to encroach on territory and resources that belonged to Native Americans.
This image shows the Native American territories from 1784 to present-day, which consistently decreased over time. |
In 1887, Congress altered the reservation policy by distributing land to individual members of a tribe, instead of giving land parcels to tribes as a whole. Most Native Americans viewed land as something communal to be used by all members of a tribe. They did not believe that land was something that could be bought or sold. The new reservation policy overturned this belief, and only served to increase tensions between native Americans and the white Americans.
Although Indians were granted land, they were usually given land that nobody else wanted. Reservations were a fraction of the size of the areas Indians used to roam, and they had to deal with poor living conditions in addition to the loss of their sacred land. In many reservations, there were issues of poverty, drug abuse, poor nutrition, and poor education. These issues persist today, made better known by the work of authors like Sherman Alexie, with works including The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.
Sherman Alexie, an author who draws on his experience growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation and living as a Native American. |
2 comments:
I really like the descriptions below the pictures. Lots of good information, neat, easy to follow. I really like the map showing progression over time. I like how you discussed the conflicting ideals between americans and native americans.
This is written in a really nice way. The pictures were a nice touch. I feel that the problems with the reservation system are not well known enough. I've been to a few reservations, and the land is almost always absolutely terrible for farming or hunting.
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