Misfortunes of the Native American Indians
Misfortunes of the Native American Indians
The name Indian was first applied to Native Americans by Christopher Columbus, who mistakenly believed that the mainland and islands of America were part of the Indies, in Asia. Native Americans are true to their cultural and have a strong bond to nature and its many creatures. The spirit that these people so highly prize was taken from them and has not yet been fully regained. Through decrease of population, enforced migration, and racism, European settlers were allowed to gain the upper hand.
The Native Americans suffered a severe decrease in population as the European settlers arrived and expanded. The first factor was a disease called smallpox. This disease was carried over to the U.S. by the settlers, and unfortunately, the Native Americans had no immunity for it. In 1763, white colonisers gave a "gift" of smallpox-infested blankets to a group of Native Americans who sought a peace treaty; however, this "gift" eventually wiped out a good bit of the tribe's population and continued to spread, killing others. The second factor consisted of the many battles held between the settlers and the Native Americans. On the morning of December 29, 1890, the Sioux chief Big Foot and some 350 of his followers camped on the banks of Wounded Knee creek, and when the smoke cleared and the shooting stopped, approximately 300 Sioux were dead, Big Foot among them. As the native population declined, their capacity for presenting a military obstacle to the settlers decreased dramatically.
Enforced migration of the Native Americans allowed the colonisers to gain full control of the land. The first phase of this migration began with the Indian Removal Act. This act was passed in May 1830, and it empowered the president of the United States to move eastern Native Americans west of the Mississippi, to what was then "Indian Territory" (Oklahoma). Although the removal was considered voluntary, it soon became mandatory and is known as the "Trail of Tears." The second phase of the migration began with the expansion of the settlers. As wagon trains clattered west, government officials concluded that the vast, unspecified tracts of "Indian Territory" would have to be more sharply defined as "reservations." The same Washington officials decided that these people were to be rounded up by the U.S. Army and...