Native American Rights
Remember the heroic cowboys and rangers fighting those evil, savage-like
Indians in the old Western movies? Well, instead of being attacked by the Indians for no
reason, it was much possible that the white people took their land illegally or destroyed
their crops. Contrary to the image portrayed in mainstream entertainment for decades,
Native Americans are, in fact, the victim of the expansion of colonists starting from the
seventeenth century. And the oppression has not yet ended.
The clash between American Indians and while settlers started early due to the
prejudice and misunderstanding of both sides. In Jamestown, Virginia Captain John
Smith, the leader of Jamestown during 1608 and 1609, had a view of supremacy over
the Indians although colonists' constant trading with them (which is established by
himself) and the fact that their crop supply relied heavily upon the Indians. He
considered themselves ruler of the Natives, view the latter ones as slaves, and the
settlers shall urge them to work hard so they could "live like soldiers upon the fruit of
their labor"(Virginia's). Smith raided the Indians provisions they need when the Indians
refused in negotiations for food and supply(“Fausz, 20”). After time hatred grew, and
Powhatan, leader of a confederation of Indian tribes near Chesapeake Bay, was
disappointed that the British does not respond to their hospitality with kindness. Thus,
war broke out, both the settlers and the Algonquin people Powhatan led raided each
other's settlements, devastated houses, killed inhabitants and livestock, and destroyed
crops that the colonists lived on. Interestingly, the British allied with other Indian tribes
and captured Powhatan’s favorite daughter, Pocahontas(“Anglo-Indian Relations”).
Afterwards, the two sides had a truce, and Pocahontas married John Wolfe which
helped maintained harmony for a short time. But peace did not last long, the colonists
sought more lands to cultivate tobacco for a growing market in Europe. Becauce
tobacco deplete soil in three to four years, the settlers looked upon more fields, and
they invaded more Indian territory, even reached the fault line. The Natives were upset
about the Europeans because they were taking resources from their land again, and
they even spread epidemics on the lands("Anglo-Indian Relations"). The tension grew
worse after Powhatan and Pocahontas both died and Powhatan's aggressive brother,
Opechancanough, took power. He pretended to remain friendly with the settlers
although he was waiting for a chance to dispel the British from the area. On March 22,
1622 the Algonquin people ambushed the Jamestown settlement and killed some 300
colonists("Virginia’s"). After Baron De La Warde defeated the Indians led by
Opechancanough, the bitterness between Europeans annex Indians worsened, and
some white people had the rightful claim to treat the Indians worth force(“Anglo Indian
Relations”).
Some of the founding fathers had a different view on Indians, but they still view
them as uncivilized people.
The Natives eventually had to face the ambition of the ever-expanding new state,
and the result has been a stain on the history of the country that advocated for freedom
and equality. Although the effort of the Jefferson administration to calm the Indians, and
the rather peaceful policy toward them. President James Monroe opposed the idea of
allowing Natives to have their land in reservations. He claimed that treating Indians in
this way “flattered their pride, retarded their movement, and in many instances paved
the way to their destruction” in his second inaugural speech in 1821. On the other hand,
he also observed that America’s westward growth “has constantly driven them back,
with almost the total sacrifice of the land which they have been compelled to abandon.
They have claims on the magnanimity and ...one the justice of this nation which we
must all feel.” But despite his concern for the uprising of the Natives, he nevertheless
removed all the Indians from states north of Ohio River during his office(“Destroying the
Native American Cultures”). In 1823 the Supreme Court ruled that the Indians have the
right of occupancy but do not own the land. Which essentially means that the Natives’
right is not guaranteed. The response to the statement involved Indians seeking for selfassimilation. The Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole nations
adopted Anglo-American practices such as large-scale farming, Western education,
widespread Christianity, centralized government and slave holding(“Five Civilized
Tribes”). These actions were attempts made by Indians to coexist with settlers in peace.
As a result, the five nations earned the name of “Five Civilized Tribes,” but this only
drew jealousy and resentment of whites. The Cherokees even used legal means to
defend their rights. In 1827 the tribe adopted a written constitution declaring their
sovereignty according to previous treaties with the government. But both the state of
Georgia and the Supreme Court did not recognize the declaration. Five years
afterwards, however, backed up by the Georgian state law prohibiting white men from
living on Indian land in 1830–although it was originally intended to limit Indianempathetic missionaries, the Cherokees brought the case to the Supreme Court again.
This time the decision was in the Indian’s favor, but the state of Georgia and president
Jackson refused to comply(“Indian Removal”).
Even after entering the twentieth, or even the twenty-first century, the inequality
continues. And it some respect it might have become worse, because the state tried to
dilute their contemporary existence in front of the general public.
To round up, the Indians were generally the oppressed ones, and were never
truly respected by the government. They have been the sacrifice under the pursue of
interest. The misunderstandings at the dawn of colonization created great excuses for
the settlers to keep on invading the land and exploit resources. The discrimination in
attitude and law led to an even more devastating effect on the conditions of the Natives
and the relation between the Indians and the white people. Nowadays those
misconducts were mentioned only as a segment of history, and the government has
done way too less to repent their past mistakes. It is time to change, the government
should start providing Indians actual support to decrease public problems in the
forgotten reservations.
Bibliography
“Destroying the Native American Cultures,” Immigration, Library of Congress, Retrieved
Dec. 6,
2012.<http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/prese
ntations/immigration/alt/native_american.html>
“Five Civilized Tribes.” Oklahoma’s Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma
History & Culture. Oklahoma’s Historical Society.
<http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FI011.html>
“Indian Removal.” African in America; 1998, 1999 PBS; Retrieved Nov. 30, 2012
<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2959.html>
http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentation
s/timeline/colonial/indians/
Fausz, An Abundance of Blood Shed on Both Sides (1990) p. 20
Anglo-Indian Relation
http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/jame1/moretti-langholtz/chap5.htm