The Lives of American
Indians
In the
Nineteenth Century
(1800’s)
The Lives of American Indians
in the 19th Century
• Today we are going to begin learning about how
our new nation – the United States of America –
and its new government leaders – our founding
fathers – decided to deal with the American
Indians.
• But before we can learn about the actions of our
governmental leaders, we need to learn
something about the people who lived on the
land that we now call the United States of
America.
When the US was
born, it consisted of
13 states.
The rest of the
United States was
owned by the
French, the
Spanish, and the
American Indians.
Between 1776 and
1853 – just 77
years – all of that
land came under
control of the
United States
government.
An important part of our study
about American Indians is just
how the original inhabitants of
North American lost almost all
of their land during this period.
As you can see on this map,
before the English colonists
arrived in the early 1600’s, all
of the North American
continent was under the
control of the many Indian
tribes.
By the end of the nineteenth
century, almost all that land
had come under the control of
non-Indian peoples.
• Before we can learn how the American
Indians lost their land, we need to learn a
little more about who they were and how
they lived when the United States was
born.
The Lives of American Indians
in the 19th Century
•
When the US Constitution was
signed, hundreds of tribes lived in
North America – tribes that had
been living there for thousands of
years.
• Tribal members spoke
 hundreds of different languages,
 practiced many different spiritual
beliefs,
 and experience a wide variety of
different political, cultural, and
economic lifestyles.
• Indians of North America were
diverse peoples.
Diversity
1. Discuss the word “diversity.” What does it
mean in general? What is cultural diversity?
Spiritual diversity? Political? Economic?
2. Discuss the concept that from the time of
European contact forward, North American
became even more diverse, especially in terms
of race.
Diversity
•
Racial diversity arrived early to North America.
Indeed, as early as 1619 when the first Africans
arrived, the continent became the home to at least
three races of people – Anglo Europeans, black
Africans, and American Indians.
3.
Ask students if they think there is much diversity
among themselves? Ask them to relate some
information about their ancestry and emphasize how
truly diverse they are – even though they may not
appear to be diverse.
SOVEREIGNTY
• Not only were Indian peoples of North
America quite diverse, they were also
politically sovereign.
• Does anyone know what sovereignty is?
SOVEREIGNTY
• Sovereignty is the supreme power from which all
political powers are derived. A nation is sovereign when
its people have the power to govern themselves.
• Were the Indian Nations sovereign at the time of
European contact with the North American
continent?
• Yes! All Indian nations originally exercised the powers of
sovereigns. Indian nations recognized the sovereignty of
other Indian nations by forming compacts, treaties, trade
agreements, and military alliances with one another. All
the colonies recognized the sovereignty of Indian nations
by entering into treaties with the Indian nations.
• Sovereignty, then, was an inherent right of Indian
peoples - a right that could not be taken away.
“SAVAGE”
• But many Americans,
instead of recognizing
either the diversity or
sovereignty of American
Indians, instead referred
to them as “savages” or
“noble savages.”
•
“SAVAGE”
Noah Webster, the author of the first new dictionary produced in the United States in
1828, included the following definition:
Savage, n. A human being in his native state of rudeness; one who is untaught,
uncivilized or without cultivation of mind or manners. The savages of America, when
uncorrupted by the vices of civilized men, are remarkable for their hospitality to
strangers, and for their truth, fidelity and gratitude to their friends, but implacably cruel
and revengeful towards their enemies.
Questions:
1. By this definition, Indians were savages who were uncivilized. What did “uncivilized”
mean?
2. What do you think Webster and other Americans felt was “civilized”?
3. How are the definitions of savage, uncivilized, and civilized different in a contemporary
Webster’s Dictionary?
•
Discussion: This definition reveals the mixed feelings that many white Americans felt
about the Indians. On the one hand was the so-called “noble savage” belief that
Indians were good by nature (“remarkable for their hospitality to strangers, and for
their truth, fidelity and gratitude”) because civilized society had not taught them to be
otherwise. On the other hand was the “cruel savage” belief that Indians were
violent, cruel, and revengeful. Regardless of whether white Americans viewed Indians
as noble or cruel, they were always defined both as savages and as heathens –
persons who did not believe in God and were in need of conversion to Christianity.
Nowhere was there any understanding that the actions of white settlers might be to
blame for some of the cruelty, revenge, and violence they encountered among the
Indians. It was easier to regard the Indians as fundamentally different from and
inferior to whites.
Assignment
• Now let’s take a brief moment to think
about our own beliefs and attitudes about
American Indians who lived over 200
years ago.
Assignment #1
•
My Thoughts about American Indians
•
Goal: To help students think about their beliefs and/or stereotypes about
American Indians.
•
Directions: Write a brief paragraph describing your thoughts about
American Indians who lived in the US over 200 years ago. What clothing did
they wear? What were their homes like? What did they do for a living? How
did they have fun? Now, write a brief paragraph describing your thoughts
about American Indians today.
•
Have students turn these in and keep them throughout this unit of study. At
the very end of the unit, have them write a new paragraph about their
thoughts. Then have them compare the two. Finally, have them write a brief
paragraph telling how and why they think their thoughts have changed.
**********
• Homework Assignment: Have students collect at least one example of
stereotyping of any group of people from each of the following: a television
program; a television commercial; a popular song; a newspaper article; and
food package. In at least one written page, have students explain each of
their five examples and describe why they are stereotypical. Be sure to
have them identify the group that is the focus of each stereotype.
Discussion
1.
Discussion: What is stereotyping? Do you think that
American Indians have been stereotyped?
Stereotyping occurs when an entire group of people is
characterized by mistaken ideas of how they behave,
live, dress, or think.
2.
3.
What types of stereotypes exist about American Indians
in our society?
What is harmful about such stereotyping?
Stereotyping degrades Indian people and their cultures and
it distorts the reality of Indian people for non-Indian
people. It is dehumanizing.