Are the Indians real citizens? How Indians in America were discriminated

Essay , 11 Pages

Cultural Studies - Miscellaneous

The natives of America, the so-called "red skins" were expelled by the settlers. The settlers of America had come to America for different reasons. They pushed the Indians away from their hunting grounds. The Indians were imprisoned, sent into reservations.

Two kinds of living, two cultures clashed. The immigrated Europeans, the Whites, practiced agriculture and cared for cattle. The Indians of Northern America mainly lived on hunting and fishing. The settlers who wanted to live on agriculture and cattle needed land for their purposes.

Because the white settlers were militarily superior, they were able to expel the Indians from their origin hunting tracks. The last important battle, lost by the Indians became a massacre, known as "Wounded Knee". The battle of Wounded Knee occurred on December 29, 1890. Only a few Indians survived.

Contents

1 Issue
Definition: citizen‘

2 First Nations of America
White settlers push the Indians away. Indians were sent into reservations
Life in reservations
Example: The Cree
Step by step back to Indians‘ autonomy
Exception: The Iroquois
Steps to and fro. Closer to autonomy. Steps backwards. Laws prohibiting Indian independence, autonomy
Situation in USA
Situation in Canada
Power of the American Indian Movement

3 Conclusion

4 End:
Obama apologizes on behalf of the people of the United States to all Native Peoples
Trump attacked by Pawnees, Apaches, Cherokees and Crees

Native Americans – Are the Indians real citizens?

To answer this question we have to explain, to define the word “citizen”.

“Citizen: a person who is a member of a particular country and who has rights because of being born there or because of being given rights, or a person who lives in a particular town or city”¹

2 The Indians were the First Nations (natives) of America

We all know the names of famous American Indian tribes or the names of famous Indian chiefs. Maybe you have watched the movie “Dances with the wolves” or you may have read some of Karl May’s novels.

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

Iroquois warrior² Winnetou, Sioux, Iroquois, Apaches The natives of America, the so called “red skins” were expelled by the settlers.

The settlers of America had come to America for different reasons. They pushed the Indians away from their hunting grounds. The Indians were imprisoned, sent into reservations.

Two kinds of living, two cultures clashed. The immigrated Europeans, the Whites, practiced agriculture and cared for cattle. The Indians of Northern America mainly lived on hunting and fishing.

The settlers who wanted to live on agriculture and cattle needed land for their purposes.

Because the white settlers were militarily superior, they were able to expel the Indians from their origin hunting tracks. The last important battle, lost by the Indians became a massacre, known as “Wounded Knee”. The battle of Wounded Knee occurred on December 29, 1890. Only a few Indians survived.

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(Picture) white Lance, Joseph Horn cloud and Dewey Beard were Indian survivors at Wounded Knee.³

The defeated Indians were sent into reservations. They should learn to live like the Whites. This means they were forced to adopt a strange lifestyle. In most cases this kind of assimilation failed.

For one century the North American Indians had no rights. Step by step the Indians got back a part of their independency, autonomy.

It has to beshown what the Whites have done to the Indians in America. It must be explained why it is wrong to state that all Indians are real citizens. It will be demonstrated that most of First Nations still nowadays haven’t got equal rights in comparison to the Whites. Therefore something will be told about the Cree. What happened to them is an example for what happened to many other Indian tribes in America. Similar to many other Indian tribes the Cree people were robbed of their hunting grounds.

Only a few North American Indian tribes have become real citizens with equal rights compared to the Whites.

Exception: The Iroquois people. They had heads for hights. At the beginning of the twentieth century the Iroquois recessed in structural steelwork. High above the streets they worked on top of the skyscrapers in Chicago, Philadelphia and New York for example. Even today the “Iroquois Steelworker” is a prestigious job.⁴ The Iroquois steelworkers earned a lot of money. Therefore they easily could integrate into white society. Iroquois on top of a scysraper⁵

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To explain what the Whites usually did to the Indians in Canada and the USA I will tell you what happened to the Cree. Therefore it’s necessary to mention the ‘ James Bay Project’.

This project robbed those natives, the Cree. The Cree people, living in the Canadian forests, were pushed away, their hunting grounds were destroyed.

The Cree lived on hunting and fishing. They were hunters and trappers. Rabbits, bears, elks, fish and cariboos were their food. Before the area, they lived in, could no longer regenerate, they moved on and built new tipis somewhere else. The parents taught their children everything necessary to survive in the Canadian forests. There was no Indian school apart from that. Everyone had to know everything, how to cut trees, how to hunt, how to build a tipi etc. The Cree lived together in small groups. So they could easily support each other. Within 20 years the major part of their habitat was destroyed by the James-Bay-Project. In the area near James Bay 11 hydroelectric plants were built. Output: 17445 MW. In Quebec five rivers were redirected and made to flow into the river La Grande.

Large reservoirs flooded the former hunting grounds of the Cree. Because energy supply of Canada and the USA was the primary aim, the protests of the natives here did not succeed in court. Substitutional money was paid for natives’ land, for former Cree hunting grounds. In the course of time the Cree got back some smaller hunting rounds in other areas far away. Some lakes, as for example Lake Mistassini, were polluted by sawmills. So eating fish was dangerous from now on. Might be mecury polluted fish caused crippled children.

“Nowadays the Cree are one of the largest Indian groups living in North America. 200000 of them live in Canada. After having come into contact with white settlers and European traders, they dealt in furs. Living together in a lodge, they are closely related to each other. Intermarriage bonds are remaining. Some people, may be 12, use a wigwam and hunt together. This community is called a band. Each band remains independent from the others.”⁶ Wigwams of the cree.⁷

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Cree, man, 1903⁸ Cree, woman, 1928⁹ Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthaltenAbbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten Map La Grande near James Bay¹⁰ Indian children who were living in reservations were forced to visit schools of the White. Learning contents: Arithmetic, writing etc. But with the help of that knowledge, they couldn’ t kill a bear, hunt a beaver or a cariboo.

Because of the fact that they were no longer able to live their genuine way of life many Indians became alcoholics. Steps to and fro. Closer to autonomy. Steps backwards. Laws prohibiting Indian independence, autonomy. USA¹¹ 1871 Congress decides the President may no longer conclude contracts with the Indians. He has the right to govern Indian nations. Since 1880. Indian land is occupied by white people. Indian children are forced to visit white schools, speak American English. 1924 Indians officially become citizens of the USA. The office of Indian affairs strictly controls life in the reservations. 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. Officially the Indians have got the right to enact laws, to organize their own administration in the social sector. But the Home Secretary must agree. 1940 - 1950 Governmental attempts to resettle Indians in metropolises. Indian Claims Commission. Organizes compensatory cash to the Indians as a reward for expropriation of Indian land. Since 1970 More Indian autonomy concerning social affairs and education. Officially the Indians got equal rights in comparison to the Whites. But the congress may legally break contracts, annul tribal government and liquidate reservations. Canada¹² 1871-1923 Canada buys Indian land, establishes reservations. 1923-1960. the Canadian government pushes away Indians into smaller reservations. Indians having served in the Canadian Army, are advised assign their Indian status. They should become Canadian citizens. Mixed blood children loose Indian status. Canadian government spends more money for welfare-programs on reservations.

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¹ http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/citizen

² http://www.indianer-web.com/die-irokesen-indianer/

³ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wounded_Knee_Massacre#/media/File:Wounded_Knee_Survivors.jpg

⁴ http://www.indianer-web.de/nordost/irokesen.htm

⁵ http://www.skyscraperdictionary.com/?project=steel-monkey

⁶ Compare: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree

⁷ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baie-James-Wasserkraftprojekt

⁸ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree

⁹ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cree

¹⁰ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baie-James-Wasserkraftprojekt

¹¹ Compare: https://arbeitskreisindianer.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/der-rechtliche-und-politische-status-nordamerikanischer-indianer/

¹² Compare: https://arbeitskreisindianer.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/der-rechtliche-und-politische-status-nordamerikanischer-indianer/

• Author: Gert Singer (Author)
• Pages: 11
• Catalog Number: V905579
• ISBN (eBook): 9783346233165
• ISBN (Book): 9783346233172
• Language: English
• Tags: In dians America Discrimination