Native American Survival: From Conquest to Present Challenges

The Ghost Dance CHAPTER 8:(NATIVE AMERICANS) From Conquest to Tribal Survival in Industrial Society

Contents Introduction Native American Cultures Reservations Native American Resistance Secondary Structural Assimilation

Introduction Contact period started at Jamestown in 1607 and lasted nearly 300 years Conflicts spread across the continent west; each newly encountered tribe was conquered and subordinated in turn *By the 1890’s, surviving Native American tribes had become minority groups

(C) Native American Cultures Hundreds of different tribes with their own language and heritage Within this diversity are widely shared cultural characteristics the universe is a unity humans are simply a part of a larger reality living in harmony with the natural world

(C) Native American Values: No private property (land) Tribe/ clan oriented Intermingling of the physical and spiritual worlds Egalitarian values stressing the dignity and worth of every man, woman, and child

(C) Conflicts with Western Culture: Land development Commercial farming *Bending the the natural world to the service of humans Differences in values placed them at a disadvantage when dealing with Anglo Americans

(R) Developments After the 1890’s: Indians nations were defeated and forced onto reservations Minimal political power *non-citizens-14th Amendment (1868) small populations separated by language, culture, and geography dependent on the government for basic needs--food, shelter, clothing, other necessities

(R) Bureau of Indian Affairs Paternalistic social systems Controlled reservation budgets Controlled criminal justice systems Controlled schools Superintendent controlled food and communications to the outside world *Determined tribal membership

Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood A Certificate of Degree of Indian or Alaska Native Blood (CDIB) certifies that an individual possesses a specific degree of Indian blood of a federally recognized Indian tribe(s). A deciding Bureau official issues the CDIB. We issue CDIBs so that individuals may establish their eligibility for those programs and services based upon their status as American Indians and/or Alaska Natives. http://www.doi.gov/bia/ots/cdibfedreg.htm

(R) Forced Americanization Cultures attacked Languages and religions forbidden Institutions circumvented and undermined Dawes Allotment Act of 1887 divided Native American lands into individual plots 90 million of 140 million acres acquired by dominant group (Oklahoma) Native American boarding schools

(R) The Ghost Dance Resistance to Americanization 1890 vision by Wovoka (Paiute) Non-violent dance to rid the world by flood of white society Cross tribal movement Feared by the government Death of Sitting Bull & Massacre at Wounded Knee (Dec 1890)

(R) Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 FDR and the New Deal Rescinded the Dawes Act Opportunities to expand tribal holdings Financial aid for economic development Reorganized schools *Western style elections elected leaders sold off tribal assets--mineral resources, farmland, water rights

(R) “Termination” Policy of 1953 Canceling special relationships and treaty obligations Decertifying tribes Return tribal lands and resources to private ownership About 100 tribes were terminated; most ceased to exist Repealed in 1975

(R) Advantages of the Reservation Native Americans are the least urbanized minority group (75%) Reservations provide: government services closeness to kinfolk, friends, religious services, and tribal celebrations opportunity for political participation *It’s not as tough to live on the reservation

(W) Protest and Resistance National Congress of American Indians (1944) preserving the old ways preserving tribal institutions protecting Indian welfare Red Power Movement (1961) self-determination pride in race and cultural heritage restore Native American rights

(W) Native American Activism National Indian Youth Council “Fish-in” in the State of Washington (1965) American Indian Movement (1968) *Occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969) Trail of Broken Treaties March on Washington (1972) Goal: To find a way to be a part of the larger society on their terms

(W) Continuing Competition *Natural resources (ironic) 3% oil, 15% coal, 55% uranium deposits water & fishing rights, woodlands, wilderness Attracting industry to the reservation low taxes, rents, low-wage labor pool Legal Action to recover lands Gaming (Indian Casinos--not taxed)

(C) Assimilation and Pluralism Retaining their language Retaining their culture Native American Church Native Americans function as a group *Reservation system has helped preserve traditional languages and culture

Secondary Structural Assimilation Population Increase 250,000 in 1900 to 2,000,000 in 1993 social and political phenomenon predominantly in the western states Health poverty, rural isolation,substandard housing, lack of health care on the reservation alcoholism (related to 33% of all deaths)

Secondary Structural Assimilation (Cont.) Education 400% increase in high school grads since 1970 20% increase in college grads since 1976 Jobs and income 35% to 85% unemployment on the reservation median income of $20,500 (68% of majority group) 32% of households fall below the poverty line (1991)

Conclusions Better increased population increased pride in heritage and ancestry increased political power Just Different core group continuing language and traditions grater assimilation & urbanization pan-tribalism

Native American Survival: From Conquest to Present Challenges