Early American Indians Readings
The origins of the American Indian are surrounded by mystery. It is unclear when the
first inhabitants arrived in the New World. There are a series of theories that attempt to
explain where they came from and how they arrived in America. One of the most
scientific theories is the land bridge theory. Here is a map showing the possible migration
across the Bering Strait:
http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/chavez/hinojosa/chicano125/map_1.html. And here is a
detailed explanation of that migration: http://www.nps.gov/akso/beringia/comhist.htm.
The theories of origins were numerous. Here are sites with numerous links that includes
Indian myths and poetry: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/NAANTH/CREATION.HTM
and http://www.ewebtribe.com/NACulture/stories.htm.
During the period before Columbus known as the Pre-Colombian period there were a
series of regional cultures as well as some advanced groups. One of those groups was the
Hohokam of the Southwest; this site shows their lifestyles and their advanced culture:
http://carbon.cudenver.edu/stc-link/hohokam/Hohokam.htm. Here is the Hohokam World
from one of the newest books on this group:
http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/hohokam/titlhoho.htm. Finally here is a site
with various links to the history of the Hohokam and to the reasons for the disappearance
of the Hohokam: http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PUEBLO/dfindex.html#contents. Another
group was the Anasazi of the four corners region; here is a detailed description of their
advanced culture: http://www.desertusa.com/ind1/du_peo_ana.html. This site has
numerous links to the rise and fall of the Anasazi and their general culture:
http://web.archive.org/web/20071209165336/http://sipapu.gsu.edu/index.html. The
largest Anasazi apartment complex was that of Pueblo Bonito:
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/art/beads/bonito.html. The newest research describes Anasazi
cannibalism: http://www.archaeology.org/9709/newsbriefs/anasazi.html. This article
deals with some possible theories for the demise of the Anasazi:
http://www.santafe.edu/~johnson/articles.anasazi.html.
One of the most advanced groups was the Mississippi culture group known as the
Cahokia mound builders: http://www.hp.uab.edu/image_archive/up/upi.html. Here is the
official web site for the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site:
http://www.nps.gov/history/worldheritage/cahokia.htm . There are various links to
numerous aspects of the culture of the people of Cahokia. This site describes the Cahokia
site with links and the Mississippi art:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/northamerica/cahokia.html . This
article from the Washington Post presents the rise and fall of Cahokia:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/march/12/cahokia.htm.
When large numbers of whites from Europe arrived in the United States, the advanced
groups such as the Hohokam, Anasazi, and Mississippi Mound Builders were gone. But
there existed a series of regional cultural groups. One was known as the Pacific
Northwest Culture Group and extended from Alaska to Northern California. Here is a
map showing the various tribes of this region from Alaska to Northern California:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/wright.htm. Here is a site with links on Gifting
and Feasting in a Northwest Potlatch:
http://www.peabody.harvard.edu/potlatch/default.html. Here are some of the arts and
crafts of this region: http://www.saltspring.com/art/View.htm. Here is one of the most
comprehensive digital collections of photographs of the Pacific Northwest Indians; go to
subject and browse through the visual culture of these people:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/award98/wauhtml/. Here is a detailed study with links of
the Tlingit and Tsimshian of the British Columbia Coast:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/miller1.html. And here is a study of the Makah,
people of the sea and forest: http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/renker.html. Here is
a study of the totem poles of these people:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/wright.html. And here are some photographs of
totem poles: http://users.imag.net/~sry.jkramer/nativetotems/default.html and
http://www.totempoles.info/photo.html.
Across the country lived the Northeastern Woodland Indians from Maine down the
Northeast coast to Virginia and across to the Mississippi River. This site with links
describes the general culture of these Indians along with their housing; there is also
information on the Iroquois tribes:
http://www.cabrillo.edu/~crsmith/noamer_newoodlands.html. Here is the art of these
Indians: http://www.webwinds.com/yupanqui/iroquoisdreams3.htm. The Iroquois were
known for their confederacy system of government; here is their constitution:
http://tuscaroras.com/pages/history/iroquois_constitution_1.html. And here is a history of
these tribes: http://www.tolatsga.org/iro.html.
The Southeast Indians were considered the best farmers in the region from Virginia
south to Florida and across the Southeast to the Mississippi River. Here is the general
culture of these Indians:
http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/Our_Country_Vol_1/americani_f.html.
Here is a site dealing with the history of the Cherokee: http://cherokeehistory.com/. Here
is an article on the history of the Caddo: http://ops.tamu.edu/x075bb/caddo/Indians.html.
Here is the official site of the Cherokee nation with links to history and culture:
http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/tsalagilanguage/.
The Plains Indians had a much more mobile lifestyle than the Indians of the Pacific
Northwest Coast and the Northeastern Woodlands and the Southeast. This map shows the
location of the Pre-Colombian Tribes and of the Plains Indian Tribes:
http://www.bfro.net/legends/index.htm. Here is a site dealing with Plains Indians culture:
http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h941.html. Note the music of the Buffalo Dance
playing in the background for this web site. The Sun Dance was one of the central
ceremonies of the Plains Indians: here is a detailed description of that ceremony:
http://www.crystalinks.com/sundance.html and here is another site on the Sun Dance:
http://www.psyeta.org/sa/sa1.1/lawrence.html.
The Plateau Indians were located between the Pacific Northwest Coastal Tribes and
the Plains Indians. Here is a map of these tribes:
http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/images/hnai12.gif. Here is information on the
Ute tribe: http://www.cpluhna.nau.edu/People/ute_indians.htm. Here is a history of the
Coeur d'Alene tribe: http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/frey.html. And here is an
essay on the Nez Perce: http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/walker.html.
The Great Basin Indians lived to the south of the Plateau Indians were known as the
desert Indians. This was the least occupied area and survival in this area was not easy.
Here is an excellent study of these tribes with various links to aspects of their culture:
http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/basin/gb-title.htm. There was a great variety
among the California Indians based on the differences in the environment from north to
south. This site lists the major California tribes and has links to numerous tribes and their
culture: http://ceres.ca.gov/nahc/califindian.html and
http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/ca/california.html.
The Indians of the Southwest had the greatest variety of lifestyles of all the regional
culture areas. The Pueblo Indians of New Mexico were urbanized and quite conservative
in their religious practices; here is a web site with links on their history and culture:
http://www.cabq.gov/aes/s3pueblo.html . Here is the Pueblo Cultural Center in
Albuquerque; go to the various pueblos and read about their history and culture:
http://www.indianpueblo.org/. This text deals with songs of the Pueblos:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/LowSong.html. The Hopi lived on mesas
in the midst of Navajo land; they were well known for their kachinas:
http://www.hopimarket.com/Kachinas.htm. The Navajo tribe lived in northern Arizona
and had one of the most complex religious cultures of any tribe; here is their history and
links to various aspects of their culture:
http://www.americanwest.com/pages/navajo2.htm. Here is a general description of
Navajo culture and their relationship to their environment:
http://waltonfeed.com/peoples/navajo/culture.html. Sand painting is unique to the
Navajo: here is a history of this art – http://www.crystalinks.com/navajos.html and
http://www.americana.net/sandpaintings_article.html. The Apache lived in various
groups and subgroups throughout the Southwest and they had a culture very different
from their neighboring tribes. Here is a description of their history:
http://web.archive.org/web/20080103073611rn_1/www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/
articles/AA/bma33.html. Here is also a brief description of their culture:
http://web.archive.org/web/20071031111537/http://www.geocities.com/coqrico.
The European period saw the beginning of Spanish, French, and English policy
toward the Indian. The Spanish policy involved the encomienda system which led to
physical and cultural abuse for the natives who came in contact with the Spanish
explorers and settlers. The greatest challenge to this system in the United States came
from Tewa Pueblo Pope. Pope was the leader of the Pueblo Revolt:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/pope.htm. This article deals with the causes
and results of that revolt:
http://www.epcc.edu/ftp/Homes/monicaw/borderlands/17_pueblo_revolt.htm .
The English policy of removal and no use affected the natives of the East coast region.
King Philip was the first resistance to the English policy in Massachusetts: here is King
Philip's War – http://www.historyplace.com/specials/kingphilip.htm. Of course the
greatest challenge to the English in America came from Pontiac; this site describes that
challenge and gives links to other sites: http://www.nndb.com/people/072/000049922/
and http://members.tripod.com/~RFester/pont.html.
The English policy ended with the American Revolution and saw the beginning of the
United States treaty policy. This treaty system was based on the belief that Indians owned
the land upon which they lived and that each tribe was like a nation. In the first period of
treaty making that started with George Washington. Tecumseh was the major challenge;
here are sites with the life and times of this great leader:
http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/Cove/8286/warrior.html and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh.
Andrew Jackson was elected president in 1828 and he changed the treaty system by
starting the removal policy to remove the eastern tribes. Cherokee John Ross was the
major challenge to that policy; here is a biography of Ross:
http://ngeorgia.com/ang/John_Ross.
With westward expansion the removal policy became the reservation policy which
would last until 1887. There were numerous challenges to the reservation policy. Red
Cloud was one of the most successful; here is a biography of Red Cloud:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/redcloud.htm and
http://www.indigenouspeople.net/redcloud.htm. Another challenge came from Nez Perce
Chief Joseph; here is his surrender speech with various links to the Nez Perce War:
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/chiefjoseph.htm and
http://www.gsu.edu/~eslmlm/chiefjoseph.html.
The treaty system ended in 1887 with the passage of the Dawes Act; the purpose of
this act was to force Indians to become white. Here is that act:
http://pinzler.com/ushistory/dawesactsupp.html.
Index Next
Pontiac: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Pontiac and
http://www.nndb.com/people/072/000049922 Tecumseh-:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tecumseh and
http://history1800s.about.com/od/leaders/p/tecumsehbio.htm and
http://www.historynet.com/tecumseh-red-cloud-and-sitting-bull-three-great-indianleaders.htm (this site also discusses Red Cloud) Chief Joseph:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph and
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/a_c/chiefjoseph.htm and
http://www.indians.org/welker/joseph.htm Red Cloudhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cloud and
http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/i_r/redcloud.htm.
THE EARLY AMERICAN INDIAN
This topic will cover the American Indian from the origins of the Indian to
the passage of the Dawes Act in 1887. There are four parts to this topic:
Part One- a series of theories or possible answers concerning the arrival of
the Indian to North and South America will be explained, Part Two- this
section will feature a description of the advanced societies in the United
States in the Pre-Colombian period; the societies which we will described
include the Hohokam, the Anasazi, and the Mound Builders of Cahokia,
Part Three- this section is the European Period of Indian History and it
will focus on Indian policy by Spain, France and England and also focus
on the major Indian challenges from Pope, Philip and Pontiac, Part Fourthis section will explain the United States treaty policy toward the Indian
and will focus on five Indian challenges to this policy by: Tecumseh, John
Ross, Chief Joseph, Red Cloud and Geronimo. Finally a preview of
modern Indian policy will focus on a discussion and evaluation of the
Dawes Act.
It is safely believed that there were no human beings in North or South
America before 100,000 B.C. The key questions we need to answer then
would be: Where did they come from? And how did they get here? Since
there are no exact answers to these questions, we will discuss some possible
answers or theories. The land theory is the most scientific and the most
accepted theory. During the last great ice age the water level in oceans
were down; the water between Siberia and Alaska is today called the
Bering Strait. But during that last great ice age this was not water, it was a
one thousand mile wide land bridge that connected Siberia and Alaska.
Here is the scenario. Asian stone age hunters began to migrate across the
land bridge from Siberia to Alaska; they moved in small family units in
search of the bison: their major source of food. When that last great ice
age ended around 10,000 B.C., land travel ended. Most experts would
agree that the majority of Indians came from Asia across the Bering Strait
land bridge and that they were originally part of the Mongoloid race from
Asia. Another well proven and good scientific theory is that the early
Indians came from Asia by water; there are strong currents in the Pacific
Ocean such as the Japanese current that would take boats quite easily
across the Pacific. In addition, there are many islands in the Pacific region
and people could have migrated from island to island until they crossed
the Pacific. Anthropologist Thor Heyderdahl not only proved Pacific travel
when he took the raft Kon Tiki across the Pacific, but he also proved the
possibility of Atlantic Ocean travel when he took a papyrus boat across the
Atlantic from Egypt.
This leads us into theory three: the belief that Indians are a combination of
races. This may explain the great variety of Indians both physically and
culturally just in the United States alone. This theory says that Indians
came by water from various places all over the world. There were many
ancient races that sailed long distances such as the Egyptians, Romans,
Greeks, and Phoenicians. There were many modern races that also sailed
long distances such as the Irish, Welch, Swedes, even Africans. Theory
three continues to focus on water travel but key here is that water travel
could have taken place from various places all over the world: the ancient
world and the modern world. Theory four is the religion theory; we have
investigated various religions to see if they have tried to explain the origins
of the Indian. The Mormons, for example, refer to the Book of Mormons
and the reference to one of the lost tribes of Israel who traveled by water
to America. Over the years that tribe split into various groups and the one
group that survived was called the Lamanites. This group evolved into
Indians. Many Mormons believe that the Indians are part of God's chosen
people from the Middle East. While the Christian bible does not have any
direct references to the origins of the Indians, the pope made two
statements: a. that Indians were human and the descendants of Adam and
Eve, and b. that Indians were Noah's relatives. This last statement is based
on the idea that the ark made a stop in America and some of Noah's
relatives got off and eventually became Indians. These religious theories
are much more difficult to prove and are much less scientific.
Theory five is the legendary theory. This theory is based on the belief that
there were advanced people who lived on islands, but these islands
suffered some physical disaster and sank into the ocean. Eventually these
advanced island people became advanced Indians. The most famous lost
island is the island of Atlantis. Some believe that this island was in the
Atlantic ocean and it sank into the sea and the people moved to America
and became Indians. The famous lost island in the Pacific is the island of
Mu. Again this island sank into the sea, and the people moved to America
and became advanced Indians. Theory six is the outer space theory. This
theory does not say that Indians came from outer space, but this theory
does try to prove outer space visitation and influence- we now have IFOidentified flying objects. The theory is based on a series of unanswered
items such as the stone statues of Easter Island and the drawings on the
ground at the Plain of Nazca in Peru and the evidence of an ancient
landing field in Utah and the Pacific Northwest legend of the Thunderbird.
Individuals such as Erich Von Daniken tell us that the only way to explain
these unexplained phenomenon as well as other mysteries is by visitation
from outer space. The final theory involves the Indian tribal stories of
creation. Indians believe that they were always here and that they were
created from nature and elements of nature. These tribal stories of
creation, and they are many of them, are nonscientific and are difficult, if
not impossible, to prove. And they do vary from tribe to tribe; some tribes
talk of being created from the earth itself, others tell that they are the
children of the moon and sun. Some others even believe that they came
from the center of the earth. Whatever theory or theories make the most
sense to you, we will never know exactly where they came from or how
they got here. But we do now that by 1492 A.D. there were 1.6 million
Indians in the United States alone, they lived in six hundred different
tribes and spoke as many as three hundred different languages. But before
the whites arrived in large numbers after 1492, there were three advanced
groups of Pre-Colombian Indians in the United States: the Hohokam, the
Anasazi, and the people of Cahokia.
The word "Hohokam" is a Pima Indian word that means the People Who
Have Vanished. A people came out of Mexico around 400 B.C. and moved
into the deserts of southern Arizona. They became very advanced desert
farmers due to the fact that they dug hundreds of miles of irrigation canals
in the deserts of southern Arizona and they also planted crops which took
little moisture, such as the Jojoba plant. We now describe the culture of a
group of people in southern Arizona who became the greatest Indian
farmers, even though we do not know what they called themselves. We will
call them The People Who Have Vanished: Hohokam. These desert
farmers, who lived in a very harsh environment, developed a stable food
supply and were able to develop an advanced culture. They planted Indian
corn, beans, and squash. Nearby they built cities, the largest is known as
Snaketown. In these cities they lived in pit houses built into the ground.
They worshipped, danced with and ate rattlesnakes: considered the major
spirit in their religion of nature. They were relatively small people who
developed an arts and crafts system of pottery and shell jewelry and who
developed a trade system with their neighbors as far away as the Gulf of
California. The men even played a ball game in a large ball court. Indians
games were not to win or lose but to developed physical endurance and
survival. But something happened to these great desert farmers around
1200 A.D. and they began to move back to Mexico. We believe that an
extended drought hit the region and that by 1250 A.D. the Hohokam were
the People Who Have Vanished.
The Hohokam had neighbors to the north known as Anasazi. The word
"Anasazi" is a Navajo word that means the Ancient Ones. These people
came from Mexico about the same time as the Hohokam and moved north
into what we refer to today as the Four Corners region of the Southwest.
This is the only area where four states come together: New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado and Utah. The Anasazi developed a stable food supply
through farming, fishing, and hunting and became the greatest Indian
builders in the United States. They initially lived in pit houses into the
ground, but then they constructed cities into the sides of cliffs. The largest
cliff city was Mesa Verde in Colorado; this city into the side of a cliff held a
population over 1200 people. The major way into these cities was down the
sheer face of the cliff and in these cities they were underground churches
for the men known as kivas. The Anasazi were also apartment builders
with the largest apartment known as Pueblo Bonito in the Chaco Canyon
of New Mexico. This apartment held over 800 people and was over five feet
high. These Anasazi were natural architects and natural engineers and
many of their buildings still stand as monuments to their building
techniques. These people also developed an advanced culture with their
cities and apartments and their pottery and rock art-sign language on
rocks- and their elaborate trade system that was centered in the Pueblo
Bonito area. But they were also hurt by the severe drought of the 1200s
and while most of them moved back to Mexico, some of them stayed in the
area and influenced the culture of the Hopi and the Pueblos.
The highest level of Indian culture in the United States before the arrival
of the white man came with the mound buildings of Cahokia. In the
midwest there were groups of Indians who built dirt mounds for burial,
defense, as tribute to the gods, and for status- they began to put houses and
council buildings on large mounds. One of the most advanced groups of
mound builders would be the Mississippi Mound builders known as the
people of Cahokia. In the east St. Louis region today is found the largest
man made mound ever built in the United States. This is the Cahokia
mound, often called monk's mound. This mound took apx. 200 years to
build and it covers 18 acres and is nearly 250 feet high. On the top of this
mound lived the sun-god: god on earth- who was the ruler of the city of
Cahokia. Cahokia is not only the largest mound, but Cahokia is urban
Indian America. Cahokia was a city which led a population of 30,000
Indians as early as 1200 A.D. and the population base in and around the
city was over 50,000. It took white society two hundred years to establish
the city of Philadelphia with a population of 30,000. Yet around 1200 A.D.
there was a larger city in the center of the country; this was a trade city
and this was a military city. In the center of the city was the large mound;
on the top of the large mound lived the god-man ruler of the city. He was
the leader of the city and he also was responsible for the ceremonies of
human sacrifice which took place on the top of the large mound. On the
terraces on the side of the large mound lived the important people of the
city: the high priests, the businessmen, and the military leaders. There was
an active marketplace in the city and there was obviously an outstanding
administration evident in this city. Thousands of pounds of Indian corn
was brought into the city on a daily basis to feed the inhabitants of
Cahokia; a sanitation and water system was developed. And the military
conquered neighboring Indians and turned them into slaves. In and
around the city was the empire of Cahokia. This is the most impressive
Indian empire that ever existed in the United States; it is believed to be the
size of the present state of New York. Eventually there were problems with
the empire; we are not exactly sure what happened to the empire and
people of Cahokia. But by 1300 A.D. the city and empire was gone and
only the big mound remained. This Pre-Colombian period ended with the
first voyage of Columbus and now the European period in Indian history
began.
Each European country had a different policy for the Indian. We need to
discuss those policies so you can decide which policy you feel may be the
best and which policy may be the worst. The Spanish were first to come to
America and they began to exploit the land. In order to do this, they
needed mass labor. They now created the encomienda system of Indian
slavery which physically and culturally abused the natives. It was this
system that appeared among the Indians of the Southern United States.
This was also the system used for the Indians in Central America and
South America. The Spanish were also Catholic and they wanted the
natives to become Catholic and they forced them to become Catholic. This
encomienda policy was brought into the Southern United States by
Spanish civilians and Spanish priests. The French established their empire
in the north: primarily in Eastern Canada. There is no doubt that the
French treated the Indians best with their trade system. The Indians
played a major role in this trade system and suffered little physical or
cultural abuse. The Indians were allowed to acquire items such as furs and
traded with the French for beads, cloth, kettles, tools, blankets and the
like. The Indians became part of a business partnership system that
stretched across Eastern Canada. The French even had more relationships
with Indian women and married more Indian women than any other
European. This French trade system affected few Indians in the United
States. The English policy toward the Indian may be the worst of all. From
day one the English had no use for the Indians along the East Coast region.
They did not want to use them as slaves, or trade with them, or even
Christianize them. They felt that the Indians were squatters on the king's
land and they wanted them out. Initially there was a period of friendliness
when there were few English settlers, but eventually the desire for Indian
land led to tension and to war and then to the removal and/or
extermination of the natives. One must remember that war became part of
English policy and would also be an essential part of United States policy.
There were three major challenges to the Spanish and English policy. Pope
was a Tewa Pueblo shaman (holy man) who appeared in New Mexico in
the mid-1600s and who was the victim of the encomienda system there. He
was tortured, beaten, and abused. He decided that the Spanish must go
because they were a real threat to the Pueblo tribes of New Mexico. He
began to travel and create a unity among the Pueblo Indians of New
Mexico; there had never been a unity among the more than eighty Pueblo
tribes. Pope now had to plan a spontaneous revolt against the Spanish. But
the Pueblo Indians had no exact time frame as we do today, so the
planning of a day for a revolt seemed near impossible for Pope. But he
developed a rope system; he traveled to various Pueblos and left behind a
rope with a series of knots on the rope. Each morning one knot would be
untied until there were no more knots. This was the day for the revolt. This
rope system worked and on August 10, 1680 there occurred the Pueblo
Revolt: the most successful Indian revolt in American history. The Spanish
were driven from New Mexico and the city of Santa Fe was destroyed. This
was not just a one time revolt it was a sustained revolt and the Spanish
were kept out of New Mexico for some 16 years. It is too bad that the great
leader and the most successful Indian leader Pope became a dictator and
demanded tribute from the Pueblos because this led to his murder and to
the end of the Pueblo Revolt. The Spanish returned and reconquered the
Pueblos.
Metacomet was a Wampanoag Indian of Massachusetts; he and his people
were victims of the Puritan view of Indians as devils. Puritans began to kill
and burn Indians because they were devils. Metacomet is better known in
American History as King Philip, the name that the Puritans gave to him.
Philip decided to stop the Puritan threat by forming an alliance of the New
England tribes. This was difficult because these tribes had always been
natural enemies and had raided each other for years. But Philip did create
a unity and he did create an Indian army; this was the first inter-tribal
army ever formed. The tactics that he began to use were raids-hit and run
warfare. The Puritans now decided the Philip was really the king of the
devils and something must be done about him. So in 1675 they went to war
against him in King Philip's War. During the war Philip had a difficult
time keep his army together, but what ended the war in 1676 was the work
of Wampanoag traitor Aldeman who killed Philip out of jealousy. For a
reward Aldeman was given the hand of Philip and he wore this hand
around his neck as a hand necklace to show what he had done to the great
leader Philip. While Philip was the first major challenge to the English
policy in general and to the Puritan policy in particular, the greatest
challenge came from Pontiac.
Pontiac was an Ottawa Indian from the Midwest who appeared in the
1760s and who saw the English building a series of forts on the land of his
people. Pontiac was similar to Philip in that he also created a unity of the
local Indians and also created an Indian army. But Pontiac was better
known as a warrior than was Philip and he was able to convince more
tribes to join his unity and to join his army. Pontiac created the largest
Indian army in American History. Pontiac now decided not to use raids
against the English forts, but to use European military tactics that he had
learned from the French. Pontiac should be remembered as the major
Indian general in Indian and in American History. He used siege warfaresustained warfare- against the forts in 1763. This was called Pontiac's
Rebellion. For months the Indians in Pontiac's army cut off the soldiers
from food and supplies. Before the English surrendered the forts, they
used conscious biological warfare against Pontiac. Smallpox blankets were
given to Pontiac during a peace meeting and these blankets caused the
death of numerous members of Pontiac's army. They had no immunity to
smallpox and the results were devastating. Pontiac surrendered but his
challenge was not over. So the English hired an Indian to kill Pontiac.
Pope, Philip, and Pontiac were the most important Indian leaders during
the European period; they were all killed by their own people.
The United States came into existence in 1783 after the American
Revolution. The United States now had to develop an Indian policy, but it
would be different from the English policy. The United States decided that
Indians owned the land upon which they lived, but the United States had
to acquire ownership of the land because whites were moving west. So the
United States had to set up a system to get agreement from the tribes to
give up their land. The early government leaders believed that each tribe
was like a nation, so the agreement made with Indians to get their land
would have to be an international agreement. This is why the government
began making treaties with tribes; these treaties were international
agreements- agreements between nations- and the purpose of these treaties
was real estate in nature. The Indian treaties involved the transfer of title
to the land from the tribe to the federal government. But the Indians did
not believe in private property, they believed in land use. So the early
attempts at treaties were not successful. The government now turned to the
use of war-just and lawful war- to implement the treaty system. Wars and
treaties would go hand in hand.
The evolution of the treaty system involved a one hundred year period and
saw five major Indian leaders challenge this system. The first period of
treaty making began under President George Washington. This
Washington period of treaties involved the Indians of the Midwest and also
gave them an opportunity to stay on the land, have contact with whites,
and become white. This was not a very realistic goal of the treaty system.
The major challenge to this period came from Tecumseh, the Shawnee
Indian. Tecumseh is considered the number one challenge to the United
States government and the most relevant Indian leader today. Tecumseh
believed in Indian consciousness; he felt that Indians must give up their
tribes and come together and live in the west in a nation of Indians. This
nation would be a barrier to the advance of white society. He traveled
throughout the eastern United States and convinced more than 8,000
Indians from various tribes to come together and live in a nation in the
region of what is today the state of Indiana. The government leaders saw
Tecumseh as a great threat and sent General William Henry Harrison to
deal with Tecumseh. Harrison in 1811 recruited an army and moved
against the nation; the major city of the nation was located along
Tippecanoe Creek and now in November, 1811 occurred the battle
Tippecanoe which easily destroyed the nation and the credibility of
Tecumseh. This battle also made Harrison a military hero and eventually
president of the United States in 1840. Tecumseh turned to England to get
help and participated in the War of 1812 where he was killed during the
Battle of the Thames in Canada. So ended the greatest threat to the United
States government.
The second period of treaty making began with the election of Andrew
Jackson in 1828 as president. Jackson believed that Indians should be
removed from the Eastern United States and placed in the southern region
of the Great American Desert in a place called Indian Territory. For the
next twenty years the removal policy of treaty making was quite successful
in removing the majority of the eastern Indians. The Indians that were
most directly affected were the five civilized tribes of the Southeast: the
Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek, Choctaw, and Seminole. The Cherokee of
Georgia had become the most civilized and most advanced tribe in the
United States by the time of Jackson. But they were a real problem to the
state of Georgia and gold was discovered on Cherokee land. Plus Jackson
wanted the Cherokee removed. The major challenge to the removal policy
came from mixed blood Cherokee John Ross. Ross decided to fight the
removal policy within the system. He first met with Jackson whom he had
fought with but Jackson knew that removal was a popular policy and he
refused to help Ross. Ross then took his case with the help of a minister to
the supreme court and in 1833 Chief Justice John Marshall heard the case
of Worcester v. Georgia. Marshall hated Jackson and he ruled in this case
that the prior treaties that the Cherokee had which allowed them to stay
on their land were legal and he also ruled that the Georgia laws that had
destroyed the Cherokee nation were illegal. While this was a blow for
Jackson's removal policy, Jackson would not enforce this decision. An
illegal treaty of removal was made with some Cherokee and now the
advanced, civilized Cherokee were rounded up and placed in
concentration camps where they began to die. Ross reluctantly agreed to
lead the rest of the Cherokee from Georgia to Indian Territory in which is
today Oklahoma. In the winter of 1836-7 the Cherokee moved with few
supplies and little food. When this Trail of Tears was over, more than
4,000 of the 12,000 Cherokee had died. This is considered the lowest point
in our government's treatment of Indians.
Whites were now moving across the west in large numbers, the removal
policy of Jackson must now be modified by the 1850s. The last period of
treaty making is known as the reservation period. Government leaders
decided to place western tribes on isolated parcels of land known as
reservations. It was decided by these government officials that this would
be undesirable land so whites would not want the land. These treaties took
away the best land of the tribes and gave them the worst to live upon in
rural ghettoes known as reservations. Since many of the western tribes
were mobile and since many of the Indian men in these tribes were trained
as warriors, there was much resistance to this policy and there were a
series of Indian wars in the west. Three Indian leaders emerge as the
major challenges to the reservation policy. Red Cloud was an Oglalla
Sioux who found that the government was building a road through his
buffalo hunting grounds; this road was known as the Bozeman Trail and it
led to the gold mines of Bozeman, Montana. Red Cloud tried to stop the
building of army forts along this trail by the use of psychological warfare.
Red Cloud wanted to drive the soldiers crazy and force them to leave. His
tactics involved: keeping the soldiers awake at night through animal noises
as well as shaking the walls of the fort, taunting the soldiers during the day
by standing outside the range of the guns, sneaking into the fort when the
soldiers were asleep and stealing their clothes and food and cutting off all
the legs of all the fort furniture- just to name a few of the tactics of
psychological warfare. Red Cloud is considered the number one challenge
to the reservation system. He negotiated the Fort Laramie Treaty in which
the government agreed to abandon the forts and to close the Bozeman
Trail and to set up the Great Sioux Reservation which was an open
reservation: Indians could continue to leave the reservation and hunt the
buffalo. Red Cloud was a successful warrior and a successful negotiator.
Chief Joseph was a Nez Perce Indian who challenged the reservation
system by trying to take his people to Canada where they would be safe.
He led 750 men, women and children for four months on the ultimate war
of flight: known as the Nez Perce War of 1877. They outrun and
outsmarted ten separate units of the army and traveled nearly 1200 miles
from Idaho to Montana and to near the Canadian border where they were
captured after the Battle of Bear Paw Mountain. The successful of Joseph
and his people was due to the use of spontaneous strategy. They did what
they had to do to avoid or outsmart the army: they used massive
firepower, they used horse strategy, they even tied straw to the horns or
longhorn cattle and sent the cattle with burning horns into the army camp
in the middle of the night so that they could get supplies. Joseph was
captured and gave the most famous speech of surrender in Indian History;
his famous words, "I will fight no more forever" signaled the end of the
Indian wars and the success of the reservation system.
The last challenge to the reservation system came from Chiracahua
Apache Geronimo. For years Geronimo traveled in and out of Mexico and
used guerilla warfare against various army units. This particular Apache
tribe was expert at guerilla warfare and Geronimo caused a great deal of
frustration among government military leaders. There was a period when
the leaders even decided to use camels against the Apaches, but with little
success. Eventually in 1886 Geronimo surrendered and the resistance to
the reservation system was over. And the treaty system was over. Congress
in 1887 passed the Dawes Act and modern Indian policy began. This is a
policy of law and of court decision. But from the Indian standpoint Indian
policy began in a very disastrous way. The purpose of the Dawes Act was
to turn Indians into whites. So the act got rid of tribes, reservations, and
Indian culture. The government surveyed the reservation into acres and at
the same time created a list of tribal members, although many traditional
Indian names were turned into white names. Then each Indian on the list
was given acres of what had been reservation land. The purpose here was
to create the concept of private property among Indians. If each Indian
worked their land for 25 years, they would be given the land and given
citizenship.
The Dawes Act lasted until 1934 and its effects were devastating for
American Indians. The Dawes Act is also the number one example of
passing a law and getting rid of a minority group; one day you are an
Indian and now you are an Indian no longer. Tribes and reservations were
illegal. Indian culture began to die out; this law was the greatest threat to
Indian culture in American History. During the period of the Dawes Act
Indians began the poorest Americans, the sickest Americans, and the least
educated Americans. This is how modern Indian policy began.
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