Heidi Hyde

Chris Case
May 6, 2014
History 2200
Native Americans
Looking through all nationalities in America and which one had the most difficult time being
accepted in America would be the Native Americans. When European settlers arrived on the
North American continent at the end of the fifteenth century, they encountered diverse Native
American culture as many as 900,000 inhabitants with over 300 different languages (module 2
web sources/Native American migration) .Native Americans have been around in North America
for quite some time . These people, whose ancestors crossed the land bridge from Asia in what
may be considered the first North American immigration (module 2 web sources/Native
American migration). European settlers already had a plan in mind and no one would stand in
their way. Native Americans would be the ones to be in their way on the expansion of America
leading to the marginalization Native Americans would face. First would be the fact of color
discrimination. Deemed inferior because of skin color and cultural characteristics (pkt pg.6),
The reason for this is because Native Americans were never viewed as people they were always
looked down on and Americans were always trying to transform them into what they felt they
should be. This identity of an "American" created many obstacles for Native Americans as well,
whiteness had reserved power and privilege to those whom influential Americans considered
white, and although whites struggled to define the parameters of color, a consensus held that
Indians were non- whites (Olson and Beal pg.197). Not only was their race and color an issue but
also they had something the whites wanted and that was their land. Native Americans would
have to surrender all the land, whites wanted. Even then, regardless of how they acted or what
they believed, they would not be accepted as equals (Olson and Beal pg. 197). The extent the
whites went was as far as the complete disappearance of the buffalo heard. Public officials
encouraged the hunts, hoping they would destroy the plains economy and force Indian people on
to reservations (Olson and Beal pg 70). The lost of the buffalos was a huge loss for Native
Americans. Their livelihood relied on buffalos, for food, shelter, clothing and many survival
needs. When there were no buffalos to hunt, Native Americans struggled to survive. Another
example of how Americans reacted to take land from Native Americans is the 1830 Indian
Removal Act, signed by Andrew Jackson. Intent was to relocate Choctaw, Chickasaw, creek,
Cherokee and Seminole Nations in portions of newly acquired Louisiana Purchase land (pkt
pg6). The Cherokees were forced to sign one treaty after another with the new United States
government, each one giving away more land to the new nation.
(Everyculture.com/Cherokees/history). They later would be forced out of the homes and be
relocated to another destination that the whites felt they should be. Native Americans really
struggled with discrimination in every aspect. Their rights were never considered and basically
abolished by the white men. The taking of Native Americans land in result led to what we still
have today, reservations. Reservation was a way to isolate Native Americans from the rest of
society which became another obstacle they would face. The reservation Native Americans
found themselves in a place where they could not overcome their loss and
tribulations...Vegetated in a state of humiliating dependency.... reservation life lacked the
economic purpose essential to a social stability. Native Americans became wards of the state,

dependent on food shipments from the government (Olson and Beal pg. 196). Basically Native
Americans life of freedom and space of land was stripped from them and were placed in like a
box and were now being taken care of by the government like some sort of pet you feed and
provide shelter for. Many found themselves abusing drugs and alcohol, with their independence
lost, their cosmic rationale gone and their culture under siege, adapting to this new way of life
had many hardships. Reservation Indians surrendered the hunter- warrior ideal and also had to
endure the constant presence of white idealists bent on converting them to Christianity (Olson
and Beal pg 194). So that brings me to religion and the surrender of their culture. Native
Americans would not be accepted into the American lifestyle if they did not convert or abandon
their traditions. When Native American attended Indian boarding schools, they were forbidden
to speak their native language and anything associated to their cultures. Many Native American
children would come home and would be completely unrecognizable. While attending school
they were forced to cut their hair, long hair is a symbolism of a sacred tradition in their religion.
The fight for their identity was on thin ice, however Native Americans, were proud to be Native
Americans. Until 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, Native Americans crusaded to regain
control over tribal resources and their own cultural future, most white remained sympathetic,
leading to the key drive for self- determinationfor the first time, they began transcending tribal
cultures for an Indian identity, white liberalism, and the renaissance of Native American
values, they organized to promote civil right, economic opportunity and cultural autonomy
(Olson and Beal pg. 318-319). Two of the organizations developed were Young American Indian
council, and the American Indian Movement. In this moment of time, Native Americans are
fighting back to claim their land. One example of Native Americans demonstration to get what is
rightfully theirs is Blue Lake, which is an ancient tribal religious shrine in northwestern New
Mexico (Olson and Beal pg 320). This land was incorporated into the Carson National Forest,
allowing recreational hunting, fishing, and camping. For the Taos people, the lake was the
source of life and final resting place for spirits of the dead, being able to take back this lake
meant a lot to the Native Americans, and in 1970, congress returned the lake and 48,000 acres
(Olson and Beal pg.321). Not only did they fight for their land but also they fought back their
education. An office of Indian Education, controlled by the National Advisory council on
Indian Education (staffed entirely by Native Americans), administered the programs and
allocated funds for teacher training(Olson and Beal pg 325). This was significant in the way of
changing the way schools would be run and the acceptance of their culture. These changes within
education helped restore tribalism, and freedom. Through the years Native Americans faced
many obstacles and assimilation. The long going battle of trying to be accepted and even to be
seen equally, led to be the reasons of why Native Americans out of all Nationalities had the most
difficult time being accepted.