Indian Suffrage Essay examples -- essays research papers

Indian SuffrageBefore the English arrived in the refreshful world and began creating colonies,the American Indians lived in harmony and peace with natures. The AmericanIndians were virtuoso(prenominal) hunters, farmers and used everything in their environmentfor survival or for essential necessities. They divided up the land together andmoved about freely in calculate of food. The American Indians neer consideredthe lands their property because its belong to God and no single have the right tobuy, sell, nor own it. However, Europeans has an opposite view of Indiansbeliefs, cultures, and use of lands. They viewed Indians as children, savage-uncivilized people in require of their protection and salvation (Carroll and majestic30). Therefore, they felt it is their responsibility to civilize the Indian andput their lands into good uses. Hence, American Indians suffrages andnightm ares began. The impact of American expansion has turned upon the Indiansand confronted them with socia l and economic crises never before experienced.As a direct, umteen tribes torn apart, in some(prenominal) cases extinct, and their identitywas missed. Indians also lost their original lands as a result of direct andindirect contact with the Europeans. The whites wanted more lands for theirdevelopments, and because of this greed, they created direct policies to fadethe Indians off their lands. For example, one form of direct policy that thewhites used to solicit Indians of their lands was by signing treaties. Then laterthe whites broke these treaties and forced Indian off their lands by the Removalpolicy and claimed the lands as their property (Lowy censure 11/96). Therewere many indirect methods that white used to pawn Indians lands. They usebribery, threats, and among countless other things to trick Indians into givingup their lands. They were lots tricked into signing the land cession treatiesthat they did not understand the negotiation and the verbiage (Lowy Lecture11/6 ).In many ways, the United States policy toward Indian has beenschizophrenic because the laws never completely nor attempted to kick in Indians anopportunity to come along and assimilate into American main(prenominal)stream as an individual.From time to time, whites creates many policies, such as the reservation,relocation, and termination in an effort to assimilate the Indians into theAmeric... ...using their own lands, while the whites everywhere exploited the landsfor profits. Whites also passed laws restricting Indians trading opportunities.Also, Indians lives were greatly affected by the extermination of buffalo. Yet,while Indians dependent greatly on buffalo for their main source of food,clothing, and many inedible by-products, the white destroyed them in largenumber as hunting sport. A final form, cultural genocide, it explains howIndians languages, religions, values, and cultures was lost or drasticallyswapped.Thanks to the Red Power Movement and many other Indians mov ements, theirefforts have strengthened the prospects for Indian self-determination in thepolitical, economic, schooling and religious realm. They have helped to makeIndian people more open to the whites and whites began to realize that Indianwas our first and natural citizen. However, the government in particular, ownsit to the Indians to give them an opportunity to be a full participant ineconomic, political, and education. They need to put into practice and to bringto fruition some of the reforms and treaties with the American Indians that arelong overdue.