Native American Disadvantages

Transcription

1 Native American Disadvantages At European contact in 1492 indigenous population of North America estimated at 9.8 million Transmission of European diseases: smallpox, measles and typhus created epidemics that spread across both continents where native populations had no immunity European/American conquests caused widespread warfare and famine By 1890 aboriginal population fell below 250,000 Indians had no written language other than Mayan Indians depended on Europeans for the transmission of their cultural achievements and history

2 Native American Opposition After the French & Indian War , tribes occupying the Atlantic seaboard colonies became barriers to westward expansion Americans characterized Indians as treacherous, savage and cruel in books and newspapers to justify their displacement and eradication Settlers became conditioned by erroneous accounts of Indian atrocities Discovery of colossal man-made structures and elaborate artifacts in the Ohio and Mississippi valleys were believed to be made by a vanished super-race; the Moundbuilders Moundbuilders folklore created a form of racism and prejudice that denied Indians their ancestral heritage Denying Indians ties to their ancient history also meant denying them territorial claims & made it easier to justify their annihilation

3 U. S. Indian Policy Indian Removal Act of 1830 signed by President Andrew Jackson forced tribes to relocate on to reservations west of the Mississippi River Supreme Court case Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1831, Native Americans were considered a conquered people and classified as non-citizens domestic dependent nations with no sovereignty over land or individual rights In ,000-6,000 Cherokees died from starvation, exposure and disease in route to Oklahoma U. S. policy aimed at subordinating a self-sufficient, self-governing people resulting in their economic dependence on government assistance to survive Reservations were located on arid land unsuited for farming By 1870 Indians were starving to death on many reservations Trail of Tears

4 U.S. Indian Policy Continued In 1871 U. S. Senator Henry Dawes estimated it cost nearly $1 million to exterminate one Indian Secretary of Interior Carl Shurz reported government could save money through education; cost $1,200 to school one child for 8 years U. S. Government chose to eradicate Indian religion, heritage, and language Rationale for this policy reflected white ethnocentrism on the dichotomy: Euro-Americans were civilized/indians were savages Civilizing Indian children had three components: teach individuality and wean from tribal communism, learn English to operate within dominant culture, teach Christianity to save from paganism BIA established 253 schools: 25 off-reservation boarding, 81 reservation boarding, and 147 day schools In 1928 Brookings Institute released Meriam Report: 64 boarding schools had ill-nourished students, poor housing/hygiene/overcrowded conditions Students contracted contagious diseases causing hundreds of deaths

5 Discrimination Native Americans became U. S. citizens in 1924 U.S. Constitution protects individuals rights in exercising specific freedoms disallowing individuals or groups from discriminating Individual racism is related to prejudice: harmful acts by individuals toward other individuals or their property based on race, religion, etc. Institutional racism is structural; refers to social processes that intentionally protect the advantages of a dominant group while maintaining an unequal position over a subordinate group Institutional racism views inequality as part of a society s structure; individuals and groups discriminate whether they are bigots or not Institutional racism allows individuals and groups to operate within a social structure ensuring racial dominance through laws, customs, religious beliefs, etc., operating within a society Identify and discuss the types of discrimination from the book Ceremony