The Story of the Native Americans

Transcription

1 The Story of the Native Americans Today there are about 2.4 million people (0.8% of the US population 1 ) who call themselves Native Americans. Most of them (about 62%) live in cities and small towns. The rest live on reservations land set aside for them by the government. The largest groups of Native Americans are found in the states of Alaska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Montana, South Dakota and Arizona. Before the white man came When Columbus discovered America in 1492 he mistakenly thought he had reached India and called the native people 2 Indians. There were probably about 1.5 million Native Americans living in North America at that time. They had been living there for a long time about 35,000 years and they spoke hundreds of different languages. Some were hunters and fishermen, others were farmers, and some lived in busy villages with large buildings and temples. But different as they were, all were greatly affected 3 by the coming of the white man, with his guns, his alcohol, his railways and his diseases 4. The Indian way of life was changed forever. 'The First Thanksgiving' by J. A. Brownscombe. In 1621 the Pilgrim Fathers arranged a feat to give thanks for a good harvest and, incidentally, thank the Indians who had taught them to farm, hunt and fish. 1 befolkning 2 urbefolkningen/urbefolkninga 3 påvirket/påverka 4 sykdom/sjukdom 1

2 Conflicts begin At first the Indians were quite willing to share their land and food with the new settlers. But as more and more people came who wanted more and more land, there were conflicts. The Native Americans were driven off their land. Those Indians who tried to fight back were killed, and many others died from the diseases that the Europeans brought with them tuberculosis, smallpox and measles 5. Those that survived were placed in settlements, called reservations, on land that no one else wanted because nothing could be grown there. FACT BOX: The Sioux The Sioux were one of the Native American tribes that fought hard against the white settlers and soldiers. Sitting Bull ( ) was one of their leaders, and he once said: We lived in our country in the way our fathers and fathers fathers lived before us. We sought trouble with no men. But the soldiers came into our country and fired upon us and we fought back. Is it so bad to fight in defense of one s country and loved ones? The Sioux defeated the United States cavalry many times in battle. Their most famous victory came in 1876 at Little Big Horn. Lieutenant-Colonel George Custer and his entire company of 650 soldiers were killed. But the white men got their revenge when they won a final victory over the Native Americans at the Battle of Wounded Knee in Nearly 300 Indian men, women and children were killed. Life on the reservations The result was disastrous 6. On most of these reservations, there was nothing for the Native Americans to do no way in which they could earn their own living. Many became dependent on government aid 7, and the levels of poverty, unemployment 8, drunkenness 5 tuberkulose, kopper/koppar og meslingar/meslingar 6 katastrofalt 7 statlig økonomisk støtte / statleg økonomisk støtte 8 arbeidsløshet/arbeidsløyse 2

3 and violence were much higher here than in other parts of the country. On reservations, Native Americans were at first also forbidden to practice their religion. Children were often sent to boarding schools 9 away from their families where they were taught to dress, speak, think and even pray like the white man. As a result they lost a lot of their own culture. By 1920, the Indian population had fallen below 350,000. For a time it seemed like the Native Americans would disappear. Native Americans in modern times They did not disappear. In 1924, Native Americans were given American citizenship 10. Twenty years later they were allowed to vote in elections. Many tribes have later sued 11 the government for the land that was taken from them and large sums of money have been paid out to make up for their loss. This money has made it possible for tribes to invest in new businesses. On some reservations, gambling has become an important source of income 12. Since reservations are ruled by tribal laws 13 instead of state laws, casinos have been set up on some reservations in states where gambling is otherwise illegal. Evidence 14 of Native American culture can be found all over the United States today. Many of the names on United States maps are Native American words, such as Massachusetts, Ohio and Michigan. The Native Americans taught the white man how to grow corn, tomatoes, potatoes and tobacco. Canoes, snowshoes and moccasins are all Native American inventions. 9 kostskole 10 statsborgerskap/statsborgarskap 11 å saksøke / å saksøkje 12 inntektskilde/inntektskjelde 13 stammelover 14 spor 3

4 Towards a better future? Today there are about 300 reservations in the United States and more than 500 recognized tribes. Sadly, Native Americans are the population group in the USA which has the lowest income and the highest rates of unemployment, alcoholism and suicide 15. However, although poverty, discrimination and injustice still exist, Native Americans today are proud of their history and culture. Fred Kaydahzinne, great-grandson of a famous Apache warrior, says: My generation spent all our time learning the white man's ways. We mastered them, but we lost a lot of Indian heritage 16. Now we are trying to regain 17 what we have lost. ACTIVITIES 1 Understanding the text What happened when? Place the events in the correct chronological order: Battle of Little Big Horn Columbus arrives in The New World Native Americans are given the right to vote Battle of Wounded Knee Native Americans become US citizens The Native American population is below 350,000 people 15 selvmord/sjøvmord 16 kulturarv 17 vinne tilbake 4

5 2 Talking or writing Discuss: a Read Chief Sitting Bull s statement on p. 2. Do you think he is right? Or should the Native Americans have surrendered to the white people instead of trying to fight them? b Can you think of other groups of indigenous people (urfolk) who have been treated unfairly, for example here in Norway? c Why do you think it is important to the Native Americans to regain their own culture? Why can t they just live like any other American ethnic group? 3 Language work a Fill in the gaps in this text. Choose one the following prepositions for each gap: towards, between, among, against In the 19 th century, there were many wars Native American tribes and white settlers and soldiers. The Native Americans often fought hard the whites. However, there were different opinions the tribe chiefs about whether it was possible to defeat the enemy. the end of the century it was clear that the Native Americans would lose the battle for their lands. b Here is a list of words that are often used in connection with Native Americans. Look up the words you are unsure of in a dictionary. Then write sentences using at least 10 of them. reservation, tribe, tipi, chief, buffalo, hide, meet, survival, defeat, victory, savage, desert, plains, warrior, ceremony, religion, worship, language, wilderness, hunt, squaw, tomahawk, prejudice, discrimination, celebration c Use as many of the words as you can in a text with the title The Native American Way of Life. 5