The Dawes Act (1887)
The Dawes Act of 1887 was intended to assimilate Native Americans, with the intent of making them more like white Americans. To do so, various Native American tribes were removed from their homelands and relocated to areas called Indian Territory. Upon arrival at their new lands, they were told that the land they now occupied was to be owned communally, whereas, prior to the Dawes Act, Native American tribal communities individually owned their own familial lands. On February 8, 1887, the 49th Congress went on to specify in detail, how these communal lands were to be allotted (pp. 82).
Wovoka’s Message: The Promise of the Ghost Dance
The Ghost Dance was a rapidly spreading Native American religion, especially on the Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota, where many Sioux Indians had been forced to relocate. The religion was started by a Paiute tribe native, named Wovoka from Nevada. He lived with a white family during his teenage years, and took the name of Jack Wilson. In the 1880s he began to prophesize a mix of Christianity with Native American native religions and tribal customs. Such prophetic visions from Wilson, frightened the local whites. These episodes were viewed by a government employee, Daniel Royer, with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and was assigned to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Shortly thereafter on November 15, 1890, Royer sent a telegram warning of that “Indians are dancing in the snow and are wild and crazy.” In the telegram, he forewarned that local whites were in dire danger, that they had no protection and, he requested that no less than 1000 troops be sent to quell the dancing. Not much later, the horrific atrocities of the Wounded Knee Massacre ensued (pp. 86)
An Account of Sitting Bull’s Death (1881)
The account of how Sitting Bull met his death was written by James McLaughlin, an Indian agent at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. He wrote his account few weeks after the Wounded Knee Massacre. McLaughlin mistakenly believed that Sitting Bull had undue influence over the local Native Americans and that he was also the leader of the Ghost Dance religion, which might lead to civil unrest among the Native Americans, and violence against the local white populations. Through a series of communications and miscommunications a military force finally attempted to capture Sitting Bull. What ensued was an altercation between a force of 39 police officers and Sitting Bull’s major supporters. Durng daybreak, on December 16th, the confrontation began and along with casualties on both sides, Sitting Bull was killed (pp. 91).
Social Conflict – It’s Your Misfortune and None of My Own:
A New History of the American West.
Not surprisingly, with all the pent up animosities between the new Western American explorers, the Native Indian and Mexican populations, there existed, and still does to this day, discordance and distrust amongst these groups. There were often conflicts involving Indian hunting and altercations between the social groups inhabiting these Western lands. All of this strife was made worse by the presence of violet individuals such as gunfighters, cowboys, Indian warriors, scouts and prospectors. During the Post-Civil war era, white Americans were proud in their ability to dispel animosities and adhere to the rules of law. However, conflict in the American west formed a spectrum on which personal violence and crime extended from one extreme and social violence to another (pp. 94).
Native American Indians, within a variety of tribes, suffered particulaly more intense social destruction. Increasingly, they were re-located to smaller and smaller reservations, in mostly rural areas where there were little opportunities for gain employment, health care and in many cases no working water or electricity. With limited funds available, mental depression among those Native Americans forced to relocate to these reservations, to this day has had a devastating toll in these tribal populations. Further such isolationism, lack of income opportunities and other demeaning factors have only been made worse by toe extraordinary levels of alcoholism. Even in today’s positive economic and technologically advanced environments, Native Americans continue suffer disproportionally relative to other socio-economic populations within United States.
Works Cited
McGaughy, K. (2015). Chapter 3 The Native American Experience in Post-Civil War America. American Perspectives: Readings in American History. (6th ed., Vol. 2). pp. 79-112. Pearson Learning Solutions.
