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Native
Americans have a history of struggling for survival primarily against nature
and later in their history with mankind. Their heritage is steeped in
tradition, but ends in the containment and loss of their native way of life.
It is theorized that the Native Americans migrated to the Northern Hemisphere
about 12,000 years ago through a land bridge connecting Eastern Siberia and
the Northern Hemisphere called the Beringia. This is a narrow land mass that
links the Arctic Ocean with the Bering Sea. The Bering land bridge is
significant because it is believed to have existed during the last Ice Age
when the sea level was lower due to glacier activity. This land bridge
enabled human migration to the Americas from Asia. After the Native Americans
migrated into Alaska and Canada they continued southward into North America
(Vecoli, 1995).
Native
Americans settled with their families into the new world in small tribes.
Some continued to migrate further south, but many stayed in North America and
prospered. They had a slight nomadic lifestyle to obtain better water and/or
hunting, lived in teepees, wore animal skins and used natural herbs. They
were peace-loving people who had a simple way of living. They enjoyed being
with their family and tribe, spending time in prayer and creativity
(Ganguly). They believed that nature was the supreme origin of life and life
preserving forces. They treated the natural endowments as gifts from God to
the human race therefore they treated all natural things with reverence and
care (Ganguly). They lived quite harmoniously with each other but when
explorers began to invade their lands, wars for property began. In 1513 and
1521 the Indians fought against the Spanish led by Ponce de Leon. The Spanish
also introduced sheep and horses to the area. In 1607, Jamestown, Virginia
was founded and in 1620, pilgrims arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The
Indians helped these new settlers survive harsh living conditions, but had to
deal with harsh treatment from colonists who barged into their
peaceful lives; onto their land and experienced the constant push to relocate
(Ganguly). They were exposed to many life threatening conditions such as
enslavement and wars, but also diseases such as small pox, measles,
influenza, and lung infections. By 1638 the first reservations were formed in
Connecticut by English authority and the Quinnipiac Indian tribe was
contained to 1200 acres of land. For nearly the next 200 years, laws were
passed to banish the English people that had married Native Americans and
missions were started to seize Indians for labor, where they were converted
to Christianity and forbidden to leave. During this time a rift between the
various tribes of American Indians came to the forefront during the American
Revolutionary War. Settlers who formed the New America struggled with the
British for the support of Native American people and the nations east of the
Mississippi River. Most of the tribes joined the struggle to support the
settlers with the hope that they would stop the colonial expansion (Ganguly).
Native
Americans have been continuously in opposition with the U.S government. In
1830 The Indian Removal Act took away the remnants of sovereignty and
freedom, and forced them to leave their land. This culminated with the “Trail
of Tears”, a forced relocation of the American Indians where many died from
disease or exposure to the environment. The whites separated the Indians from
their land because the new settlers wanted the land that was rich in
resources like natural gas, oil, coal, uranium and gold (Ganguly).
In
1887, the Dawes Act was adopted by Congress and this law allowed President
Cleveland to survey and distribute tribal lands into individual Indian
allotments with the excess being sold to settlers (Our Documents). In the
1890’s a large quantity of Indians were sent to reservations. They were poor,
controlled, had minimal food sources, and were far away from industrialized
America. The Native Americans were forced to “Americanize” and they were
considered powerless. Their culture was attacked, their language and religion
were forbidden, and their institutions were defeated and weakened (Healey,
2012). The Indian children were separated from their families and sent to
boarding schools. They were required to speak English, convert to
Christianity, and were educated in the western ways. When school was not in
session they were not allowed to visit their families and they were sent to
live with white families (Healey, 2012). Very few Indians gained the
knowledge or the skills to compete for a place in urban, industrialized
American society.
Since
that time the Native Americans have experienced some improvement with
discrimination. In 1924, all Native Americans were granted United States
citizenship. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act was adopted into law.
This law expanded land holdings, increased self-governance, reduced the
paternal roll of federal agencies in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and
financial aid was made available. There were new rights for women in
elections, running for office, and leadership roles. More education was made
available so they could obtain jobs in nursing and the clergy ship. However,
financial poverty was continually enhanced by the U.S. government’s
assistance programs (Healey, 2012).
Some
improvements were introduced in the 1960’s under President Nixon’s
administration by fulfilling treaty obligations and rights were granted for
the tribes to self-govern. Indian men were able to obtain jobs in
construction of skyscrapers and bridges, the ironworks, factory work,
education, farming, stock raising, coal lease, saw mills, forts, and in
federal and tribal government (Healey, 2012).
Since that time some progress has occurred for Indians. Very few can afford
to go to college, but there are now 37 tribal colleges that offer associate,
bachelor and master degrees and approximately 20% have four years or more of
college education (Healey, 2012). Navajo Community College in Arizona offers
programs for Native Americans in medicine, bilingual education, publishing
and broadcasting (Avitablile & Kleiner, 2001). Many Indians continue to
live a duel life of native and western life styles, but continue historical
traditions live and work on and off reservations.
Part
2 Contribution to Cultural Diversity in the U.S.
In
1800 a member of the Shoshones named Sacagawea was a famous Native American
woman that was kidnapped at 12 years of age by a war party of Hidatsa Indians
who were enemies of her people. She was taken from her homeland and relocated
to today’s Idaho. Then she was sold as a slave to Charbonneau, a
French-Canadian fur trader, who married her and another Shoshone (Sacagawea
Biography, 2012).
In
November 1804, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led an expedition that
traveled through Shoshone territory, often called the Corps of Discovery. The
expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson who planned to
explore newly acquired western lands and to find a route to the Pacific
Ocean. The group built Fort Mandan and elected to stay there for the winter.
Lewis and Clark met Charbonneau and Sacagawea, and even though she was pregnant
with their first child, both were chosen to accompany them on the exploration
of the western territory, later named the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark
believed that her knowledge of the Shoshone language would help them in their
journey (Sacagawea Biography, 2012). In Fort Mandan on February 11, 1805
Sacagawea gave birth to her son Jean-Baptiste Charbonneau, who became
America’s youngest explorer. The Shoshones owned horses that the expedition
needed to cross the Bitterroot Mountains. The captains felt that because of
her Shoshone heritage, Sacagawea could be important in trading for horses
when the Corps reached the western mountains and the Shoshones (Sacagawea
Biography, 2012).
Sacagawea,
with the infant, was the only woman to accompany the 33 members of the
permanent party to and from the Pacific Ocean. Her various roles included
digging for roots, collecting edible plants, and picking berries that were
used for food and medicine (Sacagawea Biography, 2012). Sacagawea turned out
to be incredibly valuable to the Corps as it traveled westward through the
territories of many new tribes. Some of these Indians, never having seen
white men before prepared to defend their land. As Clark noted on October 19,
1805, the Indians were inclined to believe that the whites were friendly when
they saw Sacagawea. A war party never traveled with a woman especially a
woman with a baby. As the expedition’s return journey passed through her
homeland, she proved to be a valuable guide (Sacagawea Biography, 2012). She
remembered Shoshone trails from her childhood, and Clark praised her as his
“pilot.” The Corps returned to the Hidatsa-Mandan villages on August 14,
1806, marking the end of the trip for Sacagawea, Charbonneau, and their son,
Jean Baptiste (Sacagawea Biography, 2012).
Six
years after the expedition, Sacagawea gave birth to a daughter, Lisette. On
December 22, 1812, Sacagawea died at age 25 due to what later medical
researchers believed was a serious illness she had suffered most of her adult
life. Eight months after her death, Clark legally adopted Sacagawea’s two
children. Baptiste was educated by Clark in St. Louis, and then, at age 18,
was sent to Europe with a German prince. It is not known if Lisette lived
past infancy (Sacagawea Biography, 2012).
Historical
records indicate that Sacagawea contributed to the success of a vital part of
U.S. history and she managed to assist the white man to literally expand
territories. If Lewis and Clark had not taken her on their expedition the
history books probably would have been very different.
When
Native Americans arrived to North America from Asia 12,000 years ago they
started a new way of life. Traveling in tribes, they migrated throughout
North America and settled into small villages and territories where they
lived in teepees and lived off the land. When the Spanish arrived in 1513,
the Indians’ way of life drastically changed. They were forced to relocate to
reservations, convert to Christianity, and abandon their traditional values
and life styles. Many died from disease and wars. Sacagawea, a member of the
Shoshone tribe proved to be a valuable asset to the Lewis and Clark
expedition to explore western territories. With the acquisition of the
Louisiana Purchase, the United States was doubled in size and led to western
expansion and cultural diversity throughout the U.S. Without the
contributions and sacrifice of Native Americans like Sacagawea and others,
the U.S. would not be as culturally diverse as we know it today.
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