NATIVE AMERICAN

History book after history book has told their part in the making of America and most of that telling has at least in part been badly distorted.  The early European arrivals to America wrote most of the earliest historical records we have about the Native people and much of that recorded by the colonist after the arrival of the Europeans at Jamestown and in Plymouth and was written from a European view point and not necessarily true but truth as they saw it. 

The Native people in most all cases passed on their history and cultural beliefs by oral means, storytelling and most did not have a written language as such but did leave evidence of their history in Petroglyphs and those things from their culture that they left behind.  They had and still have their legends and their lore, their religious, social and political beliefs that they passed down through the generations.  A lot of it is very different from what the history books tell. 

The lives and history of the Native peoples of America have been seriously misrepresented and stereotyped and branded as everything from devil possessed creatures and uncivilized, to ruthless warriors and noble savages but few have ever recognized them as a brave and honorable people protecting their homeland, their families, their rights and their beliefs and customs.  There were many and still are many conflicts and adjustments between the aborigines of America and the new European style culture (now American culture) that descended upon America with the arrival of the colonist and a lot of what we have been lead to believe is taught from only the white mans perspective.   

The Native people of America are made up of approximately 562 different tribes and speak approximately 60 different native languages according to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs. (That would be the tribes the BIA recognizes and there are still others who have not yet received that status but still claim a pre-Columbian heritage.) 

At one time there were several million Native peoples living on American land.  Today they make up only about 1.5% of the entire American population, this including Alaskan and Hawaii indigenous peoples and most of these Natives are no longer full-blooded Native people and may be as little as 1/8 Native.  Many Americans who can only claim to have 1/16 or fewer genes from a Native people still proudly claim that heritage and it is a heritage to be proud of.

Most of the Native tribes had a matrilineal culture meaning that the people who lived upon a certain area of land occupied that land for the use of the entire community for hunting, fishing, gathering and agriculture.  They had a sophisticated system and grew crops such as maize (corn), beans and squash and other crops.  They knew about irrigation, and knew what wild plants were good for both food and medicine.  They knew how to work stone and carve wood and build homes and boats and tools they needed to do these things and yes, weapons.  There were potters and weavers and miners and doctors and lawyers and judges and teachers and religious and political leaders just as there were in the European societies only their customs were different in many ways and not understood by the European colonist who had a very different perspective and began to try and force their views on the indigenous people on whose land and culture they were infringing.

The indigenous culture in America when the colonist first arrived was so different from what the colonist had ever known that they didn’t and probably really couldn’t understand the ways of the Native people and for the most part considered the Native people to be uncivilized, even heathenistic savages to be feared and superstitions developed and a lot of distrust on both sides. 

When something like that happens, whether it was then or now, it usually comes down to war and that is what happened.  In war, few truly win and someone always loses.  Everyone gets hurt.  However, we will defend our people, our land, our culture and beliefs and our heritage with all the might we have.

The differences in cultures between the established Native Americans and the colonist, as well as shifting alliances among different nations of each culture caused a whole lot of social and ethnic tension and political unrest.   On top of this, the indigenous Native people of America suffered high fatalities from epidemics caused by infectious European diseases like small pox brought to America when the colonist settled here. Thousands upon thousands of Native Americans died from these diseases because they had no immunity to them.  

After the American Revolution against Britain and the United States of America became its own free nation, President George Washington, known later to the Native peoples as “the great white father,” and Henry Knox, the Secretary of War under President Washington, came up with the idea of “civilizing” the indigenous Native Americans so that they might become United States citizens by assimilating them into the American democratic culture and religious and social customs  through education and religious training, whether forced or voluntary, and that quickly became the policy of the American administrations during the 19th century turned into an American nationalist movement during the expansion period with missions and “Indian schools” popping up everywhere as the Americans began the great western movement increasing pressure on Native American people trying to protect their way of life and their lands, causing rising tensions between the Native people and the pioneers and the Indian wars of the pre-revolutionary era spread west.

By 1783, the United States was a new nation of about 3 million people living, for the most part, along the Atlantic coastal regions with the Native Americans mostly now living on lands west of the Appalachian Mountains. By 1890 the United States had expanded from coast to coast and had a population of about 66 million people with only about 250,000 Indians remaining and most of them were living on reservations holding just a very small fraction of the land they once controlled.

In 1830,Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, authorizing the government to relocate the Native people from their homelands within established States to lands west of the Mississippi River, opening up safer passage for those Americans moving west and by 1840 most of the Eastern tribes had been forced to move west beyond the Mississippi River and were for the most part assimilated into other tribes.

George Washington, and Henry Knox both claimed to respect Indian rights and promised to secure Indian lands for white settlement only through treaty and purchase but by the mid 1800’s homesteaders, miners, and railroad companies, assisted by the United States Army were encroaching on land supposedly set aside by treaty for the Native peoples that was supposedly agreed upon by both parties, even if reluctantly and was to last forever. 

That didn’t happen and promises were not kept and treaties were broken while again and again the Native people tried to rise up in their own defense but no matter how diligently they tried they had been so stripped of man power and resources that they found themselves overwhelmed by American financial and military resources and they were consistently being robbed of more and more of their dignity as a people as well as their land and natural resources even while they tried incorporating the religion and economic and cultural values into their communities.  Even diplomacy and the legal system failed them at every turn.  It seemed the Americans were going to take whatever they wanted by any means it took to get it even to the rape of the land, its natural resources and its Native people and the Native people fought back to conserve that which was theirs from the beginning every way they knew how.

The first encounters with the western interior tribes were generally fur traders and trappers, and then the Jesuit missionaries followed by the homesteaders and the “Gold Rush” as those families whose forefathers had been pilgrims, separatist and puritans who had first come here to escape radical conditions forced their way into the American West perpetrating those same conditions on the natives of this land that their forefathers had run from and then fought to get their freedom from in order to build a new nation.  Before long homesteaders, land speculators, loggers and miners came into increasing conflict with the Western tribes trying to protect their land and way of life.

Many of these tribes were nomadic people, their lives based on the seasonal hunting of buffalo and other game as they followed the herds from place to place. They put up a strong resistance to the western movement and development of their homelands in the decades during and directly following the American Civil War in what is known as the Indian Wars that were for all purposes a continuation of the eastern conflicts after a brief reprieve.  These wars were fierce and frequent up until the 1890s and continued into the 20th century as the transcontinental railroad brought more non-Natives into tribal land in the west.

Over time, the United States forced a series of treaties and land cessions by the tribes, confiscating their land and diminishing their way of life as the United States government established “Indian reservations” and forced the Native people to move onto them in many of our western States. Government agents encouraged Native Americans to adopt the American way of life and forced them to take up farming and other such Americanized pursuits, but agricultural technology of the time was often inadequate for the arid reservation lands and the Native people were unable to grow and supply their own sustenance.  Most of the programs set up for the Native people by the United States government failed miserably and many live in poverty.

It wasn’t until 1924 that the Native Americans who weren’t already U.S. citizens were granted citizenship by Congress and given the same rights as other Americans.  Today Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States in that they may be members of nations, tribes, or bands with sovereignty and treaty rights and still retain the same rights as any other American while building their own cultural infrastructure and wider recognition as a Native people in developing their own businesses, community schools, colleges and universities in which Native American culture and languages are being taught along with the conventional studies, as well as medical clinics and social and financial institutions and tribal museums and history and learning centers in hopes of preserving the  Native culture and heritage of this land since the early 1960’s and the struggle is still ongoing.

Much of what we read about the western expansion and the removal of the Native people from their lands and of the treaties and agreements made has been false and though in the last century historians and the government as a whole have tried to correct some of this the Native people are still portrayed as to trusting, to simple a people that were in the end powerless to defend themselves and simply became the victims of the changing times and were swept up in the tide of western expansion.  There is so much more to this story and the story continues for the Native peoples and their American counterpart as we learn and grow together.  We are all Americans. 

December 20, 1773

Journal,

As a Patriot I am strictly against taxation without representation, and I can truthfully state that I would give my life if it would allow my children to live in an independent America. Dating back to when we first settled here, the British have imposed extremely unreasonable and unjust taxes on the colonies. What do we receive when we attempt to make a stand and defend our unalienable rights? Naturally, we are granted with nothing other than, cold-hearted murder. When the Boston Massacre took place and the news spread colonist became enraged, although I admire the bravery of The Sons of Liberty I almost gaze upon them with disdain for the situation they have placed us under. Before the streets were filled with protesters looking out for the best interests of the colonies, but now our roads are roamed by redcoats to punish us for what we have done.

             On December 16, 1773 a group of disguised colonists dumped over three hundred chests of tea into the sea to express the colonial opinion of the Tea Act. I had no direct involvement myself for my family’s sake; however I am one of the merchants who called for boycott. The Tea Act is an unreasonable action, meant only to crush our liberty! We will not be won over by low prices! However, I fear we have only plunged ourselves deeper into British domain.                            

The British have closed the harbor; therefore we cannot receive food or other goods imported by ship. Parliament calls this the Coercive Acts; nonetheless these acts are truly intolerable. Not are we being prevented from receiving imported goods, but we have also lost our right to assembly and we are forced to quarter British troops in our home. Fortunately, our fellow colonists are good- hearted and send us shipments of food and clothing. Despite the support from the colonists, the harbor remains closed and the Bostonians’ may have no choice to pay for the tea we dumped into our harbor.

            After thinking about the views of the Loyalists and Patriots, I have decided that I am a Patriot. My decision has come out of careful consideration, and here’s why. It all began when Britain was heavily in debt from the Seven Years War and the French and Indian War, thus they decided to tax the colonists by using the Sugar Act and Stamp Act, which enraged the poor colonists. To add to these problems, Britain didn’t give the colonists a voice in government…“Taxation without Representation!” Soon, the Boston Massacre occurred and when the British taxed tea imports, the colonists had enough and the Boston Tea Party took place. In April 1775, tensions between the British and the colonists exploded, and war began, known as the American Revolution. The colonists were proud to have George Washington in command and to have the newly signed Declaration of Independence of 1776 behind them. The Americans, (formerly known as colonists), had little skills compared to the strong British army and navy, not to mention the little money they had to pay soldiers and the hard times they had recruiting them. However, the Americans knew their land, they had faith in their leader and they had a cause; a true desire for independence. They wanted the ability to stand on their own two feet and fight for what they believed in; a free and independent nation. As a result of the preceding occurrences, I chose to be a patriot because I believe in freedom, independence and that people have the right to fight for a good cause and to stand up for what they believe in.

The multiple wars that England became involved in brought riches. England was victorious in the French and Indian war. It started when a dispute erupted over territorial right because both countries wanted to claim as much land as possible in hopes to gain an advantage over the fur trade. The fur trade was very important to both countries because it was a very valuable asset of income. This led to conflicts which ultimately resulted in war. England claimed a lot land from France. This land could easily be converted into farmland to help produce an even larger amount of crop which will benefit the English economy. This proved to be a large piece of the economy fortunes for American colonies in the 18th century because overtime, England turned the land into ways of making profits.

            War has proved to be very important throughout history because it can help bring glory and wealth. England proved to be victorious over and over again. Unfortunately, after a war has ended there is normally a very large bill due to war expenses. The government imposed taxes on colonies to help take the burden. Taxes were imposed because someone had to pay for the cost of weapons, soldier’s pay, and supplies. This ultimately led to rebellion, conflicts, and even boycotts. All of these easily affected the economic fortunes of the colonies. These taxes took away their money and affected their economy directly. The cost of war indefinitely changed the fortunes of North American colonies because it was mainly their money that was being taken away.

The English government hoped that by placing a restriction on trading rights, it would contain all the money under England. This was known to be mercantilism. Mercantilism limited English trade so that goods from the colonies can only be traded or sold to England. The whole idea of mercantilism was to encourage more export and import less. Many colonists resented the idea because it would ban trade with other countries, but eventually they learned to live with it. Mercantilism dictated the economic fortunes because it had full control of the economy. If the colonies exported less and imported more it would dramatically change their economy because there would be a shift of money or control. Mercantilism was easily an important key to England’s booming economy because it regulated their fortunes.

Chain of events led to England’s economic fortunes. Most of this was due to the involvement of wars. Luckily, England prevailed multiple times and reaped many benefits. This included priceless land and crops. Taxes were affected the economy in the colonies because it was money taken away from the colonies’ economy. Yet, mercantilism held a small role in keeping all the fortunes to themselves. In the end, war undoubtedly dictated economic fortunes of Britain’s North American colonies.

The King has denied the passing of important laws. He does not allow his governors to pass laws of the utmost importance. Unless people act directly under the King’s command, he will not pass laws for their well-being. He holds governmental meetings in the most inconvenient of places in hopes that the government officials do not attend. The King has repeatedly disbanded the group of representatives just because they would not follow his orders. Because of this, vigilantes emerge, people rebel, and enemies invade. The King does not allow the citizens of Great Britain to go to the Colonies, the Colonists to expand their land, or foreign people to join England. He appoints judges that do not understand the Colonists and are more familiar with the laws in other places. The judges in the Colonies are fired unless they follow the commands of the King. The Colonists are required to do whatever it takes to tend to the needs of the British soldiers. The King bestowed diplomatic immunity to the military. The King holds trials in places that are not part of the Colonies so that the judges of that area are not murdered by the guilty party. The military are declared as innocent for their crimes, regardless of the severity of their actions. The King made it so that only England would be able to trade with the Colonies. He charged taxes without the permission of the Colonists. He stopped trials from being run by the jury. He sent offenders of the law to England to be unfairly judged. The King destroyed the government in Canada so that he can create a new, larger government in its place. Those who were under the previous government must act under the commands of the King. He destroyed our government agreements, abolished our most important laws, and changed the basic format of our government by putting an end to our Legislatures and stating that only he and his representatives have absolute power. He took away our protection and called us his enemies. He denied our ability to trade with other countries, destroyed our homes, and slaughtered our people. The King hired foreign soldiers to fight against us. He is uncivilized and is not worthy of being a king. He captures the Colonists and forces them to choose between fighting against the Colonies and murdering their friends and family or being killed. The King hired the Native Americans to fight us.

We, the Colonists, have repeatedly requested that there be an end to all of our suffering, and we have been responded with more oppression and tyranny. A tyrant like the King of Great Britain is not worthy of ruling free, civilized people. When we asked Parliament to hear our plea, they denied us, regardless of the effort we have put in to understand their sense of justice and goodness. Should England continue to separate themselves from us, we shall declare them as our enemies, yet if they try to compromise with us, we will be friends. Because of our grievances, we claim that we are no longer part of England. The United Colonies are free, and also possess a right to be free. We now swear with our lives, wealth, and honor to acknowledge this Declaration of Independence.