Has the United States of America failed in its treatment of Native American culture?
Before the Europeans arrived and invaded America, the Native Americans lived in peace. They believed in living one with the earth. They had a culture that was their own that differed in so many ways from the Europeans. Ever since arriving in America we tore apart their homes, their culture and their lives. Even since then Native American culture has been disappearing. Less of them practice it and their minority is going down in population. Even though we have tried to help them since the wars we can still say we are the cause of their culture failure. The United States has failed in the treatment of Native American culture.
In 1842 Christopher Columbus discovered America. Along with discovering this new land he also discovered humans living there. Shortly after those two discoveries we took over this new land, and the new people living there. Christopher Columbus went back to his home land after this new discovery, and the next time he returned to America, all of the Europeans came with him and they invaded. They brought over ships and ships of goods and soldiers. They camped in the Indians land after the Native Americans shared their homes and food with Columbus. Right from the start the Native Americans culture was being mistreated. Their land, lives, families, crops and homes were being invaded.
After the Europeans took over the Native Americans land they started shipping materials, food and other goods over to America from Europe. The Europeans started stealing more and more land to grow crops on and they would sell and export the products grown from that land for their own source of money. They would encourage the Native Americans to buy and use their machines and their products but the Indians refused to go under the Europeans way of life. The Europeans would insult their culture and burn their houses and their land so they would have no choice but to surrender to their way of life. Once disease hit America the Native Americans and the Europeans suffered in population. They Europeans after the epidemic suffered in growing crops and harvesting. They had to ask the Indians to teach them how to provide their own food. So the Europeans made a peace treaty with the Indians. Of course however, after they were taught how to grow crops, make and sell crafts and clothing they started exporting and selling again. They started forcing the Native Americans to buy and use their products again, and finally the Indians had no choice. Most of the Indians lived under European life, and the ones who didn't suffered or they were killed.
Soon after Native Americans succumbed to Europeans life, the Europeans started forcing Indians onto reservations. They told them that it would be a place where they could practice their culture but they had to stay on the land that they gave them. This was a way for Europeans to gather and have the Indians living in one place where they could control their culture and their economy. This was a place where the Indians really in all eyes but the invading Europeans had no freedom.
Attacks on the Indians were made. Europeans started a war and wanted to tear down every Indian home and tribe. They said "their is no better Indian than a dead one." Indians exclaimed, "the white men are foxes and peace cannot be brought about with them; the only thing the Indians can do is fight." The Europeans had no heart and showed no mercy. They killed everyone everywhere. They killed the men, the women, the children and even the infants. "I have come to kill Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians." Said by Colonel Chivington from the Colorado Cavalry. The European soldiers would even fake an agreement. Tell the Indian chiefs that they were not here to hurt them. The Indians would come outside after hearing this to make peace, and the soldiers would open fire and leave not one Indian standing.
The way that the Europeans treated the Native Americans when they arrived in America only got worse. It gradually wore them down and then turned into war and extinction. They took their ways of growing crops and producing goods for their own economy. They stole their land and forced Indians to live on reservations. Europeans forced Indians to use their powered machines and power tools. The English didn't just force their culture upon the Indians, they murdered them, burned down their houses, killed their animals; the Europeans were brutal. Indian tribes didn't know what to think. These people invaded their land and started to bring down their population. The Indians just wanted to live in peace. After a while Indians started to rebel. That didn't sit well with the Europeans, and they started wars. Black Kettle from the Cheyenne tribe once said "It is not my intention or wish to fight the whites, I want to be friendly and peaceable and keep my tribe so. I am not able to fight the whites. I want to live in peace." If all the Indians wanted was peace, why couldn't the Europeans work with the Indians and live in peace? Instead, they brought the Native American culture and population to almost extinction.
As the United States started to grow and become a working country and economy. Americans decided we wanted to make it up to the Native American culture. So now their are benefits for them and plans to keep there culture alive and practiced. However, that does not make up for all of the bad that was done to them. There civilization and lifestyle was completely devoured. All of the rights and peaceful living they get should have been given a long time ago. The Europeans left no survivors in the attacks against the Indians. The Native American culture is now dying out with every year that passes. Nothing that has been done or is done today can make up for all of the harm and devastation that was brought upon the Native Americans when the Europeans came to America. The ancestors of America now failed in the treatment of Native Americans. The United States of America has failed in the treatment of Native American culture.
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