Native Americans
By Madison Scarponi
Native American History
Throughout history the cost of enlarging a nation has overroad the value of human life several times. The Native Americans are an a example of a group that was killed, hurt and was taken away their families and homes. This was during the Westward expansion. The Native Americans we moved out of their villages so the government could move into the land that had gold and other valuables or for railroads. This was a fight for the Native Americans to live in their culture which was taken away from them.
The Native Americans were there many years before the white’s, they were native to the U.S.. This was during the 1800’s, by this time miners, railroads, cattle drivers and farmers have made it to the plans. With every white person coming to the plans more land was taken from the Native Americans. The buffalo were the Native Americans main food source, but people like William Cody killed over 4,000 buffalo in less than 18 months. The Indian Peace Commissions had an idea to move the Native Americans move to their own territory. The Sioux Indians would move to the Dakota Territory Reservation, and the Indians from the Southeast would go to the Oklahoma Reservation. The government would lie saying the land was great or there was a lot of buffalo when the land would be too dry or there would not be a buffalo to be seen.
At first the Native Americans we offered .50 cents per a acer, they would have gotten $5.5 million, they turned down that offer. The second offer was much bigger it was $1.25 per an acer and the same rations they were getting already. Chief Red cloud responded saying that he Chef Sitting Bull was there he would not take the offer, so they did not take it. That is when the Government was not patient enough with the Native Americans, the government would start killing the Native Americans if they would not agree or rebel. Native Americans were killed just because they were fighting to save their land and their beliefs. Chief Sitting Bull was ultimately killed from the Government, he was trying to change the people mind about taking those deals. The Sioux tribe moved up to Canada at a point. It was after a fight when the Native Americans fought back to the government on the Blacks Hills. They left because the government was to powerful for them to win against them. They did not want to go to their new territory given to them by the government, the Dakota Territory Reservation. The Government would encourage the Native Americans to become farmers and citizens. This was part of the Dawes act in 1887. This act amined to break up reservations and it weakened their cultural traditions and beliefs.
The Buffalo were sacred to the Native Americans, but the whites were killing them for food and their leather. There were over 30 million buffalo before the whites came over. After the white people hunted buffalo for a while the buffalo had almost been extinct, there were around 78 left. The Native Americans felt that the one thing that they needed was gone, and already their homes were taken away their belief and culture. The buffalo also had to feed the railroad man because they had nothing else around to feed them. There were 10,000 to 12,000 men working, that is just part of the population.YouTube Video
Citations
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