Week 4 Reflection: It Was Never Your Land

The government played a major role in Americans expansion Westward. The government viewed the Native Americans as a threat. It is very interesting how American government could form the thought of Native Americans being a threat in their own ancestral homelands. You would think that the Americans would be thought of as the threat because they were trespassing and taking over a land that did not belong to them. Manifest Destiny was the main reason European Americans seen it okay for them to migrate west. It is the belief that it was Gods will for the European American people to expand westward and seek resources that were necessary to live. 

The Homestead Act was created in 1862 by the government. It stated that any head of household or regular adult citizen could qualify for a grant of 160 acres of land in exchange for a registration fee. They also had to live on the land for a period of five years. This act gave more Americans a reason to move West and invade the original land of Native Americans. 

In order to control the “threat” the government created Indian Reservations. These reservations were managed by the government. Its whole purpose was to keep Native Americans off the lands the Americans wished to settle on. Within the reservation, Indian tribes were allowed to govern themselves and keep some of their cultural aspects but not all. Although they were able to keep some traditions, confining the Native Americans to one area stripped them from their whole way of life. Many Native Americans practiced nomadic traditions and being tied to one area made it difficult for them to survive and provide for their families. The government started boarding schools on the reservations to try to acclimate Native Americans children to American culture and overall get rid of their traditions and cultures.  

Of course, the American settlers would have liked to think that the Native Americans would bow down easily but after a certain period of time they decided to fight back. In the 19th century Native Americans developed a tradition called, “The Ghost Dance”. It originally started off as a religious movement but later become a political one that symbolized Native Americans resistance to the way of life the American government was trying to impose on them.Unfortunately, this movement led to Sitting Bull to be murdered. 

Sitting Bull
https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/images/sitting-bull-2.jpg

Sitting Bull was a leader of the Lakota Sioux people (nomadic people who lived on high plains). European Americans made it hard for the Sioux people because they killed of the Bison which was the main resource for food and trade amongst their people. After gold was found in the Black Hills, the government made and offer to Sitting Bull and the Sioux but they refused which led to the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. This battle was a defeat for U.S troops. It ultimately created more hate for the Naïve Americans.  Although the Indians won this battle, the were still forced from their homes, the treaty of Ft. Laramie, which stated the Indians claimed the Black Hills, was broken and sitting bull had to Flee. The Battle of Wounded Knee marked the end of the Indian War. As the Sioux people were migrating across the reservation, the 7th US Calvary opened fire on the Sioux people killing 270-300 of the 400 of them. This resulted in the West being completely taken over and open for European American migration and expansion.  

Lakota Sioux Warriors
http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/89/21/32/89213212ed167a9857c08a11a53fbb84.jpg

These government policies alienated Native Americans and made them hateful people. They invaded their lands and tried to colonize and force their ways of life on people who already had their own traditions and cultures. Although they ultimately lost their land and their lives, they were strong in their decision to fight. They fought for their land, freedom, and the preservation of their way of life. 

Mintz, S., & McNeil, S. (2018). 

Digital History : Closing The Western Frontier

http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/era.cfm?eraID=9&smtID=2