Chippewas in the Early Twentieth Century - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... view of civilization into the American white mainstream assimilation. The Chippewa in twentieth century Indians’ experience in the reservations Reservation has been a fundamental feature in the Indian-American history during two centuries; for some Indians, it is a reminder of Euro-American colonialism where indigenous Americans were subjected to small camps and their lands taken away. The guiding principle for the reservation of indigenous people was that the American whites felt that they possessed the original right to that land and that indigenous people were to obtain it either through purchase or negotiations to form treaties and agreements. The federal government also used military force, conquest and discovery concept in order to incorporate indigenous groups into camps and, therefore, into the national fold.3 Reservations were recognized by the laws and in 1775, Indian affairs department was formed to deal with issues of Indians in the reserves. After the independence, a national policy of administration of Indians was adopted and this gave congress powers to trade, treaties, warfare over the Indians and then right to take away land of Indians. With those powers and privileges, the congress in 1778 formed Indian reservations through treaty/statute confining Indian tribes in specific boundaries.4 In the period of 1828-1838, over 90,000 Native Americans were forced to move to west of Mississippi river and gave the abandoned land to its white citizens. The native tribes (Indians) suffered population decrease since the federal government used force to relocate them, the small tribal governments they had were disrupted and as they tried to form tribal government in places where they settled, they were weakened. In 1916, the Chippewa were given Rocky boy Indian reservation, a large military reservation and portion of the Fort Assiniboine; while in the early twentieth century, they traded with the army officers and had no land since they had been displaced by the white Americans. The reason behind the reservation of the Indian tribes was in two dimensions; the resources of the Native Americans could be exploited and at a minimum cost, and the reservations were a test of social engineering that were seen as a refuge institution for the endangered race and through it, they can be uplifted by assimilation and, indeed, the office of Indians established by congress promoted assimilation and breaking the notion of salvage life to civilized values through insisting on education, agricultural labor and development of finances, with this, the government perceived reservations as a controlled method of civilization through an agent (Indian office), thus, it was sanctioned.5 Some laws were made just for the ...Download file to see next pagesRead More