Chippewa: Modern Indian Americans in the USA - Essay Example

?The modern Indian- Americans, the case of Chippewa in United s of America Introduction The Chippewa people or the Ojibwa lived mainly in Michigan, Wisconsin, Dakota and Ontario (Canada); they are in the group of the Algonquian family who speak the similar languages and are closely related to Ottawa and Potawatomi Indians of America.1 They traded with French merchants and this resulted into intermarriages between them and the Chippewa people; this relationship was further portrayed in their unity with the French to fight the British army in French-Indian war. After the French forces were defeated, they helped Pontiac - chief of Ottawa - in rebellion. In times of American Revolution, they aligned themselves with the British because of the fear of white Americans taking over their land. The Chippewa were defeated alongside other Indians of Ohio country in the battle of Fallen Timbers (1794); this resulted in them losing bargain to their lands by signing many treaties such as Fort Harmar treaty (1789), Greeneville treaty (1795), Fort industry treaty (1805) and Maumee Rapids (1817).2 It is hypothesized that the Chippewa were forced to abandon their ancestral lands through treaties and suffered cultural, economic, social and political changes with the 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 assimilation of the Native Indians, such as Omnibus Act 1910, that authorized the secretary of interior to lease lands belonging to Indians. The Act also solved their heir-ship problems and by 1920, most of Indian tribes could not control most of their resources and eventually lost them to white Americans.6 They were also asked to volunteer to join military to gain American citizenship. By the end of World War I, all war veterans of Indian origin were given the US citizenship and five years later, all Indian-Americans were given citizenship with passage of Indian Citizenship Act 1919; however, many scholars hold the view that these laws were made to undermine ties between Indian tribes. Later in 1920s, several leaders of different organizations questioned the effectiveness of the assimilation policies in the US and in 1928 a report by the Indian office indicated that the life of reservation had plunged many Indians into ill health, endemic poverty, poor education and socio-economic dependency. The treaties’ promises Treaty with Chippewa, 1854 It was made between Henry Gilbert, David Herrmann (for federal government) and Chiefs and heads men of Chippewa (for Chippewa people). In this treaty, the Chippewa gave up land that they originally owned to the federal state, it gave the government power to confine and divide the reserves among them; it marked boundaries of the reserves. They also settled on the terms of payments as five thousand dollars in coins, 8,000 dollars in goods (household furniture, utensils), 3,000 dollars in agricultural implements, cattle and other building materials and 3,000 dollars for moral and education purposes, and last sum, 3,000 dollars per annum was to be paid to the Portage band, to help them in maintaining schools in their area. The government will also pay a sum of 90,000 dollars, as the chiefs in open as council may direct, to help them accomplish their engagements. Additionally, a sum of 6,000 dollars in cooking utensils, household furniture and agricultural implements was to be distributed among the mixed bloods of the Chippewa in subsequent annual payment. The government also made available 200 guns, 100 rifles, 500 beaver-traps, 300 dollars' worth of ammunition; all of these were to be done annually for twenty years.7 Their blacksmiths were to be given enough stock and they shall not be taken to pay their individual debts. The land that was given to them was not to be used for selling or making of spirit liquors. All the teachers, missionaries and all that were in the ceded land at the time of secession were to enter the land upon payment of some amount of money. Treaty with Chippewa, 1837 This treaty was made between Henry Dodge, governor of Wisconsin (for states’ government) and the Chippewa people represented by their chiefs and headsmen at St. Peters. In this treaty, the boundaries of the ceded land was clearly set and the government reaffirmed their payments to the ceded land as: 9500 dollars to be paid in monetary form (Article 2), $ 19000 in goods, $ 3,000 for formation of blacksmiths’ shops, $ 1000 for farmers for supply of seeds and other farm implements, $ 500 in tobacco, $ 100000 to be paid to Chippewa half breeds (article 3).8 An amount of $ 70000 was to be given to Indians for certain claims; in Article 5 of the treaty, they were given the privilege of hunting, fishing and obtaining wild rice in the waters and lands including the areas ceded. According to Article 4, tobacco was to be delivered at the same time as goods and money, blacksmiths’ shops were to be located in the Chippewa country and at a place designated by the superintendent of Indian affairs (Article 2)9. Treaty with Chippewa, 1842 This treaty was made between Robert Stuart (the representative of the US government) and the Chippewa people headed by their chief and headsmen at La Pointe of Lake Superior in Wisconsin.10 It also gave clarity on the boundaries issues of the land ceded (Article 1), it equally stipulates their right of hunting in the ceded land as given in the earlier treaty above (Article 2); in article 3, they both agreed that Chippewa were to move from the ceded lands and have a joint resident in the not ceded lands with other Indians, payments were further stipulated in all areas desired by the Indians. In article 6, it was placed upon the discretion of the president at his wish to remove all Indians residing on the mineral lands and this treaty was made obligatory and biding upon the parties in its article 711. What the Chippewa did to improve their livelihood Despite the oppressions by the federal government during the reservation periods, Indians weren’t just passive victims of civilization and authoritarian system; they continued to engage in their traditional cultures and also came up with new cultural practices such as the Ghost Dance and the Native American Church.12 Education system to which they were forced to have saw emergence of schools that provided serine environment for formation of pan-ethnic identity since the young Indians from different tribes could mingle freely. In court battles, some individual member sued the federal government to oppose some of their policies and they emerged triumphant.13 Conclusion Indian-Americans posed a threat and the desires of the white Americans to possess vast majority of land belonging to Indians, they (white Americans) formed policies to exclude Indians from the mainstream by use of treaties with promises to pay as enticement, hence, Indians were confined in reserves that drastically affected their livelihoods; however, they were never passive sufferers but used that situation to uplift their social, political, cultural and economical lives. Bibliography Kappler, Charles. J. Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1904. Available online: http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/ Kappler, Charles. J. "Kappler's Indian Affairs: Laws And Treaties." Oklahoma State University – Library - Home. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/ (Accessed July 19, 2012). Royster, V. Judigh and Michael C. Blumm. Native American Natural Resources Law: Cases and Materials. Carolina Academic Press, 2008. Satz, Ronald N. Chippewa Treaty Rights: The Reserved Rights of Wisconsin's Chippewa Indians in Historical Perspective. Wisconsin Academy of Science, 1996. US Congress. Survey of the Indians in the United States: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Indian Affairs. Washington: U.S. G.P.O. Available online: http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR=26591&CISOSHOW=26289 Vine, Deloria and Clifford M. Lytle. American Indians, American Justice. West Publishing, 2004. Wildenthal, Bryan and Charles Zelden. Native American Sovereignty on Trial: A Handbook With Cases, Laws, and Documents. ABC-CLIO, 2003. Wisconsin History. Condition of Indian Affairs in Wisconsin: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, on Senate Resolution No. 263. 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