Native American Policy - Research Paper Example

? NATIVE AMERICAN POLICY ANALYSIS Unit Introduction After the civil war, in 30 years the government policy of theNative Americans wanted to shift from forced separation to integrating to American society. The attempts to Americanize the Indians only had hastened the death of their presence and culture in America (Anderson & Benson, 2006). After the aggression, the objective of the policy was to combine the Native Americans in the American society. There were many attempts at this which were made, from offering the citizens to grant lands to the Indians, but all these attempts were in vain, but the results of the policies were the same as continued aggression. The government policy towards the Native Americans aggressive did not tolerate their presence in West. Americans and tribal leaders were able to compromise with the land arrangements and living situations. Since the Americans did not comply with the situation, it resumed the conflict and the beginning of the Indian Wars started which killed 5 Americans and resulted to over 1000 deaths of both Native and White Americans. From this point, the American policy was to force the Indians out of their land, force them to accept the treaties which resulted to fighting. On several occasions, the American troops would lash out against the peaceful Indians, and as result the aggression was out of control (Lyden, 1999). In that regard, this paper aims at discussing legal issues, law integral to the policy on the above explained topic on the Native American policy. Additionally, the discussion will include how this law conflicts with the second amendment and the supremacy clause of US constitution. Indian policy had shifted from the destructive mindset to a soft line and a peaceable policy. When the Indian Wars ended the Wounded Knee Battle, the battle had resulted to over 200 deaths, and all these marked change in the Indian policy. However, although the change had begun, the policies had begun to be kind, and therefore, the peace commission created a reservation policy. The policy provided the grant of landholding of the Native Americans, and replaced the tribal communal holdings. The 1906 Bruce Act also allowed the Indians to acquire citizenship if they left their own tribes, and eventually the Native Americans were granted citizenship in 1920. However, the intentions of the policy toward the Indians had shifted, and the outcomes of the policies helped suppress the Native Americans, in addition to their culture (Anderson & Benson, 2006).Though the policy had been created with good intentions, it had also had some reverse effects which helped in eliminating the Native Americans. Additionally, the policies did nothing to qualm or fight the Indian wars. It also had various negative effects on the Native Americans where it broke many reservations as well as lost much land to the whites. The Native American policy also killed the Native American culture and Indians left their tribes to attain the American citizenship. Although various benefits were created to save and benefit the Native Americans, the policy did nothing in helping the Indians as well as Native Americans and as a result, the Indians as well as their culture died out. This policy received a lot of criticisms from politicians and the Easterners, which brought a change in the policy. Although the policy was less bloody, they did not help in alleviating the Native Americans problems, and many times they worsened the problems. To add to this, attitude and the policy were volatile and had the same effects. The integration of the Native American to the American society was created (Lyden, 1999). Hastedt (2004) claims that, the Native Americans are indigenous individuals living in North Africa and United States and other parts of Alaska. They are composed of a number of states, ethnic groups and states, many of them who survived the political communities. They are also called the American Indians, most of whom lived as hunters and gatherers in the society, as well as matrilineal. The expansion of the American-European population after the revolution led to increased pressure on the Native American land, which brought about a policy which authorized the government to relocate the Native Americans to the south. However, they continued to live in the South and organized themselves as tribes by a number of states and the federal government. They carried a strong resistance in United States as well as a series of Indian Wars. The U.S forced a number of series, in terms of land and treaties by the tribes, as well as created reservations for the Natives in Western states. The U.S government encouraged them to adopt their way of farming and other similar pursuits. Anderson & Benson (2006) defines the Native American policy as operations and laws that was adapted and developed in the United States in order to outline the relationship between the federal government and the Native Americans. When the United States became independent, it is said to have adopted the policies of Europe in regard to Native Americans, but over the two centuries, it adapted its own varying wide policies in regard to necessities and changing of its perspectives of its supervision. However, in order to administer the government’s U.S Native American policies, the congress came up with a new agency in the department of war called the Indian Affairs Bureau, which worked closely with the U.S army in order to enforce such policies. Lyden (1999) contends that the federal government recognized the American Indians as independent, self-governing communities with a variety of cultural identities. However, there are times the government tried to force the Indians to leave their culture, as well as give up their land in order to assimilate their American culture. The U.S policies in regard to the Native Americans were influenced by the desire to increase the west territory that the Indian tribes had occupied. In order, to calm such fears, the U.S government held a meeting with the treaty of Fort Laramie and other Indian tribes, that allowed each native American tribe to accept a territory that was bounded, as well as allowed its government to construct forts and roads in the territory and gave a pledge of never to attack the settlers. In return, the government agreed to honor each tribe’s territory as well as pay the Indians annually. However, this law conflicts with the second amendment and the supremacy clause in the US Constitution.  The peaceful treaty between the Indians and the federal government did not last long, because the government broke its promise to the Indians after they heard of their fertile land and mineral wealth. This is how the Native policy came about, where the U.S government restricted the Native Americans to a small piece of land within their group territory, in order to give more land to non-Indian settler (Lyden, 1999). The government also forced them to give up their lands and occupy the reservations, and as a result gain protection from attacks by the whites. The Native Americans were also paid yearly for food, livestock, and money among others. Such reservations are said to create attempts to help clear a way for the U.S involvement and expansion in the West, in addition to keeping the Indians separate from the whites to reduce conflicts. Contemporary presidential statements, court decisions and statutes provide a strong support for the tribal government (Hastedt, 2004). For example, First Amendment makes sure that the legal tribal regimes survive as manifestations of sovereign indigenous powers, instead of creating federal laws. However, in order to keep this law, the Bill of rights do not apply to such actions of the government in regard to tribes because the First ten amendments binds the federal government and its agencies, but not to other independent sovereigns like the Indians. Some of the legal issues regarding the Native American policy, are where the Supreme court affirms that the native tribes imposes taxes on the Native American policies, as well as tried to place some limits on sovereign tribes powers. Additionally, the Supreme Court held that the sovereignty tribal does not include the power to connect to foreign relations, alienate as well as to wage war in any tribal land and imposing criminal punishments to the tribe non-members. Additionally, it also restricts the tribe’s power in order to regulate the activities of the Native Americans. Consequently, the Supreme Court acknowledges its decisions in limiting the tribal powers in the First Amendment in the U.S constitution (Hastedt, 2004). In order, to monitor the government interference, the Supreme Court rejected the efforts by local governments and states to regulate the Indian activities, and came up with the First Amendment in regard to tribal government, where it claimed that, any tribe is free to make its choices on matters such as family life, economic organization and environmental quality without any interference from the government. Therefore, the Native American policy was going against the Amendment by forcing the Indians to move out of their land in order to expand their boundaries (Anderson & Benson, 2006). Conclusion The Native American policy was to force the Indians out of their land, force them to accept the treaties, which resulted to fighting. On several occasions, the American troops would lash out against the peaceful Indians, and as result the aggression was out of control. However, the government policy towards the Native Americans was aggressive and did not tolerate their presence in the West. Americans and tribal leaders were able to compromise with the land arrangements and living situations. This law conflicts with The Supreme Court and the First Amendment because, it claims that any tribe is free to make its choices on matters such as family life, economic organization, and environmental quality without any interference from the government. Therefore, the Native Americans had a right to own land in the U.S boundaries. References Anderson.T & Benson.B (2006), Self-determination: the other path for Native Americans.Standford, Calif: Stanford Univ.Press. Hastedt,G.P (2004), Encyclopedia of American Foreign Policy. New York: Facts On File. Lyden.F( 1999), Native Americans and Public Policy. Newyork: University of Pittsburgh Read More