The North American Indians - Essay Example

The Europeans went further in spreading misery amongst the Indians by eradicating what once were millions of buffalo that provided food, clothing, shelter, and weapons for the tribal peoples.  These indigenous people, the descendants that remained from the genocide that occurred during the 1800s, have been supplanted to distant outposts of despair called reservations. 

During the late 1700s trappers established trading posts that initiated business relationships with the native population.  This new relationship introduced tribal members to firearms which aided them while hunting or defending themselves.  The association also brought smallpox which devastated the tribes’ population.  The trading posts offered provisions outside of what was supplied in nature and enhanced the tribal economies which were previously tied directly to following the buffalo herds.  Otherwise, buffalo provided almost everything the Indians needed including food, clothes, weapons, and shelter until they were nearly hunted into extinction in the 1880s, forcing the Indians to depend upon the white man for trade.

From the first landing of the Europeans in America to the present, Indians have desperately attempted to retain their land and culture.  However, as there were then, there are now some Indians who learned the white man’s customs well enough to use this knowledge as an advantage benefiting both personal and tribal interests.  Throughout the history of the nation, Indians have learned to speak English well enough to articulate their beliefs, art, folklore, and culture to those outside the Indian reservation.  It is because of this effort to at least partially assimilate into a white society that Indian culture, religion, and traditions have become of interest and widely respected among mainstream Americans.  Some have become good students of capitalism as evidenced by the success of the casinos (Hoxie, 1992).  Several Indians have gone to great lengths to be equally adept in both Indian and non-Indian cultures over the past quarter century.  These individuals have been able to express the concerns of tribal society at the congressional and judicial level thus positively affecting reservation society.  “Over the past two decades [Indians] have been successful in litigating and in gaining passage of federal legislation ultimately to create a wide enough path for the distinct culture in Indian society to reemerge” (Vicenti, 1995).

In an attempt to socialize the Indian tribes, their children were introduced to ‘the white man’s education in the late 1800s when the tribes were at their lowest emotional, spiritual, and physical points as their lands and food source had recently been taken.  In addition, they were not acclimated to farming or working for someone else.  The white man’s culture was very different and those of the Indian tribes did not integrate well.  This is a prevalent issue arguably still present for inhabitants of reservations today.  (Ewers, 1988).  

The lack of employment is driving many young Indians to seek work outside the reservation which causes a population reduction, eventually resulting in tribal nations losing their sovereignty status thus disappearing into obscurity.  “Genocide would occur again at the hand of any tribal government that fails to see the need for change.  Integrity, generosity, and respect are the values of many Native American nations, and it would be a sad day when these are no longer practiced, let alone acknowledged” (Whiteman, 2006).