1950s- & American Indian - Essay Example

1950s Suburbia & American Indians Through generations past, as well as cinematic representation, the era of the 1950s has been viewed in such a means that sets forth to enable those who did not live in the era to be able to understand the unique times and circumstances involved. While it appears that the ideologies of that time have fallen by the waste side, there are those who still abide by the guiding principles that formed the era itself. The notion of hard work and family are very much a root belief for many people who live in the present, even if not all of them are visible with such beliefs as others may be.

With the desire to live in the quaint came the inevitable impact on the inner urban facets of American life. Also an era which saw more women at home, rather than the present in which it has become quite commonplace for numerous American households to be comprised of two working adults, rather than 50 years ago when it was undoubtedly the role of the male to be the breadwinner and his wife would be responsible for the maintenance of the home and hearth. With the law in place of separation of church and state, there have been many who look back at the era of the 50s and the presence of spiritual and religious discussion that seemed to occur more freely then than what it does now.

Two clear signs of such open discussion involve the addition of “under god” to the pledge of allegiance, as well as the addition of “in god we trust” to the American currency. Two strong examples of how deeply rooted religion was at the time for many and the need felt to keep it close to the vest as it came to national practices. Central themes for many that lived in the time were the importance of family, the value of a strong economy and what it would mean for providing a strong way of life, as well as maintaining a strong connection to god and the principles set forth from religious teachings.

In the end, for many people, the 1950s were a time in which many felt there was great prosperity and great hope. Television was used in such a manner to portray a human landscape of the strong male role model, the supportive role of the female and also the role of the children to be pleasantly precocious but well mannered. It can be asserted that a great many people essentially felt their was great promise to be had and considerable prosperity for all. Just as other minorities that wished to exert their rights, the American Indians set forth with a plan of obtaining recognized rights and liberties from the national level.

The 1950s would be a decade in which the Indians would see struggle towards their chance at freedom, but the following decade would lead towards a greater feeling of hope for what lie ahead. In a more subtle way, the American government, rather than openly insist upon a move to a more urban area, would suggest a relocation for Indians to more urbanized areas and in fact did away somewhat with only a select number of the reservations in existence. Wishing to maintain their cultural practices and histories, the Indians would insist upon the maintaining of key element of their history as a way of keeping it alive for future generations and those who wished to learn about them.

The determination of a culture to keep its history intact. Some would seek change through approaching those in political power to enact it. Others, whose choice was theirs to make, would seek such a resolution through a more direct way, rather than a way which they probably considered to be too slow and would not accomplish what they wished to accomplish in the time frame they were hoping for. The actions which the Indians would take, most notably the occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota that would have been held for 71 days before being handed over.

A special site in that it was there where Sioux Indians were slaughtered by the Army in 1890. We may assert that with the peaceful nature in which the Indians had control of the area and would later hand it over to federal authorities in that way as well, it would not have been the goal of the group to have such action turn violent. Had violence been the motivator behind such a move, the handover would have either never taken place, or it would have lead to many deaths in the process for not just Indians, but also government operatives that held the task of regaining the land for the government.

The point in such an assertion would be that the motivator behind the Indian group was not one of hate or even violence, but one which looked to work towards validation of the Indian cause. The plight of a civilization and its hopes of regaining some level of recognition as a group that has been taken away from them many years ago. The recognition of being real people with very real desires.