Abstract This paper examines the history of relations between the Native Americans and the settling colonialists in 1500 and onwards. It discusses why the settlers did not manage to enslave the Native Americans and how they ended up turning to Africa for their labor needs.
From the Paper "Perhaps the ultimate form of exploitation would be the advocation of slavery, at that time a universal practice. The custom of enslavement came from the necessity of disposing of prisoners-of-war, from the greed of traders, and from the demand for labour. Slaves, by character, were people apparently weaker than their masters either in the sense of being defeated opponents (i.e. prisoners of war), or people with no means to withstand capture and imprisonment from an oppressor. The oppressors often based their justifications for denoting a population suitable for being slaves by claiming higher moral and religious understanding, i.e. to be civilised. In America, the indigenous population certainly fitted the part to be this inferior class, with inferior technology and crucially, an 'inferior' religion. Yet the extensiveness of negro slavery in Southern America by the time of the civil war (over 4 million African-origin slaves existed) compared to the virtual non-existence of Indian slavery indicates that for whatever reason, the local southern Native American Indians were 'passed over' in the search for a suitable candidate to solve the labour shortage created by the rapidly expanding colonies. Therefore, can it be argued that the southern Native Americans were too powerful to be enslaved?"
Abstract This paper presents a detailed examination of the Bering Strait Theory. The author of this paper explores the various theories about the Bering Strait and the belief that the Native Americans came across it during a migration out of Asia. The writer argues that the Bering Strait Theory has several conflicting elements, making it a questionable theory.
From the Paper "As science continues to evolve there are many questions about mankind that are coming to light and being answered. One of the most pressing questions in recent history has been the question of migration and different races and cultures settling in various areas of the world. Historians, scientists, and others have been putting together facts as they are being discovered, and many of those facts point to the possibility that the theories society has accepted in the past may have been untrue. One theory that has been scrutinized lately has been the Bering Strait Theory. The Bering Strait theory contends that the Native Americans actually started out as Asians and migrated across the strait many years ago. Currently there are people who have begun to challenge the Bering Strait theory, claiming that the time lines and other evidence do not add up."
Abstract Ahanu tells the story of his interaction with the Englishmen in Massachusetts during the 1600s. This paper covers the main events that happened between the Englishmen, first Pilgrims and then later Puritans, and the Wampanoag Indians. The two peoples were friendly at first, but then engaged in warfare and bitterness, resulting, ultimately, in the downsizing of the Wampanoag Indians. Also, this paper presents an overview of the Wampanoag tribe. All of the facts presented in this paper are true, as are references, but there is a storyline here that gives the facts a dramatic effect.
From the Paper "I am Ahanu of the Wampanoag. But I don?t like it when I am called by my name. I prefer for people to call me by my Christian name, William. I have lived many long years and I have seen my people dwindle in number. I have seen the English with smiling faces and I have seen them with faces of blood-lust and hate. I have gained some things from the pale invaders, but I have lost so much to them. I was ten years old when they first came. I am now eighty years old and they have not left. Wampanoag means "eastern people" in the English language and that's what we are. We live in the northern part of what is now called New England by the English. Before the Englishmen came, we lived between the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay in Rhode Island to the western end of Cape Cod, in southeastern Massachusetts. I use the English names for the lands mentioned in my story for the sake of clarification. We were located north of the Narragansett tribes and south of the Pocumtuck tribes. Our language is Algonquin, and we share that language with the Massachusett, the Nauset, and the Nanagunsett tribes. We are a horticultural people, but we also hunt and fish in addition to our harvest. We especially like seafood from the coastal areas of Massachusetts. Our government, if you want to call it that, is a confederacy with a Grand Sachem and lesser sachems and sagamores."
Abstract This paper provides an overview of the Alabama-Coushatta tribe and, in particular, examines how it is currently changing to fit the new circumstances of the modern world as it struggles to maintain ties to traditional values and practices in the Big Thicket of East Texas, where the members of this cultural group have lived for a number of years.
Outline
History of the Group
Modern Americans, Not Noble Savages
A History of Misfortune
From the Paper "The Alabama Indians, who came to Tyler County in 1805, were members of the Upper Creek Confederacy of Indians as well as members of the Muskogean Nation. The Coushattas arrived in East Texas at about the same time: They came to East Texas in the years directly after 1795. Both groups were given land to settle by order of the Texas Congress; however, this land (which was relatively good for raising stock and had regular access to water) was illegally claimed and homesteaded by white settlers, Sam Houston intervened to ask the government of Texas to purchase land for the Indians ? who had supported Houston and other Texans in the state's battles for independence."
Abstract Discusses policies of assimilation and self-determination, the federal government's role, the belief that white culture was superior to Native American cultural customs, and the failure of non-reservation boarding schools to assimilate Native Americans.
From the Paper "The history of Native American education is characterized by the policies of assimilation and self-determination. From 1778 to 1871, the federal government signed more than 370 treaties with various groups of Native Americans in which the government..."
Abstract Discusses ancient Indian cultures. Covers the initial welcoming of Europeans by Native Americans, ensuing conflicts, Native American culture, and the"Confederation" document of the Iroquois nation, which included a voting system.
From the Paper "For centuries before the white man set foot on American soil, Native Americans, had been living in America. When the Europeans came here, there were probably about 10 million Indians populating America ..."
Abstract Examines the evolution of the artistic production from the early traditional form of the Hopi to the late action form and the commodification by the Western world. Discusses the religious and cultural symbolism of the Katsinam, the Hopi culture, and the spiritual meaning of Katsina.
From the Paper "For several decades, the Hopis' Katsina dolls and other artistic representations have captured the imagination of art collectors and museum curators from all over the world with their vivid colors,..."
Abstract Describes traditional community, matrilineal social structure, and the underlying causes of transformation of the values and practices of kinship system from the end of the 19th century. Explores the role of Europeans and the federal government.
From the Paper "The topic of this paper is the changes in the kinship system of the Cherokee community. In order to understand the significance of the status of the kinship system of the Cherokee Indian tribe during the period from the end of the 19th century to today, ..."
Abstract Discusses the warrior people and most powerful Indian tribe in Ohio, the early history of the Miami, why they became a migratory people, Chief Little Turtle and his defeat of two American armies, and the retaliation by U.S. government.
From the Paper "The existence of the Miami Indians was recorded by French explorers and missionaries as far back as the early seventeenth century. In 1700 the Miami moved into Maumee Valley. They were migratory people and were part of a ..."
Abstract This paper demonstrates how Hurtado's book successfully diminished popular ideas about the Native American experience in California, replacing stereotypes of submissive native slaves with images of working and raiding Indians who helped to shape California history. Hurtado's Native Californians emerged, not as victims of Anglo society, but as active participants in California's history. This paper also describes how the Indian experience shaped Native American culture today.
From the Paper "In Albert Hurtado's book, he discusses how native life and culture survived through this time, how the survivors managed to adapt to white society, and how the whites treated the Indians. Hurtado provides an interesting perspective of the California Indians, painting them as active participants in this culture, rather than victims of the dominant white society."
Abstract This paper examines how much pressure is on some tribes to give up their natural resources. It explains that tribal lands across America are covered with a wealth of natural resources, and because of this, tribal lands have always been vulnerable to attack from outsiders and the federal government. It explains that if the resources are valuable enough, they are worth fighting for. It discusses how many Native American tribes have had to fight hard for their rights and the rights to their own natural resources.
From the Paper "In Idaho, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe's ancient tribal lands were overrun with silver mines in the nineteenth century, and when the mines played out, all that remained was the environmental damage, as this writer notes. "Over a one-hundred year period, the mining industry in northern Idaho's Silver Valley wiped out most natural life in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin by dumping seventy-two million tons of mining waste into the Coeur d'Alene watershed (Althouse, 2001, p. 721). In 1991, the tribe began their own restoration project, and also filed a lawsuit against several mining companies which resulted in the largest ever natural resource damage suit in U.S. history. The Coeur d'Alene are also fighting about who controls the waters and the water quality of Lake Coeur d'Alene, and they were awarded control in 2000 by the courts (Althouse, 2001, p. 721)."
Abstract This paper is based on the importance of conserving the tribal lands and how much pressure is on some tribal lands to give up their natural resources. This paper then covers the reasons why it is important to conserve the tribal lands and what culture and heritage the lands carry forward.
From the Paper "The legacy of Native Americans is one of the most important heritages of American history and culture. Native Americans have traditionally had a land-based culture. Their land is their prime resource and fulfills a further objective of promoting their heritage and culture. Therefore, the importance of conserving the sites of traditional value for these tribes is of utmost importance. By protecting these sites, one can conserve the cultural, spiritual as well as the economical status of the Native Americans."
Tags: tribe, mines, gold, silver, culture, heritage, site
Abstract This paper looks at the controversy of cross-racial adoptions. In particular, the paper looks at the arguments posed by Native Americans that oppose the adoption of Native American children by Caucasians.
From the Paper "The issue of cross-racial adoptions, where parents of one race adopt a child from another race, has been controversial for some time. Both African-Americans and Native Americans point to abuses in the history of the United States. They often feel that Caucasian parents should not raise children of their race. The difficulty is that there are more children of color to be adopted than there are parents of the same race ready, able and willing to adopt them."
Abstract Before American society become liberated and independent from British rule, two important events became the catalyst for social and political changes that occurred within the American nation: the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the American Civil War (1860). These significant events in American history contributed to the liberation of America as a nation and the independence of marginalized sectors in America, the native American-Indians and African-Americans. This paper discusses the impact of the American Revolution and American Civil War in encouraging/discouraging the emancipation of the American Indians and African-Americans from prejudice and discrimination in the American society. In addition, this paper also focuses on the implications of the emancipation or non-emancipation of these sectors to the future of American society and nation.
From the Paper "However, over time, a strong public sentiment began forming as atrocities against the black slaves were exposed to the American nation. Because of strong public sentiment against black American slavery and continuing conflict between the South and North, the American Civil War erupted, and the anti-slavery vs. pro-slavery conflict ended with the issuance of the Emancipation Declaration of 1863 by then US President Abraham Lincoln. Thus, African-Americans, unlike the native American-Indians, were able to achieve their freedom from American rule and colonization, bringing down social prejudice and discrimination of the African-American sector in the American society and nation."
A look at the historical importance of Barbara Graymont's book in understanding the relationship between the Native Americans and the locals in the American Revolution.
Abstract This paper examines how the role of the Iroquois Confederacy in the American Revolution and the fate of native peoples in its wake is a topic often overlooked by historians. In Barbara Graymont's work, "The Iroquois in the American Revolution", Graymont attempts to shed light on the underlying issues of the American Revolution, more specifically, the effect of that conflict on the cultural identity and tribal unity of the Iroquois peoples. It shows how "The Iroquois in the American Revolution" examines the struggle between Britain and the thirteen colonies to attain the loyalty of the Iroquois, as well as the impending disintegration of the long-standing confederacy. This paper critiques Graymont's work by analyzing important factors such as her biases, sources, background, assumptions, and overall knowledge of the topic at hand, as well as to examine alternate viewpoints of the subject and the relevance of this topic to our course.
From the Paper "To successfully analyse and evaluate a historical work such as The Iroquois in the American Revolution, one must first examine the background of the author, in this case, Barbara Graymont, as well as the type and credibility of the sources used to research the topic and construct the work. Barbara Graymont, a white American author, is an associate professor of history in the United States. Graymont is also an honorary member of the Indian Defense League of America, a position which she achieved through acquaintance with and professional ties to many present day Iroquois in America.1 In light of the fact that Graymont has definite ties to native peoples, a reader would expect to see evidence of favouritism and sympathy toward the Natives as well as more strict criticism of the white peoples involved. Such cases are evident throughout the work. For example, in her prologue, Graymont uses the term Visutskie 2 "pawns"2 to describe the utter usage of the Native peoples by both the British and the Americans in their attempts to defeat the other. In another instance, Graymont's table of contents is valuable in determining exactly who and what the book was written for. The table of contents makes it quite obvious to the reader that Graymont is quite intent on educating the reader about Native culture and that each chapter centres around Native peoples and their roles in not only the American Revolution but in everyday life alongside the white settlers. Graymont makes reference to both the British and the Americans using bribery with alcohol and other presents, promises of military protection, and even grants of land taken from the Natives in the first place to try and win the Natives as allies."
