Opinion
With the nation in a state of seemingly constant terror due to individual groups demanding the equality they deserve, it is now time to reflect on the nation’s very backbone and recognize the shortcomings of our common values. Specifically, throughout our history, no population has received worse treatment than the Native Americans.
Ever since 1492, Native American life has slowly declined as a result of foreign influence and individualistic mindsets. When Christopher Columbus first arrived in the New World, Europeans perceived Native Americans as living “barbaric” and “backwoods” lives. Tribes would be captured and used as guides to help navigate the new terrain. Their civilizations had been devastated by European diseases and brutality. They had even been drawn into age-old conflicts between the European powers. As a result of direct conflict in engagements, like the French and Indian War and King Philip’s War, millions of Native Americans were killed by European individuals.
Following the establishment of American sovereignty, Native American treatment only further worsened. As Americans desired westward expansion, they were constantly encroaching upon native lands, which displaced the Native Americans either voluntarily or by force. This coerced removal of Americans has led to some of the greatest travesties in US history. In 1831, the Supreme Court ruled in Cherokee Nation v. Georgia that the Native Americans did not constitute as a foreign nation and therefore did not have the jurisdiction to make claims in the US Supreme Court. This decision was later reversed in Worcester v. Georgia, but even then, the Native Americans did not gain significant control over their own fate. This decision was blatantly ignored by President Andrew Jackson, leading to an event known as the Trail of Tears. This was the forced relocation of 60,000 natives from their ancestral land to the “Indian Territory” in present-day Oklahoma. Along this thousand-mile march, at least 4,000 lost their lives.
Along with the loss of property, the Native Americans also faced other significant losses that crippled their way of life. Under President Grover Cleveland, the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 was passed, which divided up tribal lands and granted them to individuals, which was in violation of Native American values. Additionally, this act attempted to force Native Americans to assimilate into American culture while stripping them of their own lifestyles. When the Native Americans were unwilling to comply, they would be brutally assaulted. When a group of Native Americans was performing their ceremonious Ghost Dance, the US Army began shooting upon them in a massacre now known as the Battle of Wounded Knee.
Entering the 20th century, several minority groups made a push for equal treatment and more rights in society. As a part of this movement, the Native Americans attempted to implement a legal approach towards this mission. By the mid 20th century, the US government had implemented a policy of granting unused federal land to the Native Americans for their use. However, the US Government largely failed to enforce this policy, leading to massive upheaval among Native American populations. For example, when Alcatraz Island had been abandoned, it should have been granted to the Native Americans for their use, but this was not the case. Thus, the Native Americans took it upon themselves to claim the land, leading to a year and a half occupation of the island by the Native Americans. As a result of this event, the US Government was forced to mend its policy towards the Native Americans to be more favorable. Subsequently, the Supreme Court ruled in US v. Wheeler that the Native Americans were a sovereign nation that could not be regulated by state governments.
Despite these recent gains, the Native Americans are still one of the most under-represented demographics in society, with one of the highest poverty rates. A once-prosperous nation of tens of millions of individuals has been diminished to only around 6.7 million, a large portion of whom live on dedicated reservations with very poor living conditions. Now we must ask ourselves, how can we change the fact that a population is outcasted from society simply because they were deemed to be “uncivilized” 500 years ago?
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