Historical Report on Race

Historical Report on Race

Historical Report on Race
ETH/125
8/14/2013
Andrea Miller

Historical Report on Race


The Native Americans and their historical experiences intrigues both Indians and non-Indians alike. Since the end of the fifteenth century, the migration of Europeans to the Americas has led to centuries of conflict and adjustment between two very different civilizations. Native Americans welcomed the first Europeans that came to the Americas with enthusiasm. The indigenous tribes were more than accommodating and hospitable. Without their aid, the first waves of settlers would not have survived in the land they knew little about.
In time however, the Natives were betrayed by the Europeans. They disregarded all respect for the valued land and resources and instead displayed insatiable greed and arrogance. They pursued their initial quest to conquer the land with little to no regard for the native inhabitants. In addition to brutal attacks and invasions, they also used biological warfare. Measles, smallpox, cholera, yellow fever and many other devastating diseases drastically diminished the Native American population (Schaefer, 2012 p. 150).
In 1830 the Indian Removal Act was enacted and one of the worst massacres ever recorded in Native American history - Wounded Knee, South Dakota. The U.S. Calvary ferociously slaughtered men, women and children. They taken from their homes, stripped of their customs, and even forbidden to speak their native languages. Their children were taken from them and sent to schools to civilize them, forced to abandon every aspect of their heritage. In January 1876, the U.S. government forced them to live on reservations where the majority of Native Americans still reside today. (Just the Beginning Foundation, 2013)
One of the most important political issues that is of concern to Native Americans then and today is the land. In addition to ensuring their rights to tribal lands, all tribes are also involved in...

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