500 Nations Part 1
Before viewing the documentary of 500 Nations, I already had some interest in learning more about the lives of Native Americans. I have always been fascinated on the life of “America” before settlement of the Europeans. The thought of people living on these lands and having their own nation without the advances that other nations had, was and still is a great mystery to me. So before I even began to hit play on YouTube, I had my mind set to be ready for entertainment as I learn more of the life for Native Americans and their nations.
The beginning of the video shows many clips of recreation Native American’s home. The clips look very realistic and bring my interest in more. The person speaking, Kevin Costner, tells us of how he is also very interested in the history of Native Americans and I can reflect with him on this thoughts. He explains how he wasn’t knowledgeable about the real history of America. It is true that in school we learn only about how Columbus discovered America and from there we learn about the Native Americans. We never learned about their 500 Nations, tens of millions of people, and 300 languages.
The video begins with European having already encountered with the Native Americans. The time frame for this part is about 1888 as the caption tells us that at that time many children were taken from their families and placed in government boarding schools. It shows us how the Lakota people were already outcast by the Europeans. It gives us details on how their traditions were looked down upon. Dancing and traditions were banned to be performed. The Ghost dance, a danced aimed to bring back the life before Europeans, filled with laughter and joy, was outlawed. The Europeans claimed it as dangerous but the Lakota people were just sad and wished of a peaceful life again.
The Wounded Knee incident tells us about how the leader Big Foot and about 106 men and 252 women and children left the government agency to head to...