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I could talk like a gentleman read write
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and cipher I could name all the states
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at the Union with their capitals repeat
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the names of all the books of the Bible
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quote one hundred verses of Scripture
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sing more than two dozen Christian hymns
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and patriotic songs but I want to become
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a real Hopi again sing the good old
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Kachina songs and to feel free without
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the fear of sin or rawhide son chief
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Hopi
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you
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in the very first years of white
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settlement in America there was conflict
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between Native Americans and European
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settlers and more often than not it was
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overland to put it in short the
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philosophy among whites was they have
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the land we don't but we want that land
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and we'll figure out how to take it from
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them several forestry locations and
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millions of square miles later is now
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the 1850s and no idea was arising among
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white Americans why continue to have
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conflict with the Indians if we can
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simply convert them to our ways
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this idea quickly gained popularity for
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white Americans there were two main
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reasons that this was an appealing
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concept the first was that many believe
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that if Native Americans adapt to the
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farming lifestyle that was commonplace
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at that time there would no longer have
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need of their hunting lands these lands
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would then be easily obtained by those
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looking to expand West the other reason
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was that many thought is their
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responsibility to help Native Americans
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into a better way of life as most people
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at this time still thought of them as
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little more than savages no matter the
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reasons and no matter the goals there
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was now a much more pronounced cause for
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assimilating Native Americans into white
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culture also known as civilizing or
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Americanizing purpose of assimilation
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was to teach the ways of white Americans
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to the members of the Native American
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population so as to integrate the race
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as a whole into mainstream American
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society this process was often
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contemptuously referred to as making
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apples because natives would appear
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bright on the outside but would really
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be white on the inside in the words of
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Congressman Henry Dawes a supporter of
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assimilation a civilized person was -
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were civilized clothes cultivate the
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ground living houses Brydon Studebaker
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wagons central dinner school drink
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whiskey and own property while sometimes
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non-mandatory
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more often than not Indians were
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obligated by law to follow the practices
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being forced upon them some Native
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Americans thought that they should go
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along and adopt some American customs I
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thought that maybe after they did that
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they would be left alone on the other
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hand many believe that things being
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forced upon them in the name of
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assimilation were clearly a denial of
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the rights of their people some just
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flat-out refused to adopt white culture
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one of these was Sitting Bull a tribal
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chief and holy man at the Great Spirit
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desired me to be a white man he would
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have made me so in the first place he
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put in your heart certain wishes and
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plans in my heart he put other and
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different desires each man is good in
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the sight of the Great Spirit is not
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necessary that Eagles should be crows
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throughout the years of assimilation one
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of the most prevalent and longest
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lasting methods of government instituted
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assimilation was conducted through the
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use of Native American boarding schools
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the idea of the boarding school is a
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simple one children were taken at a
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young age far away from the tribe of
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origin to one of 25 off reservation
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boarding schools the trip could be over
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1,500 miles in length the schools were
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meant to cut off young natives in the
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previous life both physically by
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distance am i completely removing native
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culture from their surroundings one
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child that passed through the boarding
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school system described the arrival like
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this once there at the school our
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belongings were taken from us even the
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little medicine bags our mother had
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given us to protect us from harm
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everything was placed in a heap and set
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afire next was the long hair the pride
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of all the Indians the boys one by one
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would break down and cry when they saw
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their braids thrown on the floor all of
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the buckskin clothes had to go and we
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had to put on the clothes of the white
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man this experience can be seen to
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symbolize many other aspects of what the
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boarding schools were like the first
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goal is to luminate every aspect of the
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native lifestyle students were forbidden
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to speak their native language and had
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to replace familiar clothing with
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european-style clothing the students
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were then immersed in the ways of white
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men they were taught both standard
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school curriculum with education and
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subjects such as math and history and
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skills commonly needed in the white
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lifestyle such as carpentry and masonry
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for boys and how making for girls
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accommodation of uniforms strict
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regulations and marching and formation
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were used to produce order and character
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children would go in a kinnor it savage
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and uncouth and Lia's civilized and
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refined students only had about one hour
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of free time per day extreme
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homesickness was common
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many parents argued against having their
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kids sent away for reasons such as not
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wanting them to miss necessary rituals
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and that they were just too young
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however parents had little say parents
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could even be denied seeing their kids
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during designated periods if
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superintendent so wished an example of
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this can be seen in this letter assigned
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by the superintendent in response to a
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request for holiday leave of a student
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it has been deemed advisable that none
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of the children be permitted to go home
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this year at Christmastime I'm sorry
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cannot come home this Christmas
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one of the major aspects of the Native
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lifestyle those believed to be hindering
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the success of assimilation policies was
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communally owned property the practice
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and most tribes was that the tribe as a
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whole would share the land of the tribe
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instead of individuals or families
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owning land the general allotment Act of
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1887 sought to remedy this also known as
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the Dawes Act this bill gave the Bureau
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of Indian Affairs Authority to divide
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all land into smaller parcels either 80
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or 160 acres in size after receiving
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their allotment Indians would then
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receive the US citizenship this law
00:05:52
spelled disaster for Indians with well
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over 100 million acres of land before
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its passage the amount of land allotted
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wasn't nearly enough to equate to the
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holdings of Native American tribes as a
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result the US government declared left
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over land surplus and sold it on a
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first-come first-served basis to
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non-indians also after thousands of
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years of living a primarily hunting
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lifestyle the Dawes Act Forest than it
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was very abruptly into the farming
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lifestyle let's sell a little time to
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adjust and now only holding what many
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claim to be the least arable of their
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previously owned land may struggle to
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make a living even when the land was
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productive markets for their crops from
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way too far away as a result much of the
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land that was held by Indians went into
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forfeiture because property taxes could
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not be paid on all Native American land
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holdings were diminished from 138
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million acres in 1887 to forty-eight
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million acres in 1934 this was clearly a
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denial of rights of Native Americans by
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forcing them into this policy on the
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name of assimilation
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possibly the most vehemently opposed
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aspect of Native American culture unless
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the aspect that people try to assimilate
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the most was religion many native
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practices and ceremonies were thought to
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be a barrier to civilization the
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practices were deemed pagan and savage
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but in most cases they were simply not
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understood the government sought to
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remedy this perceived atrocity with the
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passage of the code of Indian defenses
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in 1883 in direct conflict with the
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First Amendment which is supposed to
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secure the right to freedom of religion
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the Spalla listed many aspects of Native
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American religion and culture were now
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outlawed and could be punished by
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imprisonment forced labor or even
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punishment by denial of rations things
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outlawed include the practice of
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medicine men taking part in traditional
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dances even giving gifts to the family
00:07:42
of a daughter entered into marriage were
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all banned since the eradication of most
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of the Buffalo the Native Americans
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depend upon nearly all tribes were
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completely dependent on the government
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for food but by denying their rations
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the government was saying conformed with
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American culture or starve shown is the
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grave of chief Sitting Bull who was
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murdered as a result of support for the
00:08:05
Ghost Dance beginning in the 1880s and
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continuing all the way to 1978 the
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ethnocide that was the policy of
00:08:13
assimilation was one of the largest the
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miles of rice during the time period the
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right of Native Americans to be their
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own governing body was not respected as
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the US government repeatedly passed laws
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considering natives Native Americans
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rights as people were not respected as
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they were not allowed to freely practice
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their religion in all three
00:08:30
circumstances the government abuses
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power by forcing a group of people into
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actions that would negatively impact
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their culture and their livelihood for
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years to come without giving them any
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say in the matter during the period of
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assimilation many white Americans felt a
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perceived responsibility to act but in
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doing so they severely violated the
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rights of millions
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you
