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"They were true friends of the Indians"?

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"They were true friends of the Indians"?

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Instantly near the beginning of this article it is stated that many of the Americans were true friends on the Indians, which automatically baffled me and stayed in my mind as I read considering that I clearly knew the direction it was going towards. They also stated that the Dawes act was a "win win" for both Native Americans and Americans. Statements like these blow my mind and make me wonder how in the world the other Americans (with no power) felt, such as those who actually felt the Native Americans were friends?
I could go on and on about how terrible the situation is, and how I wish they had done it differently. However, I would teach this lesson in the most neutral manner, simply laying out the facts, then doing a class activity where the class is the USA, and a small area is taped into a square where the Native Americans were forced to live. I would walk the students through the process that happened and eventually all students who are representing the Natives would end up squeezed in a tiny square. I think an activity like this would really put into perspective what happened, and they would fully grasp the situation after they're engaged and a part of this role - playing process.

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The Dawes Act was AKA General Allotment Act of 1887. It was a loss of 90 million acres from Native Americans to non-native settlers  and corporations. The Act gave the president the power to break up tribal land into smaller plots of land. Instead of working together they wanted the Native Americans to work by themselves and become ranchers or farmers. The surplus of land was sold to non-native settlers and corporations. The government also held the land in a trust for 25 years for Native Americans. This wasn't working because Native Americans were left without money for equipment, farm animals, or seed. Most didn't even want to be farmers or ranchers. After the 25 years they could have the land if they paid taxes that they usually didn't have. If they didn't have the money for their land the government sold their land at auctions. In 1928 the federal government became concerned about the treatment of Native Americans. They repealed the Dawes Act in 1934 as part of a larger Indian Relocation act. By then too much of the land was lost. Over 90 million acres that they could never get back. This is a tragic event in history.

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The Dawes Act was literally like taking candy from a baby. It was suppose to be a "win-win" situation, however, all I read was how the Native Americans lost, lost, and lost some more. They were given small allotments of land which left 60 million acres of tribal land to be sold off! They were not even given the money owed to them until after 25 years. They couldn't even use the land because they didn't have the funds to buy tools and equipment for farming and on top of that they had to pay taxes once the 25 years expired. They were literally set up to fail and take their land. In result, another 27 million acres of land was lost because of the Dawes Act! Even after this act was repealed, the acres of land was already taken.

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The Dawes Act, also known as the General Allotment Act of 1887, resulted in the loss of 90 million acres. The main goal was to get Native Americans to assimilate into the U.S. ways of culture. Their land was basically stripped right from under them and given to non natives. The Dawes Act was an evil action that treated people unfairly for no reason.

Teaching a Lesson: I would introduce the background history of the Native Americans & tell how this land belonged to them. I would present the conflict and then tell how it was solved.

Students would have an opportunity to express their feelings concerning the issue and then I would have them write down other options. This could be an opinion writing topic as well, fairness and unfairness .

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Something else ... Thousands of Native American children were forced to attend boarding schools created to strip them of their culture

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Something else ... Thousands of Native American children were forced to attend boarding schools created to strip them of their culture

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Over several decades in the 19th and 20th centuries, thousands of Native children were forced away from their families and sent to off-reservation boarding schools in misguided efforts to "civilize" them. After the United States Congress created the Civilization Fund and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, boarding schools for Native children were established and children were forcibly compelled to attend these schools, which were designed to eradicate Native youth’s tribal ties and assimilate them into white culture so that they would grow into adults supportive of the American economy. The consequences of this horrific abuse are still felt today.

Native children attending boarding schools were given English names, forced to cut their hair, and forbidden from speaking their Native languages. Students received vocational training but very little academic instruction, with the expectation that they would make their living as farmers or manual laborers. Conditions in many schools were poor and students were often the victims of physical and sexual abuse.

These schools continued to exist for decades with funding and support from the federal government.

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Teaching strategies to use with students in the History of Native Americans :
-Make sure the students understand the there were and are many different Native tribes and cultures.
-Show the students pictures and videos of Native American Tribes to provide a visual representation.

Reflection on 90 Million Acres of Native American Land:
- The story in this article shows how cruel what happened to the Indians was, the fact that they actually did not have a choice was unbelievable. After the lands were sold to non-natives witch was selfish and extremely disrespectful.

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After reading the article and learning that 90 million acres of land was taken from the Native Americans, I feel that it was unbelievably unfair to do this. The Dawes Act essentially was created to "solve the indian problem", in the article it mentions that they believed they could get the Native Americans to become more like their white counterparts and become farmers and ranchers since they were so successful. I honestly just think this was unfair and mean to do something of this manner.

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This is just cruel, it makes me kind of sick honestly that people felt as if they could make decisions for others 'wellbeing' that results in death. How is that better? I do not understand why the early anthropologists believed the only way to help was to 'save the indians from their own savage ideas'. Im sorry but WHAT...... This act literally was put into place to break up and attempt to change the way of Indian life. Which was pretty successful since they did not have an actual choice on how to live their own life.