A Program of Mandatory Assimilation of Native Americans

Introduction

The United States government adopted a program of mandatory assimilation of Native Americans in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Native Americans were forcibly removed from their original homes and relocated to reservations, where they were prohibited from practicing their cultural practices or speaking their native languages. The Ghost Dance movement, a religious drive that swept through Native American tribes in the late 1800s, was one way Native Americans fought back against the US government’s two-pronged policy of physical and cultural genocide.

Two-Pronged Policy

In its efforts to obtain control of Native American territory and resources, the United States government engaged in a strategy of cultural assimilation and outright extermination. There was a widespread belief that Native Americans posed a direct threat to US interests and culture. The US government’s two-pronged program of physical and cultural genocide toward Native Americans was partly motivated by the false notion that they were impeding the country’s forward momentum.¹ In the eyes of the administration, Native Americans were in the way of American exceptionalism and westward expansion. For the government, it made more sense for settlers and businesses to go in if the Native Americans could be eliminated. Government officials in the United States considered Native American culture backward compared to Euro-American civilization and thought it should be exterminated to civilize the West.

Importance of Assimilation to American Indians

Government officials considered assimilation as a means to civilize Native Americans and make them more like white Americans; therefore, it was imperative during times of segregation when American Indians were among the most marginalized groups. The federal government reasoned that Native Americans would be less inclined to fight and more likely to blend into mainstream society if they accepted white American cultural practices.² Government officials thought assimilation would improve Native Americans’ access to resources like jobs and schools. Boarding schools were established to indoctrinate Native American youngsters into white norms of behavior and thought. It was easy for the government to achieve its goals by forcibly removing Native American children from their families and placing them in these schools, where they were not permitted to use their Native language or follow their indigenous religion.

How Native Americans Pushed Back

Native Americans in the United States resisted the US government’s actions of assimilation and genocide for a very long time. The methods of this defiance ranged from open hostility to more peaceful forms of demonstration and civil disobedience. The Battle of Little Bighorn, also known as Custer’s Last Stand, is one of the most well-known examples of Native American resistance. The US Seventh Cavalry Regiment, led by George Armstrong Custer, was defeated in this action by a coalition of Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota warriors. The Native Americans outshined the American soldiers in every scheme and had greater numbers.³ Although the US military had effectively put down the Ghost Dance movement by the late 1890s, Native Americans persisted in their fight for independence.

Early in the twentieth century, Native Americans began to band together to fight for their rights. In 1911, the Society of American Indians (SAI) was established and quickly became the first nationwide Native American rights group. The SAI spread awareness about Native American problems and lobbied the US government for action. The American Indian Movement (AIM), established in 1968 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a turning point in Native American activity. It sought to safeguard privileges and progress the right to self-determination for Native Americans.⁴ The occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973 to protest the persecution of the Lakota people was arguably AIM’s most visible and memorable action.

Conclusion

The US authorities considered the only way to guarantee its prosperity and security was to forcibly integrate all Native Americans and remove them from their land. In the late 19th century, the United States government began sending Native American students to boarding schools as part of its goal of assimilation. The Native Americans won in pushback attempts, such as the Ghost Dance movement and AIM. The United States administration suffered devastating losses in the protests.

Bibliography

“15. Reconstruction.” The American Yawp. Web.

“17. The West.” The American Yawp. Web.

Calloway, Colin, ed. Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West Was Lost. 2nd ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017.

Richman-Abdou, Kelly. “Jacob Riis: The Photographer Who Showed “How the Other Half Lives” in 1890s NYC.” My Modern Met. Web.

Footnotes

1. Colin Calloway, ed., Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West Was Lost, 2nd ed. (New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017), 113.
2. “17. The West,” The American Yawp, Web.
3. “15. Reconstruction,” The American Yawp, Web.
4. Kelly Richman-Abdou, “Jacob Riis: The Photographer Who Showed “How the Other Half Lives” in 1890s NYC,” My Modern Met, Web.