Introduction
The history of the United States is marked by many significant events and processes aimed at unifying the nation’s efforts to create equal opportunities for everyone. However, not all of the inhabitants of America wanted this equality; Native Americans were a group that had felt completely satisfied with their lives before acculturation started. The US government concentrated much effort on the policy of genocide toward American Indians as it wanted to appropriate these people’s territory and eliminate the possibility of their opposition.
While American Indians were not the only ethnic minority on the US territory, the physical and cultural genocide of this population was more important due to its considerably larger number and its resistance to assimilation. The main causes of the US policy of genocide against Native Americans were based on the desire to expand American settlements, dominate Indian culture, and gain access to the natural resources on Native Americans’ lands.
Reasons Behind US Policy Toward Native Americans
Expansion
The intention to expand the territory for Americans lay at the core of the US government’s genocide policy against Native Americans. Although other reasons were also important, this one was the most evident. The population of American Indians was rather large, as was the territory occupied by them. As the government pursued the intention to control the land between the two oceans, the need to relocate the Indians emerged. While the US President, Chester Arthur, noted that the Indians were transferred to other grounds “sometimes against their will,” it is evident that it was not just sometimes but in all cases.
One of the Native American leaders, Chief Joseph, remarked that out of numerous promises made by the US officials, none had been kept. His emphatic speech about “all the good words and all the broken promises” illustrates how the US government, driven by the desire to release the territories historically occupied by the Indians, never kept its word. Hence, the expansion of American settlements led to many violations of the rights of Indians, who, having no one to defend them, had to eventually surrender.
Resistance
Dominance over the Indian culture and Native Americans’ resistance to it constituted another major reason for genocide. Native Americans did their best to push back against the policies of genocide, mainly by physical opposition. However, eventually, they became “tired of fighting” and surrendered, giving the US government what it wanted. The most drastic measures leading to cultural genocide were those concerned with education.
Schools in reservations did not retain Indian children’s identity, forcing the pupils to change their looks (they had their hair cut and their authentic clothing replaced). From a student file of a Native American who was forced to study in a boarding school, it is evident how the Indians were deprived of the signs of their culture in an attempt to make Indians look like Americans. Moreover, it was not only the appearance but also the way of thinking that Americans tried to change about Indians. As one of the contemporaries noted, there were old Indians who had never attended school, “far more educated” than young Indians with “knowledge of Latin and Algebra.” Therefore, cultural assimilation through education was another act of genocide, leading to poorer outcomes for Indians.
Natural Resources
Lastly, but equally importantly, the US government’s genocide toward Native Americans was related to the natural resources abundant on the lands where they lived. As a result of continuous measures to force Native Americans from their lands, their population dropped from 150,000 in 1850 to less than 20,000 in 1880. The “influx of gold-seeking settlers” that suddenly invaded the Indians’ lands made the lives of the latter unbearable.
Apart from the devastating effect of the emergence of gold-seekers, the Indians also suffered from the massive extermination of the American bison due to “reckless greed” and “wanton destructiveness.” However, the primary reason for extermination was “the descent of civilization, with all its elements of destructiveness.” The buffalo was the Native Americans’ source of food, shelter, clothing, and many other minor needs. As such, natural resources and the destruction of the sources of supply favored by Native Americans promoted the genocide.
Conclusion
To conclude, the dominant reasons for the US government’s efforts to drive Native Americans from their areas were the expansion of settlements for Americans, dominance over the Indian culture, and the greed for natural resources located on Indians’ lands. Although Native Americans were not the only minority group living in the US, the policy of genocide against them was the harshest, as they expressed unwillingness to be assimilated more than others did. American Indians fought for their freedom until their power ran out and their numbers decreased to a colossal extent. Although the US government eventually reached its goals, it has been criticized for its barbaric tactics and for not keeping its word given to Indian chiefs. Native Americans’ eagerness to fight for their freedom and independence, despite the main power not being on their side, demonstrates these people’s inner strength and self-determination.
Bibliography
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