Forced to Change

My topic is the Native Americans and America's westward expansion. It is also about how this westward expansion effected the Native Americans already living in these territories. I chose this topic because I thought that it was very interesting. I previously did not know that Native Americans were living where America was expanding so I wanted to learn more about that. I also wanted to explore any potential conflict that aroused because of this expansion and whether or not it has real world impact today. Overall, I thought this topic would be perfect for the theme of People, Places, and Power.

 

Key Terms:

 

Expansion- the act or process of expanding

Pacific Railway Acts- a series of acts of Congress that promoted the construction of the transcontinental railroad in the United States through authorizing the issuance of government bonds and the grants of land to railroad companies

Homestead Act- several United States federal laws that gave an applicant ownership of land, typically called a "homestead", at little or no cost

Sitting Bull- a Hunkpapa Lakota holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies

Reservations- a tract of public land set apart for a special purpose, as for the use of an Indian tribe

Ghost Dance-  a new religious movement incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems

Massacre- the unnecessary, indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings or animals, as in barbarous warfare or persecution or for revenge or plunder

George Custer- a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars

Dawes Act- adopted by Congress in 1887, authorized the President of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it into allotments for individual Indians

Assimilation- to take in and incorporate as one's own

Allotment- to divide or distribute by share or portion

Indian Reorganization Act- U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans (known in law as American Indians or Indians), including Alaska Natives

John Collier - an American social reformer and Native American advocate

Navajos- largest federally recognized tribe of the United States of America with 300,048 enrolled tribal members

 

Enduring Understandings:

 

People in Power abuse those not in Power by manipulating them to do things that only help them.

 

Collier betrayed the Indians trust and it caused them hunger and poverty. (The Indian Question, 230)

 

Allotment had been transforming Indians into landless people. (The Indian Question, 224)

 

People in Power force those not in Power to relocate in order to advance their personal needs.

 

Military abused power by corralling Indians into reservations and shooting them if they ever stepped out. (The Indian Question, 220)

 

Native Americans were put into reservations because they were not "Using their land properly" (The Indian Question, 223)

 

 

So far, my topic relates to People Places and Power because the Indian People were being forced into reservation Places by the People in Power and their are many different conflicts that arose. These themes will definitely develop further as I do more reading and more connecting. So far, it's been a good process reading and relating passages and events to the overall theme.