Native American History

Native American History Study Notes

Key Terminology

  • Indigenous People:

    • Identify that recognizes and enables the collective voices/experiences of colonized people.

  • American Indian:

    • Defined as "a member of a federally recognized tribe."

  • Federal Recognition:

    • The U.S. acknowledgment of tribal nations. There are currently 547 federally recognized nations.

  • Native American:

    • Another term that can be used interchangeably with American Indian.

  • Tribal Identity:

    • Refers to the identification with a tribal nation, which involves a complex sense of belonging.

Assignment Overview

  • Podcast Listening:

    • Students are required to listen to a podcast by Wednesday (8/27) focused on the Sand Creek Massacre.

Sand Creek Massacre Details

  • Date: November 29, 1864.

    • Location: Eads, Colorado.

    • The massacre centers on oral histories from Cheyenne and Arapaho residents whose families lived through the event.

    • U.S. troopers under Col. John M. Chivington attacked Cheyenne and Arapaho villages along Sand Creek in southern Colorado.

    • The camp consisted mainly of women, children, and elders.

    • Over 230 individuals died over the course of 7 hours.

    • Scalping was encouraged by the U.S. cavalry.

    • Notably, two regiments refused to participate in the massacre.

    • Major betrayal since tribal leaders had previously asked for peace from the U.S.

    • This event is considered the most violent day in Colorado's history.

Key Voices and Stories from the Podcast

  • Fred Mosqueda:

    • Tribal historian for the Cheyenne and Arapaho, discussed the massacre's betrayal and the current starvation leading to more slaughter; emphasizes the importance of education to remember the past.

  • Blanche White Shield:

    • Cheyenne elder who recalls the stories of leaders like Black Kettle seeking peace; described people waving flags of truce.

  • Colleen Cometsevan:

    • Cheyenne elder who spoke of family stories, kids escaping the massacre, and the continuation of these narratives across generations.

  • Kendall Collie, Ricky Candy, Tony Cartwright:

    • Individuals from Oklahoma shared how their families survived the Sand Creek massacre.

  • Chester Whitman:

    • Tribal historian explaining how broken treaties and U.S. policies forced tribes from Colorado into Oklahoma, stripping them of their land.

Indigenous Identity and Historical Context

  • Indigenous Self-Identification:

    • Represents a community's acceptance of individuals as members of their group.

    • Involves historical continuity with pre-colonial structures and a strong link to territory and natural resources.

  • Cultural Distinctions:

    • Indigenous peoples have distinct language, culture, and beliefs, forming non-dominant groups within society.

    • They are resolute in maintaining and reproducing their ancestral traditions.

  • American Indian / Alaska Native:

    • American Indian: Originates from the contiguous U.S.

    • Alaska Native: Specifically refers to individuals from Alaska.

    • Both designations serve as legal definitions and necessitate the formation of treaties concerning healthcare and education.

    • Tribes maintain a special governmental relationship with the U.S. government, emphasizing the significance of cultural identity.

Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes

  • Historically recognized as two distinct nations from an alliance formed in the 1800s.

    • The Northern Arapahoe are now recognized as the Northern Arapaho Tribe of the Wind River Reservation.

    • The Southern Arapaho are recognized as Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.

Political Dynamics and Historical Events

  • Governor John Evans:

    • Encouraged violence leading up to the Sand Creek Massacre (August 11, 1864).

  • Governor Jared Polis:

    • Rescinded an order related to the massacre (August 17, 2021).

Psychological and Sociological Concepts

  • Othering:

    • Refers to a psychological process where certain groups are seen as "the Other"—someone different from one’s own group. This can foster an in-group versus out-group mentality.

    • Differences may be perceived as threats, prompting dehumanization of those considered different.

  • Religious Nationalism:

    • The operationalization of religious belief systems to achieve political aims and gain power. Historically leads to actions like the Crusades, where political land and wealth were primary motivators.

Concept of Private Property

  • Private Property:

    • The notion of land ownership differs significantly across Indigenous and European societies; Indigenous peoples see land as relational rather than property.

    • Following the Crusades, European entities took over commonly held land, converting it to private property and marginalizing the working class, using religious fears to criminalize others.

Settler Colonialism

  • Definition:

    • A structure where incoming settlers displace, kill, assimilate, or enslave indigenous populations to obtain land and resources.

  • Assimilation:

    • The forced change of cultures, languages, knowledge systems, and governance structures through institutionalized changes.

  • Cultural Genocide:

    • Refers to the eradication of beliefs and ways of life through policies like private property, criminalization of spiritual beliefs, and religious nationalism.

Native American Tribal Sovereignty

  • Tribal Sovereignty:

    • Refers to the inherent right of Indigenous nations to govern themselves as separate governments within the U.S. legal system.

  • Blood Quantum:

    • Originally created to determine the amount of "Native American blood" an individual has, expressed as a fraction (e.g., 1/4 or 1/8) to establish criteria for rights, resources, and tribal membership.

Understanding Treaties

Definition of a Treaty

  • Treaty:

    • An agreement between two sovereign nations that stipulates responsibilities and exchanges both parties agree to uphold.

    • Indigenous peoples hold treaties as sacred agreements and a foundation of their rights. Treaties are considered the supreme law of the land, predating the U.S. Constitution.

Historical Context of Treaties

  • The U.S. government formally ended treaty-making with Native Americans in 1871.

  • Early treaties focused on establishing peace and friendship as the U.S. increased its size and power.

Importance of Treaties

  • **

KEY REVIEW

1. Indigenous, American Indian, and Native American Identity (Weaver)

These terms refer to the original peoples of North America, encompassing a vast diversity of cultures, languages, and sovereign nations. While often used interchangeably, the nuanced meanings and political implications are significant.

  • Indigenous Peoples: Often preferred globally and by many in North America, this term emphasizes pre-colonial presence, inherent rights, and a connection to lands and cultures predating colonization. It's an umbrella term acknowledging distinct nationhood.

  • Native American: A term popularized in the 1960s and 70s, intended to replace "American Indian." It emphasizes being native to the American continent but can still be seen as a pan-Indigenous label that glosses over specific tribal identities.

  • American Indian: A term rooted in Columbus's misidentification, it is still used in federal law and by some individuals and tribal nations, particularly those with a strong historical connection to the term or legal structures. However, it carries the colonial legacy of European misperception.

Dr. Hilary Weaver's Model of Identity Formation: highlights identity as a dynamic, ongoing process rather than a static state, emphasizing three interconnected components:

  • Individual Identity: Encompasses a person's self-perception, their unique journey in practicing cultural traditions, spiritual beliefs, values, and sense of belonging within their Indigenous heritage.

  • Group Identity: Refers to the sense of belonging and connectedness to one's specific tribal nation, community, clan, extended family (kinship networks), and shared cultural practices, languages, and histories. This is often primary for many Indigenous individuals.

  • Political Identity: Involves formal recognition through tribal enrollment, assertion of treaty rights, engagement with tribal governance, and the broader fight for tribal sovereignty and self-determination. It addresses the legal and political dimensions of being Indigenous within colonial state structures.

The choice of terminology is often deeply political and personal; respecting self-identification and specific tribal names is central to acknowledging self-determination and cultural integrity.

2. Marshall Trilogy and its Importance

A series of three landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall in the early 19th century that profoundly shaped federal Indian law, defining the legal and political relationship between tribal nations and the U.S. federal government. These decisions simultaneously affirmed a limited form of tribal sovereignty while subjugating Indigenous nations to federal authority.

  • Johnson \; v. \; M'Intosh (1823):

    • Ruling: Established the "Doctrine of Discovery" as a legal precedent in U.S. law. The Court ruled that European "discovery" of lands occupied by Indigenous peoples extinguished Indigenous title, granting a superior right to the discovering sovereign (the U.S.) to claim ultimate fee title to the land. Indigenous nations retained a "right of occupancy" but could not sell land directly to private individuals; they could only transfer it to the discovering sovereign.

    • Impact: Legally justified the U.S.'s claim to Indigenous lands and provided a framework for land dispossession, effectively denying Indigenous nations full property rights based on a Eurocentric concept of ownership.

  • Cherokee \; Nation \; v. \; Georgia (1831):

    • Ruling: The Cherokee Nation sought an injunction to prevent Georgia from extending state laws over their territory. The Court denied the injunction, ruling that Indigenous nations were not "foreign states" in the sense of the Constitution, but rather "domestic dependent nations." This pivotal phrase introduced the concept of a "trust relationship," implying a federal guardianship over tribal lands and affairs, without defining its specific parameters.

    • Impact: Defined Indigenous nations as having a unique legal status within the U.S. political system, neither fully sovereign nor merely subjects of states. It laid the groundwork for the federal trust responsibility but denied Indigenous nations the full legal standing of foreign states.

  • Worcester \; v. \; Georgia (1832):

    • Ruling: The Court sided with Samuel Worcester, a missionary arrested for living on Cherokee land without a state license. It held that Georgia state laws had no force within Cherokee territory; only the federal government, not individual states, had authority in Indian affairs. This decision affirmed tribal sovereignty against state encroachment and established the principle of tribal self-governance under the exclusive authority of the U.S. federal government.

    • Impact: This was a victory for tribal sovereignty, reinforcing the idea of separate and distinct Indigenous nations. However, it also solidified the federal government's plenary power over Indian affairs, preventing states from infringing on tribal lands but simultaneously limiting tribal independence by subjecting them to federal oversight.

Overall Importance of the Marshall Trilogy: These rulings are the bedrock of federal Indian law. They established concepts like the Doctrine of Discovery, domestic dependent nation status, the federal trust responsibility, and reinforced federal (rather than state) authority over Indigenous affairs. While affirming a form of Indigenous sovereignty, they simultaneously created a legal framework that enabled U.S. expansion and, at times, provided justifications for federal policies that undermined Indigenous self-determination and resulted in vast land loss.

3. Settler Colonialism and the Policies that Represent this Theory

Settler Colonialism: Is a distinct, enduring form of colonialism where colonizers come to stay, aiming to permanently replace the Indigenous population and establish a new society based on settler norms, often with a sense of entitlement to the land. It differs from resource extraction colonialism in that its primary goal is not just exploitation, but the elimination (physical, cultural, or political) of the Indigenous presence to gain sovereignty over land. It is a structure of power, not merely a historical event.

Policies Representing Settler Colonialism (Mechanisms of Elimination and Replacement):

  • Land Dispossession and Resource Exploitation: The foundation of settler colonialism. Policies aimed at acquiring Indigenous land for non-Native settlement, agriculture, and resource extraction.

    • Treaties (Coercion and Violation): Often negotiated under duress, misunderstood, or outright violated, treaties were a primary method of acquiring Indigenous land. Their systematic breach demonstrates a disregard for Indigenous sovereignty and property rights.

    • Forced Removals (e.g., Trail of Tears): Policies like the Indian Removal Act (1830) mandated the forced relocation of entire tribal nations from their ancestral lands to designated territories further west, clearing land for white settlement.

    • Allotment (General Allotment Act/Dawes Act): Designed to break up communal landholdings into individual parcels, with "surplus" land sold to non-Natives. This destroyed traditional economic systems and resulted in massive land loss and checkerboarding of reservations.

  • Cultural Assimilation: Policies designed to eradicate Indigenous cultures, languages, spiritual practices, and social structures, replacing them with Euro-American norms.

    • Boarding Schools: From the late 19th to mid-20th centuries, Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families and sent to boarding schools. The motto "Kill the Indian, Save the Man" encapsulated their goal: to strip children of their language, culture, and identity, often through severe abuse, in order to assimilate them into mainstream society.

    • Outlawing of Indigenous Ceremonies and Spiritual Practices: Laws criminalized traditional dances, spiritual gatherings, and religious practices (e.g., the Ghost Dance suppression) demonstrating a direct attack on Indigenous cultural and religious freedom.

    • Replacement of Traditional Governance: Imposition of Euro-American political structures (e.g., electoral systems, tribal councils modeled after U.S. governance) to dismantle traditional leadership and decision-making processes.

  • Blood Quantum Laws: Federal and, subsequently, some tribal policies that define Indigenous identity based on percentages of Indigenous ancestry. These laws are an external imposition that often sow division, limit tribal membership, and serve as a tool of slow "vanishing" by legally diminishing the Indigenous population over generations.

  • Termination Era (1950s-1960s): A policy aimed at ending the federal government's recognition of tribal sovereignty, treaty obligations, and the trust responsibility. It resulted in the unilateral termination of over 100 tribal nations, leading to massive land loss, economic devastation, and the dissolution of tribal governments.

4. Manifest Destiny, Doctrine of Discovery, Trust Responsibility, Marshall Trilogy

These concepts are deeply intertwined, forming a complex narrative of U.S. expansion, legal justification, and contradictory obligations toward Indigenous peoples.

  • Doctrine of Discovery (Legal Rationale): Originating in 15th-century Papal Bulls and European common law, this legal concept asserted that "Christian" European nations gained sovereign and property rights over lands inhabited by non-Christians upon their "discovery." It provided the foundational legal framework for European colonization, allowing colonizers to claim title to Indigenous lands, recognizing only a limited Indigenous "right of occupancy."

  • Manifest Destiny (Ideological Justification): A 19th-century ideology born in the U.S., articulating the belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand its dominion, spread its democratic institutions, and exert its influence across the North American continent from "sea to shining sea." It provided the moral, religious, and political justification for aggressive westward expansion, settler violence, and the dispossession of Indigenous peoples, framing it as a natural, inevitable, and righteous process.

  • Marshall Trilogy (Operationalization into U.S. Law): The Supreme Court, under Chief Justice John Marshall, judicially enforced and adapted the Doctrine of Discovery into U.S. federal law, most notably in Johnson \; v. \; M'Intosh. It thereby integrated the colonial concept of superior settler rights into the American legal system. While Worcester \; v. \; Georgia affirmed tribal sovereignty against state intrusion, the Trilogy as a whole legally constrained Indigenous nations, creating the "domestic dependent nation" status and establishing the federal government as the sole and ultimate authority over Indigenous lands and affairs. Thus, the Trilogy provided the legal mechanism for realizing Manifest Destiny.

  • Trust Responsibility (Contradictory Obligation): Emerging from the Marshall Trilogy, particularly Cherokee \; Nation \; v. \; Georgia, the trust responsibility posits a unique legal and moral obligation of the U.S. federal government to protect tribal lands, assets, resources, and self-governance. It is often described as a "guardian-ward" relationship. While intended to protect Indigenous interests, it has been ambiguously applied, at times serving as a tool of paternalistic control and at others as a legal basis for defending tribal rights. It represents a contradictory element within the legacy of settler colonialism: a recognition of Indigenous distinctiveness and rights, yet subject to federal plenary power.

In essence, the Doctrine of Discovery provided the old-world legal concept, Manifest Destiny provided the American ideological drive, the Marshall Trilogy provided the legal framework to implement both, and the Trust Responsibility became the complex, often broken, and sometimes empowering, federal obligation arising from these foundational acts of U.S. nation-building.

5. Appropriation of Indigenous Identity and "Everyday Phenomenon"

Appropriation of Indigenous Identity: Refers to the taking or using of elements from Indigenous cultures (symbols, spiritual practices, imagery, names, attire, designs) by non-Indigenous individuals or groups, often without permission, understanding, respect for original context, or acknowledgement of the living people from whom they are taken. This goes beyond simple appreciation; it involves commodification, stereotyping, and often profits from Indigenous cultures while Indigenous peoples themselves remain marginalized or exploited. It is a contemporary manifestation of settler colonialism, claiming aspects of Indigenous identity for settler benefit.

Why it's Harmful:

  • Perpetuates Stereotypes: Reduces complex, diverse Indigenous cultures to shallow, often offensive caricatures.

  • Erasure and Invisibility: When non-Natives portray or profit from Indigenous culture, it often sidelines or silences actual Indigenous voices and experiences, contributing to their invisibility in mainstream society.

  • Expropriation and Commodification: Sacred symbols, ceremonies, and cultural practices, which hold deep meaning and are part of a living heritage, are stripped of their context and sold for profit, disrespecting their original intent and spiritual significance.

  • Denial of Self-Determination: It bypasses the authority of Indigenous communities to define and control their own cultural expressions and heritage.

  • Continues Colonialism: By taking without permission or reciprocal relationship, it extends the historical pattern of taking Indigenous land and resources to taking Indigenous identity.

"Everyday Phenomenon" Examples:

  • Sports Mascots: Use of caricatured Indigenous figures (e.g., "Chief Wahoo"), names ("Redskins," "Braves"), or imagery in sports, reducing diverse peoples to offensive stereotypes for entertainment.

  • Fashion and Retail: Selling mass-produced items like "tribal print" clothing, feather headdresses, dreamcatchers, or "shamanic" jewelry as trendy accessories, often manufactured impersonally and without Indigenous input or benefit.

  • Product Names and Marketing: Using Indigenous names or images for commercial products (e.g., "Land O'Lakes butter maiden," "Jeep Cherokee") to evoke a sense of authenticity, nature, or toughness, entirely disconnected from the actual people.

  • New Age Spirituality: Non-Indigenous individuals offering "authentic" Indigenous spiritual retreats, ceremonies, or purporting to be spiritual leaders or shamans, distorting or exploiting sacred practices for personal gain and often causing harm to those seeking genuine healing.

  • Halloween Costumes: Dressing up as "Indians," "Pocahontas," or "sexy squaws," which trivializes Indigenous identities and perpetuates harmful, sexualized, or violent stereotypes.

6. General Allotment Act and Dawes Act

These terms refer to the same legislation: the General Allotment Act of 1887, officially known as the Dawes Severalty Act (or simply the Dawes Act, named after its sponsor, Senator Henry L. Dawes).

Core Purpose and Ideology:

The stated goal of the Dawes Act was assimilation: to "civilize" Indigenous peoples by dismantling tribal communal land ownership and encouraging individual land ownership, farming, and integration into mainstream American society. The underlying ideology was that private property ownership and agriculture were essential for progress and that communal living fostered "savagery." It sought to break the power of tribal governments and undermine collective Indigenous identity by imposing a Euro-American concept of individual property rights.

Mechanism and Provisions:

  1. Survey and Allotment: Tribal reservation lands were surveyed and then divided into individual allotments for eligible tribal members.

    • Heads of households typically received 160 acres.

    • Single persons over 18 or orphans under 18 received 80 acres.

    • Other tribal members under 18 received 40 acres.

  2. Trust Period: The title to the allotted land was held "in trust" by the federal government for 25 years (a period later extended), during which the land could not be sold or taxed. This was supposedly to protect allottees but also limited their autonomy.

  3. "Surplus" Land Sales: After allotments were made to tribal members, any "surplus" land remaining on the reservations (often the most resource-rich or strategically valuable land) was declared open for sale to non-Native settlers, railroads, or corporations. This was the primary driver of land loss.

  4. Citizenship: Indigenous individuals who accepted their allotments and adopted the "habits of civilized life" (often interpreted as farming and speaking English) were granted U.S. citizenship, though this often came with further restrictions on their rights and sovereignty.

Devastating Impact and Long-Term Consequences:

  • Massive Land Loss: This was the most immediate and catastrophic consequence. Between 1887 and 1934 (when the Act was largely repealed by the Indian Reorganization Act), Indigenous landholdings plummeted from approximately 138 million acres to around 48 million acres – a loss of nearly two-thirds of the remaining reservation land.

  • Checkerboarding: The sale of "surplus" land to non-Natives created a fragmented land ownership pattern within reservation boundaries, known as "checkerboarding." This complicates land management, resource development, and tribal governance to this day.

  • Economic Impoverishment: The shift from traditional communal economies to individual farming often failed due to lack of resources, knowledge of arid lands, and federal support. This led to widespread poverty, forcing many Indigenous peoples to lease or sell their lands.

  • Breakdown of Tribal Communities and Governance: The Act intentionally undermined communal relations and traditional leadership structures, weakening tribal sovereignty and cultural cohesion.

  • Erosion of Cultural Practices: The pressure to become individualistic farmers disrupted traditional hunting, gathering, and ceremonial practices tied to shared land.

  • Fractionation: As allotments were passed down through generations, ownership became increasingly divided among numerous heirs, making land use difficult and exacerbating land management issues. This continues to be a major challenge on many reservations today.

The Dawes Act is widely recognized as one of the most destructive federal policies in U.S. history regarding Indigenous peoples.

7. Concepts of Treaty, Sovereignty, Peoplehood, Gift Economics, and Appropriation of Indigenous Identity

These concepts represent fundamental aspects of Indigenous worldviews, legal relationships, and cultural survival, highlighting the stark contrast with settler colonial practices and the profound harm caused by appropriation.

  • Treaty:

    • Definition: A formal, legally binding international agreement between two or more sovereign nations. For Indigenous nations in the U.S. (and Canada), treaties are solemn promises between tribal governments and the U.S. federal government, recognizing Indigenous sovereignty and establishing mutual rights, responsibilities, and land cessions. They define the unique nation-to-nation relationship.

    • Significance: Despite frequent violations by the U.S., treaties remain foundational legal documents affirming Indigenous nationhood, inherent rights (e.g., hunting, fishing, water rights), and the trust responsibility. They are not historical relics but living documents central to contemporary Indigenous claims for justice and self-determination.

  • Sovereignty:

    • Definition: The inherent right and authority of Indigenous nations to govern themselves, determine their own laws, manage their lands and resources, preserve their cultures, and shape their futures, free from external control. It predates colonization.

    • Context in U.S.: While often legally constrained by the U.S. (e.g., as "domestic dependent nations" in the Marshall Trilogy), tribal sovereignty is an inherent right, not granted by the U.S. It signifies Indigenous nations' original and continuing political identity and capacity for self-governance. Modern efforts focus on strengthening self-determination and governmental authority.

  • Peoplehood:

    • Definition: A holistic, interconnected, and foundational concept that defines Indigenous nationhood through the inseparable elements of Land, Language, Sacred History, and Ceremonial Cycles. Developed by scholars like Robert Thomas and Steven Newcomb, it emphasizes that these four components are inextricably linked and essential for the cultural, spiritual, and political survival of a people.

      • Land: Not merely property, but a sacred relative, source of identity, sustenance, and spiritual connection. It embodies ancestral memory and future generations.

      • Language: Carries the unique worldview, knowledge systems, and cultural nuances of a people. Its vitality is crucial for cultural transmission and identity.

      • Sacred History: The collective memory, origin stories, traditional narratives, and historical experiences that shape a people's understanding of themselves and their place in the world.

      • Ceremonial Cycles: The spiritual practices, rituals, and annual observances that connect people to their land, ancestors, and cosmology, reinforcing values and community bonds.

    • Significance: Peoplehood provides a framework for understanding Indigenous resilience and the profound impact of colonial policies that attacked these interconnected elements (e.g., land dispossession, language suppression in boarding schools, disruption of ceremonies).

  • Gift Economics:

    • Definition: An economic system based on the reciprocal exchange of goods, services, and favors, where value is often derived from social relationships, community welfare, generosity, and the act of giving itself, rather than accumulation of individual wealth or market transactional profit. It contrasts sharply with capitalist models focused on scarcity and individual accumulation.

    • Principles: Rooted in reciprocity, mutual aid, communal responsibility, and a deep respect for natural resources (often seen as gifts themselves, to be used sustainably). The goal is often to maintain balance and harmony within the community and with the natural world.

    • Significance: Reflects Indigenous values of interconnectedness and sharing, often challenging the individualistic and extractive logic of settler economic systems.

  • Appropriation of Indigenous Identity (Deepened Connection):

    • Violation of Sovereignty: Appropriating cultural elements disregards Indigenous nations' inherent right to control their own cultural property and representations. It is an assertion of external control over what should be internally determined.

    • Attack on Peoplehood: By trivializing, misrepresenting, or commodifying sacred aspects of Indigenous cultures (symbols, ceremonies, histories), appropriation directly undermines the integrity of Language, Sacred History, and Ceremonial Cycles, thus fracturing Peoplehood.

    • Contradiction to Gift Economics: Appropriation is the antithesis of a gift economy. It involves taking without reciprocal relationship, understanding, or respect; it transforms sacred gifts into commodities for personal or commercial gain, fundamentally disregarding the reciprocal values that underpin Indigenous social and economic relations. Instead of reciprocal giving, it is extractive taking.

    • Breach of Treaty Spirit: While not a direct treaty violation, appropriation goes against the spirit of respectful nation-to-nation relations implied by treaties. It signifies a continued colonial posture of disrespect for Indigenous distinctiveness and a failure to honor the promises of peace and coexistence.