White Plains Middle School



The First Americans

US History/Napp Name: __________________

“When asked by an anthropologist what the Indians called America before the white men came, an Indian said simply Ours.” ~ Vine Deloria, Jr.

What point is the author of this quote making? ______________________________________________________________________________

The First Americans (Excerpted from Britannica):

1- The ancestors of contemporary American Indians were members of nomadic hunting and gathering cultures.

2- These peoples traveled in small family-based bands that moved from Asia to North America during the last ice age; from approximately 30,000–12,000 years ago sea levels were so low that a “land bridge” connecting the two continents was exposed

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3- In much of Northern America the transition from the hunting, gathering, and incipient plant use of the Archaic eventually developed into a fully agricultural way of life.

4- By perhaps 100 B.C.E. corn (maize) had become a part of the regional economy, and by approximately A.D. 1000 the peoples of the river valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries had adopted a thoroughly corn-based economy. Known as the Mississippian culture, they built a ceremonial center at Cahokia, near present-day Saint Louis, Missouri

Questions:

A- How did the indigenous peoples of the Americas arrive in the Americas?

B- What kinds of societies developed among the indigenous peoples of the Americas?

C- What crop transformed life in parts of the Americas?

Reading: (Excerpted from ruralinstitute.umt.edu)

“In 1983, Vine Deloria and Clifford M. Lytle in American Indians, American Justice outlined six periods of federal Indian policy characterized by the impact of federal actions for trying to resolve the ‘American Indian problem.’

I. In the first phase, Discovery, Conquest, and Treaty-making (1532-1828), Indian people were recognized ‘as legitimate entities capable of dealing with the European nations by treaty’

II. The second period, Removal and Relocation (1828-1887), began when the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was passed in order to move Indian people westward away from the approaching white civilization. During this period, various treaties began establishing reservations. The structure of these agreements was repeatedly violated by westward expansion

III. A period of Allotment and Assimilation (1887-1928)…During this time period, two-thirds of the reservation lands were reduced through allotment; jurisdiction over felony crimes became federal; the boarding school system was developed and other legislation was passed to promote assimilation.

IV. The next phase, Reorganization and Self-Government (1928-1945): The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (IRA) passed to end the allotment policy and ‘to enable tribes to organize for their common welfare and to adopt federally approved constitutions and bylaws.’ The constitutions were new and strange to most tribes and comprised a restructuring of their traditional ways.

V. Termination (1945-1961) was a period that saw the termination of several tribes by the passage of congressional resolutions and legislation. The reason for the termination policy was to reduce and eventually eliminate the Federal budget for Indian people.

VI. Self-Determination (1961-Present) is a period in which many major pieces of legislation were enacted…The Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968 essentially imposed the basic requirements of the Bill of Rights that were previously not applicable to American Indians.

In your own words, summarize the six phases of relations between the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the Europeans explorers, settlers, and their descendants:

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2-

3-

4-

5-

6-

Questions:

Why did conflict develop between indigenous peoples and European and American settlers?

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Was this conflict inevitable [certain to happen; unavoidable]?

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Do you agree with U.S. policy over the years towards indigenous peoples? Which policies do you agree with? Which policies do you disagree with? Defend your position.

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The Iroquois: [adapted from ]

“The Iroquois people have inhabited the areas of Ontario and upstate New York for well over 4,000 years.

Technically speaking, ‘Iroquois’ refers to a language rather than a particular tribe. In fact, the Iroquois consisted of five tribes prior to European colonization.

Until the 1500s, the five tribes of the Iroquois devoted much energy toward fighting and killing each other. According to oral tradition, it was about this time that they…united into a powerful confederation.

The five tribes designed quite an elaborate political system. This included a bicameral (two-house) legislature, much like the British Parliament and modern U.S. Congress. The representatives, or sachems, from the Seneca and Mohawk tribes met in one house and those of the Oneida and Cayuga met in the other. The Onondaga sachems broke ties and had the power to veto decisions made by the others. There was an unwritten constitution that described these proceedings at least as early as 1590. Such a complex political arrangement was unknown in Europe at that time.”

An Excerpt from the Iroquois Constitution:

“Roots have spread out from the Tree of the Great Peace, one to the north, one to the east, one to the south and one to the west. The name of these roots is The Great White Roots and their nature is Peace and Strength...

The soil of the earth from one end of the land to the other is the property of the people who inhabit it. By birthright the Ongwehonweh (original beings) are the owners of the soil which they own and occupy and none other may hold it. The same law has been held from the oldest times. The Great Creator has made us of the one blood and of the same soil he made us and as only different tongues constitute different nations he established different hunting grounds and territories and made boundary lines between them...

Whenever a foreign nation is conquered or has by their own will accepted the Great Peace their own system of internal government may continue, but they must cease all warfare against other nations...

The women of every clan of the Five Nations shall have a Council Fire ever burning in readiness for a council of the clan. When in their opinion it seems necessary for the interest of the people they shall hold a council and their decisions and recommendations shall be introduced before the Council of the Lords by the War Chief for its consideration.”

Why is conceivable that the Iroquois Constitution influenced the framers of the U.S. Constitution? Prove your point of view.

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|The goal of current Federal Government policies toward Native |“[Buffalo hunters] have done more in the last two years, and will do |

|Americans is to |more in the next year, to settle the . . . Indian question than the |

|make Native Americans more dependent on the Federal Government |entire regular army has done in the last thirty years. . . . For the |

|give the states more control over Native American affairs |sake of peace let them kill, skin, and sell until the buffalo are |

|eliminate tribal ties and customs |destroyed.” |

|give Native Americans more control over their own affairs |—General Philip Sheridan |

| |What was the result of the process described in this quotation |

|From 1860 to 1890, which experience was shared by most Native |Native American Indians were granted farmland under the Homestead Act.|

|Americans living in western states? | |

|They maintained control of their traditional lands. |The disappearance of their economic base helped drive Native American |

|They benefited economically from government policy. |Indians onto reservations. |

|They became farmers and small business owners. |Many Native American Indians moved to Eastern cities to work in |

|They were forced to live on reservations. |factories. |

| |Most Native American Indians migrated to Canada to find new ways to |

|In the late 1800’s, the goal of the Federal Government’s policy toward|earn a living. |

|Native American Indians was to | |

|destroy tribal bonds and thus weaken their traditional cultural values|6. I am tired of fighting.... Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart|

| |is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I shall fight no more |

|grant them full citizenship and due process |forever!" |

|give their tribal groups authority over their own affairs |-Chief Joseph, 1877 |

|increase the land holdings of western tribes | |

| | |

|Indian Wars between 1860 and 1890 were mainly the result of |In this statement, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce expressed his |

|disputes over spread of slavery |reluctant acceptance of a government policy of |

|conflict with Mexico over Texas and California |placing Native American Indian tribes on reservations |

|the search for gold in California |requiring Native American Indians to settle west of the Mississippi |

|the movement of settlers onto the Great Plains |River |

| |granting immediate citizenship to Native American Indians |

| |forcing Native American Indians to assimilate into American culture |

| | |

Analyze the following political cartoons:

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