After researching about the Native
Americans over the past couple of weeks, I was plagued with several questions.
Did the Native Americans ever exercise the power of sovereignty before the federal
government recognized their tribal sovereignty in the 1900’s? How did the
colonists demonstrate that they didn’t accept the idea of tribal sovereignty?
Were there any European leaders that recognized the Native Americans as being
sovereign nations? Did the Native Americans face injustice even in the late
1900’s?
With these questions in mind, I
decided to search the website American Indian Issues: an Introductory and
Curricular Guide for Educators. I found this site to be extremely
fascinating and informative. I was introduced to the concept of
sovereign tribal nations and how they were affected by federal policies that
were executed from the 1500’s until present day. Not only does this website
allow people to gain insight into the lives of the Native Americans throughout
the centuries, but it presents a series of lesson plans as well.
At the time when Native Americans
first came into contact with the Europeans, the tribes would form treaties and
establish military alliances with other Indian nations.[i] This
demonstrated that the Native Americans practiced the power of sovereignty.
When the British began to relocate to America, sovereign Native
Americans tribes implemented comparable agreements. Signing such treaties, both
the colonists and the Indian nations acknowledged each other's sovereignty.[ii]
(The painting demonstrates a treaty that took place between William
Penn and the Delaware Indians in the year 1682.)[iii]
Unfortunately, as time progressed,
the colonial governments began to reveal that they didn’t fully accept tribal
sovereignty.[iv]
For instance, they would remove the Native Americans from their land, force
them to assimilate, and wage war against different Indian tribes when they
refused to relocate to reservations.[v]
Fascinatingly, the king of Great
Britain in the mid 1700’s, believed that the colonists acted unfairly towards
the Native Americans and he decided to “protect” the tribes from the Europeans.
Hence, he established a resolution known as the Proclamation Line of 1763
which prohibited British settlers to migrate to the western part of the
Appalachian Mountains.[vi]
However, it wasn’t long before the colonists began to move to this region.
During the 19th century, the
federal government passed different laws that stated they would maintain
negotiations with sovereign Indian nations. Yet, their actions contradicted
their declarations. After several famous court cases, such as Worchester V.
Georgia, the Native Americans realized that they were demoted to a limited
sovereignty and subjugated to the American government and Supreme Court.[vii] Then,
in the year 1871, Congress declared that they would no longer make treaties
with the Native American tribes.
(This
image depicts the incident known as the Trail of Tears. This was a consequence
of Worchester V. Georgia’s verdict. This event was proof that the
federal government eroded the sovereignty of American Indian nations).[viii]
Finally, in the 1920’s, several
politicians began to acknowledge the plight of the Native American nations.
Several laws were passed to alleviate the repercussions of federal
Indian policies. For instance, voting rights and citizenship were finally
extended to Native Americans.[ix] In
the year 1946, Congress decided to compensate the Native American tribes for
stolen land. Although the federal government began to admit to their injustices
towards the tribes, between the years of 1953 and 1964, Congress ended federal
recognition of a total of 109 tribes and bands as sovereign dependent nations.
Finally, in the 1990’s, the government fully acknowledged tribal sovereignty.
I am entirely pleased that I read
the contents of the website American Indian Issues: an Introductory and
Curricular Guide for Educators. All my questions were answered.
Additionally, this website allowed me to glean a wealth of knowledge in regards
to the sovereignty status of the Native American tribes over the course of
history.
Work cited:
[i]American Indian Issues: An Introductory and Curricular Guide for Educators, “Historical Overview,” http://americanindiantah.com/history/nar_colonial_legacy.html (accessed October 21, 2013).
[ii]
Ibid.
[iii]
Colonial Williamsburg, “Primary Source of the Month,” http://www.history.org/history/teaching/enewsletter/volume6/nov07/primsource.cfm?showSite=mobile
(accessed October 21, 2013).
[iv]
Ibid.
[v]
Ibid.
[vi]
Ibid.
[vii] Ibid.
[viii] Cherokee
Community of the Inland Empire, “Trail of Tears,”
http://www.cherokeecommunityie.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/trail-of-tears2.jpg
(accessed October 21, 2013).
[ix] American Indian Issues: An Introductory and Curricular Guide
for Educators, “Historical Overview,” http://americanindiantah.com/history/nar_colonial_legacy.html
(accessed October 21, 2013).
