The Lakota Sioux Indians were pushed off their homeland by the United States government without a single glance. Their rights were pushed aside in order to please the white settlers looking for homes in America. The Sioux and many other tribes like it were stripped of their religious freedom, and lost the freedom to live where their ancestors had roamed and thrived for centuries before. Hundreds of thousands of innocent people were caught up in the dispute over land and reservations.
On June 25, 1876, the Indians would make a huge leap to gain their rights back during the Battle of Little Bighorn. On February 8, 1887 Senator Henry Dawes proposed and successfully passed the Dawes Act, which split up the reservation land into plots that were given to Native American men who became civilized white settlers. Of course, becoming a civilized white man in the government's eyes meant giving up a religion and a history just as important as that of an American citizen, and many tribe members refused to give that up. December 29, 1890 diverged from being just another day in history to a day to remember when the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred. The reservations that the government provided for the Native Americans to live on were dirty and crowded. Many Native Americans lost hope of ever getting out, but for some, hope was the only thing they had to hold onto. President Andrew Jackson was a major anti-Indian advocate; he did everything he possibly could to get the Indians off of the land that he wanted. Jackson did not believe that the Native Americans were equal to the white settlers. He did not fulfill his responsibility as president because he violated the Native Americans rights.
Even today the Native American population is still feeling the effects of being pushed onto reservations. The reservations today have a higher rate of poverty, drugs and alcohol abuse, and illiteracy than most parts of the United States. These people lost the ability to thrive in the cramped reservation they were provided. Most of them no longer know how to provide for themselves and their families properly.
On June 25, 1876, the Indians would make a huge leap to gain their rights back during the Battle of Little Bighorn. On February 8, 1887 Senator Henry Dawes proposed and successfully passed the Dawes Act, which split up the reservation land into plots that were given to Native American men who became civilized white settlers. Of course, becoming a civilized white man in the government's eyes meant giving up a religion and a history just as important as that of an American citizen, and many tribe members refused to give that up. December 29, 1890 diverged from being just another day in history to a day to remember when the Wounded Knee Massacre occurred. The reservations that the government provided for the Native Americans to live on were dirty and crowded. Many Native Americans lost hope of ever getting out, but for some, hope was the only thing they had to hold onto. President Andrew Jackson was a major anti-Indian advocate; he did everything he possibly could to get the Indians off of the land that he wanted. Jackson did not believe that the Native Americans were equal to the white settlers. He did not fulfill his responsibility as president because he violated the Native Americans rights.
Even today the Native American population is still feeling the effects of being pushed onto reservations. The reservations today have a higher rate of poverty, drugs and alcohol abuse, and illiteracy than most parts of the United States. These people lost the ability to thrive in the cramped reservation they were provided. Most of them no longer know how to provide for themselves and their families properly.
A Map of the Sioux land before the United States government took it away.