Premium Essay

Economic Power Of Native Americans Essay

Submitted By
Words 548
Pages 3
The importance of animals would also begin to serve as an economic power in addition to a spiritual one. During the early part of the 19th century, the fur industry was on a boom with traders and merchants seeking to acquire vast quantities of pelts to feed the fashion explosion. American traders traveled across the vast frontier of Indian territories to trade for furs with beads, steel blades and most importantly, guns. Arapoosh saw trade with the Americans as an opportunity to achieve more power in the region, acknowledging guns as necessities for his warriors. He would use the new weapons to obtain more territory, receiving more furs and enemy horses in exchange for even more guns. During the 1820’s and 1830’s, it was this tactic that allowed the Crow to grow to the height of its power, to the point where they were the most influential in trading with merchants. Arapoosh has brought his people to prosperity, a time that could only last for so long. …show more content…
“Medicine man” is a key word in Native American societies, and these individuals are also often called priests, or shamans, the spiritual leaders of the tribe that offered input for religious practices. Native Americans continued to believe in the spiritual potency of shields. The Crow still use shields today during dancing and medicine ceremonies. Well-made shields were traditionally constructed with the assistance of shaman. The tribes people were thankful to the power of shields which ensured success in hunting or planting, or in preventing sickness and curing disease. In Crow culture, Medicine men would attribute their powers from horses, being blessed with speed, stamina, and strength. These individuals had the skill of curing them of illnesses, finding lost and capturing enemy horses. It was Arapoosh’s ability to steal horses successfully that led him to act as a medicine man for the Crow tribe. (audio from

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Select Two of the Five Categories in the Following Question and Write an Essay Elaborating Their Develoipment: How Did American (America in This Case Meaning the United States of America) Ideas About Race, Class, Gender,

...elaborated together in the following essay. So how did the idea about race and class form and develop? The answer could be found starting from the colonial period. In the colonial period, Europeans tried to establish settlements in Florida, the Northeast area bordering Canada, the Virginia colony, and the Southwest. By the 1600s, English colonists had established a system of indentured servitude that included both Europeans and Africans. Soon after, the slave labor system replaced the indentured working labor systems and gradually became rooted in the society. Due to the relationship between white owners and black slaves, the social hierarchy based on the race emerged naturally. Of course, white had the superiority and the black were attached tags of inferiority. The other race is the Native Americans. They were aboriginal people on the land of America. Although they developed good relationship with the first colonists, the conflicts between the Natives and the white Americans over the land issue could never be peacefully solved. Because the natives were outdated in their weapons so they lost their land to the white Americans. At that time, the absolute force meant the dominant power. The natives had to give in, and hence they became subordinates instead of the owner of the land. The most obvious point was the Indian Removal Act. Though it raised a lot of controversy, it was still enacted so that the federal government forced the Natives to leave their homelands and walk thousands...

Words: 473 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Middle Colonies Vs Southern Colonies

...Unit 1 Essay   Pick one of the 3 sets of colonies that you would prefer to migrate to in the 1700s (New England, The Middle Colonies, or the Southern Colonies). You must give reasons for your choice as well as against the other two sections.   I would like everyone to turn in an outline of their essay on turnitin.com. This is a 30 point major grade.   Essay outline:   Region: New England     Thesis: In the 1700s it would be more religiously and politically beneficial for individuals to settle in New England colonies over Mid-Atlantic and southern colonies. Reason 1 to settle here: The New England colonies provide an escape for puritans from New England.   How is this true of this region: New England colonies were founded by puritans or puritan accepting people....

Words: 648 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Native American Environmental Issues

...Essay on Native American Environmental Issues by David R. Lewis This essay is taken from Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia, edited by Mary B. Davis and published in 1994 by Garland Publishers of New York. The encyclopedia includes additional essays on mining, natural resource management, hunting and fishing rights, and economic development. It's a highly recommended resource. Reprinted without permission for educational purposes. Traditionally Native Americans have had an immediate and reciprocal relationship with their natural environments. At contact, they lived in relatively small groups close to the earth. They defined themselves by the land and sacred places, and recognized a unity in their physical and spiritual universe. Their cosmologies connected them with all animate and inanimate beings. Indians moved in a sentient world, managing its bounty and diversity carefully lest they upset the spirit "bosses," who balanced and endowed that world. They acknowledged the power of Mother Earth and the mutual obligation between hunter and hunted as coequals. Indians celebrated the earth's annual rebirth and offered thanks for her first fruits. They ritually addressed and prepared the animals they killed, the agricultural fields they tended, and the vegetal and mineral materials they processed. They used song and ritual speech to modify their world, while physically transforming that landscape with fire and water, brawn and brain. They did not passively...

Words: 2425 - Pages: 10

Free Essay

Was the Spanish Conquest Genocide?

...seeing the Spanish Empire expand over most of Central and South America. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and the Incas spanned over decades and was not a peaceful conquest without bloodshed. The Conquista unleashed violence, death and destruction on a scale unknown until then. Charny acknowledged that it was possible for genocide to occur during the process of colonisation, as seen in the colonising of North America and similarly in Australia. This essay will discuss the various elements of genocide as defined by the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, as well as other sources. Through this discussion, the essay will relate it to circumstances and events related to the Spanish Conquest of Latin America, discussing the possibility of a connection between the conquest and genocide. There are a number of elements that must be satisfied in order to find a case for genocide. When defining an act of genocide, the UN definition is the internationally recognised and the framework by which this essay will follow when referring to an act of genocide. As found in the UN definition of genocide; the act committed must have the intent to destroy the target, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group. Break down the elements of the definition and the following must be satisfied to define an act as genocide; intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethical, racial or religious group. This is achieved by; killing, causing serious...

Words: 1984 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Reconstruction and the West

...Reconstruction and the West After the Civil War in the south, the south met many new challenges. The south needed to reinvent its economic, political and cultural environment. In November 1868 Ulysses S. Grant was elected president. Grant would not have won the election without the votes of former slaves who were given the right to vote post- Civil War. Congress passed the 14th and 15th Amendments to protect the rights of all people if born a naturalized citizen to have equal protection of the laws, and the freedom to vote regardless of race in the United States. Congress Reconstruction plan dramatically changed politics in the south (Reconstruction, 2013). Congress provided many programs, such as social services for the people of the south. They opened hospitals, schools, and assisted with the railroad expansion, allowing Blacks to take part in these government programs. The government also improved the lights and telephones systems also the sewer systems. Many industrial jobs became available in the south. Textile, iron, steel, southern coal, oil, and timber industry are just some of the industrial jobs created for the south to assist with reconstruction efforts. The government created new programs in the south the only problem...

Words: 751 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Green Buffalo

...hear that Native American Indians didn’t pay taxes on their casinos, I would say, this is unfair, was it out of jealousy, envy, or ignorance, I think it was the latter. To tell you the truth, I don’t remember ever meeting a Native American Indian, nor have I been on a reservation. What I did know about their culture, I learned from television, until this essay. I intend to argue that the American Indians have persevered in the white man’s broken promises, degradation, and dismal outlook on life, until the arrival of casinos. It is estimated that there were 1500 to 100 million Native Americans living in the United States, before the white man came. By the 1900’s the native population was down to 250,000, pursuant to germ, military, and genocidal warfare. Through the mid 1800s, the U.S. military had one mission, the annihilation of the Native American Indian (Schaap). The white man started trading with Native Americans shortly after setting foot on North America. These exchanges were arranged under treaties. Those are agreements between two or more self-governing nations. Following the American Revolution, the government used treaties to acquire land from the Native Americans. The treaties were constructed in a way, to take advantage of the Indians. Under the pretense that the tribes were weaker in negotiations, and that they were signing documents written in unfamiliar words, often with no alternative (Native). The U.S. government has full power in all Native American Indian...

Words: 1290 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Paper

...of the course, students will be able to: SLO1.     Describe the cultural, geographic and climatic influences on Native American societies. SLO2.     Compare and contrast religious, social and cultural differences among the major European settlers. SLO3.     Describe the events that helped create American nationalism and lead to the American Revolution. SLO4.     Explain the Constitutional Convention, the Articles of Confederation, and the emergence of a democratic nation. SLO5.     Explain the U.S. Constitution as it related to the separation of powers, checks and balances, the Bill of Rights, and the major principles of democracy. SLO6.     Evaluate the Jeffersonian dream of expansion and its effect on Native Americans SLO7.     Describe Jacksonian democracy and the creation of a two party system SLO8.     Explain slavery and associated issues that led to the Civil War and its aftermath.     Module Titles Module 1—Early American exploration and colonization (SLO1) Module 2—British colonies (SLO2) Module 3—Road to the Revolution and the American Revolution (SLO3) Module 4—Early Republic (SLO4 and SLO5) Module 5—Jacksonian America (SLO 6 and SLO7) Module 6—Road to the Civil War (SLO8) Module 7—Civil War (SLO8) Module 8—Shaping American history: Signature Assignment (all SLOs) Module 1 Early Exploration and Contact with Native Americans Welcome to HIS 120: U.S. History and the Constitution How to be Successful in the Course Each module has a lecture...

Words: 6289 - Pages: 26

Premium Essay

Liberia

...acknowledgments throughout their history. Some may wonder how a country the size of Tennessee can be so great, well throughout history they have fought and struggled for their place in society, starting in 1822 when the first people landed in what is now known as Liberia. In 1816, a group of Quakers and slaveholders formed the American Colonization Society. The Quakers opposed slavery, and the slaveholders opposed the freedom of Blacks. They did not agree on much but they did agree on one thing, that Black Americans should be moved back to Africa. The Quakers felt that Blacks and former slaves would face better chances for freedom in Africa than in the United States. The slaveholders ideas were not as nice, They saw this as a way of avoiding a slave rebellion. The plan moved forward and in 1822, the first 86 voluntary, Black emigrants landed on Cape Montserrado. They arrived with members of the American Colonization Society who would govern them for many years. The first few years were not the easiest for the settlers they often suffered from malaria and yellow fever, common in the area's coastal plains and mangrove swamps, and from attacks by the native populations who were, at various times, unhappy with the expansion...

Words: 2721 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

The Miseducation of the Filipino

...THE MISEDUCATION OF THE FILIPINO By Prof. Renato Constantino (An Essay Review) Introduction I learned and realized many things about the history and relationship between the Americans and the Filipinos upon reading this paper. It is quite intriguing what the main reasons really were for Americans in taking power over the Philippines. Was it for the good of the Filipinos or the Americans’ good? Whatever it was, they succeeded in almost every aspect of conquering the land because they knew the most effective way to subjugate the minds is by controlling their education. They created a new generation of good colonials, the “unFilipino” Filipinos. The indigenous ways of life of Filipinos had been changed to the American way of life. The Americans insisted on creating a “carbon-copy” of themselves in Filipinos through the imposition of their language in their education. I went to elementary and high school in the Philippines, and I know for a fact they used both English and Tagalog as the media of teaching. In the long run, I think this resulted in both positive and negative ways — positively, because I was uprooted to the U.S. and I was able to communicate with others, and negatively, because as I have just realized, I feel the “impediment” in my thought process because I cannot think consistently in one language. NATIONALISM IN EDUCATION To have nationalism, Filipino must understand their Filipino culture on discipline, to have a unity in pursuing well-organized educational...

Words: 1645 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Despite Most of the Latin American Countries Achieving Political Independence in the Early 19th Century, Not One of Them Was Able to Achieve First World Status over the Next One Hundred Years. Why Was This so?

...MODERN LATIN AMERICA ESSAY 1 Question: Despite most of the Latin American countries achieving political independence in the early 19th century, not one of them was able to achieve first world status over the next one hundred years. Why was this so? Concentrate on one country in your analysis. Latin America is the vast continent with three distinctive regions of Central America, South America and the Caribbean coast, and is composed of 33 republic countries varying in terms of population size from over 19 million Brazilians to 11 thousand citizens of Grenada. The ethnic make-up of modern Latin America comprises a variety of racial and ethnic groups such as Europe, Africa, Asia and American-Indians, all of whose root is based in 4 different continents. The notable physical geography is the range of Andes Mountains that are long narrow backbone of the continent from Venezuela through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and on into Chile, and cut off the east coastline and the west inland areas. The other features are the Amazon and rivers, huge tropical rain forest, and lastly, an abundance of natural resources as well as vast hectares of farmland. These geography features are an important factor that hampered economic growth due to difficulties in public transit and transportation between regions, hindrance of social and political unity, and therefore, unable to achieve a formation of large unitary state, like North America, that led to separation into large and small 30 countries...

Words: 2403 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Nicaragua

...Introduction Located on the Central American isthmus, Nicaragua is the largest country in the region. It is named after the Amerindian chief Nicarao, who once ruled the land. It boasts a population slightly over 6 million people, and is comprised of indigenous peoples, Europeans, Africans, Asians, and Middle Easterners (Wikipedia Contributors). Its capital is Managua, though the cities of Granada and León are equally important. The Central Bank of Nicaragua is the primary bank, and the Córdoba is the country’s currency. The country’s governmental structure is a unitary presidential constitutional republic, and is currently headed by Daniel Ortega. While the largest country in the region, Nicaragua maintains some of the lowest economic...

Words: 1366 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Review Policy

...Indigenous Policy Journal Vol. XX, No. 3 (Fall 2009) Book Review Essay Reviewed texts: The Politics of Minor Concerns: American Indian Policy and Congressional Dynamics, by Charles Turner. University Press of America, 2005. Taking Charge: Native American Self-Determination and Federal Indian Policy, 1975-1993. George Pierre Castile. University of Arizona Press, 2006. Why has there been so little social science research trying to explain recent changes in Federal Indian policy, particularly given the dramatic shifts of the last 40 years? Since 1970 the previous policy of termination gave way to an evolving selfdetermination policy, a dramatically expanded role for tribal governments, and the emergence of large scale Indian gaming. Even with these striking changes - and the expansion of Indian affairs as a policy area – there have been only a handful of social science analyses of the Indian policy domain (most notably Gross 1989). Much recent scholarship in the area has been primarily descriptive or interpretive (Castile 1992, Bee 1992), with research commonly driven by area expertise rather than guided by policy related theory. In his nuanced and theoretically-driven account, Charles Turner argues that Indian policy, like many other areas, is a "minor concern" to both policymakers and policy analysts. As such, Indian policy often doesn't fit the conditions or provide the variables featured by main theoretical approaches to explaining policy outcomes more generally. Unlike...

Words: 2778 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

The War of 1812: a Nation United

...to recognition as a sovereign nation based freedom and liberty, there were continuous internal conflicts over the balance of governmental powers, military preparedness, westward expansion, economic prosperity, slavery and diplomacy with other nations. The War of 1812, also known as the second war of independence, or rather the end of the war, reignited passion in the hearts and souls of all Americans with a little help from a General Andrew Jackson and forced Great Britain to respect all the rights the United States deserved as a nation. The Napoleonic War was waging in Europe between Great Britain and France. The United States had full intentions of remaining neutral throughout the conflict. The attempts of the United States to carry on normal trade relations with both Great Britain and France were nearly impossible. Great Britain and France continuously interfered in the commercial trade routes in Europe and the world with blockades and seizures. The use of impressments and requirements for trade were Great Britain’s way of ignoring the rights the United States has as a nation and the right to remain neutral in times of war. In Napoleon’s Milan Decree, he stated that the decree “shall cease to have any effect with respect to all nations who shall have the firmness to compel the English to respect their flag.” Great Britain used its power and might to force the United States to bend to their rules and policies rather than Great Britain abiding “by the principles of the law...

Words: 1941 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

How Did The Mayflower Compact

...Mercantilist believed that economic power was rooted in a favorable balance of trade, which means exporting more than one is importing, and the control of spice. Colonies in West Indies that produced sugar and other valuable commodities were seen to be more important than the colonies on the North American continent. It seem the colonies on the North American continent were seen primarily as markets. Even though they had valuable sources of raw materials. Despite trade regulations the colonists maintained a large degree of autonomy. Every colony had a governor who was appointed by either the king or proprietor. Although the governor had powers similar to the king, he was also dependent on colonial legislatures for money. The governor, whatever his official powers, was essentially strand in the new world. His power relied on the cooperation of colonists, and governors ruled according, only infrequently overruling the...

Words: 1707 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The Confederation and the Constitution

...until that time. Under the authority of the Articles, the states created a national Congress comprised of annually elected delegates from all thirteen states. Each state had one vote in Congress, and, in most cases, decisions were made based on majority rule. The National Congress’ powers over the states were specific and definite: it had the sole power to negotiate treaties, declare war, and make peace. It also reserved the right to maintain an army and navy and regulated interaction with Native Americans in the West. The delegates also granted Congress the power to resolve interstate disputes, grant loans, print money, and operate a national postal system. Eventually, Congress was also authorized to govern western territories until they achieved statehood. All powers not granted to Congress were reserved for state governments. Congress had no power to levy taxes. For example, it could only request that the individual states raise revenue to cover their share of national expenses. Furthermore, any amendments made to the Articles required an animus agreement from the states. The Articles made the National Congress weak on purpose. Having just won independence from Great Britain, many Americans feared that creating a strong federal government with too much authority over the states would only replace King George III with another tyrant. Instead, they envisioned Congress to be a supervisory body that would tie the...

Words: 3410 - Pages: 14