...Border Citizens It is easy to characterize the history of the American West from 1865 to 1912 after reading Eric Meek’s “Border Citizens: The Making of Indians, Mexicans, and Anglos in Arizona.” In the first chapter, Meek mentions how ‘hundreds of Americans moved into the territory to improve their fortunes” (15). The United States changed dramatically from 1865 to 1912. The Southwest went through many changes as well during these times. Many changes occurred in industrialization, foreign affairs, government, as well as in society and culture. The events that took place within this time period helped shape this country into what it is today. It affected Native Americans in many ways; some beneficial, some not so much. In the first half of Eric Meek’s Border Citizens, he writes about the ethnic heterogeneity in Arizona between 1850 and 1920. He discusses agriculture, its mechanization, and the growth of several industries in the state, including mining. During the 1830s and 1840s about 100,000 Natives were moved west. The tragic “Trail of Tears” was part of this era, and so were the first western Native American reservations. The continued westward movement frustrated the attempts of U.S. policy makers to achieve a peaceful solution to the Native American problem. When many of these removed tribes signed military pledges of support for the Confederacy during the Civil War, further excuses for taking their land were now available for the many voices of Manifest Destiny...
Words: 1109 - Pages: 5
...the American public to acts of self-preservation that would not only expel persons of Mexican descent, but domestically born Mexican Americans as well. According to research conducted by Francisco Balderrama, author of Decade of Betrayal: Mexican Repatriation in the 1930s, at least 60% of those removed from the United States during the repatriation were legal citizens (22). Prior to the Repatriation Program, the Mexican community had already been identified as an inherent threat to the prosperity of the Euro-American working class. “Nativist rhetoric again transcended economic concerns to imply that Mexicans could not be assimilated and that nationality was determined not only by birthplace but also by...
Words: 547 - Pages: 3
...mask. I chose this piece because just looking at it makes you wonder what all images it can produce. In the reading it states that the mask can change images by pulling on different strings located on it. The bright colors and shapes also attracted me to it. The frowning face, that represents the inside of the mask is quite unusual, it does directly depict an actual likeness of a face, and the outer parts look like the frame of the face. The book makes reference to the Kwakiutl people lived on the Vancouver Island, trading and warring with each other and their neighbors. But they produced great artwork like the mask which were used in Shaman ceremonies, and totem poles. The Kwakiutl are famed for their transformation masks. These massive American masks, up to eight feet long, are based around an animal form and open up during the ceremony to reveal an inner human character. This method links the human, animal and spiritual aspects of life. The winter period, called Tsetseka, meaning good humor, was used by the Kwakiutl as a time for celebrating. They believed that the spirits who had been at large in the world returned to the village to capture certain members of the population. The dances were often connected with the initiation of novices. Possessed by wild spirits the novices would disappear into the woods to be given the ancestral rites and then reappear as fully fledged members of the society. The spirit which possessed them was Bakbakwalanooksiwae (Cannibal at the north end...
Words: 324 - Pages: 2
...ART 1010 Three Examples of Native American Art Art is defined differently by each person, and I tend to lean towards a personal definition as well. It is a play on the words of Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart when he was referring to obscenity. “I know it when I see it.” This allows me to recognize what I consider art, and it also gives me the ability to decide what types of art speak to me. Native American art has always been close to my heart because of my personal ancestry, and I hope to pique the reader’s interest in some of the fine examples of this art that are readily accessible today (1964). Native North American tribes, in large part were nomadic and struggled for their everyday existence. Most native art is considered craft work because they were meant to be utilized as practical tools. Some examples include, woven blankets and rugs, pottery, and baskets. Other pieces of their art fall within a few other categories, and include jewelry, beadwork, and headdresses. The architecture of these tribes may not be considered artistic by some standards, but I feel that there is a certain rustic beauty to it. Each of the pieces I will discuss fall easily within these categories. Design is an important element to any piece of art, and it is especially important for craft pieces that are intended for use. The design must meet certain standards to be useful. For example, a blanket needs to not only keep a person warm, but it must be somewhat light and...
Words: 1444 - Pages: 6
...Self-Actualization? Beginning with the first settlers from Europe in the New World, Native Americans have persistently been exploited for their land and resources. The creation of the United States of America spawned an unprecedented explosion of immigrants flocking to America, which created tensions with Native Americans over territory. Under the Jackson presidency and approved by the U.S. Congress, the Indian Removal Act of 1830 detailed a plan for the relocation of Native Americans, later known as the Trail of Tears. Standing their ground, the Native Americans resisted the advancements of the U.S. government, creating a new wave of battles within the Indian Wars. U.S. Army captain Richard Henry...
Words: 1480 - Pages: 6
...Kole Parsons Eng 110 11/15/2011 Who are the Blackfeet Indians? What is a Blackfeet Indian? There are two ways to answer this. One is the legal way that most white people would understand and the other way is the way that only we as Indians would understand. The formal definition of Native American is; “A member of any of the indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere. The ancestors of the Native Americans are generally considered by scientists to have entered the Americas from Asia by way of the Bering Strait sometime during the late glacial epoch.” Legally speaking, by white man standards, one has to take the definition from the Bureau of Indian Affairs which says; “According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, in order to be officially defined as an American Indian, a person must meet all of the following criteria: • He must be listed as a member of a federally recognized tribe. • He must be able to definitively trace his Indian ancestry back at least three generations. • He must be formally approved by BIA officials. • His blood quantum must be at least 1/4 American Indian. There are other criteria for a whole tribe to be recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That consists of seven requirements. Those government definitions are: • Traditional • Constructed as imagined community • Blood Quantum • Residence on Tribal lands • Construction by others • United States government definitions ...
Words: 1247 - Pages: 5
...development of three sons of a Montana rancher, Colonel Ludlow. Ludlow’s disdain for the U.S. government’s treatment of Indians made him move to Montana to carve out his own existence. His wife remains back East and Ludlow raises his three boys, Alfred, Tristan, and Samuel. The action plays out against the Indian Wars and World War I. In the film of Harrison’s novella of the same title, the development of the three boys is comparable to their experience in the novella. In both works, their development revolves around the themes of death and survival, with Tristan discovering one must forge his own meaning of existence in order to survive. Body The three sons of Colonel Ludlow are adept at hunting and have a rapport with Native Americans in both the book and film. Samuel enlists in the War after marrying a woman, though he is a virgin. Alfred and Tristan also enlist. Samuel is killed and Tristan goes mad in his revenge of his brother’s death, scalping numerous Germans and cutting out his brother’s heart to send back home. In his interactions with his family and others and even in death, however, Tristan remains “apart, somehow solitary” (Harrison 276). Like his father, Tristan exhibits distaste over the U.S. Cavalry’s treatment of Indians. In both the film and novella, Tristan is influenced by his father’s treatise on the “Indian question,” and his father’s attitudes toward society, “Screw’m! Screw’m all! Screw the gov’m’nt” (Zwick 1994)! Tristan marries...
Words: 502 - Pages: 3
...Final Draft on Navajo Culture David Cable ANT 101 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Prof. Justine Lemos July 19, 2012 I) Introduction: The Navajo Nation is the largest Native American group in America today, and is the biggest Indian reservation in the United States. Situated in the northeastern part of Arizona and in the northwestern part of New Mexico, it is comprised of nearly ten million acres, or roughly fifteen thousand square miles. In this research paper the author will discuss at least three aspects of the Navajo culture that will include the kinship that the Navajo have with each other, the social structure within Navajo society, the economic organization that sustains the culture and their beliefs and values that these people share, including some of their rituals and ceremonies. In addition, the author will conclude with some facts about life on the reservation today and how tourism has become part of the Navajo culture. II) Body: The Navajo (or Dine People) as they prefer to be called, are a pastoral, semi-nomadic people who live in one of the most arid and barren lands of the Great American Deserts in the Southwest. A) Kinship: The Navajo people have a kinship that follows the lineage of women, and unlike most Pastoral societies which are patrilineal / patrilocal, the Navajo are one of a handful of societies that are matrilineal / matrilocal. This is because the central symbol of their social organization is motherhood, in which the Navajo...
Words: 2139 - Pages: 9
...Takeaway: Finding, engaging, and supporting key leaders in stakeholder communities has a multiplier effect on advocacy work. New Mexico has one of the largest populations of Native Americans in the United States and Native American communities have much at stake in how the ACA is implemented. HANM has long realized that issues and concerns are best raised by trusted leaders from within Native American communities who can authentically speak to and advocate for real changes that would impact their communities. By developing trusted relationships with leaders in Native American communities, HANM is able to engage and support key leaders from stakeholder communities to raise health policy issues and advocate for change. To develop relationships and meaningfully engage Native American leaders, HANM takes the approach of listening to prominent tribal leaders and asking what value they can add to what tribal leaders want for their communities. HANM respectfully listens to leaders and gains an understanding of longstanding tribal views and practices regarding politics, history, health, health systems, and healing. HANM has found it vital to not come into any desired partnerships with the intent to do anything “for” their partners, but instead to work with them so that their voices are raised at key decision making points. HANM learns the issues and concerns that are important to tribal leaders and works to develop strategies with them for how those issues and concerns might be addressed...
Words: 408 - Pages: 2
...the common man, and equality for all people regardless of their social class. Although he had such positive features, he had some negatives as well. Jackson removed Native Americans from their homeland by signing the Indian Removal Act of 1830, which created the “Trail of Tears,” vetoed the National Bank (B.U.S), and was pro-slavery. Although a common man himself, Jackson became successful as president. This was one of his biggest motives to support the common man, rather than the wealthy, whom he believed shouldn’t have all of the power. One of the reasons Jackson removed Native Americans was because he didn’t consider them as American citizens. How democratic was Andrew Jackson? Before we answer this, let’s find out what democracy truly means. By definition, democracy is a form of government made up of the equality and voice of the people. To Jackson, democracy meant the all branches & agencies of government must listen to and follow the wishes of the people. So was Andrew Jackson democratic, undemocratic, or both? Perhaps he was democratic in some ways and undemocratic in others. Andrew Jackson was a supporter in Indian removal. However, he also had a soft spot; he adopted a Creek Indian boy named Lyncoya. Jackson didn’t consider Indians as American people; this somewhat made it easier to remove Native Americans from their homeland. Not only this, but he made it voluntary to leave, but if they were within limits of the states, they must be subject to their laws. (Document 8)...
Words: 331 - Pages: 2
...Week 2 Assignment: Locating Scholarly Resources Article 1: Gooding, S. S. (May, 1996). At the boundaries of religious identity: Native American religions and American legal culture. Numen, 43(2), 157-183. Retrieved from JSTOR database. Thesis Statement: This essay attempts to build on the insights of these two great scholars-Felix Cohen, the legal scholar and “father of federal Indian law” and Lawrence Sullivan, the encyclopedic and graceful historian of religion-with regard to “Native America,” which is no less an imagined and located social-historical place than is “America.” I attempt to build on their shared claim that, although Native American communities may mark boundaries of social, political, and cultural difference in the US, the histories of these communities are neither “other” to nor on the periphery of American history, but at its heart. I also attempt to build on the present tense and dynamic sense of agency with which Cohen and especially Sullivan speak of Native Americans-a dynamic present tense too often missing in the historical frameworks given voice in scholarship. The relationship between religion and the law in Native America is an ideal subject through which to view this historical dynamism and to evaluate contemporary scholarly and legal frameworks for interpretation. Article 2: Bialecki, J. (2008). Between stewardship and sacrifice: agency and economy in a Southern California charismatic church. Journal of The Royal Anthropological Institute...
Words: 402 - Pages: 2
...The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States for the social classification as Negro of individuals with any African ancestry; meaning any person with "one drop of Negro blood" was considered black. The principle of "invisible blackness" was an example of hypodescent, the automatic assignment of children of a mixed union between different socioeconomic or ethnic groups to the group with the lower status. Although racial segregation was adopted legally by southern states of the former Confederacy in the late 19th century, legislators resisted defining race by law. In 1895 in South Carolina during discussion, George D. Tillman said, "...It is a scientific fact that there is not one full-blooded Caucasian on the floor of this convention. Every member has in him a certain mixture of… colored blood...It would be a cruel injustice and the source of endless litigation, of scandal, horror, feud, and bloodshed to undertake to annul or forbid marriage for a remote, perhaps obsolete trace of Negro blood. The doors would be open to scandal, malice and greed..." The one-drop rule was not adopted as law until the 20th century: first in Tennessee in 1910 and in Virginia under the Racial Integrity Act of 1924 (following the passage of similar laws in several other states). Before and during slavery, interracial relationships formed. In the antebellum years, free people of mixed race (free people of color) were considered legally white if individuals had...
Words: 720 - Pages: 3
...How Crawfishing Works Introduction Crawfish are freshwater shellfish that have been cultivated in Louisiana since times of early exploration. Crawfishing was done not only by Native Americans, but also early European settlers. Crawfish have since become a staple market in the Louisiana economy providing the United States with almost ninety percent of the domestic market. Louisiana has several species of crawfish. The two species of crawfish that are cultivated most are the red swamp crawfish and the white river crawfish. Most crawfishing takes place in either man made ponds or are caught wild in Louisiana’s many wetland areas. The wild crawfish are typhically bigger and have a vaster area in which they can be fished. The main waterway fished in Louisiana for wild crawfish is the Atchafaylaya Basin. Towards the 1960’s, crawfishermen began “farming” or cultivating crawfish from man-made ponds. Using these techniques allowed fishermen to control water levels and manage the production habitat to produce a healthier more abundant crop. Louisiana has the largest freshwater aquaculture industry in United States. Many people depend on Louisiana’s annual yield of crawfish. The average combined yield from wild crawfish and those cultivated in man-made ponds is around 75 to 105 million pounds. This impacts the Louisiana economy directly averaging 120 million dollars annually. Equipment Nets are a key element...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3
...Thanksgiving Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day, celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, has been an annual tradition in the United States since 1863, when during the Civil War; President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. As a federal a popular holiday in the U.S., Thanksgiving is one of the major holidays of the year. The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated to give thanks to God for helping the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony survive their first brutal winter in New England. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three days, providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Native Americans. The feast consisted of fish and shellfish, wild fowl, venison, berries and fruit, vegetables, harvest grains, and the Three Sisters: beans, dried Indian maize or corn, and squash. The New England colonists were accustomed to regularly celebrating "thanksgivings"—days of prayer thanking God for blessings such as military victory or the end of a drought. Thanksgiving Day in the United States started as a way of giving thanks to food collected from a good harvest or problems that were fixed. It originated in 1621 and was a religious festival, but is now largely secular. It is now a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. Many people trace the origins of the modern Thanksgiving Day to the harvest celebration that the Pilgrims held in Plymouth, Massachusetts...
Words: 809 - Pages: 4
...e a r s o f 1970-2000 t h e i r w a s s t r u g g l e , l o s s e s o f h o p e , a n d p r o t e s t s a l l b e c a u s e o f t h e k e y i d e a o f E Q U A L I T Y . N o t o n l y d i d t h e g r o u p s s t r u g g l e b u t a t o n e p o i n t t h e r e w a s n o h o p e . T h r o u g h t h i n k a n d t h i n g r o u p s f i g h t i n g f o r t h e i r f r e e d o m c o n t i n u e d t o r a i s e t h e i r v o i c e s a g a i n s t a n y s i g n s o f r a c i s m a n d o r d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o f g e n d e r . G r o u p s s u c h a s Hispanic's , A m e r i c a n s , women a n d Native American's. A l l g r o u p s f e l t s t r u g g l e t o g e t p o i n t a c r o s s t o t h a t e v e r y o n e s h o u l d b e e q u a l . W o m e n s t r o n g e s t h u m a n b e i n g s b u t i t w a s a l w a y s t h a t w a y . T h r o u g h o u t the years women struggled with equality with everything they did. In 1960's women Had started N.O.W which is a organization that women protested in. In July 1972 the movement even had a magazine of its own that kept women learning about the issues women were having. Gloria Steinem was the author and a huge public icon in the eye of women . Role model for the women who couldn't stand...
Words: 1024 - Pages: 5
