David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-dawes-act"
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee
David Treuer's book emphasizes what happened after the massacre at Wounded Knee.
Prior to Lyndon Johnson' “War on Poverty” government legislation concerning Native Americans seemed to involve attempts at assimilation of the Indians. This included boarding schools and allotment. At one point Treuer, half Jewish, half Objibwa, focuses on the cemeteries surrounding the various boarding schools, the most famous of which was Carlisle. Allotment was an attempt to divide the reservations into private homes. The amount of acreage depended on the amount of Indian blood each person had. The remaining land was sold to non-Indians, hence the number of white people who live on Indian reservations today. The government also passed the Dawes Act in 1887 which gave each head of a family a quarter section; each single person over eighteen one-eighth of a section etc. the idea being that Indians would look a private ownership of land rather than tribal tradition of shared ownership. Citizenship came much later, in 1924, although most tribes still remain sovereign nations as well. The government also sanctioned such nefarious acts as to kill off the buffalo to thwart the Plains Indians who were putting a whupping on the American army. They also refrained from innoculating soldiers for smallpox which killed off even more Native Americans.
The second half of the book is much more optimistic. In some ways the boarding schools brought the various tribes together; they got to know each other and their various cultures. Many Indians fought in WWI; they were among the most decorated soliers. But Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty treated Indians as Americans rather as a problem. Tribal government was encouraged and such tribes as the Ojibwa and the Osage were extremely good at it. Oil and gas were discovered on the Osage reservation. They negotiated their deals directly with the oil companies. The Ojibwa served as middle men in the fur trade and had a strong influence.
Occasionally Treuer will switch to an anecdotal style. He emphasizes Indian entrepreneur success where Bobby Matthews lives off the land, selling leechess. Spruce cones, wild rich. Another character, who moved from the reservation to the city, was a rodeo rider for much of his life. Another tribe is exploring the possibility of getting in on the ground floor selling marijuana extracts.
One of my favorite books was BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown. As I recall it was much more readable than Treuer's book. Treuer also has a problem with Brown's cut-off date of 1890, seeming to imply that Indians ceased to exist after that date. Hardly. Since the casino craze Indian wages have increased (although only half of remaining tribes have casinos). The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux with only 480 members control a large casino near Minneapolis. They have a 99.2 percent employment rate; each member receives $1.08 million annually.
Indian population is increasing. There's also more of an emphasis on wellness in the Indian community, with Indians rejecting flour and lard in favor of more healthful fare.
Prior to Lyndon Johnson' “War on Poverty” government legislation concerning Native Americans seemed to involve attempts at assimilation of the Indians. This included boarding schools and allotment. At one point Treuer, half Jewish, half Objibwa, focuses on the cemeteries surrounding the various boarding schools, the most famous of which was Carlisle. Allotment was an attempt to divide the reservations into private homes. The amount of acreage depended on the amount of Indian blood each person had. The remaining land was sold to non-Indians, hence the number of white people who live on Indian reservations today. The government also passed the Dawes Act in 1887 which gave each head of a family a quarter section; each single person over eighteen one-eighth of a section etc. the idea being that Indians would look a private ownership of land rather than tribal tradition of shared ownership. Citizenship came much later, in 1924, although most tribes still remain sovereign nations as well. The government also sanctioned such nefarious acts as to kill off the buffalo to thwart the Plains Indians who were putting a whupping on the American army. They also refrained from innoculating soldiers for smallpox which killed off even more Native Americans.
The second half of the book is much more optimistic. In some ways the boarding schools brought the various tribes together; they got to know each other and their various cultures. Many Indians fought in WWI; they were among the most decorated soliers. But Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty treated Indians as Americans rather as a problem. Tribal government was encouraged and such tribes as the Ojibwa and the Osage were extremely good at it. Oil and gas were discovered on the Osage reservation. They negotiated their deals directly with the oil companies. The Ojibwa served as middle men in the fur trade and had a strong influence.
Occasionally Treuer will switch to an anecdotal style. He emphasizes Indian entrepreneur success where Bobby Matthews lives off the land, selling leechess. Spruce cones, wild rich. Another character, who moved from the reservation to the city, was a rodeo rider for much of his life. Another tribe is exploring the possibility of getting in on the ground floor selling marijuana extracts.
One of my favorite books was BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE by Dee Brown. As I recall it was much more readable than Treuer's book. Treuer also has a problem with Brown's cut-off date of 1890, seeming to imply that Indians ceased to exist after that date. Hardly. Since the casino craze Indian wages have increased (although only half of remaining tribes have casinos). The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux with only 480 members control a large casino near Minneapolis. They have a 99.2 percent employment rate; each member receives $1.08 million annually.
Indian population is increasing. There's also more of an emphasis on wellness in the Indian community, with Indians rejecting flour and lard in favor of more healthful fare.
