The Native American Experience – Final Essay (Fall 2020)
: You have all of the course materials at your disposal to answer these questions.
Consulting outside materials is not required nor recommended. Answer each part of the question.
Follow the formatting guidelines in the syllabus. Analyze specific examples from the readings as
much as possible. You’re welcome to use short quotes from the readings, but be sure to include the
citations for any quotes. Take the same care in writing as you would any class paper.
The Native American Experience – Final Essay (Fall 2020)
Due: Thursday, December 10, at 2:15pm posted to Sakai
Directions: You have all of the course materials at your disposal to answer these questions.Consulting outside materials is not required nor recommended. Answer each part of the question.Follow the formatting guidelines in the syllabus. Analyze specific examples from the readings asmuch as possible. You’re welcome to use short quotes from the readings, but be sure to include thecitations for any quotes. Take the same care in writing as you would any class paper.Part 1: Short Essays (50%): Pick 2 of the 3 questions below to answer. Your responses should bean absolute minimum of 250 words for each question. Write a concise and coherent response toeach question, be sure to answer each part of the question, and use specific examples from thecourse materials for each question.
1. Explain the Native American movement to cities. What events, laws, and/or policies promptedthis move? How did the movement to cities effect and/or change Native Americans and/or theircultures and communities?
2. Explain Termination Policy. What was it, when was it in place, and how was it carried out? Whatwere the consequences of termination? How did it effect Indian tribes?
3. Write a personal essay reflecting on what you learned in this course. Did the course change theway you think about Native Americans or how you think about U.S. history and culture morebroadly? Was there specific reading, history, or cultural aspect that interested you most? Why?Part 2: Long Essay (50%): Choose ONE of the questions below and write an essay of at least 500words, bringing in specific examples from the course materials.
1. Write an analysis of Tommy Orange’s There There focusing on the identity struggles of one ormore characters. All of the characters wrestle in one way or another with what it means to beIndian, an urban Indian, or an Indian in the 21st century. Using the character(s) of your choice,explain their struggles. What conclusion did those characters come to in the end? Do they have thesame or different conceptions of their identities as Native Americans?
2. Explain the rise of the Native American civil rights movement. What are some of the factors thatled to Native American activism, and why? How did it compare to other civil rights movements?How was it different? What significance did events like Alcatraz or Wounded Knee play in NativeAmerican activism? What role did militantism play, and was it useful?
3. Using as examples some of the issues that Native Americans face today, such as urbanization,recognition, racism, language loss, and others, how have current issues effected Native Americansand their communities? How do Native Americans cope with these issues and/or fight against them?
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The Native American Experience
Part 1: Short Essays
Native American movement to cities
The relocation of Native Americans was majorly based on the termination policy that perceived Indian reservations as an inferior location for people living there due to poor living conditions. Furthermore, the government also required more land for the settlement of the growing American population. The perception of inferiority further pushed the American government to find ways of 'urbanizing' them by integrating into the American society aimed at ridding them of their indigenous ways. Efforts were thus put in place to teach the Indians the splendors of Western civilization by policies such as Indian education programs (Hoxie). With the closure of reservations, Native Americans were eventually forced to relocate to cities across America as part of the assimilation program.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) initiated a program to relocate Indians from reservations to other areas in America. Through this program, families were assisted in moving to cities and start new lives where they were supported to become self-sufficient. This included financial assistance to cover costs such as transportation, settlement, and subsistence. Additionally, the policy of securing employment for Indians ensured that they could find jobs to sustain themselves and their families. Furthermore, the encouragement of the development of non-bureau facilities for Indians also helped create spaces and opportunities for Indians to interact and assist each other in cities such as Chicago (Calloway). The relocation of Indians to cities provided an opportunity for them to improve their standards of living by working and interacting with other Americans. Additionally, the Indians also had opportunities to learn and train in different schools and institutions that provided them with the knowledge and skills required for survival.
This movement affected the culture and identity of Native Americans since they had to adjust to new environments in the cities. Furthermore, their children grew up in urban areas with little knowledge of their past and background in the reservations. Consequently, more people grew up forgetting their past and the struggles they went through in the past. With new education models, Indians gained new skills and knowledge that were significantly different from their previous traditional ones. Apart from that, the splitting of the communities into different cities also affected their ability to converse and share ideas as was ideal previously (Ellinghaus). Smaller communities developed in different areas that became decreasingly less powerful in their quest for recognition. Therefore, while the purpose of the relocation processes was to provide better opportunities for Native Americans in American society, the process further fractured the communities and compounded their problems as minorities in the country.
Termination Policy
The Termination Policy was initiated by the American government with the aim of dismantling any form of relationship between the federal government and the native tribes. The policy was in place between 1953 and the late 1960s, with significant changes being to "discontinue federal obligations to the tribes, dismantle reservation land bases, to decentralize the administration of Indian affairs, and to relocate Indian peoples to urban areas" (Ouden and O'Brien 14). The process of termination led to the removal of more than a hundred native tribal groups. As a result, these tribes were forgotten and unrecognized in America. As a result, this led to the development of movements looking for the recognition of these terminated tribes by the federal government.
Consequently, the decision by the American government on the need for assimilation of native Americans led to the loss of reservation lands rich in resources to the government. Indians were forced to relocate to other areas as the government took over their ancestral lands. The Bureau of Indian Affairs Relocation Office was formed with the purpose of forcefully moving Indians to cities under the relocation program. With federal support and services further terminated for the native Americans, they could no longer live under federal government assistance hence forcing them to look for alternatives (Ouden and O'Brien). Terminated tribes had to dissolve their governments and redistribute their land as directed. Furthermore, Indians were then subjected to state jurisdictions on laws, losing their previous protections since they were now considered as any other American citizens.
The termination was in most cases carried out forcibly, with reservation lands closed, forcing n...