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A Native Journey
"There is no honor in taking away the rights of others, whether it is a single man or a whole nation." - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce Tribe.
INTRODUCTION
There is no doubt that Native American communities were being forced to follow the white man’s ideologies, and beliefs from the 1800s up until the 1920s. Many Native Americans had the choice to leave their traditions in order to stay in a so-called “democratic” nation, or stay with their traditions, but run away from the rising American government. These Native American communities were strong physically and spiritually, therefore it wasn’t easy for them to accept the Christian religion. Later in the mid-1900s, they began to organize in order to start campaigns that would allow them to obtain respectful rights to their lands. Although many had left America in the 1800s, in order to stick with their beliefs, others stayed and fought the challenges. Over the years, they have fought to obtain what was rightfully once theirs, and we witness the various tactics they have used to stand up against the oppressive government that promised to be democratic.
Having children in these boarding schools had a huge impact on the Native American community for a couple of reasons. The main one was that the kids were being pushed away from their origins. Origins that contained history with the true owners of America. When the children learned and obtained information about being “civilized” and about the Christian religion, they forgot to learn about their own beliefs , and their own culture. Parents of these kids were also forced to forget, and learn about being “civil”. As years passed, Native Americans started to unite, realizing that the stereotypes that were once said regarding them, were false. This was greatly done because of their various techniques to protest , and stand against the racial stereotypes that they were labeled with.
The astonishing thing about these notions is that they have only recently emerged from the American racial stereotype.The native American population has lately been growing since 2010, as they are increasingly becoming more acknowledged and respected in the country. Nonetheless, the fight to reclaim their ancestral homeland continues. It's a difficult struggle, but many Native Americans continue to embrace their culture within their communities, by flourishing it within the young children whose ancestors had their culture taken away by the oppressive government.
"The true Indian sets no price upon either his property or his labor. His generosity is limited only by his strength and ability. He regards it as an honor to be selected for difficult or dangerous service and would think it shameful to ask for any reward, saying rather: 'Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his own bringing up and his sense of honor.'" - Charles Eastman
Great Figure In Native Rights
Charles Eastman was one of many people who witnessed the process of change in the mid-nineteenth century. His family was Native American, and they resided in Minnesota for a period, where he was reared. After that, Eastman was taken away from his mother and sent to a government boarding school, where he was indoctrinated to lose his own language, culture, and customs. Despite this, he eventually became a cross-cultural understanding advocate, working to foster greater understanding and respect between Native Americans and white Americans. Further in his life, he returned to America with family members who converted to christianity, and he was obligated to learn the “American” ways. His family had already been influenced by the white men, by “living in a wooden house, and getting to marry a woman, to make a family”.
Based on his experiences growing up, it made him Eastman speak extensively on the predicament of Native Americans and the need for greater understanding and respect between the two cultures throughout his life. He was a prolific author who wrote multiple novels about his upbringing in both cultures, including "Indian Boyhood" and "From the Deep Woods to Civilization." He openly talks about the differences between two cultures, and within the writing, he faced many backlash with the Native American community, His opinions on assimilation were contentious. Many Native American elders chastised him for promoting white American culture, claiming that it would lead to the destruction of Native American customs and identity. Eastman thought that the two cultures might be reconciled, but his views were not generally embraced. This showed how dearly Native Americans were to their own belief, and wouldn’t allow another native man to change their ideas, which was one tactic that sustained them strong, mentally.
"Red Owl is not just a grocery store, it's a symbol of our struggle for equal rights and justice." - Unnamed boycott participant
Protest
Even with strong organizations the people still maintained their ground with boycotts, marches, Civil disobedience, and of course legal actions. These could be the tactics that were effective when fighting for their cause, which was equality. Many of their protests consisted of peaceful representations of their culture in order to attract attention from the media. They’d use traditional instruments to make music and sing, many of these protests were done in Washington DC.
Boycotts were done against many organizations or companies that racially discriminated against Native people. An example of this was in the 1970s when a Grocery Chain named “ Red Owl” would discriminate against customers who appeared Native American. To stand against this, many decided to boycott it, therefore Red Owl Grocery faced a struggle within their business which forced them to change their policies. This allowed Native individuals to finally receive jobs in the establishments as well as being able to purchase without being discriminated against.
The Government treated them unfairly, as well as didn’t respect the few rights that they were given. They especially asserted their fishing rights which were violated between the 1960s and 1970s, when they were restricted from the government to fishing in certain areas of their lands. They organized fish-in to fish in those areas as a way to challenge the government and to show that even with the government’s restrictions against them, they’d always find a way to take back what’s theirs.
These are just battles, there is a whole major democratic war, where Native people must continue fighting for their rights upon their lands as well as their right to sovereignty. Their environments are being destroyed by corporations who constantly take their resources for personal profit. These are currently battles that are of great importance to the Native people, and should be ours as well, because it’s our environment we must maintain safe.
Experiences with the People
In one particular experience, Charles Eastman spoke to a group of Native American tribe members about white men's ideas and ideals in order to create understanding and dialogue. An old Native American man got up and criticized Eastman's statements as he spoke. The man emphasized the hypocrisy of white folks who spoke about love and compassion from their gods but did not demonstrate these virtues toward the environment. As a result, the same man claimed that he saw no need to accept the white man's values and would continue to live according to his upbringing. Despite this, Eastman was still welcomed by the tribe and would be accepted if he decided to return, subject to the consent of the spirits.
The Stereotypical challenges
These are strong experiences to be told, it shows how strong a belief Native Americans had, as well as their advanced reasonable thinking. Something that they were constantly facing was the idea that Native American people were dumb, and easy to fool. This of course was a false stereotype, Multiple newspapers had cartoons that portrayed Native American people being dumb in various ways, or not appearing as someone would have imagined them to look like.
Organizations for change
His ideas were too modern for the very hateful and dark time that he witnessed, even though creating a society with cross-cultural beliefs sounded wonderful, neither side seemed to make it an objective for prosperity, and democracy. He still followed his ideas, and created the SAI ( Society of American Indians, which promoted and fought for the rights of the many Native Americans who sought a better future for themselves. They also promoted the concept of American Indian citizenship and pushed Native Americans' full citizenship rights. As well as giving American Indian leaders and thinkers a forum to discuss their views and perspectives on issues affecting their communities. The SAI, was a huge important and one of the many ways that people fought , and stood up against an oppressive government, and Charles Eastman was the face of this.
After his death, he left a legacy of advocacy to make sure that Native Americans were assured a place within American society. Even after his death, the battles of Native American Discrimination did not finalize there, but his presence within the SAI, made a start for others to be leaders, and speak up for the rights of Native Americans. He was a spark for a movement, from there many other organizations and groups were organized to fight inequality.
A couple examples of these organizations is the NCAI ( National Congress of American Indians) which was established in 1944. This organization is one of the largest that has been standing in order to protect the rights of Native Americans, they also promote economic growth, as well as sovereignty. This means that they allow Native American tribes to self-govern themselves, which has always been around for their communities, but it’s still a major component of them.
Conclusion:
Native Americans have persevered and achieved tremendous progress toward their objectives despite experiencing decades of marginalization and prejudice. Native American communities have won significant successes via activism, legal fights, and other types of advocacy, including the passing of laws preserving their rights and the formation of major precedents in court cases. Although much work has to be done, the continued battle for Native American rights demonstrates the tenacity and power of their communities.
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