The United States of America is a nation founded on the beliefs of equality, freedom, and representation. By all accounts, the very existence of this country is a remarkable achievement. Young people came together to fight against oppressors who overpowered them in every quantifiable aspect. The Founding Fathers managed to assemble a functioning government for the people and by the people, wrote a Constitution that took into account human rights, and attempted to cultivate an environment with opportunity for all.
As we continued into the 19th century, the United States sought expansion. Textbooks remember fondly the Louisiana Purchase, the journey of Lewis and Clark, and the Gold Rush. The settlers who wandered into the western frontiers are described as brave pioneers. The general growth of the United States is viewed as a necessary and impressive event.
Unfortunately, these retellings and perspectives ignore a crucial aspect of our nation’s story. Indigenous peoples (more commonly known as Native Americans) had lived on this land long before colonists arrived. They were generally accepting of the newcomers, although there were some skirmishes. Over time, quarrels grew, and many began to view the Indigenous peoples as savage, lazy, and subhuman. This view was used to justify atrocities that had already been committed and incite future ones. Furthermore, the two groups had a fundamentally different understanding of land. Europeans viewed it as something to be bought and sold, but the Indigenous peoples viewed it as communal property. This conflict of ideas and the European desire for land ownership in the New World strained the relationship. Unwilling to give this up, the colonists turned to less moral methods like coercion and exploitation, often through alcohol and violence. This began a tradition of disregarding the needs of the Indigenous peoples and set up for the oppression they later faced from the U.S. government.
The deterioration of relations between white Americans and Indigenous peoples increased as the original states sought opportunities for growth. In 1830, President Andrew Jackson laid the groundwork for the Trail of Tears, a system in which Indigenous peoples were pushed west in order to keep eastern territories for white Americans only. Later, the US emphasized westward expansion and the doctrine of manifest destiny, which suggested that God intended for the United States to push its boundaries and spread across the continent. The idea first appeared in a magazine article written by John O’Sullivan in 1845 and unintentionally became the principal justification for Americans who sought new lives in the midwest and near the Pacific Ocean. This meant displacing the Indigenous peoples who already lived there. Americans chose to ignore this and continue as planned. This course of action falls into a problematic pattern that plagues our nation’s history.
At best, Indigenous peoples’ needs were disregarded in favor of the government’s desire for westward expansion. At worst, they were manipulated, tortured, and at times, killed, in a racial cleansing. The conflicts that existed between many Indigenous nations and the United States government were not fully resolved, as many would like to believe. There are still many people of indigenous ancestry living in the United States, both in cities and towns, and on reservations. As with the words written by John O’Sullivan in 1845, the words we use today have power. By erasing the stories of Indigenous peoples from the history we teach, we refuse to acknowledge the struggles that their ancestors faced and the value of their culture and morals that are still relevant today. As we reckon with the realities of our past, it is critical that we analyze the current ramifications of these actions and reevaluate the alignment of our practices with the vision we hoped to realize.
In order to round out the story of the Indigenous peoples, I have compiled both primary and secondary sources about their history into a packet of instructional resources. To access the packet, please scroll through the document linked below, or click on it to view the full PDF. To guide the use of the packet in the classroom, an overview with questions is also provided.
Materials in Packet:
Additional Reading Materials: