The Treatment of Native Americans has been a long discussion in american politics and history. We Learned about Jacksons Native American policy, and how they were treated by new americans. The "trail of tears" is a good example of how America often treated these tribes poorly and inhumanly.
Recent news revolved around construction of the Dakota pipeline. The Rock Sioux tribe protested this construction and went to court to try and stop it. When this didn't happen protests began demanding that they stop building. Tensions between native american communities and many other americans has stayed mostly the same throughout history, although it is getting better.
President Obama helped this relationship by stopping construction on the site. Actions like what Obama did further promote a sense of unity and collaboration between tribes like the rock Sioux and American people. The pipeline was not only taken down because of the protests, but also because it's probable effects to global warming, a different issue that plagues the US today.
The treatment of Native Americans needs to improve. Obama mentioned in a quote that "More work needs to be done," and indeed it does. Learning about American history, we can reflect on the wrong doings of America. We can look forward thinking about how we treat minorities, different cultures, races and more. This step to take out the Dakota pipeline hopefully propels the US forward, into making better decisions in the future.
I like how you gave a comparison from the past to the present. I agree with what you are saying that the treatment toward Indians, and even minority groups, should improve. One question that I have is do you think that the treatment of Indian groups occurred because of the tenacious vision of the American founding fathers, or because of pure hatred and disregard for the Indian people? I feel that the treatment of the Indian people may have been so bad because the founding fathers wanted to establish and settle a nation. Even though this might be true I completely agree with the fact that the treatment was too harsh. Online, if you search for it, you can find documents where accounts are written about the harsh treatments of Indians.
ReplyDeleteI like your optimistic message at the end where you say we can learn from our mistakes by looking back at history. In addition to you explaining the parallels of today and the past, I also find the reactions of the presidents on these matters to be interesting. Whereas President Jackson went against the Supreme Court ruling of Worcester vs. Georgia (which sided with the Cherokee) by saying "John Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it," Obama has sided with the Native Americans. What do you think accounts for the difference between the two courses of action undertook by the presidents in response to tensions with Native Americans?
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