Summary of Contact History: Collision of the Indigenous and the Euro-American Worlds
No community exists in isolation from other communities,
and
from the acculturation
and assimilation forces that can be unleashed.
Imagine yourself
a member of an Apsáalooke (Crow) or Schitsu'umsh
(Coeur d'Alene)
family,
with sovereignty, a high quality of life, and all expectations generally met.
The St. Joe and the Coeur d'Alene
Rivers (First Peoples and Euro-American Peoples)
John Gast's "American Progress"
A. Legal and Moral Premise: Sovereign independent nations prior to and with treaty relationships. Define "tribal sovereignty"?
Bush on Tribal Sovereignty (on the difficulty in defining Tribal Sovereignty. YouTube)
Sovereignty (outline of Federal Policy toward Indigenous Peoples)
With Sovereignty, typically positive adaptation to external change;
Without Sovereignty,
typically negative consequences to external change
B. First Contact:
Disease:
Smallpox and Suyepmsh
“white people”
demographic collapse - transmission of wisdom curtained - hope for future undermined
C. Horse: Transformation and Relocation - for sedentary horticulturalist with ascribed social system to transhumance buffalo hunters with achieved social system. War Deeds
e.g., Cheyenne
1750s: east of the Mississippi, sedentary, earthen-lodges, horticultural, ascribed
socio-religious status/positions.
1770s: move onto the Plains, transhumance, buffalo-skin tipi lodges, buffalo hunters, achieved socio-religious status/positions -vision quest and Sundance
enhanced means of transportation, and for Crow and other Plains Tribes transformed entire ecological, social, political and religious fabric
D. Fur Trade: David Thompson established the Kalispel House (near Hope, Idaho) in 1809, and fur trade begins. Collapses by 1840s
introduced new technologies, a "unique" type of Euro-American role model, and "fire water"
E. Black Robes: First Indian delegation to St. Louis in 1831, Fathers Nicholas Point and DeSmet arrive 1842 and establish mission at mouth St. Joe River, Mission of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at Cataldo established in 1848, mission moved to DeSmet in 1872
Cultural Assimilation by Federal policies in consort with Missionaries. The government established "Indian offensives" by 1884, including practice of "giveaways," feasts, Sundancing, Medicine Dances, and most other forms of dancing and ceremonial expression (limited to once a month, daylight hours, mid-week, and none under 50 could take part), including being a "medicine man."
While each Christian denomination approached assigned Reservations differently, typically it was a battle with Satan for the souls of Indian. Children were forced to attend boarding schools, cut hair short, eliminated language, attacked family structure and role of elders, prohibited religious practices, all in order to instill Christian values and practices, as well as American farming and household skills.
created cultural void, undermined religious infrastructure and ceremonial life, resulted in psychological dysfunction
F. War: Battle of Steptoe in 1858
dismantled military capacity
G. Land and Resources: Reservation established in 1873 and 1891, finalized in Executive Order Tribe 1889.
Demise of resources: Buffalo
Treaties and Executive Orders, and Allotment
Allotment Act 1877 (Prior to Allotment, the Schitsu'umsh were successful Palouse famers on 2,000 acre farms, using state of the art farm equipment and White laborers; were economically self-sufficient).
Allotment: 160 acres per enrolled member; rest of reservation opened to homesteading), For the Schitsu'umsh today, live on a 345,000 acre reservation with 70,000 owned by Tribe.
Of the 140 million acres of Indian reservation land within the United States in 1887, the Dawes Act reduced the total reservation lands to some 50 million acres by 1932. Ninety million acres were transferred to non-Indians ownership within reservations boundaries.
economic depression and dependence
H.
Self-Determination: Indian Reorganization Act 1934
and Self Determination Act of 1975,
Tribal Initiatives today such as
virtually no unemployment, and reassertion of sovereignty
and cultural identity.