The Desired Effect : Pontiac\u27s Rebellion and the Native American Struggle to Survive in Britain\u27s North American Conquest

Ravaged by war and in debt after its victory in the French and Indian War, Britain was not only recuperating, but rejoicing over the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1763. This treaty officially ended the fighting and gave Britain all of the land east of the Mississippi River, formerly owned by the French. The ink on the treaty was barely dry when a new insurgence arose in British occupied North America. Native Americans, dissatisfied after the war with their position as conquered people and not as allies, rebelled collectively against British colonists and forts along the frontier. Before the war had started, the French had traded and lived among the Native Americans, but perhaps most importantly, they had given them presents to show respect and diplomacy. The Native Americans had grown accustomed to this act of friendliness and when Britain, in debt after the war, wanted to considerably reduce the number of gifts given, there were severe consequences. In 1763, the Native Americans led an insurgence, commonly called Pontiac’s Rebellion because of Pontiac, the Ottawa leader. This insurgence would culminate in the first extensive multi-tribal resistance to European colonization in America. In response to Britain’s new policies, the Native Americans took ten of their forts, which led not only to excess in conflict, but to the British exposing smallpox blankets onto the Native Americans

Louis Hennepin on the Native Americans

When the Europeans set out to travel to America, the mysterious new continent discovered by Christopher Columbus in the 15th century, their reasons for doing so differed greatly. Whereas some went for the sheer aim to explore, others tried to set up trade relations, while again others tried to spread their beliefs to the unknown people they wished to encounter. One of the individuals who tried to spread believes was the Missionary Father Louis Hennepin, who was sent on a mission in 1675 by the French King Louis XIV. His goal was not only to explore new land, but also to convert the so-called “savages” to the one true faith, which according to him was Christendom. During his travels that he conducted with Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, he did not only happen to become the first eye witness to write about the Niagara Falls, but also the first European to explore the St. Anthony Falls on the Mississippi river. The contact to the Native Americans he needed in order to achieve his mission was not difficult to acquire. He was even captured and taken hostage by the Sioux at one point during his journey. However, he soon realized that the conversion itself was a much more difficult task. Due to his frequent contact with the natives, they are very present in his writings. In most of his elaborations he writes in a neutral way, but he also describes the American tribes being “The Other,” which shows his negative sentiments about them. Therefore, this paper is analyzing Hennepin’s writings about the Native Americans, and explores the different factors that influenced his writings. In order to explain these factors, this paper uses references of literature on different possible influences, such as literature on the code of conduct in Europe during the 17th century, secondary literature on Missionary and travel writings in the 17th century, as well as Norbert Elias book The Civilizing Process

Native Americans: A Study of Their Civil War Experience

Native Americans played a vital role in the history of the United States of America. During the unrest and upheaval of the Civil War, many Native Americans pledged their allegiance to the Union or Confederacy. The Native Americans assembled armies and participated in the battles. Their loyalty was important, as the Union and Confederacy recognized that Native American involvement could influence the war’s outcome.The war also affected the Native Americans—during the war they faced division among their tribes while endeavoring to make ends meet; after the war, they struggled to exist without slavery while coping with broken promises and territorial growth.This research will focus on the Native Americans’ role during the Civil War and their condition after the war. This research will show tribes made their decisions during the Civil War based on survival, preserving their identity, and remaining independent from the United States government. This study will explain how slavery affected the Native Americans’ allegiance and how their decisions shaped the American experience in the Civil War. Finally, this research will examine the effect of the war on Native American women and how the Native Americans’ relationship with the United States was altered by territorial expansion and broken treaties

Akin House Curriculum Development and Living History Programming

This unit plan is comprised of a variety of inquiry-based lessons that explore the culture and way of life of the Native Americans who occupied New England. After studying the Akin house documents, materials, and narratives, I chose to focus my unit on the land and the people who came before the Akin family so that students will learn the long-view of our rich New England history

Native Americans with Disabilities

This issue brief is reviews the most common disabilities among the Native Americans and American Indian population

Issues of Trust: Resolving Mismanagement of the Indian Trust Fund - The Indian Money Account Claim Satisfaction Act of 2003

Land has been held in trust by the United States government for Native Americans since Congress enacted the General Allotment Act of 1887. In recent decades the management of the trust accounts has been called into question by the Native American beneficiaries and has resulted in complex litigation. The government has acknowledged that there has been gross mismanagement of the trusts, to the extent that balances in many of the individual accounts are unknown. After lengthy litigation resulting in victory for the Native Americans, Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell has introduced legislation that he claims will resolve the trust fund matter in a fair and reasonable manner for the Native Americans and will save the government millions of dollars. The legislation would establish a task force to determine trust account balances and provide Native Americans with the option of arbitration if they do not accept the initial findings regarding the balance of their trust accounts. This Note addresses whether this legislation is in fact in the best interest of the Native Americans and what, if any, alternatives would better resolve the problem of the government\u27s continuing mismanagement of the trusts

Through Their Eyes : Buffalo Bill\u27s Wild West as a Drawing Table for American Identity

This article discusses the Wild West shows and their role as educational, entertainment, and also American rituals. It also describes the contradictory elements in these shows, particularly the portrayal of the Native Americans

Letter from George Sibley to William Clark, November 30, 1813

Transcript of Letter from George Sibley to William Clark, November 30, 1813. Sibley discusses his interactions with the Native Americans

Native American and Health Care

For decades now, the Native Americans, along with Alaskan Natives, has faced constant neglect from Congress in their efforts to push through legislation that would significantly improve the healthcare of this particular ethno-racial group