December 7

Blog #7 – Which way would you have chosen in 1874?

In the battles of the West, the American government’s fight with the Native Americans included both forcing them onto reservations (and eventually assimilation into the larger white culture) or the destruction of those tribes that did not cooperate with the reservation concept. 

In the essay, “Sitting Bull and the Sioux Rebellion,” we read about how Sitting Bull refused to let his people join in the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) even though a series of Indian victories had forced the U.S. government to close the forts on the Bozeman Trail had led to this “favorable” treaty.  Almost all of South Dakota had been set aside by the treaty as the “Great Sioux Reservation” and that’s where Sitting Bull and many other Sioux remained until Colonel George Custer explored the area in 1874 for gold.  This discovery opened the flood gates and forced Sitting Bull and others to make a decision:

1. Fight to preserve their way of life – culture, religion, language – and remain free to hunt buffalo as their ancestors had, or;

2. Join the reservation system with the assurances of the U.S. government that there would be peace and plentiful supplies (for now, you’ll have to suspend your knowledge of the coming Dawes Severalty Act).

Each path has its own risks and rewards.  To flee and/or fight, you live in constant fear of attack from the Army, yet you are able to stay true to your peoples’ history.  To join the reservation system, there is peace, but there is also the dangers of boredom, the white man’s whiskey, and giving up your way of life.   In essence, you can preserve your people but at the possible cost of their way of life.  They’d now become either dependent upon government hand outs or have to learn to farm – neither of which the Sioux people done before. 

Please answer the following questions in a minimum of 200 words (total):

1. So which path would you chose and why? 

2. Do you think your choice would be different if you were older?  What about different gender?  Why or why not? 

Due Thursday, December 9 before class begins. 

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Posted December 7, 2010 by geoffwickersham in category Uncategorized

65 thoughts on “Blog #7 – Which way would you have chosen in 1874?

  1. Ryan Stratton

    I would fight off the white settlers. Preserving my way of life should always remain the top priority, no matter what. If we chose to go to the reservation, then we would face challenges such as boredom, and potentially losing faith in our way of life. This cannot happen. Our way of life is what makes us who we are. However, there are negative impacts of this decision. From now on, we must remain hyper-aware. An attack on our tribe is all but imminent now, so we must take action to defend the women and children of our tribes. We’d have to find new weapons, new means of transportation, new escape routes, new means of tricking the white man.

    I feel that my decision would change drastically depending on my age and gender. Had I been a woman, i feel that I would have chosen to go to the reservation, especially since those I loved would be put into constant, forthcoming danger. Conversely, as a young man or child, I’d probably worship the older warriors in my tribe; whatever they say goes. This factor would not sway my decision at all.

  2. Brad Miller

    I think, in the situation provided, that I would fight for my way of life. I wouldn’t let my culture die without a fight; all the tradition would go away and the Indian soul wouldn’t be as strong. I would rather have my culture died by the death of its entire people, than have it die by being helplessly destroyed by other humans. Even though the odds would not be in my favor, and I would go into battle knowing this will probably be my last days, I think it’s worth it. It’s kind of like how the men and women of the United States Air Force, Army, Navy, Coast Guard, etc fight the defend our freedoms and our culture every day. If I were older, I would have the same feeling about this, or even more so because I would have grown up and lived a lot of my life with these freedoms and a specific lifestyle, that I wouldn’t know how to live without these. I would feel obligated to help out and save the freedoms for my people because I would want my son, or my daughter to have the same freedoms that I had when I was a child.

  3. Drew Hendrickson

    I would have stayed and fought for my rights. We were there first, and the U.S. has no right to make us leave the land where we were raised and to which we have strong cultural and religious ties. Also, my pride will not let me just accept this situation without at least trying to do something about it. The way I see it, if we lose the fight, we die, and we at least kept our honor. If we win, we get the land, and STILL keep the honor. If we take the reservation offer, my instinct tells me that nothing good comes from the white man. They have betrayed my race before, and they will do it again at any time. So I say stay and fight, and give it all you’ve got. We have stayed too long on this land, invested too much, created too many memories, to let some pompous white man take it from us on a whim. We will stay and refuse their offer. We will honor our ancestors and their land by defending it with our very lives. We will not be swayed. We will win and send a message to the rest of the white men: Do not belittle us or look down upon us, for we are greater in wisdom and instinct than all their firepower and technology.

  4. Ben Sadler

    I would choose to fight to preserve my way of life because just because the Indians are of a different race and color doesn’t mean they have to be forced from where they live. I think that it would be better to fight because then you have that chance of keeping your place instead of just falling back and deciding to give in to the White People. I do think that it would be different if I was a girl/woman because I feel like they would rather live out their lives in a reservation and do the same things they did in their villages. Also because back then, usually the warriors were the men so the women wouldn’t be used to fighting. In the sense of if I was older I believe would be the same and that I would want to fight for my freedom and my peoples freedom because that is one thing that I feel I would have been raised to do. If I had just sat back and decided to go into a reservation, my people might think less of me and perhaps not even want me to be in the reservation. Another reason to fight would be to protect to women and children because you have lived your life if you are one who does die but you did it for a good cause for your people.

  5. Connor Mason

    I would choose to fight for our culture and preserve our land for future generations to learn of our wonderful culture and traditions. I would choose this path because i would believe that it is the right thing to do. Even if we gave up our land just with the promise of safety and supplies, who knows, the white man may not even keep his promise. If i was older i think i would feel even stronger about this position than i do now. This is because if i was older i could become a better warrior and fight and rebel better than if i was young like right now to protect my family and children. If i was a different gender, i think my decision would be different, i think i would move onto the reservation with the promise of shelter for my children and family. Just because i wouldnt be used to physical fighting and it would be an easy way to protect my family if we were to just live on a reservation. I could protect them from being harmed by the white man and their better artillery and guns.

  6. Lenny Gross

    If I were an 1874 Indian in the situation stated, I would stay and fight to preserve my own rights, culture, religion, language and people. I would stay true to my history and people because of my close ties with my culture and religion, and the importance in my own life of my history. If my culture was in jerpody of being taken away from me, I would be willing to do a plethora of things to stop it, including fighting for it.
    In Indian life, their religious ceremonies and ties to the buffalo were of great significance to them, and the preservation of these special celebrations would be extremely essential to me. The special Sun and Ghost dances would have been relinquished from my lifestyle, and cultural Indian living would have no more meaning, my people would be no more than the White men they were fighting.
    If I were older or younger, my choice would be significantly impacted. I believe that if I were younger, I would give in to the demands of the White man, however if I were older, I would have more strength to fight for myself and my people. With age also comes wisdom and the appreciation of your culture. I believe that my gender would not affect my choice as drastically, however it may be more difficult for an Indian woman raising a family and keeping the people together more difficult to stay and fight. I believe that men and woman alike share the same choices and raising a family or not, would want to stay and fight for their rights as humans.
    -Lenny Gross

  7. Eleanor Chalifoux

    If I was a Native American back in the mid 1800s I would be faced with a very tough decision. The American Army was very tough on the Indians and were forcing them into reservations and assimilating them to the white culture. I could either choose to the live on the reservation or lose my culture or fight to live as a Indian but with constant fear of being caught. Advantages of living on a reservation would be I would necessarily be pretty safe. Many Indians were neglected though and did not live nice lives and had to adapt and live like whites. As much as I would like the safe feeling of living on a reservation, I don’t think I would want to lose my ability to live a free life. I don’t think backing down and listening to the whites would be good enough for me. My choice would differ by age and gender. A young man/warrior would be more open to resisting than a mother or elder. As a warrior it would be easier to fight the soldiers and live the nomadic life as usual before Westward Expansion. Like in the movie, Dances With Wolves, I side with the Indians. It’s ironic because I’m siding against my ancestors. Our history is very controversial and its hard to imagine the choices people had to make. Back then people were so obsessed with moving out West they didn’t notice the harm they were causing.

  8. Stephanie Dudek

    I think I would go onto the reservation. Even though going on the reservation would probably be seen as giving up or losing hope, it can also show the whites and the government that you are peaceful and don’t want trouble. Showing you are peaceful could help you negotiate later on. If you fight a lot more people would die more quickly and it would just be a mess. Going on the reservation would mean making some changes no doubt but it, but that part of life adapting to overcome challenges. I am sure I partly picked this because I am a girl, and not really brave. Or at least I wouldn’t go against authority, I would just except and adapt. So if I was a boy I think that fighting would definitely be an option. It really comes down to if you want to risk your life when you don’t know what you’re up against. If I was older I think I would still go with the reservation because I wouldn’t want to fight and I wouldn’t want to see others fight and die. There is also the fact that if cultures and countries and governments don’t learn to adapt and change then they won’t work in the long run. You have to be flexible to change or your culture and people will cease to exist. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think that the Indians shouldn’t have fought or stood up for themselves later on, after they were treated badly and not given a fair chance, but they shouldn’t have started out with violence.

  9. Samuel Kepes

    I would choose the path of fighting to preserve my way of life. I feel that giving in to other people oppression is worse then dying for a cause. If I were to fight and stay with my tribe then I would be sticking to what I believe. For me this is a very important thing. I also would stay and fight because the white men could never be trusted before so what makes them trust worthy now. They have always been superior in technology, but if we want it more then we have a chance of winning. Another reason I would fight is for the buffalo and the plains in general. We have seen the destruction whites are capable of, so I don’t want to see that happen to the area my ancestors have lived on for hundreds of years.
    I don’t think my choice would be different if I was older. In fact I think my resolve would be even stronger because I may have kids of my own that I want to have good lives. If I was a female my choice may be different. Then I might be more concerned that the tribe is all safe and that no one gets injured. That would be my only reason not to fight.

  10. Devan Moosherr

    If I were a Native American I would have fought for my rights and to preserve my way of life. I would have never given up and went to a reserve. Going to a reserve would have showed the white men weakness and made them think that it was easier to take over more Native Americans. All of the culture that I had and everything that meant anything to me would have been taken away by moving to a reservation. As much as I would like to have the feeling of being safe on the reservation, I would never like the feeling of knowing that I could not leave.

    If I was older my choice would most likely have not changed. I would still fight for my freedom and everyone else freedom knowing I had less time to live. If I was injured or not able to fight though, I would most likely go into the reservation knowing I would have more years ahead of me. What we did to the Native Americans was completely wrong. This should have never happened. We took away their culture and violated many of the rights we laid down for ourselves. People were so concerned about what was right for themselves, that they didn’t care about the people they were affecting.

  11. Declan Gibbons

    If I was in the same position as the Native Americans I would have fought to stay off the reservations. I would have done this for a couple of reasons: 1. to preserve my heritage, would have the advantage, and the reservations arn’t much nicer than being on the run from being killed anyway. I would want to try to preserve my heritage because thats what I would have been used to my entire life, and something that would bond my family, tribe, and I together,and just having random people take that away would upset me trumendously. I would also stand there and fight because the Indians have the upper hand in battle. I say this because the Indians have been on that land long before the “white man” has been, and know its every advantage, and with enough Iniands rallied together the fight would not be as uneven as you think. I would also fight because being in the reservations isn’t much nicer than being in fear for the rest of your life anyways. The reservations are slums and not a suitable place to live.

    If I was older I don’t think my position on this topic would change. Beecause the older you get where you stand on your heritage and rights doesnt change you just become smarter and more proud, which would make you to try to preserve it at any cost.

  12. Maddie Perfitt

    I think that if I were a Native American in the situation that they were put in when Americans moved West, I would choose to go on a reservation. The Native Americans that cooperated usually were able to live. But the Native Americans that refused and rebelled, however, were usually killed. I wouldn’t have the guts to stand up for myself If I knew my life was at stake no matter how much of my pride I had to swallow. I would almost want to go on the reservation because when on one, I’d be able to have that protection that the ‘wild’ Indians lacked. I’d also get the opportunity to have an education which slowly started to become more important and helpful as the years went by. Sitting Bull was a very popular Indian rebel that led a lot of his people. But even he, eventually, gave to Buffalo Bills Wild West Shows. It was easy to see, even to him, that surrendering was more rewarding. Your Pride can only take you so far in life, but money and education can take you even further. I wouldn’t be able to live my life not knowing if a white man was just going to come and split up my family. I think if I did it initially and didn’t cause problems, they would be more inclined to let me stay with my family and/or tribe. Overall, having confidence to rebel is respectful but surrendering is sometimes the more logical idea.

  13. Patrice Bell

    I would much rather choose to go out and fight the white people. My culture and the preservation of that culture are very important to me. If I were an Indian, I would have most definitely chosen to fight because it was in no way right for the whites to come and to even fathom that they could take our land simply because they wanted to. I think that staying behind on the reservation is cowardly. It is giving the whites the satisfaction that they’re better than us. Even though I think staying on the reservation was a much safer in terms of the other people in my tribe, I can only imagine that in staying on the reservations, some Indians lose a sense of self-pride. Not even attempting to fight for the preservation of my sacred history could be construed by many. By staying on the reservation, you lose that profound sense of dignity. By fighting, one regains that sense and if a warrior dies fighting for what he believes in, at least he is not dying in vain. He is dying knowing that he has had even the slightest impact on preserving his culture. I would fight for what is right.

  14. Nathan Willey

    I would have chosen the path to keep fighting for my right to have my land and keep it! I would do this because the Native American culture is a rich and interesting one. I feel like the white men don’t have any sort of boundaries. They just have to expand west and have no problem getting anyone out of their way! They come from the east and kill our buffalo mercilessly and try to put us on reservations to destroy our culture. The U.S government has no right to kick us off of our land that we have so many religious ties to and were raised on. However if I were elderly I may choose a different path because I don’t have the will power or the strength to fight. Also many of the rituals that we practice involve men, if I were a woman I may have chosen the other path for the safety of my children. But overall, I believe that we should keep fighting to keep our rich culture. The U.S has no right to kick us off our land that we had first! But still we must keep our heads in this situation because they may be stronger.

  15. Cierra McPherson

    1)If I had to choose from the options provided I would join the reservation system. Joining the reservation would give me a peace of mind that my family and I would be safe. I wouldn’t be concerned on drinking whiskey or dangers of boredom but mainly their way of life. Through my learning of Native Americans, the Natives seem to be very strong-minded people. Their passion for their culture and wanting to fight for it brings me to the conclusion that although they will not be able to practice it freely, if they know in their hearts where they are from then that is all that should matter. I give up my freedom in order to survive and for my family. If I know in my mind that I truly am as human being and most importantly as a Native, then I wouldn’t mind going into the reservation. Having all this hope and determination is amazing, but how if you really think about not every is going to go and fight. The Native men have families and dying for their culture may not be wise in the end just for wives and the children.
    2)My choice would not be different if I was older. If I am an elder I would definitely not want to go and fight for my beliefs. In a way I would be older and I would have another outlook on life where I’ve been and seen enough where I be comfortable living in a reservation instead of living in fear. Now if I was a different gender, I might consider fighting for what I believe in. I would feel extremely guilty however, knowing that I am risking my life and leaving my love ones behind.

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