Native American Indians

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Fear of the unknown “other” has plagued humankind for millennia. This fear typified the relationship between eastern settlers and Native American tribes in the nineteenth century. Differences in culture, religion, and even hunting practices caused great tension between the two parties. Treaties from both sides vainly attempted to hold on to peace, only to be met with harsh conflict. During the latter half of the nineteenth century, the U.S. government was on a genocidal campaign in the attempt to extinguish the native threat. Was this uncalled for? Perhaps in some ways, but neither side was completely just or unjust. For the white settlers, the religions of the plains people seemed quite strange indeed. Their culture revolved around two animals, the horse and the buffalo, the buffalo being the aborigines’ main source of food, fuel, and building material. The horse was the Indians’ main source of transportation and the only feasible way of killing a buffalo. The reverse was also true for the Native Americans. The white foreign invaders brought with them devastating weapons, disease, and war upon their tribes. American bigotry and zealotry constantly puts the Indian way of life at risk. These people lived in strange homes made out of…show more content…
The killing of unarmed civilians is considered an extreme war crime in today’s world. According the American military of the nineteenth century, it was a legitimate tactic. One hundred and fifty Indians, including women and children, were murdered at Sand Creek by John Chivington and his men. At the “battle” of Wounded Knee, three hundred Indians were killed by the U.S. military. A counterpoint would be the massacre on the Bozeman trail, which left eighty American soldiers slain. Custer’s Seventh Calvary was obliterated at the Bighorn River. These actions silenced the supporters of the natives in the

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