United States, the Sioux Indians 1850, Industrial

¶ … United States, the Sioux Indians 1850, industrial a nature society ( assimilated) relationship environment. Include elements making contrast. 1.The environmental values societies.

Sioux vs. Industrialism

The issue of industrial societies contrasting indigenous communities when concerning the position that each of the two had in regard to the environment is particularly controversial in the context of the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Although Sioux Indians adapted to change at the time, they still had trouble employing behavior similar to the one put across by the American government. Native Americans in general were especially concerned about the environment, as they believed that they were connected to it through their ancestors and through their culture as a whole. Whereas the 1850 American government was focused on exploiting resources with no regard to the environmental damage that it left behind, the Sioux Indians were virtually standing powerless and watching as their cultural values were being trampled. Native Americans lived in harmony with the environment because it provided them with everything that they needed. In contrast, U.S. citizens did not understand the importance of the environment and concentrated on gaining as much profits as they possibly could as a consequence of take advantage of resources.

The European society has had a powerful impact on Native American communities and on how they came to perceive life. In spite of the fact that settlers had more advanced technology, they were unable to force natives to assimilate in the growing American society. The U.S. government got used to violate treaties it had with Sioux Indians because it considered the natives relatively unable to react to such actions. However, the Sioux could not simply accept being denied their rights and reacted violently in a series of cases. The Dakota War of 1862 is one of the most significant battles demonstrating the frustration that natives felt at the time. Sioux Indians went against the American government as a result of their suffering and because their treasured environment was left with no resources for them to exploit, thus leaving them suffering and hungry. U.S. representatives have held meetings with native tribes on several occasions and discussed in regard to treaties concerning land and environment matters. In spite of these arrangements, however, members of the U.S. government did not hesitate to act in disagreement with the treaty and to push natives even further as the new country developed even more. "Trains were followed by a chain of forts to protect the trains; then came the stagecoaches, pony express riders, and subsequently the telegraph riders. Settlers would follow and with them, the apologists from the federal government, explaining, once again, and wringing their hands about the bad white men. Then would come the cavalry. The first miners built mining shanties in the Rockies near present-day Colorado" (LaDuke, 1999, p. 77).

The gold rush, mining opportunities, and the simple perspective of establishing a settlement in presumably unoccupied territories influenced many non-natives to advance rapidly through Sioux territories without expressing any interest in the well-being of local Indians. Considering that they were one of the three allied nations representing Native Americans (along with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes), the Sioux took up arms against the U.S. government and actually defeated George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry. The Sioux respected their lands greatly and could not accept having their foremost possessions stolen from them. "Native American teachings describe the relations all around -- animals, fish, trees, and rocks -- as our brothers, sisters, uncles, and grandpas. Our relations to each other, our prayers whispered across generations to our relatives, are what bind our cultures together" (LaDuke, 1999, p. 2). Sioux tribes identified with the environment and respected every plant, animal, or piece of land similar to how they respected their relatives.

Non-native individuals often supported treaties that exempted white settlement from Indian lands. However, the treaties were only considered lawful when resources were scarce in these areas. Sioux Indians considered that it was very important for them to preserve sacred lands and were determined to do everything in their power to prevent white settlers from entering their territory. There are several reports involving white settlers violating treaties as a consequence of the fact that valuable resources were found in lands where access was forbidden to settlers. The Black Hills incident in 1872 perfectly exemplifies this, given that the U.S. government assisted settlers in occupying Indian sacred lands as a result of the fact that they contained large amounts of gold (LaDuke, 1999, p. 162). The American government and settlers all across the U.S. could not ignore the territory's potential and proceeded to go against their own word as they started to exploit gold resources from the area. Moreover, white people lied to the Lakota Sioux tribe by telling them that they would only require a small amount of space to operate. The gold rush, however, proved to be devastating for the tribe and for the whole land. Bison, one of the most important food sources that the Lakota Sioux relied on, were chased away as a result of the noise that mining made in the area and the small territory that white people initially wanted to occupy rapidly extended. More and more settlers flowed into the country as a consequence, making it even more difficult for the Lakota Sioux to recover their lands.

As one of the main factors fueling the Sioux community, hunting and animals in general were particularly appreciated and worshipped by tribe members. The borders of the Sioux community were continuously pushed back by waves of settlers and this made it increasingly difficult for natives to be able to have access to their basic needs. Animals became scarce in the territory and Sioux Indians indirectly became responsible for this, considering that they did not initially realize that food resources would become even rarer if they continued to consider hunting their main food source. The Sioux were practically terrorized by non-natives that constantly flowed into their territories and that diminished their resources rapidly. Native tribes had gotten accustomed to killing only the animals that they knew they would eat while many white settlers killed animals without actually being interested in their meat or hides. The interaction between white settlers and Native Americans has had a deep impact on both groups. Seeing the absurdness governing the white society, natives gradually became unable to support their core values.

Even though the Sioux have had several triumphs in their fight against settlers, conditions rapidly changed and the natives realized that it was impossible for them to achieve victory against the American government. Some of the most ardent supporters of Indian values acknowledged their frailty and eventually gave in by allowing themselves to become subordinates to the authorities. The government went even further and created a system of dependency meant to prevent natives from ever being able to return to self-governance. This led to a process in which many Sioux gradually lost interest in their cultural values and joined white people in exploiting resources as well as they could. "The concept of selling for profit replaced praying to the spirits" (Fleck, 1994).