Native American American Indians History

Indian Removal and the Seminole Wars

The Indian Removal between 1830 and 1847 was part of the U.S. government policy that forced the displacement of Native Americans from their ancestral lands. The policy paved way for the removal of self-governing tribes from the eastern U.S. to the west of the Mississippi River. In this regard, self-governing tribes of Native Americans were moved from the eastern parts of the country to west of the Mississippi River. While the policy was implemented between the 1820s and 1830s, it was a culmination of earlier discussions on solutions to the issue of what to do with Indians in the eastern part of the country (Calloway p.12). Americans considered several options including assimilating Indians into American society, safeguarding them in their ancestral homelands, or moving them to more distant lands.

The Seminole Wars were essentially military conflicts that took place in Florida during the early 1700s. These three related military conflicts were between the Seminole (citizens of a Native American nation) and the United States. One of the reasons for the Seminole Wars was the increased tensions that emerged between Seminoles living in Southwest Florida and the increasing number of settlers. The other reasons included disputes over trade, land, and slavery. The United States wanted the land occupied by Seminoles and wanted Seminoles to exclusively trade with them and not with other countries.

Billy Powell Osceola, “Black Drink Singer” was one of the important leaders in the Seminole tribe (Josephy, Jr. p.175). He played a key role in the Second Seminal War as he led his tribe to resist efforts by the U.S. Army to forcibly remove them from their ancestral homelands. As a capable leader, Osceola was tactful and marshalled his tribe to successfully ambush U.S. soldiers. He employed different tactics to lead his followers to successfully ambush U.S. soldiers and elude multiple troops.

Native American Resistance During the U.S. Civil War

The Civil War was characterized by Indian Wars including the Dakota War, the Cheyenne-Arapaho War, Sand Creek Massacre, and Red Cloud’s War (Addis, p.4). It is estimated that nearly 20,000 Native Americans served in the Confederate and the Union during the Civil War (Alexandria par, 3). Native Americans resisted their displacement from their ancestral homelands and established homes and tribal governments (Pennington par, 1). During the Dakota War, Native Americans resisted efforts by settlers to gain more land and control. Their resistance involved carrying out raids on settlers albeit with limited success in some cases. In the Cheyenne-Arapaho War, Native Americans resisted giving up their lands and lifestyles. This contributed to the Sand Creek massacre in which more than 300 Native Americans were killed during confrontations with American soldiers and white settlers. In the Red Cloud War, many Native American tribes united and relentlessly attacked U.S. Army-held forts. This resulted in endless confrontations with the U.S. troops and white settlers.

Most of the confrontations and conflicts between Native Americans and the United States were resolved through the signing of treaties. One of the treaties that were signed is the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. While these treaties were established to promote peace and co-existence between American Indians and white settlers, they failed to accomplish the desired goals in some cases. The settlement of the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 gave the US government the authority to punish white settlers and tribe members who committed crimes against the tribes. However, the settlement was characterized by some issues including provisions that sought to move the tribes to the white settlers’ lifestyle by encouraging farming. In addition, the US had a history of failing to honor treaties including the first Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851. This proved that the US did not act in good faith to resolve disputes with Native American tribes.

Roles of American Indians in the 18th-Century Imperial Wars

American Indians played a key role in the 18th-Century Imperial Wars that contributed to the American Revolution. The roles of American Indians in these wars stemmed from their resistance to efforts by white settlers to gain more land and control. While they had their own issues, Native Americans were faced with the dilemma of whether to choose the patriot cause or the loyalist cause. Some of them fought alongside American colonists whereas others allied with the British (Jaffee & Mehr par, 1). In this regard, one of the roles of American Indians in the 18th-Century imperials wars was fighting in the wars. Their inclusion in the wars provided manpower to both sides. American Indians’ participation in the wars was part of their resistance as evident in their involvement in the Iroquois Confederation. They participated in the Iroquois Confederation as a show of unity against invasion. This confederation was one of the most complex military threats faced by European settlers. Additionally, American Indians fueled the establishment of British colonies during the wars by providing necessary materials and supplies like hides, skins, and food.

The Pan-Indian resistance movements of Pontiac and Tecumseh were part of the American Indian’s struggle against the new ways of life introduced by Europeans. These resistance movements emerged as a means for American Indians to hold on to their common traditional way of life (Leahy & Wilson, p.1). Both movements promoted Pan-Indianism as an ideology and survival strategy against Europeans. The two movements had similar outcomes in terms of uniting tribal people but were unsuccessful in their military efforts to prevent White expansion. However, Tecumseh united more people that Pontiac by choosing to ally their confederacy with the British (Josephy, Jr. p.130). Pontiac’s united tribes in the Fort Detroit area and contributed to the general Indian uprising and brief independence.