Native Americans: history, culture, and contemporary issues

¶ … Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux, is an account of the U.S. conflict with the Sioux, which gives a unique insight into the Sioux's version of events.

Main Idea: American authors/historians have only given U.S., side of events.

American historians give one side of history, incomplete picture.

Indians presented as violent primitive barbarians.

Anderson finally gives accurate account.

Main Idea: The Native Americans were treated very badly by U.S.

White settlers had no respect for natives or their customs.

Indian Removal Act 1830: forces all natives to move west of the Mississippi.

Native Americans cannot win.

Anderson's book gives accurate account.

Little Crow used as example, gives Sioux point-of-view.

Little Crow, and the Sioux, are a real people with a real culture and real feelings.

C. Anderson presents the Sioux side by delving into the Sioux's history and culture.

D. This is how to present an accurate portrait of events.

Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux

For the better part of a century, American historians have continually written the history of the American West as a conflict between civilized white settlers and uncivilized violent Indians. One need only watch any of a number of American made western films to see the inherent racism involved in this kind of selected historical memory. One need also to read any history of the West written during the 20th century to examples of the racism and intolerance on the part of American historians toward the Native Americans. After many decades of an incomplete view of the history of the American West, Gary Clayton Anderson's Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux finally presented an accurate picture of the events surrounding one of America's darkest and most cruel periods.

Throughout American history, historians have always presented the side of the Americans in their history books. This was a natural reaction as those historians were Americans writing their history from their perspective. The problem with this view was that it painted an incomplete picture of history, omitting the side of the Native Indians. Worse than ignoring the native Americans point-of-view was their portrayal in American histories as cruel, violent, and barbaric. It has been pointed out by many modern historians that the Native Americans of the West, with a few exceptions, were peaceful, respectful of tribal boundaries, and rarely engaged in warfare. (Takaki 2008)

On the other hand it was the American settlers and the U.S. Army who had no respect for the Native Americans or their ways, encroached on tribal territory, took land without reparations, and murdered indiscriminately. For instance, after the Indian Removal Act of 1830, Native Americans east of the Mississippi were forced to relocate so that their territory could be settled by white settlers. The forced relocation of the Cherokee and the subsequent trail of tears, which killed off a large percentage of those forced to move west of the Mississippi, were examples of the intolerance and heartless attitude on the part of the Americans toward those who's land they were stealing. (Indian Removal) Some Native American tribes went into American Courts and tried to protect themselves from the encroachment of the white settlers with limited success. (Anderson 1986) Even when they won in court, many times the decisions were simply ignored by the local officials, with the result being that Native Americans ended up being cheated out of their land, their culture, and many times their lives.

Gary Clayton Anderson attempted to paint a more realistic, more accurate picture of the settling of the west by including the point-of-view of those who had been ignored for too long, the Native Americans. His book Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux presented the conflict from the point-of-view of one of those actually involved: Little Crow, a Sioux. By exploring the life of one of those intricately involved, Anderson also presented the reader with a glimpse into the lives and culture of the Native Americans; thereby also presenting the reader with the conflict from the point-of-view of the Sioux. As Anderson stated in the introduction of the book, "…it is about an important, intelligent, and tragic figure in history whose political career (1846-63) vividly illustrates the compromise, dilemmas, and often impossible situations that evolved in dealing with whites in the nineteenth century." (Anderson 1986)

One of best aspects of Anderson's book was the fact that he discussed the different tribal factions on the Native American side. Not only were there differences between tribes, but also between factions within the same tribe. Native American politics were just as convoluted and complex as any other group; with conflicts, alliances, and strange bedfellows. With the constant encroachment and incidents of violence, Anderson presented Little Crow's, and by extension the Sioux people's as a whole, anxiety, fear, anger and resentment at the actions of the Americans.