Native American History: Colonies, Rights, and Cultures

Native Responses to European Activities and Colonial Development

In 1585, Richard Hakluyt argued that the economic potential of North America was strong enough to provide the basis for a grand English commercial empire. He assured that colonization by Englishmen would open profitable and productive new American markets. The next 178 years proved genuinely transformative for both Native Americans and settlers, who together reshaped North America into a central part of the British North Atlantic commercial system. Businesses flourished and made an intense impact on the economic life of Native Americans, who began importing European goods that displaced "traditional tools, weapons, utensils, apparel, and ornamentation" (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History 2000).

Everything related to Native American life changed when trading with Europeans began. It not only disrupted and transformed traditional trading patterns, but the natural environment also came under strain due to over-hunting and over-trapping. It changed the clothing, cooking, cultivating, and hunting practices of American Indians (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History 2000).

Due to the colder northern climate, it was not possible for farmers to cultivate English staple crops. However, the land was fertile enough to support traditional English farming methods. By 1650, the English colonies generated commercial output large enough to improve the fortunes of many English planters and Dutch merchants. These planters and merchants transported tobacco and sugar from the markets of English West India and the Chesapeake to the ports of Europe. In 1660, Charles II was restored to the throne of England, at which point Parliament and royal officials set out to construct a policy of colonial commerce that would favor English merchants and shippers and cut Dutch traders out of Anglo-American trade (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History 2000).

During the early eighteenth century, the economic condition of the colonies improved slowly but steadily. With the construction of market roads and the clearing of river channels, imported English goods began to occupy more and more space within the colonies. The colonial appetite for imports, however, proved chronic. It caused a persistent trade imbalance between the colonies and England, and hard currency from the colonies drained away continually. At the same time, Anglo-American colonists began to identify themselves as British Americans, as the consumption of British goods grew and fostered a shared community of tastes, experiences, and identity (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History 2000).

History's Role in Contemporary Native American Lawsuits

Native Americans are among the many minorities whose movement for civil rights began shortly after the arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere. After the establishment of the United States, this minority group was denied basic civil rights for many years. History reveals that, while American Indians may not always have framed their efforts in the language of civil rights, they took significant measures to achieve equal treatment under the law (Sale 1995).

Native Americans are not only citizens of their tribal nations but also citizens of the United States. Their tribal nations are recognized as "domestic dependent nations" under U.S. law. They are granted rights both by tribal sovereignty and by the federal government, and this duality creates considerable tension. Their dual citizenship still generates conflict within the U.S. colonial context. Matters were more serious in the period before 1924, when they were not yet granted U.S. citizenship (Sale 1995).

In 1968, the Indian Bill of Rights — formally the Indian Civil Rights Act — was passed, guaranteeing a number of civil rights that Native Americans had sought for a long time. It granted them the "right to free speech, press, and assembly" along with "protection from unreasonable search and seizure" (as quoted in Sale 1995). It also granted a Native American criminal defendant the right "to a speedy trial, to be advised of the charges, and to confront any adverse witnesses" (Sale 1995). Additional protections included the right against self-incrimination, protection from cruel and unusual punishment, and equal protection under the law (Sale 1995).

There are many other civil rights for which Native Americans fought and ultimately gained recognition, including rights to sovereignty, hunting, fishing, voting, and freedom of movement. History has thus played a significant role in shaping and settling contemporary lawsuits concerning Native Americans. This struggle for civil rights has been a defining element of American history, and many members of these communities continue the fight today (Sale 1995).