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Introduction
The Indians went through a struggle in order to preserve their ways of life which was consistent of myths, narratives, and histories that were given orally to their descendants. In Our hearts fell to the ground by Calloway, we find that the Europeans were expanding their territories during colonization and hence settled in the Native Americans land and also we find that the Indian tribes struggled among themselves in the bid to protect their territories.
This colonization destroyed the cultures that Indians had by making it compulsory for Indian students to go to school because once in school the students were taught the American culture. The policies set by the European government did not favor the Indians in any way. The Europeans were also said to introduce diseases such as smallpox to the Indians which had no immunity.The tribes of the Native Americans fought for their land but due to ruthless treatment from the military they did not have a choice but to give up. Their populations were greatly affected because most of them lost their lives in the war. However, after the colonization the Indians had a very hard time surviving because as a result their buffalos were destroyed and they were also enslaved and forced to do hard labor.
Discussion
I agree there was an antagonistic relationship between the West and the urban centers of the East because the urban centers of the East were invaded and wanted to preserve their heritage. The Native Americans tried to protect their properties up to a point when they saw that they could not make it to succeed the whites. The elders gave in, in a bid to ensure that the tribes survived. In Our hearts fell to the ground the Indians are described generally to be friendly and very peaceful people and that is why they decided to make peace and end the war. However they did this only to preserve whatever little land they had been left with and culture.
The antagonistic relationship developed further because the Indians, for example the Sioux tribe declined to sell their land which was sacred. This made the Europeans to pass a bill that was known as the ‘sell or starve bill’. Eventually the sacred land which was known as the Black Hills was taken illegally from them. However, we find that later they were allocated 160 acres individually as a way of compensating them for the land taken (Calloway, 156) which was against their land tenure system.
The Native Americans had the believe that their land belonged to each one of them and this was different to the Europeans way of thinking, this made them to create alliances in order to survive even though they were not so effective. The Europeans believed that only the land owner had the rights to access his or her land.This conflict of believes made the natives to lose the land in North America and this further geared to the antagonistic relationship.
For example, members of the Taino tribe were given orders to give a production of 75 gold ounces after three months all year round. Some of the members refused to do this and this resulted to them being cut off hands. At long last they all ended their miseries and humiliations by throwing themselves down the cliffs.
The Indians preserved their way of life by giving in to the demands of the Europeans because they did not want everyone of them to perish since no one would remain to keep on the heritage. They disappeared while some shifted to urban centers and they did art, athletics and music and this helped greatly in preserving their way of life. They also started a movement known as the American Indian Movement which became widely known. To keep their way of life they also had to tackle the issue of stereotypes about their ways of life in a bid to create awareness about their existence.
We find that when they were held in missions and forcibly being converted to Christianity some of them would escape to hunt for animals such as deer’s but eventually they were caught and severely punished. Also to preserve their ways of life they had to unite so that they could stick together and this made them stronger and have a sense of identity.
Conclusion
The main aim here is to preserve the cultures so that we can know the origin of various people In America such as the American Indians. Students need to know that the Native Americans had a rich culture and that they fought hard in order to preserve it because it encompassed values such as discipline and sacrifice. Also to demand respect from the society, so that these stories can be preserved and be passed from one generation to another. This book also helps the reader to know the impact that colonials wars had all over the world.This book also seeks to show us that unity is of importance when people want to achieve anything.
Works Cited
Calloway Colin.Our hearts fell to the ground: Plains Indian views of how the West was lost. New York: Bedford Books of St. Martin’s Press, 1996.Pg 57-221.
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