When many people think of the destruction of Native American populations in the Americas they think of what the american settlers did in the 1800s. What many people do not realize is that the persecution of Native Americans started around 1492 when Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas from Spain in search of new lands. So those numbers you had in your head that were trying to rationalize the numbers killed just multiplied. Think of the numbers killed and displaced over those 100 years that American settlers actively removed and fought the Indians. Now imagine the numbers killed over a 500 year span. The numbers are incomprehensible. Not only are we going to be discussing the numbers here but the people who those numbers represent.
The Origin
Historians have done extensive research into where it is believed that the Native Americans came from. It was a question that was commonly asked. So, how did they get here? After reviewing research the most probable solution was that thousands of years ago nomadic peoples came over on a land bridge that connects Russia to Alaska. The nomads then settled all throughout the Americas to form the tribes that we recognize today, such as the Lakotas and Cherokees ("Atrocities Against Native Americans", N.d.). |
National Geographic and PBS. (2001).
people affected
There were multiple tribes located in the lands that the settlers wanted. Part of the reason Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana purchase was to have a place to put the Indians they were displacing from their homes (Kidwell, N.d.). Each tribe has a different story. Some the settlers were able to move by treaties and agreements, others they had to move by force. Each tribe had to face different obstacles in trying to create a new life for themselves in the lands they were forced into, and it was never an easy process.
Choctaw
The Choctaw came from territories that were located in present day Mississippi (Kidwell, N.d.). They had rich soil for planting and access to many natural resources. The lands they were moved to were similar scenery wise, however all of their belongings, fields, livestock, and homes had to be left behind (Kidwell, N.d.). |
Creeks
The Creeks lived in territory that would now be considered Alabama and the southwestern parts of Georgia (Kidwell, N.d.). They mainly lived along rivers, such as the Tallapoosa, Coosa, Chattahoochee Rivers. When they were moved they settled into a dense forest area that would be considered central Indian Territory (Kidwell, N.d.). |
Chicksaws
The Chicksaw tribe was located in the upper region of the Mississippi Delta and extended into Tennessee and Alabama (Kidwell, N.d.). They sold their territories for around $500,000 to the government. Most of the land had already been given to the Choctaws, Cherokees, and Creeks so their next best option was taking the money they got from the government to rent land from the Choctaws. The money they received immerged them into a money based economy where they didn’t need to rely on the land as much (Kidwell, N.d.) |
Cherokees
The Cherokees lived along the Tennessee River in the valleys of the Appalachian Mountains (Kidwell, N.d.). They moved to the Ozark Mountains where they found land similar to what they had before. They settled along river valleys in Illinois and Arkansas and started to plant crops as they did before, however, when the Arkansas River flooded, as it did regularly, their crops were destroyed (Kidwell, N.d.). |
Dwindling numbers
Starting in 1942 and over the course of the next 500 years it was estimated that over 100 million Native Americans were killed (“Atrocities Against Native Americans”, N.d.). In the 1860s, based off the population census, there was only about 240,000 Native Americans living (Collins, 2016).
Columbus' 2nd Voyage
Columbus’ second voyage in 1492 ended in the Caribbean, which greatly affected Native Americans living in Hispaniola, Cuba, and Jamaica (Ostler, 2015). The Spaniards were very cruel to the Native Americans and often forced them into labor. One tribe that was greatly affected was the Taíno tribe. By 1550 the tribe was almost extinct due to new diseases introduced by the Spaniards (Library of Congress, N.d.). However, they managed to pull through and still have influences in culture today. |
Green. J. (2013).
European Settlers
The European settlers did everything they could to push away the Indians, whom they viewed as savages, away from their new civilizations. In the Indian Removal Act of 1830 it was decided that the Choctaws, Cherokees, and Creeks have to be removed from the territories that they were living in that were east of the Mississippi river to designated Indian territories that were in present day Kansas and Oklahoma (Ostler, 2015). This resulted in what is known today as the Trail of Tears. This trail is over 2,000 miles long and runs through present day Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, North Carolina, Missouri, Tennessee, and Oklahoma (National Park Services, N.d.). In the 1830s over the course of this trail 2,000 Choctaws, 4,500 Creeks, and 5,000 Cherokees all perished due to a combination of disease, starvation, and exposure among other things (Ostler, 2015). To give you an example of how devastating the relocations were let us look at a specific instance. A group of 800 Potawatomis were forced to leave Indiana and walk along the Trail of Tears. 43 people died over the course of this journey (Ostler, 2015). Even though the journey was treacherous the destination could be just as bad. 700 Wyandot indians were relocated to the west. Out of the 700, 40 of them died, most of them children, due to diseases that we newly introduced to them by the settlers (Ostler, 2015).
Green. J. (2013).
Comanche Tribe Numbers dwindled as time went on and Comanches tribe is a great example of this. In the mid 1700s there were around 40,000 members. Smallpox was introduced in the 1780s which reduced their numbers to about one half, 20,000 - 30,000. Different disease epidemics kept hitting them hard and further decreased their numbers to between 4,000 and 5,000 people. They were almost completely wiped out when the US government forced them to relocate to reservations, which left them with about 1,500 people (Ostler, 2015). |
Crow Tribe
The Crows allied with the US government in 1860 thinking that it would give them protection. The government forced them to give up some of their land and the natural resources that came with them in the 1880s. With a lack of natural resources to live off of their number went from 3,000 in 1880 to 1,900 in 1903.
The Crows allied with the US government in 1860 thinking that it would give them protection. The government forced them to give up some of their land and the natural resources that came with them in the 1880s. With a lack of natural resources to live off of their number went from 3,000 in 1880 to 1,900 in 1903.
Today's Native Americans
Today there is around 2.9 million Native Americans living in the US today (NCAI, 2016). However, there could be more. The american government established a blood quantum that determined, based on your Native American blood percentage, if you could be considered a member of a tribe. Due to intermarriages between Europeans and Indians the number of people considered as Native American started to decrease (Ostler, 2015).
Today there is around 2.9 million Native Americans living in the US today (NCAI, 2016). However, there could be more. The american government established a blood quantum that determined, based on your Native American blood percentage, if you could be considered a member of a tribe. Due to intermarriages between Europeans and Indians the number of people considered as Native American started to decrease (Ostler, 2015).
(BBC News, 2015)