Essay On Native American Freedom
As new people came to America and began to settle, Native Americans were pushed farther and farther away from their homeland. Their land was taken from them and their freedoms were long gone. White settlers had created restrictions on their land, trade, and freedom which are still in effect today.
The real crisis began soon after Andrew Jackson was elected president. Native Americans had already lost freedom of trade in 1787, when the Constitution granted power to the government to regulate their trade. Now, Jackson had promised to remove Native Americans to the west, which resulted in the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The law,”...sought to negotiate the peaceful exchange of Indian lands in the South for new lands in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma)”(Prentice Hall 35). Some Native Americans …show more content…
By the 1860s, they were forced onto reservations, which are areas set aside by the government for them Many of them were not happy with this and in order to regain their freedom, they fought against the government. Most died in these wars in vain, because though they tried their hardest, they could not gain back what they lost and still remain on these reservations today. Nowadays, over 5.2 million Native Americans live on reservations that are ran by the federal government. Though, just because it’s ran by the government doesn’t mean that it’s the best place to live. Over 90,000 Native Americans are homeless and those who do live in a house are overcrowded. It is said that, “The waiting list for tribal housing is long; the wait is often three years or more, and overcrowding is inevitable...It is not uncommon for 3 or more generations to live in a two-bedroom home with inadequate plumbing, kitchen facilities, cooling, and heating”(Native American Aid). All of this just adds to another thing Native Americans have to live with, health
The real crisis began soon after Andrew Jackson was elected president. Native Americans had already lost freedom of trade in 1787, when the Constitution granted power to the government to regulate their trade. Now, Jackson had promised to remove Native Americans to the west, which resulted in the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The law,”...sought to negotiate the peaceful exchange of Indian lands in the South for new lands in Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma)”(Prentice Hall 35). Some Native Americans …show more content…
By the 1860s, they were forced onto reservations, which are areas set aside by the government for them Many of them were not happy with this and in order to regain their freedom, they fought against the government. Most died in these wars in vain, because though they tried their hardest, they could not gain back what they lost and still remain on these reservations today. Nowadays, over 5.2 million Native Americans live on reservations that are ran by the federal government. Though, just because it’s ran by the government doesn’t mean that it’s the best place to live. Over 90,000 Native Americans are homeless and those who do live in a house are overcrowded. It is said that, “The waiting list for tribal housing is long; the wait is often three years or more, and overcrowding is inevitable...It is not uncommon for 3 or more generations to live in a two-bedroom home with inadequate plumbing, kitchen facilities, cooling, and heating”(Native American Aid). All of this just adds to another thing Native Americans have to live with, health