Genocide In Native American History

The definition of genocide is the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group. In the 19th century, Indians were not considered American citizens but were viewed as uncivilized savages by the government. This mindset allowed the suffering the groups endured to be seen as “Americanizing” the Indian. The treatment of the Native Americans by the federal government in the 1800’s was genocide in the making.
The United States government attempted to strip Indian culture, customs, religion and forced reservations upon them. Some groups, including the Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho, resisted the idea of being wrongfully removed from their land to reservations. Confrontations with the Army led to what is now known as the Indian Wars. “At Sand Creek in Colorado, for example, more than 300 Arapaho and Cheyenne men, women, and children were massacred by the military in 1864 after the parties had agreed to peace terms. The Battle of Little Bighorn started after Indians who were outraged from the continuous intrusions fought for their land. By combined force of Sioux and Cheyenne, they killed all 200 men under the command of Lieutenant George Custer in 1876. In the desert
This law required it to be negotiated peacefully and voluntarily, but President Jackson and the government ignored this and forced Native Americans to move off the lands they’ve inhabited for generations. One winter in 1831, the Choctaw were expelled from their lands and made their way to the new territory on foot without any food, supplies or assistance from the government whom have placed the predicament on them. It was, one Choctaw leader told an Alabama newspaper, a “trail of tears and