United States, the Sioux Indians 1850, Industrial Essay

United States, the Sioux Indians 1850, industrial a nature society ( assimilated) relationship environment. Include elements making contrast. 1.The environmental values societies.

Sioux vs. Industrialism

The issue of industrial societies contrasting indigenous communities when concerning the position that each of the two had in regard to the environment is particularly controversial in the context of the United States in the second half of the nineteenth century. Although Sioux Indians adapted to change at the time, they still had trouble employing behavior similar to the one put across by the American government. Native Americans in general were especially concerned about the environment, as they believed that they were connected to it through their ancestors and through their culture as a whole. Whereas the 1850 American government was focused on exploiting resources with no regard to the environmental damage that it left behind, the Sioux Indians were virtually standing powerless and watching as their cultural values were being trampled. Native Americans lived in harmony with the environment because it provided them with everything that they needed. In contrast, U.S. citizens did not understand the importance of the environment and concentrated on gaining as much profits as they possibly could as a consequence of take advantage of resources.

The European society has had a powerful impact on Native American communities and on how they came to perceive life. In spite of the fact that settlers had more advanced technology, they were unable to force natives to assimilate in the growing American society. The U.S. government got used to violate treaties it had with Sioux Indians because it considered the natives relatively unable to react to such actions. However, the Sioux could not simply accept being denied their rights and reacted violently in a series of cases. The Dakota War of 1862 is one of the most significant battles demonstrating the frustration that natives felt at the time. Sioux Indians went against the American government as a result of their suffering and because their treasured environment was left with no resources for them to exploit, thus leaving them suffering and hungry.U.S. representatives have held meetings with native tribes on several occasions and discussed in regard to treaties concerning land and environment matters. In spite of these arrangements, however, members of the U.S. government did not hesitate to act in disagreement with the treaty and to push natives even further as the new country developed even more. "Trains were followed by a chain of forts to protect the trains; then came the stagecoaches, pony express riders, and subsequently the telegraph riders. Settlers would follow and with them, the apologists from the federal government, explaining, once again, and wringing their hands about the bad white men. Then would come the cavalry. The first miners built mining shanties in the Rockies near present-day Colorado" (LaDuke, 1999, p. 77).

The gold rush, mining opportunities, and the simple perspective of establishing a settlement in presumably unoccupied territories influenced many non-natives to advance rapidly through Sioux territories without expressing any interest in the well-being of local Indians. Considering that they were one of the three allied nations representing Native Americans (along with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes), the Sioux took up arms against the U.S. government and actually defeated George Armstrong Custer and the Seventh Cavalry. The Sioux respected their lands greatly and could not accept having their foremost possessions stolen from them. "Native American teachings describe the relations all around -- animals, fish, trees, and rocks -- as our brothers, sisters, uncles, and grandpas. Our relations to each other, our prayers whispered across generations to our relatives, are what bind our cultures together" (LaDuke, 1999, p. 2). Sioux tribes identified with the environment and respected every plant, animal, or piece of land similar to how they respected their relatives.

Non-native individuals often supported treaties that exempted white settlement from Indian lands. However, the treaties were only considered lawful when resources were scarce in these areas. Sioux Indians considered that it was very important for them to preserve sacred lands and were determined to….....