Do we owe American Indians anything for taking their land?
Do we owe them money?
Do we owe them land?
Do we owe them education?
Should they live in their traditional ways, or should they integrate into the rest of society?
Thanks! Stacie Carlson
If you aren't sure about the subject, here are a few links you can check out:
http://www.powersource.com/cherokee/history.html
http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/indians/cherokee/trail_of_tears.html
http://www.lastoftheindependents.com/sandcreek.htm
http://www.wicocomico-indian-nation.com/pages/genocide.html
http://www.mnh.si.edu/biodiversity/aislynn1.htm#introduction
http://www.thenativepress.com/alcatraz2.html
http://www.thenativepress.com/boardingschool.html
http://www.westwindworld.com/
http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/articles/princes.html
http://www.peaknet.net/~aardvark/thetrail.html
http://www.peaknet.net/~aardvark/index2.html
http://www.powersource.com/cocinc/history/trail.htm
http://www.peaknet.net/~aardvark/treaty.html
http://www.canku-luta.org/PineRidge/laramie_treaty.html
http://www.russellmeans.com/
16 comments:
we don't owe the Indians anything. It irritates me that this is being discussed. Should we owe everyone that we have done soemthing wrong to? Indians I feel a lot of the times are just taking advantage of their situation and making there wallets or whatever Indians use to hold money fatter. It's not our fault that the Indians don't want to advance in our society that we live in today. If they want to live in there Indian tents in a rural area and smoke the peace pipe full of mary J go ahead! I don't want my tax dollars going to that where nothing is getting advanced or productively done. They don't need us they can make their spears and hunt there food and smoke more Mary J. Just as long as my tax dollars don't go towards it. So to answer all your questions no I don't think we owe Indians anything they can live on there owns like anyone else.
Dan Berger
No one likes to be taken advantage of or have anything taken away from them with out permission.
I feel that the way the American Indians were/are treated and how everything they knew was taken was wrong, but so is life.
Just like the black Americans went through slavery and segregation it is left in the past and we had to move on. It hurts and it wasn't right but there is no payback for us.
We live in a "free" country so no one is stoppig the American Indians from practicing their traditions, but they do have to make a compromise and conform with society to a certain degree. Their beliefs can't be taken away from them but there are some rules that have to be followed now. The American Indians have to learn to adapt and leave the past in the past and make a future for themselves.
Richauna
I think it is a shame that the Native Americans were treated the way they were. I believe their society today is a result of years of learned helplessness and that makes me very sad. Unfortunately, I don't know what the answer is. Although our generation today, is not responsible for what happened
years ago, we are responsponsible for trying to work together to help generations to come - humanity owes that to one another.
I am not sure who the "we" includes when you ask if we owe the Indians anything. My great great grandma was Native American and my great great grandpa was German. I also have an Irish great grandma and I am pretty sure our family has african american ancestory as well. I am pretty sure that all of their families have felt mistreated at some point in their lives as well. That does not make it right, yet they had to overcome those unfortunate situations and move forward.
I think traditions and heritage are wonderful things to celebrate and remember in families and cultures.
As far as "us" needing to owe Native Americans anything...I think we as humans owe support and compassion and education to any fellow mankind that needs help.
The 7:42 comment was left by Jan Baker
I fell that we dont owe them anything. The times has chaned, you cant go back in time and fix what happend. African Americans went threw a lot as well but; its the new ages now. Things are alittle bit better then they were back then, what happend in the past happend. We should justkeep moving on and keep trying to make things better, so no Americans owe dont anybody nothing.
Tradition is all well and good, dont get me wrong. We all have traditions, but they change with the times just like everything else in the world. Some american indians have advanced from their subcultures and branched out into the world. They still have the same traditional values they always have, just modernized them to move with the times. You want land? Buy it like everyone else.
Eric T.
I don't think we owe them anything. What we did was wrong, but we have moved on since that. It doesnt really hurt anyone for them to live their traditional ways, but I think that since this world is ever changing, and adapting, so maybe they should give it a try. A lot of people keep some of their traditions around, even in todays world. So the could still integrate into the rest of the society, and not lose touch of who they are or where they came from.
-Caitlin Parker
From Debra Porter:
I believe we don't owe the Indians anything for taking their land, except maybe giving them some more land back somewhere where we dont have any towns. I don't think we owe them money or education but if they want to go to college, I don't think we should deny them that right. I think they have the right to live in whatever way they want to. I mean, it's like a religion kind of, we wouldn't want to take certain religious practices away from people in this country. What if we didn't allow people other than Christians to celebrate anything around christmas? That would be wrong. I don't think we owe the Indians anything other than what we've already taken from them.
From Barb Beals:
I don't think we owe the Indians anything; just like we don't owe the African-Americans anything. It's the same concept. Each sector of America should be able to practice any traditions they have, and integrate into society if they choose to. America doesn't owe anyone anything. The Indians (what are left of them) live on reservations, the government sends them to College at no cost. I know, I have friends that are indians and grew up on a reservation in Maine. I feel sorry for the Indians in general, I look at it like this, we came and took their land but they weren't really using it. Besides that it was over 200 years ago, it's time to get over it.
I dont think we owe native americans anything since we aren't the ones who hurt them, and they aren't the ones who were hurt. what happened in the past was wrong but it doesn't have anything to do with this generation. We've been trying to help them, but what do they do with it in return? use it to build casinos and liquor stores. If they want us to help them, they are going to have to start helping themselves! they need to start trying to put it to better use and TRYING to advance in society.
-Blake Diehl
I don't really know alot about the Indian traditions although I have been to a couple of pow-wows. I found the dance and costumes to be a beautiful sight. I don't begrudge the Indian nations the choice to live like their ancestors did, but I do wonder how that can be possible in today's concrete world..the deer and the antelope don't play, the buffalo don't roam, and the skys are pretty clouded with polution all day.
It isn't a perfect world for any society today, just pick up a newspaper or look at the T.V. news.
The only way that we could repay what was taken from the Indians, would be for everyone to get on a fast boat back to England, scooping up all the concrete, plastic, metal, and polution that has been created in the last 200+ years. And since that isn't gonna happen..this is a very hard question to answer.
I believe that unfortunately, no matter what, the Indians lives were going to change. If the people we now call Americans had not invaded-and I do mean invaded-wouldn't the Mexican's have moved up north or the Canadians moved to the south? Or are the former Indians part Mexican and Canadian?Change is a part of life we all have to live with.
Yes, it is true that the former "settlers" did not allow the former "Indians" a chance at life. And for that I am very sad. The brutal slaying of many innocent lives is disgraceful. But will any amount of payment ever equal the amount of loss?
I think not. Who knows there might have been an ancestor of an Indian that was killed, that had the cure for cancer or aids or some other freak society development and that is lost forever in our heritage, and we have all been cheated out of it. I know that is a bit dramatic-but what do we know of the "why's" of the world or the "if onlys" that could of been.
As far as integration into our society? Their choice to live as they chose was stripped away, and is gone forever. Now they will, as all people do, have to find a new way of life that secures all they want to hold dear to them.
Pam Whisman
I dont think we owe them anything at all. They are gone, what are we supposed to give them? It is done and over with and they shouldnt expect anything after all these years. I dont think we owe them any money either, because if we would give them money then we would be giving everyone else money too. I dont think we even need to owe them land because we are here now, it is over with and they should forget about the whole situation. I mean i feel bad what happened, but it was a very long time ago. I dont think we owe them education either becasue they are perfectly capable of going to get themselves an education. Why would we have to provide that for them? I think they should live in whatever kind of way they want to live in. If they want to live in traditional ways then let them, i dont think it is necessary for them to intergrate with the rest of society. They have a background with years of heritage behind them.
Stephanie Einck
From Big Beazy:
One word comes to mind on this subject and that word happens to be NO. Damn, do you want your 40 acres too??? Please expand your mind into the 21st century, for instance you could have asked if we need to bring our troops home or leave them in Iraq. Be more with the present and not with the past because the present is a whole hell of a lot easier to change than the past. It's unfortunate what happened to them, however no politician no government official at all would take the time to consider doing anything about it this long after the fact. It's very horrible and horrific what happened but it's survival of the fittest and we won. The white man marches on!
I think we do owe them something and we don't. I think we do because they were originally here firstand then we came along and took their land and started building factories, schools, stores, resturants, etc. We I do not think owe them money because there are hardly any of them around anymore to give money too. If we did give them money then only a selected few would be rich. And that isn't what we are trying to do. We do i guess owe them education because i mean if they are going to survive they need a degree in something or whatever. I think that is all if anything what we owe. I think they should come in a join the society that we are living in today, they aren't going to get anywhere if they don't join the world. This is who we are, and if they want to make it, they need to join it.
Sonja Paul
I feel that we don't really owe them anything because they didn't do anything for us. i really know for sure that we dont owe them money, land, or education. They are not the ones who provided anything for us. I feel that they can live in the ways that they feel are nessacary to them and they shpould live how they want.
Edwidge Philizaire
plain and simple, I dont think we owe Indians anything. just like I dont think we owe black people anything. the people of this generation did not physically take anyone's land or put anyone in slavery, so I dont feel like I need to pay for something that I didnt do.
Ashlee Meredith
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