Chapter 17

            Chapter 17 took on a more depressing view of the Transformation of the Trans-Mississippi West. It described the ruined lives of many Native tribes that had to give up their home and connection to their land because of the ambitions of white men. The federal government forced Native Americans onto reservations. Although there were a few groups who peacefully agreed to do so, many fought back. For the Plain Indians, life revolved around extended family ties and tribal cooperation. They relied on hunting and farming to feed their families. However, army commanders saw this as a chance to undermine Indian resistance. They encouraged the slaughter of buffalo in order to reduce the food source of the tribes, leaving them with no other choice but to move. I find their actions very disturbing because of the many innocent lives that were lost. It seemed unfair because the Indians were the first people who settled on those lands. They had been there for awhile, minding their own businesses, and did not plan on disturbing anyone else. But for some reason, the government found it okay to violently claim the land and pushed the Indians onto reserves. The killings even went as far as massacring women and children of peaceful bands of Indians in order to quickly clear the land or to pose as a warning for other tribes who refused to cooperate I mean, what gave them the right to do so without any shame?

            Also, I wanted to mention the picture on page 404 in the “Enduring Vision” textbook. That picture puts such a shameful image to America. Seeing the way those American men stood proudly around a pile of frozen, dead Indians was horrific. Reading the text about the Wounded Knee massacre painted a cruel picture of what the Natives had to go through, but seeing the actual picture made it so much more real. I can never understand that period in history when Americans thought their superiority justified their actions in treating other ethnic groups in such an unfair and malicious way!