by Bea Sting

Created on: April 06, 2010

            History is not concrete, but abstract. You can’t touch the history, but understand it ideally. Same history can become an opposite story from telling by different people group. If US history is told by Native American’s perspective, will it be different? My answer to that question will be yes.

            Native Americans history changed 180 degrees when Columbus arrived in 1492 to the new continent. Their ownership for the land shifted, and dramatically affected their later generations. First, Native Americans happily negotiate and trade with Europeans. Continuing for arriving of puritans, they celebrated their combined thanksgiving in 1621. Since Europeans were powerful and want to gain more lands, during 1700s, French and Indian War began. Native Americans helped both French side and English side. Indians who helped French side escaped to Cuba because French lost. Many Native Americans who helped English also didn’t gain many. Their sacrifice continued not only in French and Indian War, but also in Revolutionary war. At this period, their different groups again helped both sides: Colonies and British. Again they lost lands from helping the war, and nothing benefit them. With the victory for US, 50 years later, Native Americans lost their right for their own land once more in 1830. Still they lived on the land they received from the ancestors; from 1855 to 1858 Native Americans who lived in Pacific coast were forced to remove from their land by military. Thus they no more own the land; they were no longer independent nation. And in 1871 they really become apart of US country. They were called “aliens.” Under US government, their land was divided evenly to each family. Furthermore, the left over lands were sold to Americans. From 1898, Native Americans become on of US along under US Law and Court. Finally they become US citizens in 1924. Although they lost land in the past, they reserved their land in 1934. By holding the land they gain their permission to tax their product from their reservation land in 1976.

It seems their land was once lost to the powerful Europeans. Yet before they become one part of US, they were treated as other country and not one family. Though become a family they gained back their land and they were protected under the Bill of Right that everyone must be treated equally while they become also US citizens. Still their culture and life style were not same from US, while they were before. Yet their traditions were still saved from what they are from before.

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