Understanding the history of Native American Indians Research Paper

Understanding the history of Native American Indians - Research Paper Example Additionally, social interaction with other cultures from African, Asian, European and other continents have with time continued to dilute the observance of cultural values of Native American Indians. 1 Three major factors among them political, economic, and social interactions have had a significant effect on the cultural identity of Native American Indians. This paper will make a critical analysis of how political, economic, and social factors have continued to shape the history of Native Americans. Origin of Native Americans The Indians found in American continents are thought to have migrated from the Asian continent a long time ago when the two plates were still close to each other. As they moved across the continents searching for better hunting and gathering grounds, they settled in different areas where the land had plenty of resources. 2 Here, they mastered and adapted to the environment surrounding these lands. Political The discovery of American continent by Christopher Co lumbus in 1492 created a lot of enthusiasm among the Europeans, among them were the British, Dutch and French who wanted to explore and settle in the interior of this new continent. The arrival of these new inhabitants led to forceful evictions of Native Americans from their ancestral lands to create room for the new settlers. Additionally, there was the problem of destruction of natural habitat and over exploitation of resources that the Native Americans relied on. In addition, the Indians were faced by the new challenge of being forcefully enrolled as workers in the white men farms with little or no pay. The young and strong men were also taken to work in the mines under unbearable conditions. The unwelcoming behavior among the settlers led to the development of a negative attitude among the natives. Additionally, the new settlers from the European continent brought with them new germs and other disease causing agents. However, due to their social seclusions and reliance on tradit ional medicine, a large number of Native American Indian population died due to the effects of these new diseases. 3 In an effort to defend and retain their cultural identity, the Native Indians revolted against their colonialists by waging wars. The war between Europeans and Indians was a common phenomenon from the early years of colonization. European used war as a weapon to enforce a particular a political stand or force them out of their land. For instance, in 1936, a violent clash between whites and Indians broke out in Connecticut after the whites attacked an Indian village where about 600 Indian lives were lost. This aggravated the zeal of the Indians to resist the white settlement. In 1675, a mass resistance was formed by a number of Indian tribes against the settlement of whites on their lands in New England.4 Even though the settlers managed to overcome the resistance within a year, the Indians would not give up their struggle for their lost rights. The struggle for Indian land rights was drawn into the French-England wars especially in the northern America. At the time of the American Revolutionary war, most of Indian tribes aided the Britons as they perceived them as the defenders of their land rights. Even though the government of the United States had vowed to protect the rights of Indians, the promise was never kept as the whites continued to expand their settlements on the Indian lands under the protection of the army. In 1930, the then President of United States Andrew Jackson