AIS 120: INDIANS OF THE AMERICAS

V. The Americas and Native Americans Today

A. Nations of the Americas

European colonialism came to an end at various times in the Americas and Native Americans or Indigenous people came under jurisdiction of new government agencies of each of the new nation republics. Native American status varied depending on various treaties in the colonial times and whether those treaties were recognized by the new governments. Then a series of new treaties were usually implemented with the new government(s). The various policies of the Spanish, French, English, etc. contributed to the demographics of survival coupled with disease, marriage patterns and cultural response to conquest and colonization. In some areas Native Americans were victims of genocide, segregation and neglect. In other areas Native Americans were wanted as second class citizens or slaves. When Native American slaves died off new slaves were brought from Africa. When slavery was abolished various parts of the world, especially Asia was tapped for more laborers. In some cases penal colonies imported indentured workers like Georgia. Notice in these statistics that definitions of part indigenous makes it very difficult to generate accurate figures. it is generally agreed that the 114 million Native Americans were reduced by ~ 90% by the early 1900s and have gained some populations in some areas, but many people are obviously mixed bloods. America in general is made of of many diverse Native American and immigrant populations.

 Here are some nations in the Americas with their current Native America/Indigenous people and official government agencies. Only Canada and US have Native Americans that are not American Indian. M=mestizo

B. Native American/ Indigenous Organizations in the Americas

Since the nations in the Americas did such a poor job of managing trust responsibilities of treaties with Native Americans, did not support or enhance economic development for Native Americans or defend the human rights of Native Americans various autonomous organizations have emerged to try to correct or augment the failure of government agencies. Bartolome de las Casas was one of the first but many outsiders who worked to change conditions for Native American people. Missionaries and educators have tried to bring education to Native Americans but often European culture has been the main focus. In the United States some of our oldest colleges were set up to train Native Americans, such as William and Mary (1693) and Dartmouth College. Boarding schools, like Carlisle Indian School (1879-1918) in an old barracks in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, were bent on military discipline. The founder Captain Richard Pratt thought only discipline could rid the Indian of their savage ways. Many children died of disease or were beaten for speaking their native language and grieving for lost friends. Many ran away from the boarding schools. At Carlisle a football program emerged under coach Glenn Scobey "Pop" Warner and with players like Jim Thorpe they defeated even the Ivy League teams.  (Thorpe and his teammates in 1908; middle row/3rd from the left)

Other progressives like Helen Hunt Jackson who published her report on the horrible conditions for California Indians in A Century of Dishonor (1881) found that no one listened until she published a fictional work called Ramona (1884). In the early part of the 20th century various organizations that combined resources from outsiders and Native American came into being. In California the Mission Indian Federation fought for treaty rights and owed resources, especially water. Some were considered socialistic or radical. After WWII and with the development of the civil rights movement this trend continued but by 1975-76 Native Americans began to form their own political, cultural, educational and legal organizations. The idea spread throughout the Americas and then the world. Now that the internet has brought ideas and people together instantly many of the older organizations have found new audiences on the internet. Also, organizations dealing with or by Native American have popped up exclusively on the internet.

Examples of Native American Indigenous Peoples Organizations not usually officially based in the governments of the country of that particular group or beyond the borders of any single country.

There are a number of search engines and internet sites that are available :

C. Global Indigenous Issues and the UN

As Native Americans became more active in the 1970s so to did other indigenous people of the world. There were numerous uprisings and rebellions throughout the world when European powers decided to leave home and colonize the world. Some were well organized and had brief moments of victory or power. In Africa the great Zulu nation shocked Britain with a rather decisive defeat in 1878. The Hawaiians and Maori tried various means of maintaining their sovereignty. The Balinese tried to quell the greed of the Dutch in 1890s. After World War II many of the European colonial power gave up the direct colonial exploitation and 'allowed' nations to be formed. In some cases the ethnic mix was ignored and turned volatile. In a number of countries there were remnants of indigenous people with European transplants still dominating the newly founded nation. Many of the indigenous people felt like they were isolates or nations within the newly founded country not of there own creation and often not of their own specific territory. This was true in the United States, Australia Bolivia and other nations of the Americas. In some cases the indigenous group was so large that the European nation construct was too small. Such was the case for the Quechua of the Andes and the Kurds of the Middle East. Indigenous people began to start their cases at the United Nations in spite of the major control by industrial powers and the fact that they were not officially sovereign. After 22 years, beginning in 1982, issues of discrimination against indigenous people evolved into a Commission on Human Rights subgroup which put together a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. Finally, on 13 Sep 2007 the General Assembly of the United Nations passed the declaration. This declaration is not legally binding but it represents a awareness and commitment to take further action. the four nations with indigenous populations  that voted against the declaration were the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Most of their criticism was related to definitions of indigenous people and land issues which they know could lead to the questioning of broken treaties and theft of indigenous lands.

The other global awareness issue facing indigenous people is the environment and global climate changes. The 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Junero, Brazil brought considerable participation of indigenous people especially from Amazonia. The United States was also notable for its lack of attendance.

Most recently Indigenous representatives requested to be included in current talks at the UN about global warming.

Return To: Course Content

Copyright: S. J. Crouthamel