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Key debate 1: to what extent did the Native Americans benefit from the…
Key debate 1: to what extent did the Native Americans
benefit from the Gilded Age?
Context
Benefits to Native Americans
Victory against Custer in the Battle of Little Bighorn convinced some Americans that the conflict was in response to poor treatment of the Native Americans and that the conflict was in response to poor treatment of the Native Americans and that they needed to change their approach and policy although they were a minority.
Two off-reservation boarding schools were set up because of the quality of education provided on the reservations was poor. These school were in Virginia and Pennsylvania. They provided boys with vocational training and girls with skills for domestic service.
The education provided gave some Native Americans the opportunity to find better jobs, with some working in the Indian agency offices, others working as interpreters and others acting as scouts to army units.
The establishment of reservations provided the opportunity for Native Americans to establish farming committees.
The reservations gave Native Americans the opportunity for better healthcare, which given their rates of life expectancy, death and disease needed adressing.
The reservations, despite government intentions allowed tribal life to continue, which perpetuated their culture and sense of belonging.
The Navajo tribe made considerable gains from reservation life. It's average of land increased from some 4 million acres to 10.5 million and the number of sheep and goats it possessed rose from 15,000 to 1.7 million. This success was reflected in a rise in population.
The Dawes Act 1887 turned some Native Americans into landowners, which meant that they gained full rights of American citizenship.
Disadvantages to Native Americans
In practice, the concept of reservation life was a failure. The Native Americans lost their freedom and were denied civil rights.
Life on the reservations was harsh and the land they were given was often poor, which made it difficult to farm.
Government subsidies were insufficient and were cut further when there were other demands on government resources.
The massacre at Wounded Knee in 1890 was the final distraction of the Souix, and as one commented ' A people's dream died there'.
The education on the reservations was of poor quality, while those taken away to off-reservation boarding schools often found no employment opportunities and simply returned to reservation life. Moreover, having been taken away from their culture they felt alienated when they returned and were regarded as untrustworthy by those on the reservations.
Most Native Americans were unable to adapt to the allotment policy and sold their land to the white settelers. They often spent the money they had gained from the sale of their land and fell into poverty.
The size of the reservations was significantly reduced so that the Native Americans had less and less land available to them.
Women in the tribes that had a matriarchal structure lost their status following the allotment policy. The land was given to the male head of the family.