Most of you are familiar with the phrase “the Trail of Tears.” Perhaps many of you, though, don’t remember hearing anything about the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. Only recently did I learn that that was the name of the first removal treaty that initiated the trail of tears for Native Americans.
Andrew
Jackson instigated the removal of Indians from the
eastern U.S. states. One of the major events of the War of 1812 was the Battle
of New Orleans in 1814, led by General Andrew (“Old Hickory”) Jackson. He was
then regarded as a war hero, and 14 years later, he was elected the seventh
POTUS.
As
I noted in my June 2012 blog post about the War of 1812 (see
here), the greatest losers in that war were the Native Americans.
Jackson fought against the “Indians” then, and subsequently, in his first State
of the Union address (in December 1829), he asked Congress to pass Indian removal
legislation.
In
April 1830, the Senate passed the Indian Removal Act, and then on May 26, the
House of Representatives passed the Act by a vote of 101 to 97. Four days
later, it was signed into law by President Jackson. Then the Treaty of Dancing
Rabbit Creek was enacted 195 years ago, on September 27, 1830.
Dancing Rabbit Creek was the name of a small geographical
area in what is now Noxubee County, Mississippi. The Choctaw Nation occupied
more than 2/3 of what became the state of Mississippi. The 1830 treaty was with
those living in the northern part of the Choctaw’s land. Their removal began in
1831.
The 1831~33 journey westward was marked by hunger, exposure,
disease, and death. During that terrible time, the Arkansas Gazette reported
that a Choctaw chief lamented that his people’s removal from Mississippi resulted
in a "trail of tears and death."*1
The
Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek continued genocidal actions of
the U.S. against Native Americans. Even though most USAmericans have not
usually considered the nation’s treatment of Indians as genocide, that seems to
be an apt description of what has gone on for centuries.
The
1948 UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as acts “committed with intent to
destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
But
according to Claude (whom I have repeatedly called my AI buddy), many genocide
scholars now argue that the cumulative effect of European colonization,
including disease, warfare, and deliberate policies, constitutes genocide even
if individual components were initially unintentional.
For
the Native Americans who lived in the northeastern part of what became the USA,
a large percentage of the Native Americans in “New England” had already died
before 1621 from diseases (mostly smallpox) brought by the Europeans who had
come in the previous decade.*2
So,
whether intentional or not, European colonists caused the genocide of Native
Americans.
Much
more needs to be done to correct past genocidal activities.
Fortunately, it is generally said that the “Indian Wars” ended in 1890. But
mistreatment of Native Americans continued long after that.
I
was delighted that Deb Haaland became the first Indian Cabinet secretary in
U.S. history in March 2021. But her maternal grandparents suffered under
government regulations.*3
Currently, up to 20% of Native Americans live on reservations. That represents several
hundred thousand people out of a total Native American population of around 6-9
million. Many of those living on reservations suffer from poverty, unemployment,
alcoholism, and relatively low life expectancy.
Native
Americans have the highest poverty rate of any major racial group, and unemployment
rates have averaged 50% for decades on many reservations. Alcoholism death
rates among young Native Americans is over ten times the national average of
the general population.
Further,
Indian communities experience higher rates of suicide compared to all other
racial and ethnic groups, and Native Americans have the lowest life expectancy
among racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.
These
negative considerations are all largely rooted in the shameful Treaty of
Dancing Rabbit Creek. And they are all issues that need to be addressed more
fully by the federal government, seeking liberty and justice for all U.S. citizens.
_____
*1 It
should be noted that the term “the trail of tears” is most often associated with
the removal of the Cherokee Nation from northern Georgia and bordering areas beginning
in 1838.
*2 This
was mentioned in my Thanksgiving blog post made in November 2009: The
View from This Seat: What About the First Thanksgiving Day?
*3 A
January 2021 blog
post was titled, “A Notable Nomination: Haaland for Secretary of the
Interior.” That was certainly notable, for she became the first Native American
to serve in a President’s Cabinet. Considerably after 1890, her maternal
grandparents were, in Haaland’s words, “stolen from their families when they
were only 8 years old and were forced to live away from their parents, culture
and communities until they were 13.” They were forced to go to a federal Indian
boarding school, and such schools continued until the 1960s.
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Thanks, Leroy, for this reminder of our terrible past vis-a-vis Native Americans. (Btw, my last stepfather was Cherokee from Oklahoma, whose ancestors had walked the Trail of Tears.) Ever since, as a young man, I learned the real history of America, as opposed to the white-washed patriotic history, I've viewed America as fundamentally mean and cruel--not just because of Native-American history but also black history, labor history, imperialism, refusal of universal health care, negative attitudes and stinginess towards the poor, the subjugation of women, the priority given to economic exploitation, and whatever else I can't think of right now.. And most of this was done well after most of us were no longer "European colonists" but born-and-bred Americans. Until the 2024 election, I could still look with hope and a little pride at the "better side of our nature" as displayed in advances in human rights, justice, generosity, and a variety of other things. At the current time, it appears we've decided to return to the darker side of our nature. How far this will go and how bad it will get are anybody's guesses. God help us!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Anton, for these highly meaningful comments. It sounds as if you learned American history more from people such as Howard Zinn (b. 1922) rather than what is usually taught (at least to high school students). According to Copilot, "Howard Zinn’s 'A People’s History of the United States' (1980) situates the Trail of Tears within the broader context of land greed, racial ideology, and expansionist policy. He emphasizes how the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was driven by economic interests and settler pressure."
Delete(It was interesting hearing that about your "last stepfather." Did you hear stories from him about "the trail of tears"?)
Thanks for this Leroy. I was brought up from third grade to graduation
ReplyDeletefrom HS in a county often defined by how badly the indigenous folks were treated. Something our government has always ignored and we now do the same with Gaza!! You hit it out of the park again thanks! (GO BREWERS)
Thanks, Bob (I think), for your comments. For a while I had a couple of paragraphs saying that the genocide of the Native Americans is similar to what is happening in Gaza. The main difference, of course, is that the former took place over four centuries rather than just 75+ years (and especially since October 2023).
DeleteLocal Thinking Friend Sue Wright was the first to comment this morning. Here is what she said in the email I received from her not long after 6 a.m.
ReplyDelete"Thanks for sharing this history, Leroy. I wonder if our country had “overs,” if we would find kinder ways the second time around of becoming the United States of America?"
Thanks for commenting early this morning, Sue. In response to your question, I think I agree with what Anton wrote above. Until the 2024 presidential election, I that there was reason to think that, indeed, if we had "overs," the inhabitants of this great land would find kinder ways of becoming the USA. But as long as we are under the current government (or, God forbid, one like it in the future), the second time around might be even worse than what the country had the first time.
DeleteDavid Nelson, another local Thinking Friend, sent these comments by email:
ReplyDeleteThanks, Leroy, for your blog on The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. You’re right, I haven’t heard about that specific treaty, but most treaties with indigenous Nations were treated with the same lack of respect. Our nation's history is dark with such tragic stories that must be remembered. Sadly, our current president desires to avoid such conversations. We can explore types of restoration, and that is very difficult but a necessary conversation. One possibility is that all Native Americans attend Land Grant Colleges free without tuition.
Thanks for your comments, David, and you are right that most treaties with indigenous Nations were lacking in proper respect for Native peoples. But the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was more important, and negative in its impact, than previous treaties. There was only one Indian Removal Act, and the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was the first to implement the intention of that Act.
DeleteYour suggestion of allowing Native Americans to attend Land Grant Colleges tuition-free as being something that would help Native Americans was a good one, I think. In fact, it is already being done to a limited degree.
According to Copilot, "The Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 designated 29 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) as land-grant institutions. These TCUs serve Native communities directly, offering culturally relevant curricula, language preservation, and community development programs. Examples include Diné College, Salish Kootenai College, and Oglala Lakota College."
Colleges/universities in four states are given as examples as providing tuition free enrollment for Native Americans. I was happy to see that the University of Arizona, where my younger daughter is a tenured faculty member, is one of those four.
Then, here are comments received from Thinking Friend Eric Dollard in Chicago:
ReplyDelete"Thanks, Leroy, for introducing us to this bit of history. It reminds me of a Native American elder, who said that 'the white man made many promises' (and treaties), 'but he kept only one. He promised to take our land, and he did.' There is no doubt that Native Americans have been the victims of genocide.
"I once chatted with a Hopi woman, who worked as a clerk in a store on the Hopi reservation in Arizona. She said that her people were confused because they were caught between two cultures--the white man's culture and their own native culture. I believe it is critically important for Native Americans to learn their native cultures and languages, and to be proud of their cultural heritage. Our government should be encouraging these efforts instead of pushing misguided efforts to acculturate Native Americans into the white man's culture.
"As for Andrew Jackson, he was not a good president. Not only did he drive Native Americans from the eastern part of the U S, but he owned slaves as well."
Here now are comments from Thinking Friend Jerry Summers, who lives in eastern Tennessee.
ReplyDelete"I never had the privilege of meeting Will D. Campbell, except in the books he wrote. Your blog today reminded me of his book called 'Providence,' a fascinating and stirring report and contemplation about persons white, black, and Indian, who bore the always painful demands of occupying a land together. You cited the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek and its connection with the early stages of the Trail of Tears. Your comments reminded me of Campbell’s extensive comments and reflections about the mixture of consequences and experiences that came out of the 1801 Fort Adams Treaty by which the Choctaws and Chickasaws lost 2.5 million acres farther south. It was the first of such treaties in the Old Southeast. That and subsequent treaties gave opportunity for westward-moving whites to acquire former Amerindian lands—including Campbell’s own family.
"There’s more to say there; suffice to say the same acquisitive-avaricious demon of unrestricted capitalism is still a threat these days, and the poor, dispossessed, and people of whatever color still are at risk. I still begrudge A. Jackson much of any honor he receives; to say that he was simply a man bound by his times is dishonest."