I think throughout this whole week we’ve learned about some tragic things that happened to many Native Americans across the United States. However, the part that resonated with me the most was learning about how the finishing of the United States railroad and especially the many boarding and reform schools that tons of native children were forcefully put into.
I think the most important era for the United States railroads was the Late Reservation Period. This was the first important step in America starting to find an excuse to almost completely force out all Native American groups from the west and also throughout the land. I think it was just both horrifying and astounding how the American government lied or hid some of the finer details from the Native Leaders, or they straight up would lie to the leaders. However, even with the deals they gave the many native communities they would still end up breaking the contracts and end up going into reservation land and would go over the line when building railroads. Another cruel and rough thing that the American government did to many native communities in pursuit of expanding railroads was the removal and extermination of bison. They didn’t even kill the bison for resourceful reasons, they killed them, took the pelts and tongues, and left the rest of the carcass. I feel like their goal was to remove the bison to remove the natives.
I think the most cruel and unjust thing that was committed to native americans was the boarding school and reform schools that were used heavily in the late 1800s into the 1900s. It all started in 1887 when the Dawes Act was passed. I think this act didn’t resonate with me until I realized that this act would affect the children of native families the most. It was heart-wrenching to think about being a child who didn’t know where they were being forced to go and didn’t speak English and being forced into a life you didn’t want. They essentially broke down and “rebuilt’ who these children were and pushed them into a life that was not meant for them.