Discrimination and Migration
Throughout time, Native Americans have been a universal victim of discrimination at the hands of the United States Government and the American Society. The aftermath of some of these incidents resulted in the natives being forced to migrate to a more peaceful and desired area.
The image above is of the famous trail of tears. In 1830 the United State Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. Congress passed this law in order to keep peace among both the Native Americans as well as American citizens. In my opinion the this law heavily favored the non-natives and performed two specific tasks. This law protect the non-natives and also discriminated against the Native Americans. As stated on the website, http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~itgenweb/itprojects/migrations.htm , " It not only supported state abolition of Native Governments but also provided for the removal of all five tribal nations from the Southeastern United States". These five tribal nations are the Cherokee, Muscogee, Seminole, Chickasaw and Chocktaw.
Also a well known incident that created one of the largest Native American migrations in US history is the California Gold Rush in 1849. Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill and it spelled the inevitable proverbial death of many Native Americans. According to the PBS website and video located on the page of the link attached, I W Baker chronically captured the gold rush through images which clearly listed the life of a frontiersman. What I believe to be a Horrendous period in US History, the discovery of gold in California, lost basic Human rights specifically those Humanity rights of Native Americans. In a environment full of prejudice and greed, violence between natives and settlers was an everyday occurrence. With the echo of gold being yelled throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains and far across the Mississippi river, thousands and thousands of non-native citizens kept flocking to northern California area. Between 1850 and 1890 eighty percent of the total number of Native Americans in California died due to murder and massacre, disease, starvation, and forced migration from their native lands. The gold rush and the influx of settlers into the west caused the destruction of the culture and lives of the people native to California. There were many reasons for the outrageous ways the settlers in the west treated the Native Americans. The federal government declared an open extermination policy to eliminate Native Americans and "rid the west of these heathens." The same Government ran by Barrack Obama currently.
Also a well known incident that created one of the largest Native American migrations in US history is the California Gold Rush in 1849. Gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill and it spelled the inevitable proverbial death of many Native Americans. According to the PBS website and video located on the page of the link attached, I W Baker chronically captured the gold rush through images which clearly listed the life of a frontiersman. What I believe to be a Horrendous period in US History, the discovery of gold in California, lost basic Human rights specifically those Humanity rights of Native Americans. In a environment full of prejudice and greed, violence between natives and settlers was an everyday occurrence. With the echo of gold being yelled throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountains and far across the Mississippi river, thousands and thousands of non-native citizens kept flocking to northern California area. Between 1850 and 1890 eighty percent of the total number of Native Americans in California died due to murder and massacre, disease, starvation, and forced migration from their native lands. The gold rush and the influx of settlers into the west caused the destruction of the culture and lives of the people native to California. There were many reasons for the outrageous ways the settlers in the west treated the Native Americans. The federal government declared an open extermination policy to eliminate Native Americans and "rid the west of these heathens." The same Government ran by Barrack Obama currently.
