“By 1871, the federal government stopped signing treaties
with Native Americans and replaced the treaty system with a law giving
individual Indians ownership of land that had been tribal property. This
"Indian Homestead Act," official known as the Dawes Act, was a way
for some Indians to become U.S. citizens. This created complex problems
for Native Americans. What did you learn from watching the
documentary, "In the White Man's Image?"
21 comments:
From "In the White Man's Image," I learned how the Native Americans had no other choice but to follow the White Men's push to assimilate the Native Americans. The White Men thought they were doing the Native Americans good by teaching them their culture since they believed the Native Americans were just savage beasts. But forcing a group to act the way you think is right is not fair at all. I never knew White Man transferred Native Americans to schools like that and take their identities away. The whites should have learned to cooperate with the Native Americans with allowing them to keep their identity instead of making the Native Americans become a copy of what the white's thought was the right way to live.
I learned about how harsh life was for the native American by "In The White Man's Image". Native Americans already had it hard enough with settlers moving into their territory, then step two took effect; Americanization. Native Americans had harsh life in specialized schools and were treated differently. Treating the Native Americans the way Americans did was awful, and there could have been a better solution.
"in the white mans image" is a lose lose situation for the native americans. The government and settlers were taking their land as well as attempting to take their identity. However, the indians conviction to maintain their identity for some surpassed the tactics used to conform the so called savages which included being taken far away from home, forced to speak english, and the application of harsh punishments for those who deny a white identity. The worst part is that these people trying to conform the indians actually had decent intentions of allowing the "savages" to become part of something they thought was better when in actuality they were conducting a mental genocide in which the target is the indian identity.
The native americans were practically forced into changing everything they believed in. The white men came in and said do this or we'll kill you so they agreed. The white men thought they were helping native americans, but forcing them into a whole new way of life isn't helping anyone but themselves. The two groups should have been able to cooperate or at least negotiate a better solution that that. It was very unfair to the native americans.
In the reading "in the white mans image" the native Americans had many troubles dealing with who they really are. The troops were forcing the Native Americans to learn a new language. The native Americans also were forced to get their hair cut. The ability for the native Americans to keep their identity was very hard because of all the people around them influencing them. I think that the white man should be ashamed for forcing an influence on to another person.
While reading "In the White Man's Image", I learned even more about how unfair Native American tribes were treated. The White people thought they had such power to be greedy and take all of the land the Native Americans had been living on for centuries. I thought it was interesting that the Native Americans didn't try to combine tribes so that they could fight the Whites to try and save their land. I thought it was awful how the White men forced the Native Americans to change who they truly were. This relates to society today because people are constantly forcing other people to fit in and become something they truly are not.
I learned nothing new from this documentary. It is not new news that white people have been screwing over others for a long time. But I was not to happy with the directors as they continually referred to Natives as Indians. Though this may have been the common misconception in that time period, people should be better educated today. But I once heard an old man compare white people to children, and how older civilizations must humor them so. This statement might be a little abrasive, but it has a little truth to it. No matter where it is white men (especially the British) have tried to conform various cultures into their own image. They have assumed that anything different from themselves is inherently wrong. I can only hope that America has learned from it mistakes and atrocities against the Native Americans for the sake of the future.
I learned a lot from the documentary. Before watching it, I had no knowledge of the severity of the actions taken to assimilate Native American adults and children into American society. Although I knew about the movement of Native Americans westward, I didn't realize that they had been forced into acts such as cutting their hair (which symbolized death in their culture) and speaking English. I had no knowledge of the schools that were set up for this purpose. It was interesting to me how the people had good intentions and thought that they were doing the right thing, but it ended up having drastic consequences.
When viewing the film, "In the White Man's Image" I learned a lot more about how the Native Americans were being Americanized. American's views toward Native American's were truly sad and the Native American's were almost looked upon and treated like animals. As the Native American's rode the train, all the Americans would stare in at them like they were not human. Everything the Native American's had was taken away not only their villages but simple things such as their hair, clothes, and practically their identity. Overall the whole experience could have been handled in a much different way.
I thought that the movie “A White Man’s Image” was very depressing. I think it is terrible that whites tried to destroy Native culture, instead of living in harmony with them. The whites should have just been accepting of the Native American’s way of life and designated land for them, that couldn’t be purchased. Although whites thought they were helping the Natives, they were just making relations worse by teaching their children the ways of American society. I also found the fact that whites tricked Natives out of property to be disgraceful, because the Native Americans didn’t know what they were agreeing to. The way whites treated the Natives resulted in near extinction of their culture in present day society.
"A White Man's Image" is a documentary about the relocation and assimilation of Native Americans in the 1800's-1900's. Although this documentary was interesting, I found it repetitive. A lot of this information is taught in U.S history class. The film was sad in that Native Americans found it hard to adapt with the rest of America. However, I believe that their relocation was necessary to protect them from violent white men moving west. I found it difficult to understand why the U.S government insisted on separating Native American children from the rest of their families. Had they allowed families to relocate together, I think assimilation would have been a lot easier to cope with.
"A White Man's image" was a documentary that touched my heart in many ways. First of all the documentary talks about the era in history from the 1800's-mid 1900's, when Native-Americans were being "Americanized" by the Federal Government. The reason why the Federal government tried to "Americanize" the Natives was to obtain the their fertile land to cultivate cotton, and mines. When the federal government stop considering the Native not part of the land, the Dawes act was enacted to help Native join the rest of American society. When schools were established to "Americanize" Native children that's where my heart broke, and turned into anger for the "white man." When these Native kids were shipped off to become "Americanized", hair cut, which for the Natives meant a lost or death, and striped away from their skin clothes and moccasins, my anger for the "white man: escalated. I immigrated to the United States in 2002, and like the Native was displace from the place i called "home." I enrolled in Armstrong Elementary School where my parent were advised be my teachers that 'you should stop speaking spanish, and start speaking english only." School have always been a melting poet system, where the white man's rules and influence dictates the statuesque for society. Because my parents didn't know how to speak english they just followed and trusted the school system, and stop speaking to my in spanish. From 2002-2009 i became a person who was out of touch with my roots, culture, language, and family. i became my environment; white, conservative, selfish, christian kid. The school were "Americanizing" me while i didn't even know what that word meant. I realized when i couldn't communicate with my grandmother, and how hispanics (the word white Americans use to classify every brown person) that looked like me didn't live the same way i did. I prayed to the lord why things were the way they were, and realized that i am in control of my body and that i can change what's already been done. I got back into studying spanish and gain my culture back. Even though i had this epiphany i realized that Nordics didn't establish that all white people can dress on prep, formal wear. No, just because i'm Guatemalan doesn't mean i have to dress and act a certain way. I am my own person who is not defined my the "white man", but by god. I am Guatemalan, and American and i am the example people should image when they say "let's Americanize these legal and illegal hispanics, so they won't be a threat to our society", just because your brown, speak another language, dress different doesn't mean that you pose a threat. No you have just the same say was the "white man." I am disgusted how my government handle things in the past, but i forgive and and hold no anger , but just move forward because i can't change the past, but i can do something about the now.
"A White Man's Image" was a documentary about the assimilation of Native Americans into a white society. I had known about this time in history from various history classes, but watching the documentary left me with a disturbed image. I had no idea that the Native American children were forced to be separated from their families and I don't see why that would be necessary. I also don't see how the white people could think they were helping the natives when during this, all of the natives were dying of diseases they weren't immune to, and homesickness. The act should have been stopped long before it was.
while watching "In The White Mans Image" I couldn't believe that this really happened. I couldn't understand why the Native Americans let something like this happen to their own children, but I realized they didn't really have a choice. They were outnumbered and didn't have the same technology and stood no chance in battle. Instead of trying to change the way Native Americans acted the white men should have realized that, that's their culture and they can choose to believe whatever they want. This is another example of how someone in a position of power, can take advantage of a group of people simply because they don't believe in what they are doing.
After reading the short packet and watching the movie, in the white mans image I have a distorted sense of what early America was like. After coupling this behavior with the actions of the American government during the tie of the revolutionary war and after to the native Americans, it is easy to see how brutal they were. This being said I do not disagree with their actions prior to these ones. I agree with their need to move the Native Americans to create more land space for their citizens. I appreciate the ideas behind wanting to teach the Indians, if they were in good faith, but think that the course taken was too malicious. The actions of these Americans were not as necessary as the ones they did in revolutionary times and go down as a negative part of our history, along with slavery.
The white men thought that they could just change everything about the native americans so they would act more like the white americans. The native americans were rounded up and put through schools to teach them how to be more like the white people. They were given american names and were forced to learn english and act like americans. Only some of the native americans really did lose their heritage though, a good number of them went back to their old ways even after years of this schooling. It was sad that people thought they could just take the native americans culutural and spiritual heritage away from them just to make them act more american.
While I was watching "in the white mans image" I started to look at Americans through the eyes of the Native Americans. I imagined what it would be like if another country came into westborough and tried to make me give up my way I life to fit their image. Needless to say I wouldn't assimilate easily if at all. I couldn't believe what kind of measures the US went through to try and assimilate the Native Americans. It was truly saddening that a country that was built on freedom of religion and acceptance to everyone could do something like this to a whole race of people. In the white mans image was shocking and upset me a little bit because of the cruelty that our country so easily accepted
Yesterday we watched "In the white mans image" which in itself explains a lot. Not only are they trying to say that it was the goal of the whites to turn these people into themselves, or "leave the man but take out the savage". Also it shows how white men picture their country looking and if you don't belong in that idealistic picture than you are not a person and have to be changed, or trained to be something you aren't. The goal with the native Americans was to take away their native way of thinking and turn them into the picture perfect American.
While "In White Man's Image" I witnessed what the Americans did to the Native Americans. It shows that country we are in today was not built upon happy thoughts and how we got all of the land we have today was through lies. The entire goal of the Americans was to take the Native Americans and make all their beliefs go away. The Americans thought that they were doing the right thing but in reality they were taking kids away from their home to try and shape their future as an American.
What I have learned from watching the documentary was that the white men were changing the indian people. The white men were a more powerful group making them more intimidating and hat gave them the power to influence the indian group to act the way they wanted them to. They would completely change the way they look, name, and completely stripped away their old identity and gave them a complete nenw one. Which was unfair to the indians.
I was absent
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