Confronting the Legacy: The United States' Impact on Indigenous Communities
Conflict between the Indigenous peoples of the Americans and the whites traces its roots back to the beginning of colonialism in the Americas. Although there has always been varying levels of tension between the United States and the Native Americans, the indigenous faced increased degrees of "otherness" as a result of colonialism. This aformentioned "otherness" and acts of brutality on both sides further escalated as individuals of European descent began to spread West following this idea of Manifest Destiny. As a result, conflict between the two groups became increasingly more common as the United States strived to push the Indigenous peoples onto reservations and the Natives attempted to defend their sacred homelands. The battle report by Carrington goes into further detail as he describes how he believed the battle must have taken place, including an intricate description of the death count on both sides. Carrington further describes the mutilations that took place at the hands of the Native Americans on the United States military personnel. This can help attribute to why the conflict between the two groups stayed prevalent for so long as atrocities were committed on both sides, and neither side was able to respect the other side's humanity.
This report was made by Henry B. Carrington detailing a battle report to the Assistant Adjutant General detailing logisitics of the battle. Carrington leads the report in the second paragraph by stating that "They cannot be whipped, or punished, by some little dash after a handfull, nor by mere resistance of offensive movements. They must be subjected and made to respect and fear the whites." Here, this summarizes how the United States and most of the military felt about the Native Americans at the time. There was an immense amount of support for pushing the Native Americans onto the designated reservations as many individuals on the frontier, including families, had lost their life searching of a new life out West. This military report further details how Carrington percieved the battle to take place including a battle report of the decesased on both sides, including horrific mutilations performed by the Native Americans on the United States military personel. This helps identify how the tension between these two groups remained steady throughout so many years as attrocities occured on both sides.
Taking place on June 10, 1936 in Bismark North Dakota, the invitation to the right invites individuals to attend the celebration of the creation of the state of North Dakota. Additionally, the event celebrates the sixteenth anniverary of "Custard's Last Fight." This invitation highlights how many white Americans idealized General Custer and the battle itself as a turning point in the war, despite the large loss of life and outcome of the battle. Following the Custard's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn, the United States Government wasted no time in taking advantage of the opportunity. The humiliating defeat and one sided loss of American life that took place at the Battle of Little Bighorn served as confirmation to many citizens that the Native Americans were a real threat and further painted an image of them as "savages." As a result, Native Americans faced increased military action from the United States, including more personnel and allocation of funds. This escalated the outcome of the war as most of the Sioux and Cheyenne Native Americans were tracked down and forced onto reservations in subsequent months.