Source D shows that the white Americans had already moved in on the land and started to use it for mining gold. This shows that the white Americans were more concerned with become financially secure than respecting the earth like the Plains Indians. Both societies had different views on what was important in life. For white Americans it was money and for the Plains Indians it was to respect nature and the earth around them.
b) Do you think that Sitting Bull approved of the white people moving into the Black Hills of Dakota? Explain your answer carefully.
I don’t think that Sitting Bull did approve of the white people moving into the Black Hills of Dakota because I don’t think it would have been possible for the Plains Indians to approve of this when they have such strong views on respecting the earth and nature. The Plains Indians believed that the Black Hills of Dakota were a very sacred place. Because the hills were very high up the Plains Indians believed they were close to the spirit world and they also thought it to be sacred because it was where the first Sioux were saved from the great flood. The Black Hills was the place where they took the dead to be buried and it was a place where the hold men of the tribe would go to seek guidance when making an important decision. Because of this, the Black Hills was a highly respected and important place that was part of the Plains Indians’ lives. Source B shows this because Sitting Bull talks about the white Americans moving onto the land and he uses the word yield, which again shows his unhappiness on the matter. For this reason I don’t think that Sitting Bull would have been able to approve of the white Americans mining in the Black Hills.
The white Americans believed that mining for gold was important for their financial security so nothing would have stopped them from moving to the Black hills. The Plains Indians found it difficult to understand how the white Americans could buy and sell land when they believed land could not be owned. The white Americans wanted land and they each wanted ownership over land because it showed power. The white Americans saw the Plains Indians as an obstacle in their way and they would have done anything to get them out of the way.
Because the Indians had such firm beliefs on the earth and how it should be treated I think it would have been impossible for Sitting Bull to approve of the white Americans moving into the Black Hills of Dakota when it was considered such a special and hold place.
c) Do you think that Major Howard (Source C) understood the Indians’ point of view? Explain your answer carefully.
I don’t think that Major Howard understood the Indians’ point of view because we can see in Source C that he doesn’t understand what the Indians are trying to explain to him because he immediately dismisses the idea of the earth being their mother. He speaks as if what the Indians are saying is nonsense and he doesn’t even try to understand what their beliefs are. He doesn’t listen to the Indian chief and wants to move on with what he wants to do. Even though the Indian chief had repeated the idea of the earth being his mother twenty times, he still refuses to accept this idea and doesn’t want to hear any more about it.
This attitude was common for all white Americans because it was hard for them to accept such a different way of life that they had never experienced. The view of the white Americans towards the Plains Indians was that the Plains Indians were very religious and superstitious people who were savages. The white Americans made very little effort to try and understand the Indians views on any matter and they just did what they wanted to do and ignored the Plains Indians.
It wasn’t surprising that major Howard didn’t understand the Plains Indians views because this was how most white Americans behaved so it wasn’t uncommon. He reacted in a way that was common for white Americans because they didn’t have any understanding of the Indians beliefs. Because most white Americans had more or less the same beliefs, these beliefs spread and became the beliefs of almost all white Americans.
d) Explain why the Indians and the white people had such different attitudes towards the land.
The Indians and the white people had such different attitudes towards the land because both societies lived in very different ways. The white Americans tended to live for themselves and for money whereas the Plains Indians lived together as a community and shared all with each other. The Plains Indians had specific beliefs about the land, which were passed down generations, and these beliefs became the beliefs of all of the Plains Indians. The Plains Indians lived their lives in a way that respected the earth and nature around them. They lived at one with nature and believed that respect for all living things was vital. The Plains Indians were very religious and believed in the spirit world so this affected the way they lived their lives, i.e. making important decisions and healing the sick. They believed that the Great Spirit created the world and that you cannot sell it because it doesn’t belong to anyone. They believed that the land is more valuable than money and this is down to their religion and lifestyle.
The white people lived their lives very differently to the Plains Indians because they didn’t live at one with nature like the Plains In dians did. The white Americans believed that money was more important than respecting the earth in the way that the Plains Indians did. The white Americans believed it was their manifest destiny to overspread and take control of the whole continent. Because they believed this Americans would have done anything to make this happen. Anyone who did not believe in manifest destiny was seen a traitor to the United States and to God. This shows that the Americans were also religious people but they had different religious beliefs to the Indians. They didn’t think it was as important to respect the earth as much as the Indians did. The Americans lived in a different way to the Plains Indians and this is why both societies had different attitudes towards the land.
