Native American Treatment and Resistance (Westward Expansion)
n 2016 a new dispute arose over a piece of land with a long history of conflict The controversial project known as the Dakota Access Pipeline was I the center of a high-profile protest in North Dakota by the Sioux Indians of the Standing Rock Reservation and their allies The route of the oil pipeline was to run under a reservoir that serves as the main water source for the reservation The Standing Rock Sioux feared that the project would pollute their water supply and damage sites that were sacred to them Over the course of several months the Sioux and thousands of supporters gath ered at the site to make their voices heard The tribe also resisted in the courts filing a lawsuit against the US Army Corps of Engineers which had approved the pipeline The protests received international attention Millions watching worldwide admired the courage of those who called themselves water protectors 4
INTRODUCTION A months-long demonstration against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota was led by water protectors from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation Violent crackdowns by police and other security officers included the use of water cannons rubber bullets and other heavy-handed methods Such tac tics made many people sympathize with the protesters The Standing Rock Sioux won a victory in late 2016 when the administration of President Barack Obama halted construction of the pipeline until an 5
NATIVE AMERICAN TREATMENT AND RESISTANCE environmental review of the route was completed But after Donald Trump took the presidency in 2017 construction was allowed to resume The pipeline fight was only the latest in a long string of conflicts between Native American peoples and those who have sought to control their land or deny their rights There is much to admire about the expansion of the United States from the colonial era to its status as a world power But the displacement and destruction of Native American cultures during this period represented the dark side of progress In the early years of the American colonies Native Americans and the newly arrived settlers some times lived peacefully side by side The harvest feast shared by the Wampanoag Indians and the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1621 commemorated in the annual Thanksgiving holiday is the most famous example of friendly relations in the colonies Even before that event however disputes between Native Americans and colonists had erupted into conflict elsewhere in New England Warfare would become increasingly common as the colonies and then the United States pushed farther westward Eventually the US gov ernment would make hundreds of treaties that were supposed to guarantee the rights of Indian peoples In the end however these treaties proved to be little more than a long series of broken promises 6
INTRODUCTION For many generations the cycle of mistreat ment by the United States and resistance by Native Americans would be a recurring theme as the coun try expanded westward The lengthy and brutal conflict between Indians and whites is one of the most tragic chapters in US history Yet while the military conquest of the Indians was completed long ago the spirit of resistance among Native Americans remains strong to this day 7
