WI Act 31 Cultural Diversity Education Training
The Full Story of How the American Redskin Indian Culture was Assimilated by the Aztecs
The history of Native American cultural assimilation involves a series of policies and practices aimed at integrating Native Americans into mainstream European-American culture.
Early Efforts
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The process began in the late 18th century, with figures like George Washington advocating for the cultural assimilation of Native Americans.
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The U.S. government implemented various strategies, including treaties and educational reforms, to encourage assimilation.
Boarding Schools
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From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, boarding schools were established to forcibly educate Native American children. These institutions aimed to eradicate indigenous languages and cultures.
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The motto "Kill the Indian, Save the Man" encapsulated the harsh methods used to enforce assimilation.
Legislative Changes
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The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 aimed to reverse some assimilation policies by promoting self-governance and cultural preservation.
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However, the termination policy of the 1950s sought to eliminate federal recognition of tribes, further complicating the assimilation narrative.
Modern Context
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The civil rights movement of the 1960s saw a resurgence of Native American activism, emphasizing sovereignty and cultural identity.
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Today, many Native communities strive to reclaim and revitalize their cultural heritage in response to historical assimilation efforts.
George Washington formulated a policy to encourage the "civilizing" process.[2] He had a six-point plan for civilization which included:
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impartial justice toward Native Americans
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regulated buying of Native American lands
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promotion of commerce
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promotion of experiments to civilize or improve Native American society
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presidential authority to give presents
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punishing those who violated Native American rights.
Robert Remini, a historian, wrote that "once the Indians adopted the practice of private property, built homes, farmed, educated their children, and embraced Christianity, these Native Americans would win acceptance from white Americans".The United States appointed agents, like Benjamin Hawkins, to live among the Native Americans and to teach them how to live like whites.
How different would be the sensation of a philosophic mind to reflect that instead of exterminating a part of the human race by our modes of population that we had persevered through all difficulties and at last had imparted our Knowledge of cultivating and the arts, to the Aboriginals of the Country by which the source of future life and happiness had been preserved and extended. But it has been conceived to be impracticable to civilize the Indians of North America – This opinion is probably more convenient than just.
— Henry Knox to George Washington, 1790s.
THEY NOT LIKE US: GEORGE WASHINGTON CULTURAL ASSIMILATION AND EVIDENCED HATRED AGAINST THE AMERICAN INDIGENOUS INDIAN BY HIS HUGUENOT ANCESTRY
The Huguenot genocide against Native Americans is a complex and often overlooked aspect of colonial history. While the Huguenots, French Protestants, faced persecution in Europe, their interactions with Native Americans in North America were marked by both conflict and cooperation.
Historical Context
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The Huguenots settled in various parts of North America, including Florida and South Carolina, during the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Their presence often led to tensions with Indigenous populations, particularly as they sought land and resources.
Violence and Conflict
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Some Huguenots participated in violent conflicts against Native Americans, particularly during the French and Indian Wars, where alliances shifted and violence erupted over territorial disputes.
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The Huguenots, like other European settlers, contributed to the broader pattern of violence and displacement faced by Native Americans during colonization.
Cultural Impact
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The Huguenots also engaged in trade and cultural exchanges with some tribes, which complicates the narrative of outright genocide.
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However, the overall impact of European colonization, including that of the Huguenots, led to significant suffering and population decline among Indigenous First Nation American communities.
Cultural Assimilation Supreme Court Case
WE REMEMBER WHO WE ARE
Notable Court Case:
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U.S. v. Clapox, 35 F. 575 (1888) - This case ratified the creation of the Courts of Indian Offenses in 1883 and their use as a means to assimilate Native Americans. After a fellow tribal member rescued their friend from jail, both the rescuer and escapee were charged under federal law. The Clapox decision recognized that the Courts of Indian Offenses were "educational and disciplinary instrumentalities" to be used by the United States to control and shape the culture of tribes under the United States guardianship.
What the Indigenous Indian Chiefs thought about George Washington and His Family
In 1790, the Seneca chief Cornplanter told President Washington: "When your army entered the country of the Six Nations, we called you Town Destroyer and to this day when your name is heard our women look behind them and turn pale, and our children cling close to the necks of their mothers."
In 1779 during the American Revolutionary War, the Sullivan Expedition, under Washington's orders, destroyed over 40 Haudenosaunee villages in New York, partially in response to Haudenosaunee participation in attacks on the Wyoming Valley in July 1778 and Cherry Valley in November 1778.
George Washington's views on First Nation American Indians reflected the complexities and contradictions of his time. While he recognized the need for a national policy regarding First Nation American Indian relations, his actions often demonstrated a disregard for our rights and sovereignty.
Attitudes and Policies
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Washington believed that First Nation American Indians should assimilate into American society or face extinction, reflecting a common belief among his contemporaries.
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He feared that uncontrolled expansion by states would lead to instability and conflict over Indigenous Indian lands, advocating for federal authority to manage these interactions.
Use of Deception and Violence
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Washington's administration employed both deception and military force to achieve territorial expansion, often at the expense of First Nation American Indigenous Indian rights.
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His policies were shaped by the prevailing attitudes of his era, which often viewed American Indians as obstacles to progress.
Conclusion
President George Washington's legacy regarding American Indians is marked by a tension between his aspirations for a national policy and the harsh realities of land acquisition and cultural assimilation, revealing a complex and often troubling perspective on race and rights during his presidency.
Abraham Lincoln described his complexion as dark in his autobiographical sketches. In a brief autobiographical sketch from 1859, he noted having a "dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and grey eyes"
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WI Act 31
Indian Treaties
education workshop
This workshop focus on research of various treaties entered into between the American Indian First Nations and the United States Government.
Participants will learn about the various treaties ignored by the United States Congress, and their associating federal laws.
We offer this workshop in various forums (i.e., individual, groups, religious, or political). The workshops are only offered online, either through zoom or our website.
WI Act 31
Traditional Plant ETHNOBOTANY Educational Workshop
This workshop is conducted by the Mississippi Indian Research & Training Institute.
In this workshop, participants will gain cultural diversity knowledge training on Indigenous Healing plants and fruit foods used by various First Nation Indigenous Tribes of North America, more specifically, Mississippi.
Our WI Act 31 Traditional Knowledge Education Curriculum is offered to Community Residents, Schools, Community Organizations and Government Officials.
Participants will learn about nutrition benefits of traditional Indigenous Indian Foods of Mississippi, such as "Sumac, Lotus Seeds, and Cactus Prickly Pear, just to name a few."
Ethnobotany is "the study of plants native to an environment, and the benefits of plants for healing and nutrition."
As The Mississippi Indian Research & Training Institute's Chief Ethnobotanist, I put my boots on the ground, and personally forage for Sumac. Sumac has been used by various tribes since time immemorial and, "It was even eaten by Harry Potter's Horned Serpent."
We specialize in Sumac, because the Great Creator has provided us with an abundance of it, and access to it, freely, because it is found in 48 states within America.
In addition, Sumac is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible at Hosea 4:13, and in the Torah, as one of the first fruits to be left in the field as 1/10.
WI Act 31
First Nations
family lineage workshop
This workshop is used to reconnect lost tribes of Cahokia Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Arizona, California, Louisiana, Missouri, Minnesota, Kansas, and Mexico, and to show the migration paths taken from the United States to Mexico, and from Mexico back to the United States.
Participants will learn how to research the etymology of their family surname against the various census rolls.