Henry Pratt a Army captain thought taking the Indian children would help them and had this to say "Kill the Indian, save the man, was Pratt's saying." White men had Indians kicked off their own property and killed them with their diseases "The US Army had forced most tribes off their lands, and "white man" diseases had devastated the native population". The white men thought that they were helping the Native Americans but they really weren't "After all, Captain Pratt did intend to "kill" part of Ota Kte the Sioux part. In this way, Pratt thought, he would help Ota Kte survive.
Luther Standing Bear and Shanice Britton are 2 different Native Americans who lived at 2 different time periods. Luther was given to the US Army and was made to forget his Indian culture Shanice got to stay with her family and learn more and more about her culture. Luther's tribe was at war with the US Army and many tribes went extinct. Shanice's tribe isn't at war with anybody and tribes are prospering and getting bigger. Shanice and Luther were 2 Native Americans who cherish their culture and they help their culture strive and prosper.
Josh, you summarized the article well, but you didn't answer the question. I wanted you to think about the idea of marginalization and how Pratt's actions affected the Native Americans for generations.
ReplyDelete