Native Americans

Native Americans have experienced discrimination at the hands of European settlers during the colonial era and the white majority in the United States for over four hundred years. In that time, there have been a wide variety of policies towards Native Americans, some with good intentions and some bad, but none seemed to resolve the clash of cultures and the difficulties faced by Native Americans. They have rarely enjoyed liberty and equality in the American system of self-government.

Guiding Questions

• Why do minority groups sometimes suffer from discrimination?
• What responsibility does Government have to protect minority groups?
• Why have some minority groups struggled more than others in obtaining rights?

Objectives

• Students will describe the “Trail of Tears.”
• Students will analyze the contradictions between the US Constitution and in the treatment of Native Americans.
• Students will examine the difficulties Native Americans have experienced in US History.
• Students will describe how at different points the US has either attempted to “separate” or “assimilate” Native Americans.
• Students will explain why Native Americans have seemed to be unable to improve their freedom or equality in American society.

Educator Resources

• Handout B: Indian Removal, Constitutional Principles, and Civic Virtue Answer Key

Student Handouts

• Native Americans Essay
• Handout A: The United States Constitution
• Handout B: Indian Removal, Constitutional Principles, and Civic Virtue
• Handout C: Andrew Jackson, First Annual Message to 1829
• Handout D: The Indian Removal Act of 1830
• Handout E: Andrew Jackson, Second Annual Message to Congress 1830
• Handout F: Summaries and Majority Opinions – Worcester v. Georgia (1831) and Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831)
• Handout G: Treaty of New Echota 1835