Pushing the Indians Westward
Nestled within the vast expanse of the American West, a narrative unfolds, one etched with the stories of Native American tribes and the inexorable march of westward expansion. While many indigenous communities had called these lands home for centuries, the arrival of European settlers heralded a transformative era, marked by the relentless pursuit of land and resources. This ambition, often fueled by a sense of entitlement and a belief in manifest destiny, led to the systematic displacement and cultural disruption of Native American populations, forever altering the landscape of the West and the lives of its original inhabitants.
The history of this era is a complex tapestry woven with threads of cultural exchange, conflict, and ultimately, injustice. When European settlers first set foot on the North American continent in the late 15th century, they encountered a vibrant mosaic of Native American cultures. Estimates suggest that as many as 900,000 people, speaking over 300 distinct languages, thrived across the land. These diverse societies, whose ancestors had migrated from Asia across the Bering Land Bridge, possessed intricate social structures, sophisticated agricultural practices, and deep spiritual connections to the natural world.
However, the arrival of European immigrants marked the beginning of a profound demographic and cultural shift. The subsequent history of the United States became inextricably linked with the tragic displacement of these first inhabitants, a consequence of broken treaties, relentless warfare, and policies of forced assimilation. The story of pushing the Indians westward is a somber chapter in American history.
In the early years of the newly formed United States, the government adopted a policy of treating each Native American tribe as an independent nation. In 1786, the first Indian reservation was established, marking an attempt to define boundaries and regulate interactions between the burgeoning nation and the indigenous populations. This approach, however, proved unsustainable as westward expansion gained momentum and the demand for land intensified.
Even figures within the government recognized the inherent flaws in this approach. President James Monroe, in his second inaugural address in 1821, expressed concern that treating Native Americans as independent nations "flattered their pride, retarded their improvement, and in many instances paved the way to their destruction." He further acknowledged that America’s westward growth "has constantly driven them back, with almost the total sacrifice of the lands which they have been compelled to abandon." Despite these concerns, Monroe’s administration actively pursued the removal of Native Americans from states north of the Ohio River, setting a precedent for future policies. The phrase pushing the Indians westward encapsulates the government’s strategy.
A pivotal moment in the legal landscape occurred in 1823 with the Supreme Court’s decision in Johnson v. M’Intosh. This landmark ruling established that private citizens could not purchase land directly from Native Americans because the indigenous peoples did not hold full title to their lands. The Court argued that their "right of occupancy" was subordinate to the United States’ "right of discovery," a legal concept rooted in the European claim to the North American continent. This decision became a cornerstone in federal and state cases related to Indian land titles for the next two centuries, solidifying the legal framework for dispossession and further pushing the Indians westward.
The presidency of Andrew Jackson marked a significant escalation in the policy of Indian removal. A long-term proponent of displacing Native Americans, Jackson declared in his first inaugural address in 1829 his intention to pursue "a just and liberal policy" toward the tribes. However, his actions soon contradicted his words. In May 1830, just fourteen months after his inauguration, Jackson pressured Congress to pass the Indian Removal Act, legislation that authorized the forced relocation of Native American tribes from their ancestral lands in the eastern United States to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River (present-day Oklahoma).
The Indian Removal Act set in motion a series of tragic events, most notably the forced removal of the Cherokee Nation. Despite legal challenges and a Supreme Court ruling in their favor in 1832, the Cherokee were ultimately subjected to a brutal campaign of forced relocation. In 1838, federal soldiers and Georgia volunteers entered Cherokee territory, forcibly removing thousands of people from their homes. These actions included hunting, imprisoning, raping, and murdering many Cherokee individuals.
The survivors were forced on a grueling 1,000-mile march to the Indian Territory with minimal provisions. The journey, fraught with hardship, disease, and starvation, became known as the "Trail of Tears," a testament to the devastating human cost of the Indian Removal Act. It is estimated that approximately 4,000 Cherokee people perished during this forced migration, a stark reminder of the consequences of pushing the Indians westward.
The expansion of the United States continued unabated, fueled by events such as the Mexican-American War in 1848, which brought vast new territories and Native American tribes under federal jurisdiction. A government report in 1852 revealed the prevailing sentiment in California, where many believed that "destiny had awarded California to the Americans to develop" and that any Native American interference with this "progress" should be "pushed aside."
This attitude was further reinforced by popular ideologies of the time, which often portrayed Native Americans as inherently inferior to European settlers. Such sentiments were echoed in books and publications that framed westward expansion as a divinely ordained process, justifying the displacement and subjugation of indigenous populations. These beliefs provided a moral justification for pushing the Indians westward, masking the underlying greed and ambition that drove the process.
Despite the pervasive anti-Native American sentiment, many indigenous individuals volunteered to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. James Blunt, a Union officer in Kansas, appealed for aid to assist refugee Indians who had been driven from their homes for remaining loyal to the Union. However, this apparent willingness to embrace Native American participation in the war effort did not translate into a broader recognition of their rights or an end to the policy of displacement.
Ironically, just a year later, Kit Carson, a figure often romanticized in Western lore, led Union soldiers in an attack on the Navajo tribe in the Southwest. The campaign involved the destruction of crops, orchards, livestock, and homes, all aimed at forcing the Navajo onto a federal reservation. In 1864, thousands of Navajo surrendered to U.S. troops and were subjected to a 300-mile forced march to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, a journey known as "The Long Walk." The conditions at Fort Sumner were deplorable, marked by disease and hardship, and the site served as a Navajo prison for four years.
Throughout the 19th century, Native Americans were largely denied the rights and privileges of U.S. citizenship. A clause in the Fourteenth Amendment, "excluding Indians not taxed," prevented Native American men from gaining suffrage when African-American men were granted the right to vote in 1868. Instead, tribes were treated as independent nations, required to sign treaties and establish reservations within U.S. territories.
President Ulysses S. Grant acknowledged the disparities in treatment in his first inaugural address in 1869, stating that "the proper treatment of the original occupants of this land – the Indian – is one deserving of careful study." He expressed a desire to pursue policies that would lead to their "civilization and ultimate citizenship." However, these sentiments were often overshadowed by ongoing conflicts and the continued encroachment on Native American lands.
The ongoing conflicts with Native Americans deeply troubled U.S. military leaders, like General George Armstrong Custer. Custer died in 1876, along with his 264 men, in an attack on Sioux and Cheyenne warriors during the Battle of the Little Bighorn in Montana.
The federal government opened the Black Hills to gold mining in 1875, an area sacred to Native Americans. The military pursuit wasn’t the only hunt of concern to Native Americans. Buffalo was a prime resource for its meat and hide. The millions of animals roaming the plains in the 1860s virtually disappeared within two decades as hunters from across the United States and abroad drove the herds to near extinction. The killing of buffalo reduced the number of resources available to independent Native Americans.
By 1900, the Native American population in the United States had dwindled to approximately 250,000. On June 2, 1924, President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill granting Native Americans full citizenship. Although Native Americans gained citizenship, they continued to receive federal support for two more decades. Later, political protests by organizations such as the American Indian Movement (AIM) call attention to the chronic unemployment and political disenfranchisement of Native Americans.
Today, numerous tribes continue to fight for federal recognition and a return of rights and privileges. The history of pushing the Indians westward is a reminder of the injustices inflicted upon Native American communities and the ongoing struggle for recognition, respect, and self-determination.