From sorrow grows strength, from struggle grows wisdom.
Native american removal act 1830
Native american removal act 1830
Native american removal act 1830
In the early 19th century, the U.S. forced tribes such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Chickasaw, and Seminole to relocate west of the Mississippi. The 1830 Indian Removal Act displaced about 100,000 Native Americans, causing thousands of deaths and harsh conditions (Linse & Pearshall, 2024).
Trail of Tears
Native american removal act 1830
Native american removal act 1830
The Trail of Tears (1830–1850) forced 60,000 Native Americans and thousands of enslaved Black people from the Southeast to Indian Territory, exposing them to disease, starvation, and harsh conditions, killing thousands. Scholars classify it as ethnic cleansing or genocide (Wikipedia, 2025).
Wikipedia contributors. (2025a, October 3). Trail of tears. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Dawes Act of 1887
Native american removal act 1830
5 Civilized Indian Tribes
The Dawes Act split Native communal lands into individual allotments, granting citizenship after 25 years. Surplus land was sold to non-Natives, resulting in the loss of over 90 million acres of Native American land. Black tribal members (Freedmen) received about 2 million acres (Marshall-Genzer et al., 2024).
5 Civilized Indian Tribes
5 Civilized Indian Tribes
5 Civilized Indian Tribes
The Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole were collectively known as the “Five Civilized Tribes” because many of them adopted Anglo-American customs, including Christianity, written laws, and farming, which distinguished them from tribes that maintained traditional hunting lifestyles (Oklahoma Society).
Oklahoma Historical Society. (n.d.). Oklahoma Historical Society.
5 dollar Indian
5 Civilized Indian Tribes
Tribal Recognition
In the late 1800s, some white men bribed officials to fraudulently register as Native Americans on the Dawes Rolls, gaining land and benefits. Many real Native Americans were excluded, and the rolls’ inaccuracies still affect tribal citizenship and resources today (Landry, 2017).
Landry, A. (2017, March 2). Paying to Play Indian: The Dawes Rolls and the Legacy of $5
Tribal Recognition
5 Civilized Indian Tribes
Tribal Recognition
A federally recognized tribe is a Native American or Alaska Native tribe acknowledged by the U.S. government as sovereign, thereby granting self-governance, federal benefits, and protection of its lands. There are 574 such tribes; state recognition does not provide these rights (Killsback, 2020).
Dakota 38
Indian slavery in Colonial America
Indian slavery in Colonial America
“Dakota 38” refers to the 38 Dakota men executed by hanging on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, Minnesota, after the U.S.-Dakota War—the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The trials were rushed and unjust, and the event remains a deep wound for the Dakota people (Wikipedia, 2025).
Wikipedia contributors. (2025, September 4). Dakota War of 1862. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Indian slavery in Colonial America
Indian slavery in Colonial America
Indian slavery in Colonial America
Native Americans were enslaved, forced into labor, and displaced from their lands. They worked in mines, on plantations, and in colonial homes, often sent far from their communities (Gallay, 2003).
Stolen Land
Indian slavery in Colonial America
Stolen Land
Indigenous land wasn’t won by conquest but taken through coercion, broken treaties, deceit, and force. Native nations signed as sovereigns, yet their agreements were manipulated or ignored. When the U.S. broke promises or let settlers invade, it was theft built on dispossession and denied sovereignty (Indigenous Geotags).
Stolen land or conquered land? — indigenous geotags. (n.d.). Indigenous Geotags.
Through the fires of history, our spirit endures.
Reclassification as Black
Walter Plecker Declares Virginia Indians “No Longer Exist,” 1943. As head of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Walter Plecker used state laws to erase Native identity in Virginia. He ordered the reclassification of nearly all Indians as “colored,” falsified records, and distributed lists targeting families he accused of “passing.” His actions stripped Native communities of recognition, rights, and access to education, leaving a lasting legacy of erasure.
Pocahontas Rule
The Racial Integrity Act of 1924 included a “Pocahontas exception,” allowing Virginians with up to one-sixteenth Native ancestry and no other nonwhite heritage to be classified as white. This loophole protected elite Virginians who claimed descent from Pocahontas and John Rolfe. Walter Plecker opposed it, insisting no “real” Virginia Indians existed without African ancestry, using this belief to erase Native identity (Spivey, 2024).
One Drop Rule
Since the late 1960s, two rarely connected practices have shaped U.S. discussions of race: defining who is considered Black and conflating the mistreatment of Black people with that of other minorities. Both simplify complex realities and keep racial categories in place. The defining method, known as hypodescent or the “one drop rule,” classifies anyone with African ancestry as Black. Unique to the United States and rooted in slavery, this rule established rigid racial boundaries that continue to shape identity and inequality. During colonial enslavement, physical traits like dark skin and tightly coiled hair signified inferiority and determined one’s social and legal status, reinforcing race as a lasting tool of control (Blay, 2021).
Blay, Y. (2021, February 22). How the “One Drop Rule” Became a Tool of White Supremacy. Lit Hub.
Freeman Discrimination
During colonization, the “Five Civilized Tribes” enslaved Black people. After the Civil War, the formerly enslaved, known as Freedmen, lived as tribal members.
Treaties promised them citizenship, but the Dawes Rolls and blood-quantum rules, rooted in colonial eugenics, excluded many. While the Cherokee Nation now recognizes Freedmen descendants, others like the Choctaw continue to deny full rights, a practice described as hidden anti-Black racism. The fight for recognition and treaty justice continues (Oaster, 2021).
Oaster, B. (2021, October 11). 7 questions about Freedmen answered. High Country News .
Poverty
There are over 5,000 Indigenous Peoples worldwide, totaling 476 million people across 90+ countries and 4,000+ languages. Despite diverse cultures, they face similar hardships: human rights abuses, land loss, poverty, limited access to education and healthcare, and discrimination. Life expectancy is often 20 years lower than non-Indigenous populations. Displacement erodes culture and survival, forcing many into urban areas where poverty and violence worsen. Even with economic ventures like casinos, 27% of Native Americans live in poverty, and some reservations have unemployment rates as high as 69%.
Poor Housing
Poverty on reservations has led to overcrowded, substandard housing, with an estimated 90,000 Native Americans homeless or under-housed. Over a third of Native Americans live on reservations, where economic hardships limit housing improvements. Federal housing programs are often underfunded and slow, leaving many communities without safe, adequate homes. Poor housing contributes to high rates of homelessness, substance abuse, violence, and suicide. Historical injustices, discriminatory policies, and ongoing economic disparities continue to drive these conditions, forcing Native communities to rely on overcrowded, dilapidated, or inadequate housing. (Ramirez,2023) (Lowry, 2016).
Lack of Educational Oppotunities
Native Americans make up less than 1% of U.S. students. Graduation rates have declined over the past decade, and dropout rates are twice the national average. Contributing factors include systemic prejudice, neglect of their academic needs, and failing school systems. Without addressing these root causes, educational disparities for Native communities will persist.
Healthcare dispairities
Limited access to quality healthcare and pressures to adopt Western lifestyles have resulted in higher rates of chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, and tuberculosis. American Indians and Alaska Natives also face a lower life expectancy compared to the general U.S. population.
Reservation Life: Struggle, Strength, Survival.
End the Struggle, Honor Our People.
Nearly half of Native American women experience physical abuse, including domestic violence and sexual assault, with murder rates in some areas ten times the national average. A DOJ report found that 80% of this abuse is committed by non-Native perpetrators.
Reservation communities also face high poverty and unemployment, overcrowded and substandard housing, lack of basic amenities, limited access to healthcare and jobs, and ongoing effects of historical trauma and discriminatory policies (Lowry, 2016).
