The Horror of Reservation Life

The history of U.S. treatment of the Indian, or Native American as some now choose to call them, is replete with misjudgment and failure to keep promises.

As early as 1633 in Massachusetts there was a policy of assimilating the Indian into communities and inviting them to share equally in social and political privileges. Ironically, it was church people (who should by the tenets of their faith be the most tolerant of citizens) who rejected this plan and insisted on separate communities for the Indians.

As Manifest Destiny pushed westward, various treaties were adopted in which tribes ceded land in exchange for certain promises. These treaties were broken as promised lands were coveted by others for various reasons such as fertility, mineral richness or strategic placement. In 1824 the government created the Office of Indian Affairs to govern such issues. Under the administration of Andrew Jackson the Indian Removal Act of 1830 forced the Five Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole) off their ancestral lands and onto less desirable tracts on what became known as "Indian Territory." Many died in the mass migration rightly named the Trail of Tears.

The Indian Appropriations Act of 1851 formally established the reservation system which made the Indian both the ward and the victim of the government and its agents. Even after reservation lands were designated for the tribes, the possibility existed they might be appropriated if Americans found a reason to access the tract--as happened to the Dakota when the Custer expedition found gold on Indian land in the Black Hills.

U.S. Grant adopted a policy of assimilation in 1868, a primary focus of which aimed at converting Indians to Christianity, the primary religion of the country. Violent resistance led to its abandonment by the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes, though he retained the system of separating children from their parents for re-education in boarding schools.

The U.S. Congress replaced the reservation system with the Dawes Act in 1887, removing tribal governing councils, attempting to destroy communal traditions and parceling land into individual plots. Accepting and farming these plots opened a path to citizenship. President Franklin D. Roosevelt offered a "New Deal" in the 1930s, authorizing a return to tribal governments, ending the land allotment procedure and resurrecting the reservation system, which remains in effect today.

Throughout its existence, the reservation system has been one of poverty, malnutrition, dependency and limited opportunity for economic advancement.

The San Carlos reservation in Arizona is the setting for my novel Geronimo Must Die and the hardships the people endured in such places makes it plain why many rebelled. Here's the blurb for the novel:

Geronimo and rascally half-breed Indian scout Mickey Free have never been friends.

Yet, Mickey has already saved Geronimo's life twice (without acknowledgement) and is the only one who can keep the great Apache leader out of the sniper's sights now. The sniper has already murdered several tribal leaders and Mickey believes it's all a plot to prompt a great runaway from the hated San Carlos reservation.

Mickey's efforts are stymied by Al Sieber, head of scouts, and John Clum, reservation agent, as well as suspicion of other Indians. Adding to his problems, Mickey is in love with a girl whose name he keeps forgetting to ask and who may be allied to the plot.

Only perseverance, risk to his life and, eventually, Geronimo's help will enable Mickey to resolve this dangerous situation.

https://www.amazon.com/Geronimo-Must-Die-J-Lindermuth-ebook/dp/B06XFZJG5H/ref=la_B002BLJIQ8_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493469080&sr=1-2