Counting Coup- Book Review

 

Counting Coup is a nonfiction book written by Joseph Medicine Crow. He grew up when the white people had just begun to take control of the Native Americans, so he experienced life in the tribe, and life in the "white man's world," though he lived on the reservation for most of his life. In this book, Joseph Medicine Crow tells stories of his family, life on the reservation, and his accomplishments outside of the reservation. He wanted to make the most of his life, so he attended boarding school to learn English, for he knew it would be important for his success. He wants the history of his people to be told, and he enjoyed learning more about his people throughout the years. He lived a successful life on and off the reservation. Counting Coup is an engaging read for anyone who wants to understand the everyday challenges of the Native Americans.

Native American Documentary-2010

"Reel Injun" is a short documentary tracing the portrayal of Native Americans in the media. Native Americans have been included in the media for years, but the image shown is not always flattering or accurate. This film illustrates that Native Americans are either portrayed as "ruthless savages with no sense of honor, or fools who were lost without the help of the white man." This film looks at the past, present, and future of Native Americans in films, including interviews of actors who speak about their own experiences.

Native American Documentary-2008

"American Outrage" is a 2008 documentary about two sisters of the Shoshone tribe. In this documentary, the filmmakers question why these two sisters are being prosecuted for allowing their horses to graze on the open range outside of their private ranch. The case brought against these two women goes all the way to the Supreme Court. The two sisters insist that the government is prosecuting them because the land they ranch is right on top of the second largest gold producing land in the world. It is a short documentary that shows the continuing tension between the Native Americans and the United States Government.

Wars

Over the years, there have been many conflicts between the Native American people and the white settlers who have come to settle in the United States. The while settlers were continually trying to push the Native Americans further west and take away their land. The white settlers saw nothing wrong with what they were doing.

There are different accounts for who started various different conflicts, however, no matter which side reacted first in different instances, the white people were still trying to take away the land that the Native American tribes had lived on for as long as they could remember. Their ancestors had grown up on that land.

It seems in our history books that there is and always has been conflict between the white people and the Native Americans. Usually we are taught that it is the Native American's fault. I came across a book called Lies My Teacher Told me: Everything your American History Textbooks got Wrong by James W. Loewen. It is about how many history textbooks are based on patriotism rather than what the facts really are. It has sections about what happened with many of the Native American tribes. Reading this could help us to identify what we know and what we thought we knew. It could show us what happened in a whole new way.

The Reservation

A bit part of Native American history is the reservation. Reservations are areas of land that are managed by specific tribes under the United States Government. There are about 310 reservations in the United States but over 550 recognized tribes, so some tribes don't have their own specific reservation. The tribal council makes the laws and rules on the reservation, and the American government doesn't generally have any say over it.

The United States government began forcing Native Americans onto reservations in the 1800s when the Indian Appropriations Act was passed. The government moved the tribes from the places where their people had always lived so that more white settlers could get the land that they wanted. Many people at first tried to ignore the orders for them to move, and ended up being forced into new land where they had no desire to be. This often lead to wars with the Native Americans.
Many things have changed over the years, and there have been many laws and acts passed by the American government, however the majority of Native Americans still live on reservations today. The reservations are in places where the land is not necessarily good for farming and where there are not a lot of places for them to get jobs. While things may have technically changed for them legally, I'm not sure if much has really changed for them.

Wounded Knee

The Battle of Wounded Knee took place on the Pine Ridge Reservation in western South Dakota. The white soldiers were trying to convince the people of the Oglala Lakota tribe to give up their weapons, but the Native Americans would not. They had been promised certain things that would help take care of them by the government, and had not received any of those things. A shot was fired, and we do not know who fired first. It resulted in a bloody battle on the 29th of December, 1980. There was a lot of confusion, and many people may have died because of friendly fire. The battle lasted for less than an hour, and at least 150 Lakota people died and 50 had been hurt somehow. Only 25 American soldiers died with 39 people wounded.

Navajo Code Talkers

The Native Americans have an expansive history. Some of their history is more well known than other parts. Something that is quite well known and that made a difference for our country were the Navajo Code Talkers who are credited with helping win World War II. These young men had grown up being oppressed and not allowed to speak their own language in their schools, then the government decided that it was useful after all. They were taken away and put through boot camp, then they came up with several different versions of their code so that it would not be easy to figure out. They were efficient and nobody was ever able to crack their code. After the war, they went home, but were unable to tell anybody about what they had done because the American government didn't want to lose the use of their code. Years later they were allowed to talk about it and share with their people the contribution that they made to the United States.