University History Essay: Indigenous People's History Chapters 10 & 11

This essay examines Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz's 'An Indigenous People's History of the United States,' focusing on chapters 10 and 11. Chapter 10 discusses events following the Wounded Knee Massacre, including the political landscape and the struggles of Indigenous peoples. It highlights the conflict over fishing rights and the ongoing fight against colonialism. Chapter 11 delves into the Doctrine of Discovery and its impact on Indigenous communities, detailing the effects of European colonialism and the Indigenous peoples' determination to survive. The essay includes key quotes and discussion questions to facilitate a deeper understanding of the historical context and the challenges faced by Indigenous peoples in the United States. The essay emphasizes themes of resistance, survival, and the ongoing struggle for rights and recognition in the face of historical injustices.

Running head: AN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE
An Indigenous People
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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An Indigenous People’s History of The United States is a book written by Roxanne
Dunbar Ortiz. The book talks about the history of the United States of America which is told
from the point of view of indigenous people living in the United States of America. The book
talks about the native Americans and how they used to resist the power of the white
Americans during the ancient times. Apart from that, the book also talks about numerous
other histories of the United States of America. The book collects these information from the
ordinary people of America and tells the readers about the experiences of these people from a
historical perspective.
The purpose of this essay is to do a detailed summary of the chapters mentioned
in the text as well as write the response to the information presented in those chapters
itself. It would also add questions for class discussions.
In Chapter 10 of the book named “Ghost Dance”, the author as talked about the
incidents that took place after the Wounded Knee Massacre like the Hawai’i and Alaska
being made into states of the United States of America as well as the improvement of the
economic condition of the country and to remove chaos by the people of America. As stated
by Dunbar-Ortiz (2014) the chapter also summarizes the success of the political campaigns of
John.F. Kennedy and his idea of the “New Frontier” for the indigenous people of America.
“My first obligation now lies with the Indian People fighting for the lawful Treaty to
fish in usual and accustomed water of the Nisqually, Columbia and other rivers of the
Pacific Northwest, and in serving them in this fight in any way possible ...”
The reason for choosing this quote is because it clearly shoes the conflict between the
indigenous Americans and the members of the government over the fishing areas rights. This
forms a apart of the struggle of the indigenous people to stay out of the colonialism of the
Americans .

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Questions
1. Why were the indigenous Americans opposed to the colonialism ideals of the
American Government ?
2. How did the indigenous Americans got help for their struggle to prptect their rights of
the fishing areas ?
Chapter 11 of the book provides a summary about the doctrine of the discovery in the United
States of America. The chapter talks about how the Europeans brought civilization and the
doctrines if Christianity to the indigenous people of America. It also talks about the
colonialism that these Europeans established in the country and the sufferings of the
indigenous American people. It also talks about the determination of the indigenous
Americans to survive in the world amongst the colonialism and drawing the reference of the
Nazis in the World War II (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014). Thus, the chapter has talked about all the
difficulties that were faced by the indigenous people due to the doctrine of colonial ism that
were established by the Europeans in the country. This is basically what the chapter is all
about.
“We wish to continue to exist”
This particular quote is important in this case because it is from this quote that the
readers get to understand the determination of the indigenous people to continue surviving in
the world. As a result, such quotations are important because it shows the readers that the
indigenous Americans not only survived from the colonialism of the Americans and the
Europeans as well as the protection of their rights in the country (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014).
Questions
1. Why did the Spaniards and the other Europeans decide to establish colonies in the
United States of America ?

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2. How did these Europeans decide to rule the indigenous people of America as part of
their ideals of colonialism ?
3. How did the indigenous Americans react to the ideals of the colonialism by the
Europeans in the country ?
4. How did the indigenous people of America mange to survive the ideals of colonialism
established by the Europeans in the country ?
5. What can be said about the nature of the Indigenous American people regarding their
defiance to the policies of colonialism established by the Europeans in the country ?
From these statements, it can be concluded that the indigenous Americans had indeed had
to struggle with the policies of colonialism and other policies established by the
Europeans in the country. All these information have been mentioned by the author in the
book to inform the readers about the history of the United States of America.

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Reference List
Dunbar-Ortiz, Roxanne. An indigenous peoples' history of the United States. Vol. 3. Beacon
Press, 2014.