Hello all, I’ve been looking for resources, including websites and books, that focus on Native American assimilation before it became Federal policy after the Civil War. While the post-1860 transition is a very interesting topic and well-studied, I’m trying to find the history before that time, at least in the United States. I know every country handled this a bit differently at different times, although I would not be averse to including Canada.
Is anyone out there aware of good sources on this subject?
I am well aware that Indian Removal was a common practice in the colonial and early American periods. I am trying to find research on American Indians that assimilated on their own volition. This very clearly did happen, but I can’t find any records of how many, during what periods, and where it tended to occur.
What do you mean by assimilation? There was forced assimilation, sometimes followed by forced un-assimilation for removal. Look at the history of the Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies to get a lot of information.
A notable example of (semi)-voluntary assimilation was that of the Cherokee. By the early 1800s many had become agrarian landowners on the white model. Some owned cotton plantations and held slaves. It didn’t do them much good in the long run, though.
A similar process took place among what were known as the other “Five Civilized Tribes,” the Choctaw, Creek (Muskogee), and Chickasaw.
A series, approximate title, Canada, A Peoples History, available on YouTube, at least it was yesterday, has significant episodes about the this. I never heard of the Métis before. Wikipedia says there were some in the US.
Thank you, Elendil’s Heir - as a matter of fact, Ely Parker was one of the individuals whose story got me interested in this question.
janeslogin, I will check that series out. Mostly, I was trying to dodge getting into American Indian history in the context of Latin America - not because it’s not interesting, but because it’s just too big a topic at the moment.