Significance Of Native Americans And The Euro Americans

Throughout history the problem that led to the destruction of Native Americans appear to be misunderstanding the concept of land. The Indians practiced â€Å"the communal and family basis of life† (447). That means they believe in a collective or tribal land ownership. Their view is that the entire community owns the land they lived on. Whereas for Euro-American settlers, land is more of a private or individualistic in nature. This essay will explain the importance of land to the Natives and the Euro-Americans using the five topics: Cahokia, Worcester v. Georgia, The Dawes Act, The Indian Reorganization Act and Sacred land issues. These topics are a representative of American Indian history from early pre-contact civilization of Cahokia to the†¦show more content†¦In the late twentieth century archaeologists found â€Å"a planned city that include pyramid mounds of packed earth arranged around huge open plazas, temples and astronomical observations† (35). While this description shows how Cahokia was the center of Native Americans social, political, economic and religious activity, it was not unique. There were many evidences about Native communities along the Mississippi river valley (32-34). However, by any measure of civilization, Cahokia was the largest of all. It has flourished longer than the U.S. has existed as a nation and the decline took place before Europeans set foot in America (36). When English colonists first arrived in North America, they did not witness the great mounds of Cahokia and its culture, but they saw organized Native communities (69). However, the settlers ignored this culture. According to the document titled â€Å"Dismantling Tribes and Their Homelands†, the Anglo-Saxon protestant settlers were convinced of their superiority that they saw little or no value in Indian Civilization (448). They believed that Indians will be swallowed up by American society and tribes would soon cease to exist. They translated this prejudice into further action systematically. The result was a gradual disappearance of Native Americans through misery, forced migration and catastrophic diseases. The Worcester v. Georgia Supreme Court case also