American Indian Response

These American Indian's were marginalized by Captain Henry Pratt by taking these Indians and make them act like white people. Pratt would basically make them not feel "at home". He would make the Indians not speak their language, not wear the clothes they would normally wear, eat different food, and change their behavior physically. If not, they would beat them until they get it right. To me this is basically slowly and slowly getting rid of the Indian culture. In the article it states "Ota Kte was given the name Luther. As for a last name, school officials usually translated each child's name into English. But Ota Kte's name meant "plenty kills" which was considered too "savage." So Ota Kte took his father's name, which is how Ota Kte became Luther Standing Bear. Along with his new name came a new look. His long hair was cut short. His leggings and moccasins were taken away, replaced by an itchy wool uniform and black leather boots that squeaked with every step. He began to learn english and to say Christian prayers. He went to classes and hid his chores. At night, Luther heard children around him sobbing in their beds. He missed his family too." This means that Luther changed so much than he was before. He is now learning the English language and will soon later forget how it was like being Indian.

The purpose of Shanice's essay was to educate us how the Indians acted and their traditions. This essay was similar to the story "Would We Be Killed?" because they still have their traditions and how they normally act, but whats different is that Pratt took the Indians and made them act like white people. Shanice lives on a reservation that was given to her and other Indian people from other tribes and is protected. In the article it says "What is special is that my reservation is surrounded by mountains and a river. I love on 5 acres and my family owns 23 animals: 10 chickens, 4 goats, 4 dogs, 3 cats, a guinea pig, and a horse. WE eat eggs from the chickens and we use manure form the animals to fertilize the soil. We have a vegetable and fruit garden. Living on the reservation has instilled in me a love for nature." To me, this text from the article means that the government gave the Indian tribes a place to feel like home. They have all these animals and they could still do their regular traditions.