While the United States had officially guaranteed Native American rights and recognized the sovereignty of Native American nations through several legally binding treaties since the eighteenth century, the government repeatedly violated these treaties, opening land that was reserved for Indian nations to settlers, speculators, and developers. Native Americans’ right to a sovereign existence included maintaining traditional relationships to the lands and waters that Native peoples had historically used. But 200 years of treaty violations, land theft, and forced assimilation by the federal government threatened the existence of many Indian nations. In their protests to the federal government from 1968 to 1978, Native American activists demanded that the federal government honor its treaty obligations so that tribes could restore their traditional relationships to the land, an effort that continues today. The National Park Service, as a steward of many Indigenous lands, played a significant role in this history that will continue into the future.
- Subject:
- American Indian Studies
- Civics and Government
- Environmental Literacy and Sustainability
- Global Education
- U.S. History
- World Cultures
- World History
- Material Type:
- Case Study
- Curriculum Map
- Lesson
- Lesson Plan
- Module
- Reading
- Reference Material
- Student Guide
- Unit of Study
- Author:
- Rick Erickson
- Sandy Benton
- Brian Boyd
- Date Added:
- 06/18/2024