The arrival of the Europeans in the New World was the beginning of the end of Indian life. Many settlers thought they were superior to the Indians and tried to force them to take on their way of life.
Land became the main problem between the Europeans and the Indians. Settlers wanted land for farming and mining. As time went on, more and more Indians were forced off their land as new settlers arrived and travelled west.
At first settlers and Indians were friendly towards each other but when they started to protect their land fighting broke out.
In 1830 a law was passed that allowed the government to move Indian tribes to the land west of the Mississippi.
When gold was found in California in the 1850s settlers rushed west as quickly as possible and destroyed the land that the Indians depended on for hunting and fishing.
At the beginning of the 20th century the American government started putting Indian tribes on reservations in the western part of the United States. Later on, American Indians were allowed to vote and the government tried to integrate them into society.
Native Americans Today
About 2.5 million Native Americans live in the USA today. The biggest tribes are the Cherokee, Chippewa, Navajo and Sioux. About a third of the Indians in the US live on reservations. The rest live in cities or towns.
Indian culture is still preserved on reservations. Here, Indians practice old traditions. However, they are worried that their traditions will disappear because more and more Indians are being integrated into society.
Today, Native Americans are better off than they were at the beginning of the 20th century. They get better education; many go to high school and some to college. Many Native Americans work as lawyers, doctors or have other important jobs, like working for government companies.
Some tribes get money from tourism or selling handicrafts. In 1988 the government al-lowed casinos and other gambling operations on reservations. Other tribes earn money from taxes on oil or gas that is produced on their land.
Even though life has improved , Native Americans still face many problems in today’s America. Unemployment on reservations is about 50%. The income of an Indian family is much lower than that of a white family. Most Indians are badly paid and are unskilled workers. Suicide rates are also higher than in other places. Some Indians try to reduce their problems by drinking alcohol and taking drugs.
(English across the curriculum)
WORDS
arrival = the coming
better off = to have more money and live a better life than before
depend on = need very much
destroy = zerstören
disappear = verschwinden
drugs = Drogen
face = deal with
force = zwingen
gambling = Glückspiel
improve = get better
income = the money you get when you have a job
handicrafts = Handwerksgegenstände
integrate = to become part of a group of people
law = Gesetz
lawyer = Rechtsanwalt
mining = Bergbau
practice = ausüben, leben nach
preserve = erhalten
protect = to keep someone or something safe = schützen
reduce = to make something smaller
reservation = an area of land that the government gave Indians to live on
rush = to go very quickly
settler = someone who goes to live in a place where not many people have lived before
society = Gesellschaft
suicide rate = the number of people who kill themselves
superior = better than
tax = money that the government gets from selling things
tribe = a group of people who have the same way of life and the same language. They are ruled by a leader
unemployment = people who do not have a job
unskilled worker= Hilfsarbeiter
vote = wählen
Ordering Exercise
Fill in the gaps
Text Building Exercise
Source:
Herderschule
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