Indians Should Mix and Grow with All the Others

Indians Should Mix and Grow with All the Others in American Civilization

Both Chief Joseph and Richard Pratt condemn the reservation system in their speeches.  Chief Joseph argued that they inherited the land and laws from their ancestors, and no one should have the right to deal with their land; Indians and whites could be friends or trade partners, but they shouldn’t influence each other’s independence and freedom; the U.S. government adopted various measures to force the Indians to leave their land for the reservation despite blooding and conflicts. Richard Pratt held that the U.S. government’s treatment of the Indians was wrong because no one was born savage; it was also wrong that the Indians were isolated from the mainstream of American civilization and were regarded as the inferior race; schooling and assimilation could make African Americans, Catholic immigrants, and German immigrants American-civilized and it should also work with the Indians. Chief Joseph insisted the best policy for them was to leave them alone. But Richard Pratt believed that the Indians should mix and grow with all the other races in American civilization and have the same American citizenship. I support the latter because the human civilization is continuously moving forward and Richard Pratt’s argument is more in line with the trend and direction of historical development.

Chief Joseph believed that they inherited the land and laws from their ancestors, and no one should have the right to deal with their property because the way they acquire land and the law they follow are different from that of the white people. The white people usually acquire their land by plunder, or purchase, or inheritance, or invasion wars, etc., and they follow their government’s orders and law. Chief Joseph believed that Indians and whites could be friends or trade partners, but they shouldn’t influence each other’s independence and freedom because they were taught everyone was equal, and there was no superior race or inferior people since their birth and that belief was passed generation to generation. But in the society of whites, there is no such real equality and injustice can be seen in many places. Richard Pratt thought that schooling and assimilation could make African Americans, Catholic immigrants, and German immigrants American-civilized, and it should also work with the Indians and believed that the Indians should mix and grow with all the other races in American civilization and have the same American citizenship. The advanced human civilization should be created and shared by all the people, and the whites have the obligation to take a lead to accomplish the development tasks since they have already created a more advanced civilization on the earth.  Through schooling and assimilation, all peoples, regardless of African Americans, Catholic immigrants, German immigrants, or the Indians or any other races, can make use of the current civilization results first and then establish new advanced civilization with their various talents. That solution would be good for our human development. Obstacles should be removed if it delays the development. The persistent efforts of the Indians to defend their homes can be understood and sympathized, and the belief everyone was born equal is also right but difficult to realize for the time being. The more practical road for them should be to mix and grow with the other civilizations to help them develop faster. Maybe one day everyone can strive for the real equal right in the globalized culture. If Chief Joseph and Richard Pratt were brought together in the same room, Chief Joseph might have told Richard Pratt that “your system and policy are wrong because everyone was born equal and free. We can still be friends if you leave us alone.” Richard Pratt might have answered “you have no power to resist the development trend because it is inevitable. Join us and grow together. We can be good neighbors and partners to share the new civilization.”

To conclude, Richard Pratt’s argument is more feasible because it is more conducive to the human development. The Indians should mix and grow with all the other races in American civilization and have the same American citizenship.