Native American Relations with the United States What were the significant treaties, policies, and events that defined the U.S. government and Native American relations? How did Native Americans respond historically to these treaties, policies, and events? How did these treaties, policies, and events affect the subsistence, religion, political, and social structures of the Native American people? I will answer these questions by examining two centuries of U.S. history in six time periods that define clear changes in the relationship between Native Americans and the U.S. government. Formative Period 1780 -1825 One of the crucial tasks facing the new nation of The United States was establishing a healthy relationship with the Native Americans (Indians). “The most serious obstacle to peaceful relations between the United States and the Indians has been the constant encroachment of white settlers into Indian lands. The Continental Congress, following the suggestion of [George] Washington, issued a proclamation prohibiting the unauthorized settlement or purchase of Indian land.” (Prucha, 3) Many Indian tribes had made treaties with the French and British and still posed a military threat to the new nation. The new U.S. government was careful not to antagonize the Indians and sought to treat them with mutual respect. This is highlighted in the early treaties where the term “Red Brothers” was used to convey this feeling of equality. By the 1800s interaction between Indian and white settlers had become quite common through trade. Many Indians traded for household goods, traps, and tools. The United States became concerned with cultural differences and sought to improve the Indian position in life by providing them with the opportunity, like the Seminoles, to develop a culture rich in tradition and assimilation. that promotes a self-sufficient people. Sources Cited American Indian Research and Policy Institute, “Framework of tribal sovereignty,” URL: http://www.airpi/org/marge1.html, 1998 Bailey Thomas A., Kennedy David M, The American Entertainment: A History of the Republic 10th ed, Lexington, Massachusetts, DC Heath and Company,1994.Brown, Dee, Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, New York, Bantam Press,1970Josephy, Alvin M, The American Heritage Book of Indians, New York, American Heritage Publishing Co,1961Prucha, Francis Paul, Documents of United States Indian Policy, Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press,1990Schlesinger, Arthur M, The Almanac of American History, New York, Brompton Book Company,1993