Austin Lauer Lauer 1
T21
Mr.Vale
17 Nov. 2007
I. Thesis: The United States' ban of the Indian Sun Dance in 1883 damaged the religious, cultural, and social framework of the Indians and was a key step in the United States' effort to try to assimilate Indians into American society.
II. Introduction ? Banning of the Sun Dance and the Historical Events that Led to the Indian Sun Dance Ban:
1. Due to the diminishing supply of buffalo in the 1870s and 1880s, and the Indians' forced movement to reservations, the Indians' economic base was destroyed, and they were forced to rely on the United States government for food and supplies, thereby becoming subject to U.S. economic and political control. [1]
2. In 1871 The U.S. ended treaty-making with the Indians and in the 1870s and early 1880s U.S. policy transformed from a so-called "peace policy" (where Indians were forced onto reservations) to an "assimilation policy" in which the Indian and his ways would be absorbed into the general population. [2]
3. As part of this assimilation policy, between 1869 and 1872 ...