"Indian Reservation" Constructed Response
Activity
"Brothers! I have listened to many
talks from our Great Father. When he first came over the wide waters, he
was but a little man…But when the white man had warmed himself before the
Indian's fire, and filled himself with their hominy, he became very large. With
a step he bestrode the mountains, and his feet covered the plains and the
valleys. His hands grasped the eastern and the western sea, and his head rested
on the moon. Then he became our great father. He loved his red children,
and he said, 'get a little farther, lest I tread on thee...' Yet he continued
to love his red children, and when he found them too slow in moving, he sent
his great guns before him to sweep his path. Brothers! I have listened to a
great many talks from our great father. - But they always began and ended in
this- 'get a little further, you are too near me.' "
~ Speckled Snake, elder of the Creek Nation, 1829
1. Who wrote the above document and when was
it written?
2. What events are being described in both
the song and the document?
3. What is the writer's general feeling about
these events? How does this compare to feelings or opinions that are expressed
in the song?
4. Write meaningful statements about the U.S.
Governments policy towards Native Americans in the early 1800's using each of
the following concept words; change, environment, power, empathy, culture,
choice.
Indian
Reservation
Paul Revere & The Raiders, ©1971
They
took the whole Cherokee Nation
Put us on this reservation
Took away our ways of life
The tomahawk and the bow and knife
Took
away our native tongue
And taught their English to our young
And all the beads we made by hand
Are nowadays made in
Cherokee
people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die
They
took the whole Indian Nation
Locked us on this reservation
Though I wear a shirt and tie
I'm still part red man deep inside
Cherokee
people, Cherokee tribe
So proud to live, so proud to die
But
maybe someday when they've learned
Cherokee Nation will return
Will return...
Will return...
Will return...
Will return...