Oral Presentations
“The Indian Problem:” How Montanans Used Territory Politics Against Native Americans, 1865-1889
Presentation Type
Presentation
Faculty Mentor’s Full Name
Claire Arcenas
Faculty Mentor’s Department
History
Abstract / Artist's Statement
I’m researching settlers' views on Native American tribes in the Montana Territory and how those views influenced politics in the area, because I want to know the impact that Native Americans had on the early political landscape in Montana. I want to help my readers understand that, based on my current research, the territorial government was a key tool to the removal of Native Americans from their lands. White Montanans in the 1880s had an overall negative view of Native Americans, and believed the government should take away land from tribes to give to Montanans. The federal government did this more discreetly, through legislation like the Dawes Act, but the territorial government was much more vocal in their beliefs, reflecting the view of the average Montanan at the time. My research utilizes a range of primary sources, with a particular focus on newspapers, correspondence, and reports from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Newspapers allow me to show what Montanans thought of both their government and Indigenous people living in the area. Letters from Montana Territory politicians allow me to compare their beliefs to that of more ordinary Montana residents to see if they align. Similarly, reports from the BIA allow me to juxtapose the wording of federal agents with the wording of territorial politicians. It seems that not much attention has been put on the role that the territorial government had on removing Native Americans from their lands. While they didn’t have much power, the territorial government still had influence and were less discreet than the federal government about their intentions regarding taking Native American land. Rather than attempt to “assimilate” Indigenous people by showing them how they “should” use their land, settlers and territorial governments alike simply believed that Native Americans were too “savage” and “uncivilized” to have the land in the first place.
Category
Humanities
“The Indian Problem:” How Montanans Used Territory Politics Against Native Americans, 1865-1889
UC 327
I’m researching settlers' views on Native American tribes in the Montana Territory and how those views influenced politics in the area, because I want to know the impact that Native Americans had on the early political landscape in Montana. I want to help my readers understand that, based on my current research, the territorial government was a key tool to the removal of Native Americans from their lands. White Montanans in the 1880s had an overall negative view of Native Americans, and believed the government should take away land from tribes to give to Montanans. The federal government did this more discreetly, through legislation like the Dawes Act, but the territorial government was much more vocal in their beliefs, reflecting the view of the average Montanan at the time. My research utilizes a range of primary sources, with a particular focus on newspapers, correspondence, and reports from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Newspapers allow me to show what Montanans thought of both their government and Indigenous people living in the area. Letters from Montana Territory politicians allow me to compare their beliefs to that of more ordinary Montana residents to see if they align. Similarly, reports from the BIA allow me to juxtapose the wording of federal agents with the wording of territorial politicians. It seems that not much attention has been put on the role that the territorial government had on removing Native Americans from their lands. While they didn’t have much power, the territorial government still had influence and were less discreet than the federal government about their intentions regarding taking Native American land. Rather than attempt to “assimilate” Indigenous people by showing them how they “should” use their land, settlers and territorial governments alike simply believed that Native Americans were too “savage” and “uncivilized” to have the land in the first place.