The introduction of diseases by European settlers to which Native Americans had no resistance, such as smallpox and measles, led to the death of entire tribes and significantly reduced the Native American population. As Europeans continued settling along the east coast, Native Americans were increasingly pushed westward, disrupting tribal balances and land ownership practices. This tension resulted in many conflicts between settlers and Native Americans and contributed to the decline of Native American culture. In the 1830s, the Cherokee "Trail of Tears" forced the relocation of 16,000 Cherokee Indians to Oklahoma, resulting in thousands of deaths and the loss of Native American sacred sites and traditions. Today, Native American populations and languages continue to face challenges with preserving

1. Native Americans

2. The Ruin of a Culture
 Approximately 10 million
Native Americans around 1600
 The Europeans brought new
diseases to America, to which
the Native Americans had no resistance
 Ex: measles, influenza, smallpox
 These diseases led to the death of entire
tribes
 Some Europeans spread the diseases
deliberately

3.  When the Europeans settled along the
east coast, the Native Americans were
pushed westwards
 This upset the balance between the
different tribes
 During the 1800s, the Europeans moved
further west, always pushing the Native
Americans away
 European misunderstanding 1 – all Native
Americans looked upon as one cultural
group

4.  Misunderstanding 2: The Native
Americans and the Europeans had
different concepts of landownership
 The Europeans often made treaties with
the Nat.Amr., but these deals were very
often broken by the Europeans
 All this disappointment led to
many armed conflicts between
the settlers and the natives
– and great civilian losses

5. The Trail of Tears
 The US Government had a policy of
removing the Native Americans from
places needed by the settlers
 1830 – the Indian Removal Act
 1838-1839: 16,000 Cherokee Indians
moved from Georgia to a reservation in
Oklahoma
 A very long journey – lasted for a year,
through all kinds of weather, by foot
 Approx. 4,000 died

7.  The Native Americans who were
moved did not only loose their homes
and their lives, but also all kinds of
sacred places
 Their identity was taken away from
them, and their culture started falling
apart
 They had to give up hunting, and were
forced to start agriculture

8. The Situation Today
 Approx. 2,5 million Native Americans
(not included mixed race Native
Americans) – US total: 320 mill
 25% of Native Americans live in
reservations (rural communities)
 The reservations were originally the
least attractive grounds – meaning that
they who were forced to lived there had
little to live by and became very poor

9.  A lot of unemployment in the
reservations –
followed by alcohol-
and drug problems
 Native Americans in
the cities and urban
areas have a hard time keeping their
traditions
 Many Native American languages are
in danger of dying out

10.  $35,192 = the median income of
American Indian households in 2011
($50,502 for the nation as a whole)
 324 reservations, 566 tribes
 federally recognized
 Famous tribes today: Navajo,
Seminole
 Red Apple Indians – they
look Indian and want to
keep their culture
(outside), but they are
”white” in their minds (inside)