before Christopher Columbus stepped on the land that would later come to be called the United States of America, the expansive land was being occupied by Native Americans. These are also termed as the Indigenous Americans, American Indians, or the indigenous people living in the United States, in the exclusion of Hawaii and the US territories. After the arrival of the European settlers in the North American Continent, in the 15th Century, they came across diverse traditions and cultures, with close to about one million inhabitants and over 300 different local languages. Their ancestors, through the first North American immigration, had crossed from Asia through the land bridge. They were later destroyed through the process of immigration from these Europeans and other people in the creation of the US[1]. The Native Americans underwent various challenges between the 15tyh and 18th Centuries, as discussed in this paper.
The major challenge the native people faced in the early 15th century was disease pandemic, especially during the Columbian exchange. After the arrival of Europeans into the land, they brought with them new technologies and lifestyles, and more so, new diseases that were not common to these local inhabitants of the land. Among some of the diseases that were brought to these native people include influenza, smallpox, bubonic plague, pertussis, measles, tuberculosis, scarlet fever, among many others. Each of these diseases was an epidemic that swept many natives, with others suffering from disabilities and deaths all over. Since the people had never been pre-exposed to the diseases before, they had low immunity, which caused them to be suppressed, and therefore suffering seriously. The diseases were also not tracked easily, therefore eliminating many of them and in large numbers, therefore decreasing their population in great percentages. The Native American captive trades as well as the commercial routes for trade were major contributors to the spread of these foreign diseases.
The other challenge that these Native Americans faced was wars and conflicts. Numerous wars involved the natives, from the 17th to the late 18th centuries. Examples of these wars include the American Revolutionary War that happened from 1775 to 1783. The war was fought on two sides, the east being against the British rule while in the west being the war involving the Indians. The Native Americans were caught at crossroads, on which side to support, which led to a split into two groups that went on each side. It eventually led to the Cherokee-American wars and the Northwest Indian Wars. These wars continued into the 18th century, with the Sand Creek Massacre, the Colorado war, and the Sioux war in 1865. These wars had a negative impact as many Native Americans died in battles while many others were massacred.
The other challenge experienced by the Native Americans is the forceful relocations, in the famous Trail of Tears between 1830 and 1850. In this event, about 600,000 natives were removed from their ancestral land in the southeastern part of the US into the West Mississippi, set as a territory for the Indians. This relocation came as a result of the passing of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Many natives suffered from starvation, exposure, and diseases on their way to their designated place. About 4,000 natives died on the route that covered about 5,043 miles. The members of Muscogee or the Creek, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Seminole, and Choctaw, as well as the slaves from Africa, suffered from this process. Many of these did not make it, therefore reducing their population significantly.
In conclusion, the Native Americans were disadvantaged in various ways. In the lands that they were occupying in peace, immigration and intrusions disrupted their normal lives and causing them to suffer the “new normal.” Since they were people who were isolated from the rest of the world, any slight exposure to foreign and harsh conditions seemed severe to them. Since they were also a minority group, in time, they had to pave the way from the establishment of the American nation, thus suffering from the relocations and wars that they engaged in for their
[1] Michael, “The Trail of Tears,” 56