"For a time the government attempted to break the power of the great war chiefs and failing, adopted the tactic of exile and assassination to render the Indian people completely docile. Once they were restricted to the reservations the might of the government was applied to the Indians to destroy their political and social institutions. Missonaries and government agents worked to undermine the influence of the old people and the medicine men. Of all the great Indian leaders perhaps only Red Cloud of the Oglala Sioux maintained his influence in his tribe until his death. After the war chiefs had been killed or rendered harmless, Indians seemed to drift into a timeless mist. There appeared to be no leaders with which the general public could identify. The status of the Indian became a nebulous question which seemed familiar and important but for which there was no answer. Missionaries soon filled the vacuum through clever explotiation of native who had turned Christian." Vine Deloria Jr.
Posted on: Sun, 08 Sep 2013 13:39:10 +0000
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