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Custer Died For Your Sins

The major purpose of Vine DeloriaÆs 1969 book Custer Died For Your Sins is to destroy the myths surrounding Indians (as Native Americans were called at that time). Deloria particularly attacks the myth of Indians as ônoble savagesö as not only incorrect but too simplistic. ôIf you count on the unpredictability of Indian people, you will never be sorryö (1).

Deloria contends that there is no single Indian culture, but rather many varied tribal cultures. Lumping all Indians together has done more to damage the uniqueness and integrity of Indian culture than any other factor, according to Deloria. The myth of the ônoble savageö as interested only in protecting land and family in a war-like fashion has placed the Indian outside the American experience, when in fact, Indians were at the heart of the experience in the first place. The author believes that modern Indians have suffered from the overgeneralizations of the white society.

The very real and human problems of the

Reservation were considered to be merely by-

Products of the failure of a warrior people to

Become domesticated. The fairly respectable

Thesis of past exploits in war, perhaps

Romanticized for morale purposes, became a

Demonic spiritual force all its own (91).

Regarding the reservation system, Deloria contends that the policies and regulations of the American government, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) failed to benefit Indians and address their concerns by insisting Indians fit into mainstream white culture. Also, by transplanting Indian tribes many times over the years (in the breaking of treaties), the government helped destroy the cultural cohesiveness of many tribes. Deloria also faults modern administrations. While administrations of the 1960s promised civil rights to minorities, equality did not come to the Indian people as governmental policy for them remained entrenched in the past. DeloriaÆs book was...

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Custer Died For Your Sins. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 01:19, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1700473.html