How did the native american's life improve?

Answer 1

From 1492 to the last third of the 20th century it would be very, very hard to say anything in the lives of Native peoples improved.

Citizenship was granted in 1924 but in many States there still were barriers to voting until 1948. Some improvements in health care came about with the Indian Health Service starting in 1955. These did not really make up for the centuries of deaths caused by exposure to European diseases to which natives had no immunity.

Starting in the late 50s and 60s native peoples became active in fighting for treaty rights. The Boldt decision of 1974 was one of the early successes. The Nixon administration passed laws and allowed for new levels of Tribal autonomy. The religious freedom act (1978) was passed. Now many tribes have a elected governments and much more control over their lands, resources and lives. Life is still hard on many native lands but it is good to have freedom and autonomy.

• The Indian Vaccination Act of 1832, targeting smallpox, marked the first program of the United States government created to address a health problem among Native Americans.With the meeting of two worlds, animals, insects, and plants were carried from one to the other, both deliberately and by chance, in what is called the Columbian Exchange.
• When Europeans arrived as colonists in North America, Native Americans began selling war captives to whites rather than integrating them into their own societies as they had done before.
• The arrival of the Europeans in the New World was the beginning of the end of Indian life. Many settlers thought they were superior to the Indians and tried to force them to take on their way of life.
• Land became the main problem between the Europeans and the Indians. Settlers wanted land for farming and mining. As time went on, more and more Indians were forced off their land as new settlers arrived and travelled west.
• At first settlers and Indians were friendly towards each other but when they started to protect their land fighting broke out.
• In 1830 a law was passed that allowed the government to move Indian tribes to the land west of the Mississippi.
• When gold was found in California in the 1850s settlers rushed west as quickly as possible and destroyed the land that the Indians depended on for hunting and fishing.
• At the beginning of the 20 th century the American government started putting Indian tribes on reservations in the western part of the United States. Later on, American Indians were allowed to vote and the government tried to integrate them into society.
• About 2.5 million Native Americans live in the USA today. The biggest tribes are the Cherokee, Chippewa, Navajo and Sioux. About a third of the Indians in the US live on reservations. The rest live in cities or towns.
• Indian culture is still preserved on reservations. Here, Indians practice old traditions. However, they are worried that their traditions will disappear because more and more Indians are being integrated into society.
• Today, Native Americans are better off than they were at the beginning of the 20 th century. They get better education; many go to high school and some to college. Many Native Americans work as lawyers, doctors or have other important jobs, like working for government companies.