Western Washington Treaties: A Documentative Analysis

“The 1854-1855 Western Washington Treaties” (article 1) describes the unfair treatment the Indians endured when Americans wanted to expanded westward. The United States appointed Isaac I. Stevens to “negotiate” treaties with Indian nations. Stevens believed that Indian culture had no differences, so many times tribes with totally different languages and cultures would be put together on a reservation, even tribal enemies. He also felt that that Indians should not be given fertile lands, and the reservations should be located in places that would not hinder the future development of the U.S. Thousands of acres were taken from the Indians unfairly. When a chief didn’t agree to the treaty, the signature of that chief would be forged. Each and every treaty took more and more land away from the Indians. The article was written by the Ojibwa people and to the perspective of the Indians. The perspective changes the way the information was presented because the perception of the inferior side was shown, how they were mistreated and used. …show more content…
The Indians started violent wars that caused both the US economy and population to slow in progress. This continued for several year until the Indians actions went too far, killing multiple people. To stop and solve the conflicts, reservations for the Indians seemed to be the perfect solution. Over the next year five, many treaties were negotiated with Costal tribes. They were given a large portion of land to live on un-interfered and compensation in the form of money each year. Even with the American’s generosity, some tribes continued to cause trouble. This article was written in an American’s perspective. The perspective changes the way the information was presented because all of the Americans actions were seen as civil and fair while the Indians were perceived as the bad