The United States imposed their view of an empire by using the idea of Manifest Destiny and carrying the Indigenous Peoples out of their lands. Fast forward many years and we continue to see this power difference between the governmental bodies of the United States and Indigenous tribes. We have entered this point in age where the best way to learn about cultural differences is by speaking and creating scholarly conversations. That being said– how does power differ between the United States and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas?
Power has been politically constructed to keep order, but different groups of people are affected differently in either a good or bad way. Conquest and colonization, as mentioned by Professor O’Toole in my Humanities Core lecture on January 10th, are stories being retold that may contain biased opinions in which we would have to pin point who tells those stories and what they reveal about empire and ruins. For instance, in Restall’s, The Indians are Coming to an End: the Myth of Native Desolation, he explains the myths that seem to justify the Spanish Conquest based on the stories we have learned. The power difference between the United States’ governmental bodies and the Indigenous Peoples is what we make of it and how we apply our learning to make cohesive arguments. Although I have learned and undone some knowledge to enter a different perspective, I strongly agree that the Indigenous Peoples have been looked down upon for many years under the corporate system. Despite this, I acknowledge that the United States has worked in a power-driven way for many years and will continue to do so in order to prosper.
The primary source, a picture taken by Wes Enzinna, an editor and writer, shows an Indigenous person holding a water bottle in front of a line of police uniformed in riot gear. There are two ways to interpret the image; one way to interpret the image is by noting there is a peaceful protest going on, but the police are uniformed in riot gear to intimidate and instill fear upon the protesters. Another way of interpreting the image is by noting the police are there to protect the work to get the pipeline into effect, but someone is in the way of the work getting done.
An ongoing issue between the United States and Indigenous tribes, more specifically the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, has been the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). DAPL is a pipeline “planned at nearly 1,200 miles long to transport some 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day across four states” (“Dakota Pipeline: What’s behind the controversy?”). DAPL became a major issue for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe because the pipeline “would contaminate drinking water and damage sacred burial sites” (“Dakota Pipeline: What’s behind the controversy?”). Despite their many protests, the pipeline went into effect on June 1, 2017 which was a victory for the U.S. high-officials. Rob Rogers is a political cartoonist who used his stance on DAPL to create a political cartoon illustrating a moderate version of the Indigenous Peoples going through the “Trail of Tears.” The United States has continued to [strip] Indigenous Peoples of their rights to impose their own version of a corporate nation.
The history behind the political cartoon is of misery and discontent for the Indigenous Peoples. The “Trail of Tears” involved the forced relocation “of Eastern Woodlands Indians of the Southeast region of the United States to Indian Territory West of the Mississippi River” (Pauls). “The Trail of Tears” was the result of a gold rush that occurred on Cherokee land which led President Andrew Jackson to sign the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The Indigenous Peoples opposed removal because they were heavily involved in agriculture and their removal would interfere with their already well developed lands. Similarly, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe did not approve the pipeline construction. Their protest symbolizes that they “will continue to fight for tribal consent, not mere consultation” (ICMN Staff). The political cartoon brings into light many unwanted feelings that spurred during the 19th century among the Indigenous Peoples. The secondary source, the political cartoon, shows an Indigenous person on a horse with a long spear going through them both while the DAPL is leaking with a banner that brings back the memory of the “Trail of Tears.” The importance of the political cartoon is to argue the Natives are, once again, going through damage in their livelihood with the construction of the DAPL just like they did when the Indian Removal Act of 1830 was enacted.
When closely analyzing the political cartoon, certain aspects of the illustration stand out that depict the power difference between the Indigenous Peoples and the United States. For instance, the pipeline is leaking, but as it leaks, tears seem to be leaking further depicting the suffering of the Indigenous Peoples. The long spear going through the Indigenous person and the horse seems to illustrate the damage that has been done for many centuries to the Indigenous Peoples in which they have had to stand up for themselves, but continue to be oppressed.
Going back to my proposed question, how does power differ between the United States and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas? The ways that the Indigenous Peoples and the United States have imposed their power differ in that the Indigenous Peoples are vocal and are proactive about their stances. On the other hand the United States’ high-officials are determinate– they impose their own ideas and values and will gather resources that will be hard to work against. Unlike the Spanish who used the kurakunas to impose colonial rule, the United States has tried to retrieve the Indigenous Peoples instead of using them and their culture to impose their empire. The way people exert their own power is different; some people may choose to be vocal, others may choose to be silent, but at the end of the day we decide how we want to react to the way others are imposing their power onto us.
Sources:
“Dakota Pipeline: What’s behind the controversy?” BBC News, BBC, 7 Feb. 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37863955.
Pauls, Elizabeth Prine. “Trail of Tears.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 4 Sept. 2017, http://www.britannica.com/event/Trail-of-Tears.
ICMN Staff. “Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Issues New Fact Sheet in Form of Q & A with Chairman Archambault.” Indian Country Media Network, 17 Mar. 2017, indiancountrymedianetwork.com/news/native-news/standing-rock-sioux-tribe-issues-new-fact-sheet-form-q-chairman-archambault/.
empires exposed through political cartoons 
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