American Indians
and Whites on
the Frontier

Views on the relationship between whites and American Indians varied widely in the late-nineteenth-century West. Some white Americans advocated exterminating the Indians, whereas others sought to assimilate them. These attitudes differed significantly by region. Whites who were most likely to encounter Indians were generally the least sympathetic. Government officials were also divided. The most notable differences were between civilians in the Interior Department who favored peaceful solutions and those in the War Department who were inclined to use military force to resolve conflicts. However, even white reformers did not always understand Indian culture; as a result, they developed policies that led to the decline of Indian tribal societies. On the other side, Indian attitudes ranged from fierce resistance to accommodation and, in rare cases, assimilation. Even those who eventually adapted to white society and gained a measure of fame within it, like Zitkala-Ša (Document 15.9), never fully abandoned their pride in Indian traditions.

The following documents speak to important recurring questions in American history: How do white Americans and their leaders deal with differences among people rooted in race and nationality? How do those considered minorities forge strategies to gain political and economic access while maintaining their own identities and heritage? And how well did the U.S. government in the late nineteenth century balance its commitment to the competing values of continental expansion and equal justice under the law?