Ambivalent White Attitudes Toward Natives in 1800s
Romanticism & Transcendentalismís belief in ìnatureî changes some attitudes toward oral culture (and therefore native culture).
Govt legislation concerning native tribes:
- 1830ís Jacksonís Indian Removal Policy -- moved tribes to west of the Mississippi.
- 1887: General Allotment Act (Dawes Act), land redistribution destroyed native living collectives
1879: Bureau of Ethnology (1894 Bureau of American Ethnology) seeks to preserve whatís left of native tribal heritage
Many white Americans disfavor westward expansion at cost of native tribes; some adopt native-style dress as ethnic chic; others study native cultures, as ìdoomedî cultures.