The word "reservation" is usually associated with the United States and local Indians. The indigenous population of this country has been harassed and exterminated for hundreds of years. In the end, very few of them remained. Reservation is a specially designated area where the remains of the indigenous population live. There are many similar places on the planet. In Canada, the USA, Brazil they were built for the Indians, in South Africa - for the Africans, and in Australia - for the natives. According to official figures, there are 550 Native American tribes in the United States . 4.9 million people live in them. Of these, two thirds are in reservations, of which about 275 are located throughout the country.
Development of new lands
The life of the Indians of America has changed radically since Columbus discovered these lands. The relationship between two completely different cultures has never been clear. There are cases when settlers and indigenous people lived peacefully. A striking example of this is the Plymouth colony. However, in general, the development of American lands did not bring the Indians anything good. Peaceful tribes were pushed back from their territories. They were forced to live in badlands. Many Indians starved to death. Those who tried to resist died in battle. Another negative factor was the new, European disease. Tribes died from them faster than from weapons.
Hostility
The indigenous inhabitants of the continent represented an obstacle to the creation of a new state and were regarded as enemies that must be destroyed. Very quickly, their numbers declined from three million to 200 thousand. Thus, the reservation of the Indians became possible.
It began during the war of independence. The Second Continental Congress created a special Department, which was supposed to deal with the affairs of the Indians. In 1778, the first Indian reservations in the United States began to appear. The government took them under its protection, and in return they liberated their lands. The "cleansing" of the territory continued until 1877.
Life in strictly designated areas
The reservation is the place where many Indians managed to survive. However, life here can hardly be called full-fledged. Indigenous peoples continued to be disadvantaged. Their lands were constantly shrinking. People did not have enough food, and therefore many died of hunger. There were no medical facilities on the reservations, which also contributed to the reduction of the indigenous population. After a few decades, the number of Indians decreased by 60%. In order to prevent rebellion, the tribes were divided. Very often on one reservation were Indians of different tribes. They spoke different languages and were forced to communicate in English. As a result of this, after several generations, the native language was forgotten.
Better late than never
The life of the Indians began to improve only after the 20s of the twentieth century. By this time, politicians understood that the reservation was bad, that such a situation of the indigenous population dishonored them and the whole country as a whole. In 1924, all Indians were granted citizenship. Since 1930, the remaining tribes began to return the lands belonging to them earlier. A program has been developed to end discrimination against Indians. In the 60s, programs began to operate for the political and economic development of reservations. The Indians were given the opportunity to receive education, medical care, work and raise their children with dignity. In 1965, a law was passed that allowed residents of reservations to independently develop programs and manage social security and education. Reservation is a word that for many centuries will be remembered by generations of Indians whose ancestors once inhabited the modern territory of the United States.