Excerpt 1: Source Sitting Bull, 1883
Whatever you wanted of me I have obeyed. The Great Father [U.S. President] sent me word that whatever he had against me in the past had been forgiven and thrown aside, and I have accepted his promises and came in. And he told me not to step aside from the white man's path, and I am doing my best to travel in that path. I sit here and look around me now, and I see my people starving. We want cattle to butcher. That is the way you live, and we want to live the same way.
After fleeing Canada and being forced to return to the United States, Sitting Bull and his people will surrender to the United States government, forcing him to move onto a reservation. In 1883, he testified before a Senate Select Committee (see Excerpt 1). What point is Sitting Bull trying to make in the excerpt? (Choose all that apply)
A. Sitting Bull wants his people to forget their past traditions.
B. He believes that his people and Americans are similar in that they want to be able to hunt/have access to provide for themselves.
C. His people are prospering under the reservation system.
D. His people are suffering while living on the reservation.
Answer (2)
In the excerpt from Sitting Bull's testimony in 1883, he is addressing a Senate Select Committee. The points he is making in the excerpt include the following:
His people are suffering while living on the reservation.
Sitting Bull mentions that he looks around and sees his people starving. This highlights the struggle and hardship faced by his people on the reservation, indicating that they are not prospering in their current situation.
He believes that his people and Americans are similar in that they want to be able to hunt/have access to provide for themselves.
Sitting Bull expresses a desire for his people to have cattle to butcher, which he equates to the way white Americans live. This suggests a commonality in the desire to provide for one's people, seeking means to support their sustenance and livelihood.
Sitting Bull does not express a desire for his people to forget their past traditions nor does he claim that his people are prospering under the reservation system. Instead, his testimony reflects the hardships experienced by his people and a hope for equitable treatment and access to resources.
Sitting Bull's testimony highlights the suffering of his people on the reservation and their desire for the same means of sustenance enjoyed by white Americans. He emphasizes that they are not thriving but are instead experiencing starvation. The excerpt shows his yearning for resources to better provide for his community.
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