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| Sullivan Market in Bigheart (now Barnsdall), Oklahoma (1918) |
Do you think U.S. lawmakers truly believed many Native Americans were incapable of managing their funds or was this a lie they invented in order to control the Native Americans?
In a broader sense, do you think that people in our society who abuse power are more likely to be delusional (believing they are in the right, no matter what) or manipulative (not caring whether or not they are right)?
Many times, people who rise to power quickly abuse that power. They let the newfound responsibility go to their head, and they become convinced that they can do no wrong. I believe that people in our society who abuse power are manipulative, and delusional. They are manipulative in the sense that they do what they want without a care of the consequences, yet they can always find a way to convince themselves that they are right. It seems as though no matter what they do, and whether it positively or negatively affects those around them, leaders that abuse power can convince themselves that they are right.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to the controlling of the Osage bank accounts, I believe that the government used this to control the Osage, under the guise that the Osage were incapable of managing their finances. By controlling the funds going into the Osage nation, you effectively control the way the people live in their new way of living. By forcing the Osage to assimilate to American culture, and by controlling their funds, the government was able to control the way the Osage live, and the way the dispersed their funds.
I agree with Tyler on this question. People who abuse power are often delusional and manipulative. They tell themselves that what they are doing is right no matter what they have done, yet they also manipulate the system to get what they want. Tyler was correct whenever he stated that "leaders that abuse power can convince themselves that they are right". But it's not just leaders, it's everyday people. If you convince yourself that what you're doing isn't wrong then why would you stop? And how far would you to get what you wanted? We've all done something wrong but convinced ourselves it was right.
DeleteI believe that lawmakers controlled the Osage's money as to gain control over the Osage. Perhaps at first there were some Native Americans that were incapable of controlling their money, but then that soon turned into the absolute control of the Osage and their money.
I agree, Tyler. Most people who rise to power either believe they are right no matter what, or they are somehow able to justify their behavior despite how wrong it may be. I believe that both of these attitudes came into play with the assigning of guardians over the finances of the Native Americans. A common thought for a long time in the U.S. was that anyone who was not Caucasian was incapable of rational thought processes, so there may have actually been some people who thought they were doing the right thing by assigning guardians. For other people though, this was just a means by which to have power over the Native Americans.
Delete-Kaylee George
When it comes to power, any person or institution that has it only has one goal in mind: Keeping that power. Any moral indignation or superiority complex is just a means to that end. Even if it’s only in the back of their subconscious, those in power know when their actions are wrong or immoral. Therefore, those in power tend to be manipulative and rarely delusional, in my opinion. The appointing of the financial guardians to Native Americans, for example, was a calculated move rather than the result of some disillusioned protective measure with the tribes’ best interests at heart. With the large sums of money that resulted from the oil rights, the Osage suddenly were the potential beneficiaries of a lot of power. Money makes our government go round and affords social status. So, the tribes had a battle on two fronts with overlapping demographics vying for the power they now possessed: with lawmakers and high status whites. Neither group wanted to relinquish their power to the Native Americans so both sought to undermine them by attacking their access to the finances; a tactic which I think is still prevalent in our society, of those in power preemptively attacking the means of others to gain power, sometimes before their prey even realize they possess it.
ReplyDeleteMitchell Potts
I completely agree with Mitchell on this question. There is no way they truly believed they were helping the Osage by controlling the use of their money. According to Grann, one guardian did not allow the parents to withdraw more money to care for their sick baby, who later died because of lack of medicinal care. Though some of these appointed guardian probably believed they were actually helping the Osage they were assigned to. I also agree with the point about those in power fight to keep their power.
DeleteThere is no doubt that the U.S. lawmakers created the lie that Native Americans could not control their funds. I cannot imagine that a people who left nothing to waste from a buffalo would have difficulty managing their finances. Even if there were members who may have struggled, I am sure the tribal government would have taken steps to help its people learn money management. The whole guardian system seems to be a purely manipulative move. By forcing them to have white guardians, the government could feel as though they still had control over the wealthy Osage.
ReplyDeleteBrittany West
I think the U.S. lawmakers thought that the Native Americans were capable of managing their money, but they wanted to maintain as much authority over them as possible. This was just another controlling and demeaning way of treating the Osage, so that realistically they would be the ones managing the money, in a way telling the Native Americans they could “look but not touch,” per say, their own wealth. They viewed the Osage as incompetent just because they had a different culture and way of life than the U.S. lawmakers. Having power is addicting and it can easily go to one’s head. People in society who abuse power tend to be more manipulative, though delusion is still apparent in some situations. Their manipulative nature causes them to do anything and use anyone as a means to keep their authority and accumulate even more power.
ReplyDeletePeople in high positions of power in government have thought up many ways in order to ensure that their authority remains well established over a group of people. Because of this, it could be argued that U.S. lawmakers did not truly believe that Native Americans were incapable of managing the money that was rightfully theirs. They simply wanted to have another way to control the Osage when they enforced that the Osage who were deemed as “unfit” were appointed guardians to manage their money. Before this, the government had already pushed the Osage to this new land. Lawmakers already knew that this power was held over the Osage and other Native Americans. They just wanted to ensure that they held even more authority over their new way of life.
ReplyDeletePeople who abuse power are more likely to do what would benefit them, whether they are right or wrong. Of course, there are some that could be delusional and think they are right even when their ideas could be perceived as ridiculous. People who have worked powerful positions are likely aware of whether they are right or not; but to keep that power, they will use whatever means necessary.
-Natalie Hegwer
I believe U.S. lawmakers were just trying to control Native Americans when making them have a guardian to decide what they can spend their money on. It is sad that this happened but people that have power manipulate others. Lawmakers don't care if they are wrong or right as long as they can benefit themselves it is what they will do most of the time. But today however I do believe that a lot of corruption has left our legal system.
ReplyDelete-Freddy Grotts
Some people choose to control others because they have the power to. I think that the U.S. lawmakers took advantage of the fact that Native Americans aren't white so they can say that they aren't capable of handling their money. I don't think that all people with power are delusional or manipulative but there are definitely more people out there that are than not. They were forced to assimilate already so they should of been considered capable to handle their finances. Although corruption was easily ignored in government in the past, I believe there still lies traces of corruption, manipulation, and delusion in our government today.
ReplyDelete-Hannah Rios
I would like to believe that most people who abuse power are simply delusional in the sense that they believe that they are doing is the right thing; however, I think that more times than not, people are manipulative in the sense that they do not care whether or not they are right. Once people become power happy, they are so focused on keeping control of the power that they lose sight of other’s well being. In the case of the Osage, the U.S. lawmakers were merely trying to have further control of the Native Americans. They were more than likely bitter that the Osage were receiving that large of a sum of money and wanted some way to take it away from them or at least make it difficult for them to have it -- one last little struggle for power over that situation. --Kelsey Mader
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that the US lawmakers invented this lie for the sole purpose of controlling the money that they didn’t want the Indians to have in the first place. They despised the Indians therefor the more Indian blood one possessed the more likely they were to be placed under financial restriction by a white guardian. I would say that more often than not people who abuse power are just manipulative, not caring whether they are right or wrong in what they do.
ReplyDelete