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Indigenous Peoples Day: A look at the removal of tribes in the 1830s

October 7, 2023

Removed from home

October 9 is Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day.

Most Native American tribes rejected the idea of removal during the U.S. expansion westward, and they tried every strategy they could to avoid it. Some nations refused to leave, and some fought to keep their lands.

Removal from 1830–1862

The expansion of the U.S. settlement from the eastern Appalachian range to the west led to the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. It forced all eastern tribal nations to move to new homelands west of the Mississippi River.

Lawmakers were deeply divided over the Indian Removal Act. The U.S. Senate vote was 28 to 19 in favor. The vote in the House of Representatives was even closer, 102 to 97. President Andrew Jackson signed the measure into law May 28, 1830.

Legendary frontiersman and Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett opposed the Indian Removal Act, declaring that his decision would “not make me ashamed in the Day of Judgment.”

The Indian Removal Act did not order the involuntary removal of any Native Americans, but the act allowed Jackson’s administration to freely persuade, bribe and threaten tribal leaders to sign removal treaties. The act granted Native Americans financial and material assistance to relocate to a new homeland and stated the tribes would live under U.S. protection.

The Five Tribes (Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw and Choctaw) purchased new lands in present-day Oklahoma, but some relocated farther north. The passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 led to renewed White settlement in these territories, and the immigrant nations located there were soon under pressure to move on. Texas forced out all remaining tribal nations in 1859. The Civil War ended the removals temporarily.

Mark Hirsh, a historian for the National Museum of the American Indian, had this to say about the Removal Act: “American Indians continued the fight to keep their lands. But from about 1830 to 1850, the U.S. government used treaties, fraud, intimidation and violence to remove about 100,000 American Indians west of the Mississippi. Thousands of Native men, women and children died on the difficult trek to a strange new land that became known as Indian Territory (modern-day Oklahoma).

“The tragedy and darkness of American Indian removal should not hide the remarkable story that followed. After resettling in Indian Territory, Native peoples rebuilt their lives and cultures and continued their struggle for self-government under their own laws on their new lands in the West … Their thoughts and actions reveal much about human strength in the face of adversity — a universal issue that is as relevant today as it was in the 1800s.”

The final period, 1867–1892

The end of the Civil War allowed another surge of American settlement into the West, and again tribal nations were pressured onto reservations in the Indian Territory. In 1867 many living in Kansas and Nebraska received new reservations via the Omnibus Treaty, while the Plains nations accepted reservations via the Medicine Lodge Treaty. The last people to receive a reservation were Geronimo and his fellow Chiricahua prisoners of war.

Between 1776 and 1887, the U.S. seized more than 1.5 billion acres from Native Americans by treaty and executive order.

You can learn more at the Oklahoma Historical Society here.

An online lesson about the American Indian removal is on the National Museum of the American Indian here.

Sources: National Museum of the American Indian; Sam Hilliard, Louisiana State University; Southern Illinois University Cartographic Laboratory; U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs; National Park Service; National Archives; U.S. Census Bureau; Oklahoma Historical Society

Orange County Register

LAFC will get much-needed rest after trip to Texas

October 7, 2023

The Los Angeles Football Club is set to get a few things it hasn’t had a lot of in 2023.

Rest, recovery and reps in training.

Seven matches during the past three weeks, the third such taxing spell this year, concludes on Saturday in Texas as LAFC (13-10-9, 48 points) hopes to build on its midweek demolition of Minnesota with a game against a desperate Austin FC squad (10-14-8, 38 points).

Five goals in 90 minutes on Wednesday, as many as last season’s MLS champions had in a half-dozen games in September, made for an emphatic end to a four-match scoreless streak.

“I think our physical output against Minnesota was excellent only off two days’ rest,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said prior to departing for the Texas capitol. “Again, another quick turnaround, two days of rest, now we’re looking for another good physical performance but it will be difficult.”

The good news: Following Austin, which ended a 10-match winless streak on Wednesday as it attempts to climb into a second straight playoff berth, LAFC won’t play during the international break leading up to Decision Day in Vancouver on Oct. 21.

“Players are relishing that fact,” Cherundolo said.

A top-seven seed ensures LAFC’s MLS Cup defense begins a week after the regular season concludes in Canada.

Beating Austin combined with dropped points from Vancouver and Houston would lock in a top-four spot for the Black & Gold, guaranteeing a pair of matches at BMO Stadium during the best-of-three opening round.

Staggered to give enough time to physically and mentally recover, LAFC’s playoff run, however long it lasts, should feel like light work for an MLS group that played a record number of games over a calendar season.

Executing with an intensity that is integral to its game model was tough to pull off during the season’s most congested moments, said midfielder Ilie Sanchez, “especially on the road in some games we wanted to do but were not able to do it physically.”

“We can learn from that,” the Spaniard added after Wednesday’s win against Minnesota. “But from here until the end of the playoffs we all play with the same cards. We’ll all have the same resting time between games and more or less the travel distances will be the same, so it’s important we can secure home-field advantage and see what we can do.”

With room to breathe coming, Cherundolo’s plan against Austin will balance lineup continuity for a team that conceded goals twice in five games and getting fresh legs on the field to preserve his players.

LAFC captain Carlos Vela, 34, has traversed this line all year.

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While scoring nine goals with 12 assists in 32 league appearances (22 starts), the Mexican forward has played in 42 of the club’s 47 games so far, contributing 14 goals and 15 assists in total.

However in Vela’s last nine games, including Wednesday’s two-assist performance in his 150th regular-season appearance with LAFC, he is goalless.

Vela’s next goal would mark the fourth time in six years that he produced double-digit goals and assists. Only three players in MLS history have done the same: Jaime Moreno, Preki and Diego Valeri.

LAFC AT AUSTIN FC

When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. PT

Where: Q2 Stadium, Austin, Texas

TV/Radio: Apple TV+ – MLS Season Pass/710 AM, 980 AM

Orange County Register

Simone Biles’ 6th all-around title at worlds caps magical return to gymnastics

October 7, 2023

By SAMUEL PETREQUIN AP Sports Writer

ANTWERP, Belgium — Not even a slight stumble near the end could stop Simone Biles. Less than three months after returning to competition, the American superstar is back at the top of world gymnastics once again.

Biles overcame a late blip in her floor routine after an otherwise dominant performance to win the individual all-around title at the world championships for the sixth time on Friday. That made her the most decorated gymnast in history, two years after she put her career on hold to focus on her mental health following the Tokyo Olympics.

Even for someone who has now stood atop that world championship podium 21 times, that was enough to draw some tears during the medal ceremony in Antwerp – the Belgian city where Biles started her collection of titles a decade ago as a 16-year-old.

“You guys are actually never going to believe me, but I’ve had something in my eye for like four hours today that I could not get out,” Biles said. “So whenever I was staring at the podium, if I look up, it really hits my eye.”

Biles then acknowledged she was moved.

“Because 10 years ago, I won my first worlds. Now we’re back here. So it was emotional,” she said. “It means everything to me, the fight, everything that I’ve put in to get back to this place, feel comfortable and confident enough to compete.”

Biles scored 58.399 points across the balance beam, floor, vault and uneven bars to beat Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian defending champion, by 1.633 points. Biles’ U.S. teammate Shilese Jones took the bronze medal with 56.332 points.

It was Biles’ 27th world championship medal – and 21st gold. It came two days after the four-time Olympic gold medalist led the U.S women to a record seventh consecutive win in the team event.

And it came after a two-year break following her appearance in the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics, which was plagued by a bout with a mental block known as “ the twisties.” She was expected to repeat as the individual all-around champion in Tokyo but removed herself from the competition to focus on her mental well-being.

She said the therapy sessions and the breathing and visualization exercises she has been doing on a regular basis since have helped her recover.

“I was so much more nervous for team finals because that’s when everything occurred (in Tokyo), so I was a little bit traumatized from that. So today I felt a little bit more relaxed,” she said. “So I’m happy that that’s over.”

Biles now has 34 medals across the world championships and Olympics, making her the most decorated gymnast ever – male or female – at the sport’s two signature events ahead of the retired Vitaly Scherbo.

Her six all-around world titles also ties the all-time record,

“Every day I try to think about it, especially in therapy when we talk about it,” Biles said about her record-breaking achievements. “And I think that’s when all the emotions come up. And I really think about what I’ve done and what we’ve done to the sport and push that forward. So I think it’s really exciting. But all in all, I don’t think it will hit me until I retire and then look back and see everything I’ve done.”

Biles’ only blip came right at the end, as she was about to wrap up her floor routine. After a near-flawless display, she tripped near the end of her routine as she was about to enter a sequence of leaps. But she recovered in style, and it didn’t cost her enough of a points deduction to rob her of the gold.

“I know my parents had a heart attack,” Biles told her coach.

With the Olympics Games in less than a year in Paris, Biles is back to her very best. And despite the fierce competition from Andrade and Jones, she remains a cut above the rest – a full decade after she started her reign.

“She is like wine, she is better with age,” her coach Cecile Landi said.

After announcing her return, she impressed at the U.S. Classic in early August then added her eighth national title a few weeks later. She is competing at her first world championships since 2019 this week.

Biles received the loudest round of applause during the athlete presentation, with Andrade’s name also welcomed by loud cheers.

Biles, Jones and Andrade competed in the same rotation, kicking off their contest at vault. Jones got off a solid start, nailing a double-twisting Yurchenko with a small hop that earned her 14.233 points.

In her blue leotard, Biles then opted for a Cheng vault – not the more difficult Yurchenko Double Pike she pioneered during the team qualifying – and was nearly perfect in her execution, getting 15.100 points. Andrade, the defending champion, also attempted a Cheng but her execution was not as good as Biles’ and she had to be content with 14.700.

Even at her weakest apparatus, the uneven bars, Biles still managed a 14.333 that put her in the lead ahead of Andrade, who after a long wait produced a superb bar routine and reduced the gap to her American rival to just 0.233 points before they moved to the balance beam.

Biles looked a bit shaky as she mounted the beam, but the rest of her routine was excellent. Jones delivered a great display to move to second place overall and was warmly hugged by Biles after her effort.

Andrade bounced out of bounds seconds before she wrapped up her floor routine, a fluffed last step that marred an otherwise brilliant display. The mistake cost her three-tenths of a point, but not her silver medal.

Biles and Jones took pride in the fact that three athletes of color stood on the podium.

“We had our Black podium of girls,” Biles said. “So I thought that was amazing. Black girl magic. So, hopefully it just teaches all the young girls out there that you can do anything.”

Jones agreed.

“I feel like sometimes young girls are like, oh, I can’t do it because of my skin tone, but really just believe in yourself and anything is possible,” Jones said.

Biles’ competition continues this weekend with the women’s vault and uneven bars finals on Saturday and the balance beam and floor exercise finals on Sunday.

The floor routine that gave Simone Biles a record-tying sixth world all-around title.

She now holds the record for the most combined world and Olympic medals (34). pic.twitter.com/t7XqQUo2Us