9-12-10
C-Block
Document #2
ORIGIN:
This document is a secondary document because it is a translation of a translation of a "speech" made by a Native American Wovoka (Jack Willson).
PURPOSE:
The document's purpose was to allow the Americans to read what was said. The purpose of the oral message was to inform the other Native Americans that they must dance for 5 days and obey the Americans and not cause them trouble or harm, and at the end of the dancing, when they returned, the messiah would come down and return the Native Americans and their land back to its roots. He would also make the Americans leave their land.
VALUE:
For one thing, this document, which the Americans used as an excuse to attack the Native Americans, shows not only that the Native Americans were going to act peacefully, but also that the would obey the Americans. This means that the Americans attacked the Native Americans out of either fear or desire, but not self-defense.
LIMITATION:
Though this document tells us that the Native Americans were going to obey the Americans peacefully, it does not tell the Americans' side of the story, so the cause of the attack cannot truly be determined from this document alone.
