For the image, I used Canva Image Generator. The first prompt I used was “Crazy Horse,” and it generated images of mountains with Native clothing details, which was really odd. However, when I put in “portrait of Crazy Horse,” it generated this image. It is important to note that through my research, there are no known photos of Chief Crazy Horse, so it is interesting that the AI was able to create one. However, this brings up the issue of stereotypes. Is the AI attempting to portray Chief Crazy Horse accurately, or is it affirming stereotypes by creating an image? 

For this essay, I used ChatGPT. The prompt I put in was “Write a 2 page essay about Chief Crazy Horse, colonization, and his connection to the reservation system.” Overall, the essay does a relatively okay job at touching on the points from the prompt, but lacks an in-depth analysis on the topic. 

The first essay generator that I used was called Essay Genius. This AI program actually contained some pretty harmful stereotypes of Native peoples and stated that their resistance to colonization “ultimately failed.” In comparison, while ChatGPT is nowhere near perfect, I think it provided a relatively accurate description of the disturbing actions the US took against Natives during the time. Of note, it stated that the government wanted to move westward and as they did so, they “sought to acquire their land through treaties and force.” While this is a very broad statement on this topic, it is interesting that ChatGPT was able to state that Indigenous land was taken by force. This makes me reflect on multiple class discussions about who is behind AI programming and how biases can make their way into the software. This is especially true when comparing the essay from Essay Genius to ChatGPT. 

It is interesting to think that we are at the point where AI can write essays for us, but I think we still have a long way to go before it will be able to critically analyze a topic and come up with new ideas about interpreting history.

ESSAY:

Chief Crazy Horse was a prominent figure in the history of the Lakota Sioux people and the colonization of North America. Born in 1840 in what is now South Dakota, he played a leading role in the resistance against the U.S. government’s attempts to colonize their lands.

The Lakota people had lived in the Great Plains region for centuries before the arrival of Europeans. However, in the 19th century, the U.S. government began to expand westward and sought to acquire their land through treaties and force. Chief Crazy Horse, along with other Lakota leaders, resisted these efforts and fought to maintain their way of life.

Crazy Horse was known for his courage and strategic thinking. He was a skilled warrior and was highly respected among his people. He played a key role in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, where a coalition of Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho warriors defeated a U.S. Army force led by General George Custer. This victory was one of the most significant for the indigenous peoples of North America in their fight against colonization.

However, the U.S. government continued to pressure the Lakota people to surrender their land. In 1877, Crazy Horse surrendered to U.S. forces along with his people, and they were forced to move to a reservation in South Dakota. The reservation system was a policy that confined indigenous peoples to specific areas of land, often far from their ancestral territories, and was a tool used by the U.S. government to dispossess them of their lands.

Crazy Horse initially agreed to live on the reservation, but he soon became disillusioned with the conditions there. He saw that the Lakota people were being forced to abandon their traditional way of life and were suffering from poverty, disease, and despair. He became a vocal critic of the reservation system and continued to advocate for the rights of his people.

In 1877, Crazy Horse was arrested by U.S. troops after they claimed he was planning an uprising. He was killed while in custody, and the circumstances surrounding his death remain controversial to this day. Some believe that he was betrayed by his own people, while others believe that the U.S. government was responsible for his death.

Crazy Horse’s legacy has endured long after his death. He is remembered as a brave and visionary leader who fought for the rights of his people. He remains an inspiration to many indigenous peoples who continue to struggle against colonization and the legacy of the reservation system.

In conclusion, Chief Crazy Horse was a symbol of resistance against the U.S. government’s colonization of indigenous lands. He fought bravely to maintain the Lakota way of life and challenged the reservation system that was designed to dispossess them of their lands. Although he was killed, his legacy lives on as a reminder of the ongoing struggles of indigenous peoples against colonialism and oppression.

Sources

Canva: https://www.canva.com/ai-image-generator/

Chat GPT: https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt

Essay Genius: https://essaygenius.ai/