The Struggle between Native Americans and Whites - Assignment Example

? The Struggle between Native Americans and Whites Character Write Up from Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee and Black Robe Course: Outline Introduction 3 Sitting Bull 4 Father LeForgue 7 Impact as a Whole 11 Conclusion 12 Works Cited 13 Introduction In America’s history, the interaction between the white newcomers and the Native Americans has been significant, and the outcomes of these interactions have had resounding impacts into the modern day. Throughout this interaction, both whites and Native Americans have struggled with knowledge of one another, with understandings of the position and authority of the other side, and with how to respond to one another. The result was a harrowing time where both sides made decisions that may not have been for the best and many lives were lost. Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee is a movie based off a book, that considers the story of how the West was won from the perspective of those who were in the West. In essence, the movie does not examine how the white man ‘won’ the West, but how Native Americans lost it. One of the most significant aspects of this film is that it takes an in-depth look at the way that Native Americans felt about the White man’s intrusion onto their lands and their responses to it. Black Robe tells of the same tension between White man and Native Americans, although in this case the story is set in Canada. Most importantly, however, Black Robe takes a different perspective on Native Americans. In this case, many of the actions and interactions of the Native Americans are painted in a harsher light and few explanations are given for many of their actions. The purpose of this essay is to examine these two movies from a personal and contemplative perspective, considering what the struggles and portrayals of the various sides mean to me as a person. I will examine the way in which the viewpoints presented in these movies contribute to my own understanding of America and Canada’s history, and of the process of colonization itself. To do this, I will consider the perspectives of two characters in depth. These characters are Sitting Bull, the Lakota chief from Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee and Father LeForgue, a Jesuit missionary from Black Robe. Through these perspectives, I will consider my own thoughts on the struggle between Native Americans and the white culture and its domination. Sitting Bull Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee considers a later point in time and a critical event in American history, as well as the actions from both sides that led up to this point. In this movie, Sitting Bull is a critical character, fighting for the chance for Native Americans to retain their own culture and land. One of the most significant aspects of the film is that it shows the perspective of the Native Americans as their lands were invaded, while making the White man appear to be the barbaric group. The film opens with a fight between soldiers and the Indians in which both sides appear to be equally savage. The scene ends with American soldiers being surrounded and it is revealed that 261 Americans were killed. However, it becomes evident that the entire purpose of the Americans’ attack to begin with was to drive the Native Americans off their land, so that the gold that had been discovered there could be reached. Sitting Bull is one of the remaining Native American chiefs that resist the spread of the White man, and the attempts of the Americans to centralize them. There are several options that are before him and his tribe. He can fight the Americans, as they have been doing, killing White men and being killed or his tribe can move to a reserve and share in the culture of the White man. Finally, there is the risk that continuing to fight the White man would eventually result in the demise of the tribe and the Native American way of life. Sitting Bull perceives the policies and approaches taken by the Whites to be contradictory, full of change and deceit, and that the Whites do not intend to allow the Native Americans to have their own lands and own way of life. The Native Americans are being offered an agreement, where they give up their hunting grounds and sacred land, and move to a reservation, to ensure the continued support of the American Government and the provision of food. Sitting Bull perceives this option as giving up, and considers that his people would lose their dignity, identity and their land to the Whites, who are untrustworthy and traitorous. The struggle that is portrayed in this movie is between the ways of life for the two different groups. In the midst of this there is a third way of life, which is that of Native Americans like Red Cloud, who decided to accept to offer by the American government, to make peace and move to living on a reservation. In Sitting Bull’s mind, this decision is no less appalling than the tribe being destroyed in war with the Whites. Although the Native Americans have access to hunting grounds, game has been scare because railroad tracks were laid in the area. Because of this, the struggle for knowledge and for way of life is difficult for the Native Americans, as the Whites have a significant amount of superiority and the Native Americans have been living poor, hungry and unable to sustain themselves. The consequences of the struggle between the Native Americans and whites are evident from the beginning of the movie. The Native Americans are no longer the proud and independent people that they once were, and are subject to the changing whims of the White man, and to raids by them. It is clear to Sitting Horse, that making peace with the White man will not bring about lasting peace, and that it will mean giving up the way of live that Native Americans have had. It is a struggle over knowledge, in that each side wishes to retain the knowledge and traditions that they have had throughout their history. The difference between the two sides is that the Whites are prepared to do this at the cost of the Native Americans’ way of life, while the Native Americans are not interested in influencing the culture and heritage of the White man. The struggle between the Native Americans and the Whites is a sad aspect of history and one that had substantial impacts on the Native American way of life. There were many examples throughout the movie of how the Whites were only interested in allowing the Native Americans to live as they pleased as long as it did not interfere with the desires of the Whites, in this case for gold. The outcome of this could be seen in actions such as the burning of Sitting Bull’s village and the massacre at Wounded Knee. Although the White perspective gives many examples of Native Americans who have successfully integrated into the White culture, one commonality among these is that the Native Americas who have been integrated show little evidence of their previous lifestyle. For example, Charles Eastman is one of the main characters in the film, a mixed-race Sioux doctor. His appearance and actions are much more similar to a White man than they are to Native American. Sitting Bull would perceive this as surrender, as little Native American culture remains. Father LeForgue In Black Robe, Father LeForgue is a young French Jesuit missionary who sets out on a journey with a group of Native Americans from the Algonquin tribe to a mission that has been established in Huron. Father LeForgue has a clear set of ideas and ideals prior to the journey. He believes that the Native Americans are savages and that they need to be introduced to Christianity. The primitive lifestyle of the Native Americans frightens Father LeForgue and his journey is a pious one with the goal of saving the souls of the villagers at his destination. For Father LeForgue, the world outside of his settlement is new and alien. His hours were previously spent in study and he has no frame of reference for the substantial journey that he is to undertake and no knowledge of how interacting with the Native Americans on a daily basis will actually be. The settlement, which Father LeForgue is familiar with, already has many interactions between the Native Americans and the Whites. For Father LeForgue, the Native Americans are primitive. An example of this is the group of Native Americans who sit watching ‘Captain Clock’ in the missions hut and believe that it talks to them because of the way that it chimes. In Black Robe, there is a significant struggle between the two cultures and the knowledge that each of the cultures has. In particular, one of the biggest struggles that is present in the film is that of religion. Father LeForgue’s purpose within the settlement to start off with and his purpose in travelling with the Native Americans is to convert people to Christianity, and to convince the ‘savages’ that they should be following Christ. Initially, from the perspective of Father LeForgue, there is only one correct path. He perceives the Native American’s as being wrong, their belief system as being savage and childish. An example of this perception can be seen when Father LeForgue’s translator Daniel talks to him about how the Native Americans perceive the afterlife. Father LeForgue immediately writes off the Native Americans’ perception as being childish without giving it any consideration. In the early stages of the journey Father LeForgue argues that the lifestyle which the Native Americans have is wrong. He feels that they should question sharing all they own, that their lifestyle is without dignity and that they live only for the moment, without planning for the future. He has limited compassion for the Native Americans they are travelling with, placing a greater importance on the tobacco that they carry with them for trade than he does on the Native Americans who are with him. In contrast, the Native Americans perceive his actions, and those of the French in general as being without purpose and making no sense. The implications and consequences of the struggle for knowledge in Black Robe are significant for all of those concerned. It is a struggle between two different approaches to live, and there is an underscoring of sadness, because viewers are aware that both perspectives cannot remain, one will eventually dominate the other. For Father LeForgue, his perceptions of the world are greatly altered, and he no longer sees his beliefs as being supreme. During the journey, the exposure to a more primitive lifestyle and to nature itself alters the way that Father LeForgue perceives his own faith and the people around him. He begins to question his own faith, and develops compassion for those that he travels with and for the Native Americans as a whole. Despite being captured and tortured by a group of Iroquois, Father LeForgue baptizes and converts the Native Americans at Huron. Yet even then, Father LeForgue’s faith is not the same as it was at the start of the film. He has been tried and tested, and the struggle for knowledge between the Native Americans and himself led him to question the perspectives of the priest at the mission, who considers that the Native Americans should be converted at all costs. There is also a substantial implication of the struggle for knowledge on the Native American culture as well. The Native Americans from Huron do accept Christianity near the end of the movie, but the cost is substantial. When Father LeForgue arrives to Huron, a smallpox epidemic is occurring, and the Native Americans blame the French missionaries for having brought it to them. Yet, this is not the only cost that the struggle for knowledge has brought upon the tribe. The titles following the movie explain that the tribe was killed by the Iroquois 15 years after the end of the film. Their death was caused by the fact that their acceptance of Christianity changed their culture, and they refused to fight their enemies. From the perspective of Father LeForgue, this outcome has multiple meanings. Firstly, if the tribe accepted Christ prior to their death, then ultimately, the mission could be considered a success. Yet, this perspective battles with a second one, based on Father LeForgue’s new found compassion for the people would also make this a hard result to bear, because if he had not converted those people, it is likely that they would not have died. The struggle that occurs between the Native Americans and the White men is primarily a struggle over knowledge, but there are also other aspects. There are many differences between the cultures, not only in what they believe but also in the ways that they live. For the Native Americans, hunting and war are natural parts of life, while for Father LeForgue, this approach appears barbaric, and peace should instead be sought. This struggle is also part of a larger one between the Whites and the Native Americans, where each side finds the perspectives of the other to be foreign and wrong. I feel that the struggle between the Native Americans and the whites is an important part of American history, and something that people need to understand. In Black Robe, the clash of the cultures was significant. From a personal perspective, I identified with the way in which American ideals often seem to undermine the viewpoints of other cultures. I think this movie is a reminder that cultures are very different than one another. I feel that this movie may have been a little harsh towards the Native Americans, as they were depicted as being superstitious and killing with little cause or justification, particularly the Iroquois. Impact as a Whole Both of these movies showed a struggle that occurred between the native peoples of the United States and Canada, and the Whites. In many ways, this struggle was necessary, as it would not be easy for two different cultures to successfully interact with one another. Each movie illustrates a different aspect about this struggle. In Black Robe, the Native Americans were shown as people who were close to nature and to one another, yet were also barbaric. One of the strongest ways that this was seen was in the way that Father LeForgue and those with him were tortured, with little given cause. In Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee, the Native Americans were painted as a race that was being stripped of their identity and their rights. They were still shown as being violent, however, the violence was not as significant, and it was always for an important cause. The movies showed me that while some struggle between cultures is a necessary part of colonization, it does not necessarily have to result in substantial bloodshed. In both movies, the Whites were determined to change the Native Americans into something that they recognized and accepted. In effect, they were attempting to civilize the Native Americans. I believe that destroying the way of life of Native Americans was not a necessary part of colonization, and that the Whites could have found ways of allowing the culture to remain. Ultimately, I learned that for every struggle there are two sides, and each of these have a different perception of the same events. While Sitting Bull saw his tribe as having divine rights to a particular part of land, General Sherman argued that the Native Americans were a violent race, and that Sitting Bull’s tribe had stolen the land from other Native American tribes. I learned that it is important to look a little deeper into history to determine what the other perspective is, and to take this into account. I think that this is an important lesson in understanding and perception. Conclusion I found that both of these movies were a painful look into America’s past and a reminder of the stance that was taken towards Native Americans throughout the struggle between them and the White man. In the end, there is no easy answer for how the two cultures should have interacted with one another, but the movies show very strongly that many aspects of the Native American culture were lost through the White man attempting to civilize Native Americans. I feel that it is critical that people never forget that history has two sides, and that it important to consider the side of the loser in detail, because this is the one that is the least known. The movies showed deep and important aspects of Native American life and culture, and these remain important even in the present day. Works Cited Black Robe. Dir. Bruce Bereford. 1991. Film. Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee. Dir. Yves Simoneau. 2007. Film. Read More