Rolling Over the Native Culture - Essay Example

Introduction The book "Fools Crow", by James Welch, ends with the main character standing amidst his tribe that had been overtaken by the Europeans. This once proud warrior had been forced to submit to the European's superior ways. Yet, he has a vision of the future that one day they would return to their place of rightful prominence, for as Fools Crow states; "They were the chosen ones" (390). His culture collided with the white Europeans during three centuries of competition for land, religious superiority, and natural rights. As the 19th century drew to a close, the Indians had been relegated to reservations while the spoils of war went to the victorious Europeans. In our competitive world, we are tempted to make the usual judgment that European superiority had won out over the inferior Natives. However, that would be a shallow assessment of the history, traditions, and culture of the existing native population. Malaria can wipe out a village, but we don't view the mosquito as superior, merely lethal. So it is when looking at the war against the Indians, we need to look at what was at stake, what was lost, and what was gained. The religion, ability to survive, methods of getting the necessities of life, health, medicine, and spiritual well being all need to be addressed to measure superiority. When these issues are accounted for, in most cases the Indians stand shoulder to shoulder with what is perceived as European superiority. The Technology Europeans were able to dominate the Indians because they possessed advanced military type weapons. Even the early settlers had access to guns, and by the end of the 18th century, the US government had already fought several bloody wars based on European battlefield strategies. The Indians had much more primitive weaponry and only possessed rifles when they were given by the white man. Aside from the ability to commit genocide on a population, guns were a valuable tool in the new country. They kept enemies away, predators at bay, and were a much more efficient method for hunting. There is little doubt that the guns made by Europeans were prized by the Natives. Repeating rifles were often the reward for dealing with and offering concessions to the white man. This gave the Indians the ability not only to hunt, but also to garner respect from their neighboring tribes. In fact, the Montana Historical Society Museum has over 1000 firearms from this period, one of which is Sitting Bull's 1866 Henry repeating rifle ("Museum Collections"). This is evidence of the high desire for European weapon technology and its great importance to both sides. Another important item that was provided by the Europeans was the horse. The Spanish introduced the horse to North America in the 16th century. The horse was a superior tool for the Native Americans as it provided them with much greater mobility, allowing the Indians to travel greater distances and expand their territory. It provided them with a more effective way to pursue their prey on a hunt and greatly increased their opportunity for survival. Horses were also desirable in waging war. The horses brought from Europe would serve the mounted cavalries of the U.S. Army as they pushed the Indians westward. The repeating rifle and the horse, though often misused, were indeed icons of European superiority. The Arts Being able to hunt and make war are only two aspects that any culture faces in their day to day life. Art was an area that had a proud European tradition and it was also celebrated by the Indian tribes of North America. However, there were vast differences in the intent of the art and its use. European art was, for the most part, reserved for the elite. Music was seldom heard outside of aristocratic circles or in formal settings. It had little if any relevance to the average European and performances were routinely commissioned by the wealthy. However, Native American music was offered at tribal ceremonies and was a part of their traditional activities. This was due in part because of the difference in the instrumentation involved. While Europeans used complex and highly engineered instruments and compositions, Natives would use simpler forms. Drums, simple flutes, bells, and natural objects would make music accessible to everyone. Their monochromatic approach with an emphasis on percussion was able to involve all tribal members. The European music may have been more sophisticated, but because it was not accessible it was of little or no value to their culture. On the other hand, the Natives had a far superior approach to music by allowing all of its members to participate. The visual arts also had stark differences. Once again, the Europeans looked on art as the property of the elite. Works were commissioned and the practice and appreciation for art was left to those considered worthy. The subject matter generally had no real relationship to the average man. Often the works would become the property of a church or monarch. Here they were kept from view for many that resided in the countryside, or were that barred due to status. The Natives, in contrast, had a rich tradition in art with a more meaningful use. The Pueblo Indians of the Southwest epitomized the creation of art that was integrated into daily use. Intricate weaving, complex patterns, and an array of colorful dyes characterized the textile arts. "The Southwestern tribes were highly settled peoples for whom things like twelve-foot high looms were practical" ("Southwest Native American Art"). They also possessed highly stylized jewelry. Both turquoise and shell jewelry were created, as were high-quality pottery and formalized pictorial arts. The designs and inscriptions on these objects, in almost all cases, had some relationship to the Indian culture. It may have conveyed historical events, portrayed Gods, or symbols to effect the world around them. The important aspect is that the art was integrated into their life and as such had meaning. Art without meaning is a futile effort. The Family Another important aspect to compare is the dynamics of the family structure. In the case of the Europeans and the Native Americans, they are very similar. Just as the Europeans, most tribes were monogamous and placed a high regard on fidelity. Some Natives were polygamous, but it was usually out of compassion for a woman who needed a place where she could be cared for. The Indian male was responsible for hunting, providing the materials needed for existence, and maintaining tribal order. That is not any different from the European model. The Indian women, like their European counterparts, were responsible for raising the children and engaging in domestic chores. Female designated chores for both cultures included cooking, sewing, and preserving food. Though each family unit was similar in structure and designated tasks, there was a significant difference in the male participation within the family. The European system of production and a monetary based economy dictated that the man usually worked outside the home. However, the labor of the Indian was directed towards the immediate needs of the family. This caused more than just social alienation from the work, it also severed the males contact with the family. Working outside the home resulted in the production of wages, but no direct link to family support. Though it allowed them to trade for superior goods and services, I think the value that the family placed on the man's labor was diminished. The Natives, however, would generate the food and necessities that were used by family members directly. This overt action would bring respect and praise. A Native may go on an extended hunt or expedition, but on his return he would have a close association with the family. The working man, on the other hand, was trapped in an endless routine of leaving the house and returning only to eat and sleep. Native males advancing toward adulthood would be given guidance and opportunity to take part in the affairs of the adult. This would serve to form a tighter bond between the male and the children. Progress in manufacturing and trade demanded that men labor outside the home. Though it allowed for more varied and higher quality goods, the specialization of labor contributed to the alienation of the male from the children. Crime How this male alienation may have contributed to delinquency and crime is only speculative. However, reports of inner-tribal crime are very rare during this period. Most often the crime would involve dishonor, while violence within tribes was almost unheard of. A common punishment for Natives was banishment from the tribe. However, as the settlers moved west, they brought whiskey with them, which posed a threat to the minimal crime rate of the Native Americans. As the Shawnees were in the last stages of their plight, they, "were further demoralized by the alcohol offered them illegally by private traders" (Faragher et.al., 252) During this same period, crime in Europe was rampant, even if only by description. These attitudes and behavior patterns came with the early settlers and they apparently brought with them their penchant for crime, as it became a central fixture in Colonial America. Cox tells us, Most village squares boasted, along with a church, a whipping post as well as stocks and other engines of correction. Larger municipalities often had whipping posts at convenient spots in the city, and sometimes a cart substituted for the post so that the evildoer could be dragged from location to location, tied to the "cart's-arse," for the education and edification—and entertainment—of the populace. That the need for such punitive measures existed in the colonies, and were all but absent from Native reports and writings, is evidence of a huge disparity in the commission of crimes between the two cultures. I can see little doubt that the Natives had a system that far exceeded the Europeans in its ability to maintain order. Health and Medicine Another important measure of a society is its ability or inability to deal with disease and medicine. As European contact became more prevalent, Natives would often be infected with diseases that they had no natural immunity to, most notably smallpox. Though some Europeans had built up immunity to many European based diseases, they did not have treatments or cures. The infection of the Natives by the Europeans was not a sign of ill health or inadequate medicine, they had simply encountered an organism that was previously unknown. Faragher tells of the severity of European infection as, "Ravaged by disease, the native people of Massachusetts Bay were ill-prepared for the Puritan Landings that took place after 1629" (69). Europeans did not have a smallpox vaccine until the turn of the 19th century, after the revolutionary war. A 1785 medical journal lists the following as a cure for the "Hooping Cough", The millepedes, or woodlice, are greatly recommended for the cure of a chin-cough. Those who chuse to make use of these insects, may infuse two ounces of them bruised in an English pint of small white-wine for one night. Afterwards the liquor may be strained through a cloth, and a table-spoonful of it given to the patient three or four times a-day (Buchan). The European level of medicine was extremely crude when the first settlers arrived and had advanced little during the next two hundred years. Because the Natives had little if any written history, a formal body of knowledge was never developed. However, The Center for Health and Healing says, Native American medicine historically included many sophisticated interventions that have been lost in whole or in part, such as various forms of bodywork, bone setting, midwifery, naturopathy, hydrotherapy, and botanical and nutritional medicine. Ceremonial and ritual medicine is the largest surviving piece of Native American medicine, but is still only a small part of what was available 500 years ago. The sharp contrast in the approach to medicine by the two cultures can not be overlooked, or discounted. Survival More importantly than treating the sick, was the ability to subsist in the environment. The Natives had lived off this land for centuries and had managed it to provide their needs. They knew how to hunt before the advent of the gun. They could track and catch food before the introduction of the Spanish horse. They knew where the food was, what to kill, and how to preserve it. The Natives had developed a special relationship with the land and the benefits that could be derived from it. They had experience and this was their home. When the Europeans arrived, they were faced with extreme hardships, They fought the elements and were continually short of the necessities. They had no knowledge of the local game, or edible vegetation. They had little experience with enduring a cold New England winter. They were at the mercy of Mother Nature and were clearly out of their element. If it were not for the kindness of the Natives, the early settlers would never have been able to establish a colony. Faragher et. al. states, "They survived only because the Powhatan's material assistance. John Smith wrote, 'In our extremity the Indians brought us corn'"(62). The experience and knowledge that the Indians had on their home ground was truly superior in this most basic aspect of survival. Looking Forward Did the rapid growth of technology and travel make the invasion of America inevitable? Or could it have been that Fools Crow's vision of the future was accurate? Or will it be as Tenskwatawa predicted, by following the traditional ways, "The land will be overturned so that all the white people will be covered and you alone shall inhabit the land". (Faragher et. al., 252). Could the Indian traditions exist in the world today? We may never know for certain, but I believe much of the Native culture would be of great value today. Their advanced approach to medicine may have resulted in a cure for cancer or leukemia. Their knowledge of the environment may have prevented the widespread pollution we experience today. Alternative energy sources may have come from the wisdom and experience of a Native American that was denied their tradition and education. At the time of the invasion, and well through the 19th century, the Natives proved themselves superior to the Europeans. The Europeans possessed advanced technology and manufacturing that was enhanced by a system of trade and the concept of the division of labor. Yet, it is not the technology that makes a culture superior. It's the use of that technology that sets a culture apart. Hitler's Germany had advanced technology programs and they are hardly considered to be superior. As we look around, it's important to appreciate the comfort that the European advancements have offered us. It's also important to appreciate what we've lost by the demise and elimination of what were truly advanced Native traditions. In Conclusion As time passed the Europeans did gain a foothold and import technology important to grow a new nation. Yes, it was superior technology and it came with a complex system of society and religion. But was it superior? It increased the need and greed for land that had been previously owned by the Natives. This advanced technology was used as leverage to expel the Indians while Christian religious beliefs helped rationalize their actions. But was this a measure of superiority? Whites were able to extract treaties with the Indians, often through fraud, but did not live up to the terms of the agreements. This indicates a shortcoming in the European respect for truth and honesty. The Natives, meanwhile, were bewildered that a people could not honor their agreements. Without regards to discussing what religion was superior, the Natives had a more advanced view of morality and honor. I would gladly have lived as a Native as opposed to a European. A life without honor for yourself and void of respect for the world you live in is a hollow existence. I would celebrate the strong family ties that go back generations. I would respect the warriors who were able to feed the tribe without the aid of a supermarket or slaughterhouse. I would enjoy the art and music that was there for all to share and not hidden away in a concert hall reserved for the elite. I could be content living with nature and confronting the weather on its own terms. It would certainly not be an easy way of life. But it would have the serenity and dignity of honor and honesty. Works Cited Buchan, W. "Of Colds and Coughs." Domestic Medicine. 1785. The Royal Society. 6 Sept. 2006 . Cox, James A. "Bilboes, Brands, and Branks: Colonial Crimes and Punishments." Colonial Williamsburg Journal (2003). 6 Sept. 2006 . Faragher, Mack, et. al., Out of Many: a History of the American People. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. 1-640. "Museum Collections." Montana Historical Society. State of Montana. 6 Sept. 2006 . "Southwest Native American Art." Native American Arts and Crafts. Native Languages of the Americas. 6 Sept. 2006 . Traditional and Indigenous Healing Systems. 2000. Center for Health and Healing. 6 Sep. 2006 . Welch, James. Fools Crow. 1st ed. New York: Viking Penguin, 1986. 1-392 Read More