Understanding the History of Native American Indians - Essay Example

Understanding the History of Native American Indians Understanding the History of Native American Indians It is arguably true that long before the arrival of the Europeans, the American continent was inhabited by Indians who had their unique culture. This culture had unique values and practices which governed the way they associated with each other and the environment. However, the arrival of the Europeans and the consequent colonization impacted negatively on the social setup and lifestyle of this group of people. Additionally, social interaction with other cultures from African, Asian, European and other continents have with time continued to dilute the observance of cultural values of Native American Indians. 1 Three major factors among them political, economic, and social interactions have had a significant effect on the cultural identity of Native American Indians. This paper will make a critical analysis of how political, economic, and social factors have continued to shape the history of Native Americans. Origin of Native Americans The Indians found in American continents are thought to have migrated from the Asian continent a long time ago when the two plates were still close to each other. As they moved across the continents searching for better hunting and gathering grounds, they settled in different areas where the land had plenty of resources. 2 Here, they mastered and adapted to the environment surrounding these lands. Political The discovery of American continent by Christopher Columbus in 1492 created a lot of enthusiasm among the Europeans, among them were the British, Dutch and French who wanted to explore and settle in the interior of this new continent. The arrival of these new inhabitants led to forceful evictions of Native Americans from their ancestral lands to create room for the new settlers. Additionally, there was the problem of destruction of natural habitat and over exploitation of resources that the Native Americans relied on. In addition, the Indians were faced by the new challenge of being forcefully enrolled as workers in the white men farms with little or no pay. The young and strong men were also taken to work in the mines under unbearable conditions. The unwelcoming behavior among the settlers led to the development of a negative attitude among the natives. Additionally, the new settlers from the European continent brought with them new germs and other disease causing agents. However, due to their social seclusions and reliance on traditional medicine, a large number of Native American Indian population died due to the effects of these new diseases. 3 In an effort to defend and retain their cultural identity, the Native Indians revolted against their colonialists by waging wars. The war between Europeans and Indians was a common phenomenon from the early years of colonization. European used war as a weapon to enforce a particular a political stand or force them out of their land. For instance, in 1936, a violent clash between whites and Indians broke out in Connecticut after the whites attacked an Indian village where about 600 Indian lives were lost. This aggravated the zeal of the Indians to resist the white settlement. In 1675, a mass resistance was formed by a number of Indian tribes against the settlement of whites on their lands in New England.4 Even though the settlers managed to overcome the resistance within a year, the Indians would not give up their struggle for their lost rights. The struggle for Indian land rights was drawn into the French-England wars especially in the northern America. At the time of the American Revolutionary war, most of Indian tribes aided the Britons as they perceived them as the defenders of their land rights. Even though the government of the United States had vowed to protect the rights of Indians, the promise was never kept as the whites continued to expand their settlements on the Indian lands under the protection of the army. In 1930, the then President of United States Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act. 5 The Act gave the settlers the right to settle on the land previously reserved for Indians. The Europeans managed to suppress the native Indians due to their possession of sophisticated weapons such as guns. Their power and efficiency to kill could not be compared to the bows and arrows that were common weapons among the native Indians. One of the significant phases in the history of the Indian struggle towards recognition of their land and cultural rights was the formation of the PAN Indian Confederation. This comprised of a movement which was led by an Indian Shawnee tribe warrior by the name of Tecumesh. 6 He was motivated by the need to retain identity by fighting off the foreigners. In his view, the new cultures were detrimental to the survival of their culture. Additionally, their inaction to resist foreign occupation on their land was making them being pushed from their natural habitat. Tecumesh played a leading role in his trial to unite all the Indian tribes in both North and South America for a common goal. His political ideology of a united Indian community had all the possible potential of delivering change to the American continent. He knew very well that unity of his community was a key to the success of his goal. He also aimed at enlightening his community members of the political changes that were taking place around them. Through war, he aimed at reclaiming their ancestral land, as well as ensuring the future existence of their communities. However, the confederation was faced by organizational challenge which led to the defeat by the white army. The Iroquois Confederacy which was a political organization formed by Indians of North America in the 1570s has had significant input in the United States. Their constitution which was written in 1850 has had a lot of influence in the constitution of United States. 7 Due to their hunter and gathering lifestyle, Native American Indians did not find the need to develop any form of individual land ownership. The land belonged to the tribe which shared its borders with another tribe. This means that even the tribal leader could not claim any form of ownership of the land where his tribe had settled. However, when the Europeans arrived, they managed to coerce or dupe tribal leaders of Native American tribes towards signing treaties that gave out their land to the white settlers. Economically As seen earlier, the early life of Native Americans involved hunting, gathering and trading among their neighboring tribes. 8 Their trading routes provided the paths followed by the present day railroads and roads. Historical facts show that Native Americans were the first people to domesticate tomatoes, as well as potatoes among other food plants that fed most peoples in the world. Some tribes who used to farm on the rugged hills adopted new and more efficient lifestyle which was friendlier to their environment. For instance, the Navajos adopted the herding lifestyle after they were introduced to the rearing of sheep and goats by the Spaniards in the 1530s. 9 In addition to the climate which is harsh for farming, herding of animals was of a higher economic value compared to their other alternative hunting lifestyle. Social Effects During their first contact with the Europeans, the Native Indians developed a cordial relationship due to their friendly nature. However, this character made them gullible and they were easily tricked by the newcomer. Where the trick failed, the Europeans used power to coerce the inhabitants to conform to their demands. During such strife, many Indians were tormented while others were killed as they resisted white domination. 10 Ideally, the white settlers with their imperialistic ideology viewed their culture as more superior than that of Native Indians. Therefore, they endeavored to dominate the Indians in almost all possible ways. The Influence Of Religion on Native Americans It was the Europeans’ belief that one way of bringing civilization to the Indians was through religion. In this case, they felt they had a duty of making the Indians shelve their traditional religion and adopt the Christian religion and way of worship. The traditional native Indian American religion was based on core four values of respect to the nature, spirit, other people and the inherent freedom of an individual. 11 The respect for nature was based on the fact that their life was accustomed to a surrounding full of forests, shrubs, wilderness, rivers and even lakes from where they derived their daily food. These four values acted as a bond among the members of the Indian society. The Europeans managed to convert a great section of the Indian community to Christianity. Those who converted abandoned their traditional ways of worship and embraced the new teachings. Additionally, they had an advantage of accessing education among other privileges that others lacked. One of the early converts was a lady from Powhatan tribe by the name of Motoaka. Due to her playful character, her tribe had nicknamed her Pocahontas. 12 She became a Christian convert after she heard of gospel from a man by the name of John Smith who had visited her father’s home village in 1607. After her conversion to Christianity, she was baptized was given a Christian name Rebecca. Rebecca later got married to a white man by the name John Rolfe. This made the Powhatan chief to reward Rolfe with an immense piece of land where he grew farm products, among them tobacco. She is accredited for saving her tribe from starvation during one time and bringing peace between his tribe and the English settlers. She, at one time traveled to Europe with her sister and husband Rolfe. Rebecca later died in 1616 at an early age of 22. 13 This story is significant as it provides us with an insight to the racial integration between native Indians and the white settlers. As a result, the new converts and their future generations adopted the new culture while abandoning their own culture, especially the religion. The Native Indian Americans who still continues to observe their traditional way of worship are guided by the Ten Commandments of their ancestral religion. Within these commandments, great emphasis is given to respect to earth and all that lives on it. They also do have a high regard to the Great Spirit which is the giver and controller of life. The commandments also require a person to show respect to other humans. There is also the recognition of the social aspect of a person where each one is required to join efforts with others for the benefit of the total society. Selfishness is abhorred by the command that one is required to give help at any point of need. Self-consciousness is regarded highly as every individual is expected to do what he or she believes as the right thing regardless of the situation at hand. The need to maintain a good health is made possible by the need to take good care of the mind and the body through meditation. Indians are encouraged to put their efforts towards the greater good of society. Lastly, one is expected to uphold honesty at all times, while on the other hand, taking absolute responsibility of his or her actions. 14 Summary In summary, a large part of Indian cultural identity was lost due to their adoption of the European lifestyle and civilization. The three aspects of political, social and religion have defined the historical changes that have occurred in the life of Native American Indians. In spite of the greatest developments that have occurred in the American continent the Native Americans remain as one of the most economically deprived communities. Works Cited Andrea. F. 2008. Invisible Indians: Native Americans in Pennsylvania. Human Organization, 67: 145-160. Evira, P. 2003. Towards a Native American Critical Theory. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln. Guisepi. R.A. (ed.). n.d. American Indians or Native Americans. Accessed November 8, 2011. http://history-world.org/american_indians_or_native_ameri.htm. History of American Indians. n.d. History World. Online November 8, 2011. Accessed November 8, 2011. http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=1099&HistoryID=ab05>rack=pthc. James, C. 2006. Colonial America. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Lamphere, P. 2005, January-February. A Native War of Independence, The Life of Tecumseh, International Socialist Review, Issue 39, Online Edition. Accessed November 8, 2011. http://www.isreview.org/issues/39/tecumseh.shtml. Smith, S.L. 2000. Remaining Indians: Native Americans through Anglo Eyes, 1880-1940. New York: Oxford University Press. Read More