The Clash between Native Americans and Early Euro-American Settlers - Essay Example

The religious factors that led to the clash between Native Americans and early Euro-American settlers The history of Native American/ white relations in colonial America is colored with blood and oppression. Sad as it was, Native Americans were destined to suffer isolation and gradual extinction as a result of the rapid European expansion in the North American lands. Europeans entered the American continent in search of a better life; unfortunately, their endeavors put Indian Americans at risk of destruction. In the collision of two cultures, the superior culture will always supplant and stifle the inferior one. As a result, most Indians had to migrate westward, to preserve their independence and protect themselves from the painful effects of colonial imperialism. However, not everything in the Native American/White relations was entirely gruesome. Oppression and conflicts with white people turned Native Americans into a nation with remarkable adaptation potential. The development and change touched all the areas including culture and religion. As a result, while European colonialism was pushing Native American populations westwards, the latter were developing the degree of flexibility, adaptability and cohesion that had been unknown to native populations before 1607. The difference between the frontier line of America and the frontier line of other countries is the following: the other countries knew their boundaries and they knew which countries were beyond these boundaries. The North America frontier underlined the unknown land beyond it. In accordance with Calloway: “…fertile valleys, meeting friendly people bedecked in turquoise, and hearing wondrous accounts of the towns to be found in the north” (p. 133). As far as we can see, the diversity of the North frontier is evident. The nature of the diversity can be found in the first settlers’ necessity to deal with natural challenges and remain self-sufficient. Indian cultures are really unique and peculiar in America. Some Indian tribes have survived, although other tribes have been vanished and completely destroyed. Many of them continued their traditional cultures, while others fully lost their cultures and communities. The history of American Indians in their relationship with Americans is full of brutality and intent destruction and discrimination. (Erchack 1992) Some scientists mention that the history of American Indians is something similar to labyrinth of different opinions and ideas. Indians resides from the cold regions of the Intuit in northern Alaska to the Yahgan. Many Americans consider Indian Americans as noble savages. It became an ideal stereotype. American Indians moved from the stereotype of drunken or brutal savages. However, the tribes were very religious and culturally developed: “Like all other cultures, the Indian societies of North America hoped to enlist the aid of the supernatural in controlling the natural and social world, and each tribe had its own set of religious observances devoted to that aim. Individuals tried to woo or appease powerful spiritual entities with private prayers or sacrifices of valuable items (e.g., furs, tobacco, food), but when entire communities sought divine assistance to ensure a successful hunt, a good harvest, or victory in warfare, they called upon shamans, priests, and, in fewer tribes, priestesses, whom they believed to have acquired supernatural powers through visions. These uncommon abilities included predicting the future and influencing the weather—matters of vital interest to whole tribes—but shamans might also assist individuals by interpreting dreams and curing or causing outbreaks of witchcraft” (Heyrman). No two historical encounters are the same, and the differences between the Native Americans encountered by Columbus and those encountered by Cortes inn Meso-America cannot be overstated. They meet different people with different level of development. More civilized and developed, Native Americans encountered by Cortes in Meso-America exemplified the next, more advanced stage of evolution, compared to their counterparts living in the Caribbean. The issue is worth-discussing as these differences among Native American peoples imply the need to study their development and evolution in more detail. What Columbus saw upon his arrival at the Caribbean was rather simple and unsophisticated. Friendly people who, as Columbus and the Admiral perceived, could be easily converted into Christianity, met them on the island (Columbus). They had nothing against adopting new values and religion. They were completely naked and looked very poor (Columbus). They had no weapons and did not seem to be aware of their existence (Columbus). Without iron, their javelins were merely sticks, with a few wearing fish-bones at the ends (Columbus). Obviously, architecture and buildings they had none. Later, when Columbus sailed to explore other islands, he discovered remarkable villages, with houses made like tents with high chimneys (Columbus). All villages were small, comprising not more than fifteen tents (Columbus). Columbus’s diaries do not provide any information regarding their religion; most probably, they had none. However, throughout his writing, Columbus mentions the need and importance of converting the Natives into Christian faith. “As even this brief account indicates, many key Indian religious beliefs and practices bore broad but striking resemblances to those current among early modern Europeans, both Catholic and Protestant. These cultures, too, credited a creation myth (as set forth in Genesis), venerated a Creator God, dreaded a malicious subordinate deity (Lucifer), and looked forward to the individual soul’s immortality in an afterlife superior in every respect to the here and now. They, too, propitiated their deity with prayers and offerings and relied upon a specially trained clergy to sustain their societies during periods of crisis. Finally, the great majority of early modern Europeans feared witches and pondered the meaning of their dreams” (Heyrman). By contrast, the Native Americans encountered by Cortes in Meso-America exemplified a more civilized, advanced stage of human evolution. More sophisticated and technically developed, Native Americans in Meso-America had a complex social hierarchy (Cortes). Cortes described the place where Native Americans lived as “great city”. Cities were built following complex architectural patterns and traditions (Cortes). For example, the great city had four entrances formed by artificial causeways (Cortes). Streets were straight and wide (Cortes). Unlike Native Americans living in the Caribbean, the Native Americans in Meso-America had their religion and weapons. Cortes describes temples and the clergy living in them. Moreover, Cortes’s encounter with the native people was not as friendly as the one between Columbus and Native Americans. Whether or not social advancement makes the use of weapons and military conflicts among peoples more probable is difficult to define. However, it is clear that hostility between natives and newcomers was partially a product of their social status, which gave them power and decisiveness to protect their land. The main challenges happened nearly 10,000 years ago, with the corn’s cultivation (Calloway, 2003). The sedentary agricultural societies were shaped and there is an evident overlap of different nations occurred. In the process of development of large chiefdoms the ritualized religion was advanced. With further advancement of exchange economies, the chiefdoms grow surplus crops. It cannot be claimed that this system was dominant over hunting/gathering. The New Indians were adopting new strategies of economies and political organizations adoption. The earlier Mesoamericans led to vast cultural and religious. Moreover, in accordance with Calloway native groups are involved into challenged relations with animals. The animals’ rearing was the core element of Indians’ lives shaping. Thus, the main emphasis is made on eco organic relationships. Calloway finds surprising parallels in the relations of the earliest settlers Indians and further relations between Indians and Europeans, Indians and Americans. Indian-European relations across North America were developed as a genuinely comparative synthesis. Further on, relations between Indians and Europeans have changed from inner conflicts among different tribes to the conflicts between the representatives of completely different nations. It was possible for people living in the frontier to overcome different barriers, because they supported their strong individuality. Thus, this tendency is contributing much to the development of the American mentality. The advancement of the northern frontier was mediated in the sixteenth century by the criollos (Spaniards born in America), mestizos and allied Indians (Calloway, 2003). This fact may be considered as a serious contribution into the modern economy of America. The process of settlement was not involving the government interference into the country’s economy. Moreover, the contemporaries have benefited from psychological influence exerted upon them after the north frontier. A problem-solving nature of Americans is deeply rooted in the settlers’ abilities to solve daily challenges. There was no government and the settlers would solve the challenges with the help of the arms. At the same time, from the time of frontier conflicts, too many different people with diverse interests, statuses etc were involved. Nowadays a tendency of egalitarianism is deeply rooted in the Native Americans’ abilities to cope with other people. The frontier experience was an important historical landmark for the Americans. Moreover, the influence on the modern culture development is also evident. A constant moving and scattering from the unknown into the unknown affected the lives and functions of the contemporaries greatly. Therefore, the relationships of the Americans in the nineteenth century were marked by the search for the ways to solve the conflicts. The core essence of the modern relationships between Native Americans can be found in historical relationships within the nation. That the history of Native American/ White relations is covered with blood, fear, and oppression cannot be denied. Many authors described then in their soulful writings that shows the audience the pictures of regrettable wars between Native Americans and New Americans. By the middle of the 17th century, European colonies were established all over the New England, the Chesapeake Bay, with the original Americans occupying the western part of the continent (U.S. Department of State). At that time, Native Indians had already familiarized themselves with new European settlers, who constantly challenged their traditions and established way of life (U.S. Department of State). At the earliest stage, the relations between Native Americans and whites were colored with tensions and conflicts, and in 1622 347 white people were killed in an Indian upspring against the rapid expansion of European settlements in the American continent (U.S. Department of State). By 1675, European had encroached on many Indian lands, while dozens of Indians either lost their lives or were sold into servitude (U.S. Department of State). Indians regularly rebelled against the imperialism and power of the European missionaries, who obviously did not want to reconcile and co-exist with Native populations on one and the same land. However, not everything was entirely gruesome, and the relations between Native Americans and Whites were filled with various events and sometimes their relations turned positive. It should be noted, that “the critical spiritual issue for the English colonists of the seventeenth century was to decide whether to respect the American landscape and native peoples or to fear them” (Bourne 170). Native Americans benefited from the European presence in America, since they had access to trade, new technologies, cooking utensils, knives and fish hooks (U.S. Department of State). The seventeenth century marked the turning point in the development of Native American contacts with missionaries and traders, which profoundly challenged their cultural patterns. As a result, against evident destruction and loss, Native Americans developed unprecedented flexibility and adaptability to the new circumstances of life (Griffiths & Cervantes 43). When two cultures collide, violence and destruction are inevitable. However, as Native Americans were destined to suffer the risks of extinction, they were also fated to become flexible, adaptable, and prepared to the challenges of colonial life. This is the reason why they managed to save their own culture and traditions. The European presence invoked total transformation of the Native American worldview. The dissemination of European ideas generated various responses: for example, small Algonquian groups reproduced and redistributed European ideas, to promote productive exchange, leading to a cohesive mutual relationship between them and Europeans (Griffiths & Cervantes 45). Unfortunately, most of that mutual relationship was due to the inherent submissiveness of certain native groups that emerged in response to their fears and failure to protect themselves from the oppressive nature of European expansion. European imperialism that pushed Native Americans westwards in the 17-18th century, led to unprecedented adaptability of the Indian populations that had been unknown before. Works Cited Bourne, Russell. Gods of War, Gods of Peace: How the Meeting of Native and Colonial Religions Shaped Early America. New York: Harcourt Brace, 2002. Print. Griffiths, Nicholas & Fernando Cervantes. Spiritual Encounters: Interactions between Christianity and Native Religions in Colonial America. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, 1999. Print. U.S. Department of State. “Colonial-Indian Relations.” U.S. Department of State, n.d. Calloway, Collin. One Vast Winter Count. University of Nebraska Press; First Edition, 2003 Columbus, Christopher. “Extracts from Journal.” Fordham University, 1996. Cortes, Hernan. “From Second Letter to Charles V, 1520.” Fordham University, 1998. Cortes, Hernan. “A Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico.” Fordham University, 1997. Erchack, G. The Anthropology of Self and Behavior. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1992. Heyrman, Christine Leigh. “Native American Religion in Early America.” Divining America, TeacherServe®. National Humanities Center Naylor, Larry L. Cultural diversity in America. Westport, CT:: Bergin & Garvey, 1997. Read More