During the introduction of Colonialist into regions of early America it is without a doubt known that early settlers brought with them many things other than new technology. Among the list of what was brought were disease, such as smallpox and measles, which alone decimated millions of previously unexposed Natives. Wars that were fought to control regions already settled by Natives that colonialist were eager to obtain. Hard ships endured such as being driven from their homeland that came in one example as the Trail of Tears. Colonialism decimated Native Americans on most fronts, one to include is the how colonialism also caused a degradation of Native American culture that would last into future generations.
When trying to understand colonialist
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Disease such as smallpox and measles were ravishing Native tribes at an alarming rate. While disease at first may not seem like a concern the long lasting effect on culture and future generations can show how devastating it was. The Powhatan chiefdom that was comprised of 12,000 people was reduced to 1,000 in a time span of 93 years “Colonial Indian-White relations - native peoples of the Chesapeake region and the enduring effects of colonialism - we have a story to tell: Native peoples of the Chesapeake region”. (2006). With the introduction of life altering disease the Native American culture was also at risk with their lives. So many lives being lost to disease led to a degradation of culture that could have been passed down to future generations. Tribes entirely wiped out left behind only history of what they used to be. It is fortunate enough that there was culture to be passed on for those who remained.
The most difficult times did not stop at the introduction of religion and disease but took an even further leap into atrocity with such things put into place like the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act was a deplorable negotiation that allowed the president the ability to negotiate removal of tribes located to the east of the Mississippi for land further west (The Motivation
The introduction nearly killed the entire population. Diseases like the smallpox, measles, chickenpox, influenza, and many others have helped to the extinction of almost half of the languages known today. When Europeans settled in the Native American land, the quickly tried to acculturate them by taking their land, fighting them for land, and later using reservations to almost incarcerate them for the outside world because they did not want to live like the white man. Native Americans did not like the way they were treated. Every generation that passes, there will be fewer and fewer Native Americans around the Americas.
Some consequences of the exchange are the spread of disease to the Native people and settlers, the destruction of the Native population, and the disappearance of the Natives custom’s, beliefs, and way of life. Columbus’s arrival to the Americas, land that had already been established by the Natives, resulted in a spread of fatal diseases. Disagreement between the Europeans and the Natives and the enslavement of Native people helped to wipe out the population. Document 5 illustrates the fighting that occurred between the Natives and Europeans.
The European influences to the Native Americans were Europeans carried the new diseases to the Indians. “Europeans were used to these diseases, but Indian people had no resistance to them. Sometimes the illnesses spread through direct contact with colonists. Other times, they were transmitted as Indians traded with one another. The result of this contact with European germs was horrible. Sometimes whole villages perished in a short time” (Kincheloe). Slave trade was another influence to American Indians. Europeans soon realized that they could provide commercial goods such as tools and weapons to some American Indian tribes that would bring them other Indians captured in tribal wars, and these captured Indians were bought and sold as slaves. Therefore, “slavery led to warfare among tribes and too much hardship. Many tribes had to move to escape the slave trade, which destroyed some tribes completely. In time, the practice of enslaving Native peoples ended. However, it had greatly affected American Indians of the South and the Southwest” (Kinchloe). Lastly, Europeans change Native America and African’ roots. Native Americans
There is data to suggest that around the beginning of the 16th Century, there were approximately 18 million Native Americans living in North America. By 1900 the population of the Indigenous peoples had declined to about 250,000. The common belief has been that this rapid decrease in population has been due to the disease that Europeans brought with them when they migrated to the “new world”. Historian Alfred W. Crosby writes that “it is highly probable that the greatest killer was epidemic disease, especially as manifested in virgin soil epidemics.” Many reports and essays focus on disease as the main killer of the Indigenous population, but few often look at how the European and Indigenous population responded to disease. The questions that this report will address are based on documents located within chapter five of the textbook Major Problems in Atlantic History edited by Alison F. Games and Adam Rothman. The documents are Two Governors Describe the New England Smallpox Epidemic, 1633-1634, and Indians Respond to Epidemics in New France, 1637, 1640. The questions addressed in this report include: How did the Europeans interpret the disease among the native population, and how did they respond to it? How did the Native Americans respond to European intervention in fighting off the disease? Were the Europeans aware that they had brought this disease with them to the “New World”? The European view of the epidemics against the Indigenous peoples were seen as acts of God trying to purge the world of “unchristian” peoples. The Europeans were only acting as they were instructed to by their authority, the Catholic Church. All European action was heavily regulated by the church, and thus is reflected in their treatment of the sick N...
The removal of Indian tribes was one of the tragic times in America’s history. Native Americans endured hard times when immigrants came to the New World. Their land was stolen, people were treated poorly, tricked, harassed, bullied, and much more. The mistreatment was caused mostly by the white settlers, who wanted the Indians land. The Indians removal was pushed to benefit the settlers, which in turn, caused the Indians to be treated as less than a person and pushed off of their lands. MOREEE
together for the better of the shared children. The women had a say in how they would help
When the Europeans crossed the Atlantic, they not only fought and killed many natives; they slaughtered countless more without even knowing it, signing the death warrants of millions simply by meeting . The real detrimental effect to the Indians was their exposure to the diseases inadvertently brought over by the colonists; these "most hideous enemies…invisible killers which those men brought in their blood and breath." (Stannard, xii)
Throughout ancient history, many indigenous tribes and cultures have shown a common trait of being hunter/gatherer societies, relying solely on what nature had to offer. The geographical location influenced all aspects of tribal life including, spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices. Despite vast differences in the geographical location, reports show various similarities relating to the spirituality, healing philosophy and healing practices of indigenous tribal cultures.
One of these significant changes was the introduction to new disease to the new world. When the Europeans came over and started to interact with the Native Americans they brought with them new diseases that Native Americans weren't accustomed to. Since Native Americans weren't immune to these diseases like the Europeans diseases spread rapidly and lethally. New Diseases such as smallpox, diphtheria, measles, bubonic and pneumonic plague, cholera, influenza, typhus, dysentery, yellow fever spread through Native American tribes like wild fire. Add these new deadly diseases and with other problems of their own like malnutrition, anemia, and the high rate of fetal and neonatal deaths and infant mortality, parasitic intestinal infections, dental problems, respiratory infections, spina bifida, osteomyelitis, nonpulmonary tuberculosis, syphilis along with bruises arthritis and snakebites and you can see why the Native American populations had a dramatic decrease just by disease. Some tribes experienced up to a 90% loss in population, of course this was not from only disease there were other reasons like war between other tribes and Europeans.
The Effects of Colonization on the Native Americans Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worse. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture. Native Americans never came in contact with diseases that developed in the Old World because they were separated from Asia, Africa, and Europe when ocean levels rose following the end of the last Ice Age. Diseases like smallpox, measles, pneumonia, influenza, and malaria were unknown to the Native Americans until the Europeans brought these diseases over time to them.
Native Americans lived on the land that is now called America, but when white settlers started to take over the land, many lives of Native Americans were lost. Today, many people believe that the things that have been done and are being done right now, is an honor or an insult to the Natives. The choices that were made and being made were an insult to the Native Americans that live and used to live on this land, by being insulted by land policies, boardings schools and modern issues, all in which contain mistreatment of the Natives. The power that the settlers and the people who governed them had, overcame the power of the Natives so the settlers took advantage and changed the Natives way of life to the
The Native American Reservation system was a complete failure. This paper focuses on the topics of relocation, Native American boarding schools, current conditions on today’s reservations, and what effects these have had on the Native American way of life.
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
The impact of the Westward Expansion had on the Native American’s was always having to move, over 2,000 dead, and loss of tradition.
When the European arrived to the Americas, they brought diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and measles. Because the Native Americans did not have immunity to these diseases, masses lost their lives.