It seems that in the 21st century and even during the colonizing of America, the interpretation of Native Americans is and had been that they were savages and live a barbaric lifestyle. That they had no order or way of life. When presented with the topic of Native Americans and Colonists in the New World, it is easy to assume warfare and bloodshed amongst the two parties. That the Colonists were constantly in mini battles with the Native Americans. It is also easy to assume that the land in the New World was unsettling to the eyes. This is due to records from the colonist times, calling the lands “wild” or “wildlands”. In Robbie Ethridge’s book Creek Country, she tries to debunk these interpretations mentioned above. She does so by using an …show more content…
array of primary and secondary sources. Some of the sources used are: writings from a William Bartram who was a naturalist on a scientific expedition in Creek Country (7), writings and journal entries from Benjamin Hawkins who was a U.S.
Indian agent who lived amongst the Creek Indians for many years (12), archology findings on the Creek Indians and writings from peoples who had travelled through Creek country. The first two chapters in Ethridge book talk about Hawkins and Bartram and their importance and lays out a great image of what the landscape that surrounded creek country looked like. In chapter 1 the reader is introduced to Bartram and Hawkins. It talks about what their primary goals were within the Creeks. Ethridge mentions in her book Creek Country, that Hawkins felt it was his job to led the Creeks in the path of the U.S. and become more civilized (16). The chapter continues to talk about why Hawkins felt this way and how he planned to achieve this goal. Chapter 2 gives a great layout of the history of the Creeks and how they came about becoming the Creeks. Ethridge again goes into great details …show more content…
on how many Native American tribes had been split up due to the push of colonist into the south. These tribes who had been split up then came together as one, known as the Creek Indians. Chapters 3-4 talk about what the land looked like the surrounded Creek Country, the populations of the natives and what it looked like within a community of the natives. Ethridge mentions that most of the Creek country was small in populated, but it encompassed miles of land (43). Ethridge talks about writings of Bartram on how large and beautiful the landscape was, how the forests grew with many different types of trees, both large and small (47). There is talk about how clear and beautiful the creeks, rivers and lakes were. That one could see all the way to the bottom. There is talk about open fields, grassy plains and large forest filled with beautiful animals of all sorts. These chapters in Ethridge book really open the readers eyes to what the landscape looked like that the Creeks populated. It also allows the reader to view the landscape from primary sources that can help view it from first person accounts, rather than just being called “wild” and or “wildlands”. Within chapter 5-8 Etheridge breaks down the communities and people within Creek Country. Ethridge explains that within the Creek country the natives didn’t live as savages or in a barbaric lifestyle. That there had been order within the communities. Land was used to its full potential being farmed and used as hunting grounds. Creek Indians would take ownership to piece of land and fence them off, creating a land plot. That within the native communities there had been hierarchy. One person has the chief and different seats to hold underneath the chief. One major thing that is made clear within these chapters is the relationship between the Creeks and settlers. Of course, there had been disputes between the two, but the relationship had been mostly a civil one. The two groups heavy relied on one another through trading of goods and services. The settlers would trade guns and tools to the Creeks and the Creeks would trade food and other supplies to travelers. The Creeks would help the settlers transport goods to different locations and through their lands. Within in these few chapters Ethridge shows that the idea surrounding the lifestyle and communities of Native Americans and their relationship with colonists is incorrect. That truly Native Americans lived a lifestyle not much different than the colonist themselves. Farms, engaging in law and order, trade of good and much more. She also provided evidence that the relationship between the colonist and Native Americans fed off one another. The last chapters 9-11 explain how the influence of the colonist had a major impact on the Creeks and eventually what relationships there had been slowly started to crumble with greed and bloodshed.
The colonist had introduced different types of work to the Creek tribes helping push them to a more civilized nature. Creeks adopted new farming techniques, new religions, and ways of life. Their relationship seemed to be good, but after the American Revolution the colonist learned more about the land the Creeks had owned. The push for migration into Creek territory became a major focus. The U.S. government tried to place laws and regulations of settlers into Creek territory, but these limits could only do so much. Creek territory was being overrun by settlers and sold illegally and there was not much they could do about it. Thus, the Creeks turned to fighting back, causing the relationship they had to crumble even more. Eventually the Creeks would be completely overrun and would be pushed out of their land once
again. I feel the Robbie Ethridge’s book Creek Country is a great book that gives the ready a very detailed image of landscape, lifestyle and relationships amongst the Creeks and Colonists. The use of a lot of primary sources really helps support her ideas that she writes about. I would recommend this books to someone who wants to learn more about these ideas. This book has opened my mind to how I perceive the world the Native Americans lived in and how they lived their everyday life. With, I do feel like the book fell short on going into detail on the crumble of the Creeks. A lot of information and detail went into talking about the lifestyle and landscape and not many one the migration of settlers into the Creek territory causing the Creeks to be pushed out.
Modern day Native American are widely known as stewards of the environment who fight for conservation and environmental issues. The position of the many Native American as environmentalists and conservationists is justified based on the perception that before European colonists arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had little to no effect on their environment as they lived in harmony with nature. This idea is challenged by Shepard Krech III in his work, The Ecological Indian. In The Ecological Indian, Krech argues that this image of the noble savage was an invented tradition that began in the early 1970’s, and that attempts to humanize Native Americans by attempting to portray them as they really were. Krech’s arguments are criticized by Darren J Ranco who in his response, claims that Krech fails to analyze the current state of Native American affairs, falls into the ‘trap’ of invented tradition, and accuses Krech of diminishing the power and influence of Native Americans in politics. This essay examines both arguments, but ultimately finds Krech to be more convincing as Krech’s
In Jamestown, the settlers had to deal with the Powhatan Indians. The relationships with them were unstable. John Smith, whom was the leader of Jamestown, was captured by these Indians while he was on a little trip with some of his men. As he left two of his men, he came back to find them dead and himself surrounded by two hundred members of the tribe, finding himself being captured. “Six or seven weeks those barbarians kept him prisoner…” 87). After this event, the relationship only grew worse and there was constant fighting between the settlers and Indians. The Indians practiced many methods in capturing settlers such as “scalping” and other dreadful techniques. The settlers did many negative practices also which is the reason they fought so many wars and battles against each other. Later on, the Indians killed the English for their weapons that were rare to them. In contrast to the Plymouth colony, these settlers dealt with the Pequot Indians and the relations were much more peaceful for a certain time frame. At one point, one Indian was brave enough to approach them and spoke to them (in broken English). He taught them the ways of the land, and developed a peace with the man. The settlers from the Plymouth colony learned many ways to grow food from these Indians. “He directed them how to set their corn, where to take fish and to procure other commodities, and was also their
The land of the Native Indians had been encroached upon by American settlers. By the
Unfortunately, this great relationship that was built between the natives and the colonists of mutual respect and gain was coming to a screeching halt. In the start of the 1830s, the United States government began to realize it’s newfound strength and stability. It was decided that the nation had new and growing needs and aspirations, one of these being the idea of “Manifest Destiny”. Its continuous growth in population began to require much more resources and ultimately, land. The government started off as simply bargaining and persuading the Indian tribes to push west from their homeland. The Indians began to disagree and peacefully object and fight back. The United States government then felt they had no other option but to use force. In Indian Removal Act was signed by Andrew Jackson on May 18, 1830. This ultimately resulted in the relocation of the Eastern tribes out west, even as far as to the edge of the Great Plains. A copy of this act is laid out for you in the book, Th...
In the 1830's the Plains Indians were sent to the Great American Deserts in the west because the white men did not think they deserved the land. Afterwards, they were able to live peacefully, and to follow their traditions and customs, but when the white men found out the land they were on was still good for agricultural, or even for railroad land they took it back. Thus, the white man movement westward quickly began. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved in the lives of the Plains Indians. These intrusions by the white men had caused spoilage of the Plains Indians buffalo hunting styles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall lives.
The stress of this caused their once coveted friendship to wither and morph into an ill hatred. The English began a campaign of the demonization of Native Americans. The image of Native Americans was described in Red, White, & Black as friendly traders who shared a mutually beneficial relationship with one another. Evidently, a very different image started to appear when land disputes arose. The new illustration the English painted was that Native American people were “comparable to beasts” and “wild and savage people, that live like heards of deare in a forrest”. It was sudden change of heart between the two societies that supports Waterhouse’s claims of the changing relationship of the English and Native
The clash between the Native Americans and the colonists did not start off tumultuous. In the early days of the exploration and settlement of the New World they lived in peace. The Indians taught them how to farm and live off the land. In a strange land the colonists made an ally. However, the subsequent turn of events was inevitable. Perhaps the chaos that ensued could have been postponed but there was never going to be a peaceful cohabitation between the colonists and the indigenous people. There were so many vast differences between the religious views and ultimate goals of the two groups. The Native Americans had established trade relationships with various tribes, they had their own religions, and their way of life was a stark contrast to that of the colonists. The worldview of the respective peoples was foreign to the other and the idea of a holistic and unbiased approach to the life of others was foreign.
The book A ,Misplaced Massacre, Ari Kelman’s writing describes the Sandy Creek Massacre astounding while still explaining how historians struggled to get its story to public and be told. This epic event in the history of America’s settlement occurred on . The sandy river Massacre was once seen a horrific event. The tittle has even been debated over the years.
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
Many tribes had reigning governments and tribal counsels as a way of life. With westward expansion brought changes. Many Americans were killing their livestock, the food they ate, and Americans were settling more and more on the Indian lands. In time, Indians began to fight back and take what had been theirs. Once this happened, the Americans decided to make the Indians like Americans, so we took their land and tried to make them Americans.
One of the critical tasks that faced the new nation of the United States was establishing a healthy relationship with the Native Americans (Indians). “The most serious obstacle to peaceful relations between the United States and the Indians was the steady encroachment of white settlers on the Indian lands. The Continental Congress, following [George] Washington’s suggestion, issued a proclamation prohibiting unauthorized settlement or purchase of Indian land.” (Prucha, 3) Many of the Indian tribes had entered into treaties with the French and British and still posed a military threat to the new nation.
The Battle of Horseshoe Bend was the culmination of the Creek War between white settlers who wished to colonize (settle) their lands. For years, Tennesseans and Georgians looked with envy at the potential of the fertile lands that would one day become the Cotton Belt of Alabama.2 This battle completely wiped out the Creek Indians, and would foretell what would happen to the rest of the southeastern Indians. Months later at the Treaty of Fort Jackson, the Creek Indians ceded 22 Million Acres of land. This accelerated the
At the start of "Tumult and Silence at Second Creek: An Inquiry into a Civil War Slave Conspiracy" author, Winthrop D. Jordan, lets it be known that this book resembles a story, but it is not at the same time. Jordan summarizes an event that happened more than a century and a half ago with an investigation of more than 20 years on his part. "Tumult and Silence at Second Creek: An Inquiry Into a Civil War Slave Conspiracy" explores the culture and experiences of black and white Mississippians during the Civil War and what effects slavery played in the South during this time. It looks at a single event that took place near Second Creek, Mississippi involving a white fear of a slave uprising, and how white fear struck down the uprising.
“The Blue People of Troublesome Creek,” was spread and caused by many different factors. It was a blood defect that was passed down throughout generations of inbreeding and close relations of several families. The remoteness of the “colony” of blue people had an effect on why this spread to so many people, and not just a few. The actually deficiency itself was called methemoglobinemia, and was an enzyme defect. Doctor Cawein was the one to actually discover and treat the defect, and make the people of troublesome creek no longer blue but pink.
They needed to take care of the other group of people sharing the same pieces of land they lived on, the natives, and they needed to do so without causing costs for war. Negotiations between people were made in order to secure safe and guaranteed land for the Natives, which included the promise of “...boundary protection by federal troops against land-seeking settlers.” (Roark 226) In return for this the Creeks made a promise of their own “..to accept the United States alone as its trading partner, shutting out Spain.” (Roark 226) These promises were broken by both parties involved and new approaches had to be made, and America as a young nation continued to struggle with this issue and the correct way in dealing with it. However, American 's did not only have to worry about social and political issues with the Natives who shared their lands but also with other nations, France and Britain, who America wanted to work well with but were always at war it seemed. This issue with the two other countries constantly at War made work with either side very difficult for America and the American people had split opinions on how to deal with the situation, and split opinions on what country they should work with and support over the other. This disagreement among the American people on how to deal with the situation and what sides to take lead to many mistakes in dealing with both sides over