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Native Americans and the colonization of America
History of relations with native America
History of relations with native America
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At first, the Algonquian Region was an oasis for its Native American’s who inhabited the land. Thousands upon thousands of Mohegan Indians, Agawam Indians, Chappaquiddick Indians, Pequot Indians, and even the Naragansett neighbored and collectively made up the Wampanog Indians. Each one of these subtribes spoke a different dialect; however, they were all mutually intelligible (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). All the tribes, or subtribes, shared and traded with one another. They established order for marriages; they had their own political beliefs and issues. They all dwelled near the Atlantic Ocean and were known as a “community of communities” (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). The Wampanog Indians were also known as the “people of the first light.” The head chief Massasoit had the respect of his people, was very smart and wise, protected his loyal followers, and made peace with the Pilgrims- around the time of the early 1600’s when each society first made contact. Massasoit was a good leader; however, in later days to come he …show more content…
knew around the first Thanksgiving, it would become a sad, heart-wrenching tale of “cruelty and power” (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). While the Native American tribes seemingly always had good intentions to live among the colonists, the colonists later betrayed their trust. From approximately the 1640s to the 1670s, the Wampanog Native Americans in the Algonquian region struggled greatly overtime with oppression by the grueling establishment of the Massachusetts Bay colonists. Oppression is defined as “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control” (Oxford Dictionaries). Massasoit and his people were oppressed by the Massachusetts Bay Colonists around the 1640s and later on his second son, King Philip was also oppressed by Josiah Winslow and the colonists in the 1660s. Josiah Winslow was the son of Edward Winslow, a trustworthy ally and friend to Massasoit during the time of his reign as head chief. An early negative experience the Native Americans dealt with Europeans was at the time of the plague epidemic during 1617-1619 when some European fisherman and explorers carried diseases and sicknesses as they traveled the Atlantic. Massasoit saw 9 out of his 10 people suffer harsh and excruciatingly painful deaths due to these diseases (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). This unjust act of treason was foreign in a way, because the Indians may not have realized correctly that it was being brought by the Europeans. In actuality, the Wampanog’s believed that the sicknesses may have been an invasion of hostile spiritual powers (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). Why bring sickness upon people just because? During the time of the 1640’s more oppression started fall upon Massasoit’s lap. He was forced to sell his land after the first 20 years of him living in Mt. Hope near the place of the Colonists (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). He traded items such as beaver skins and jewelry. When he traded to make peace with the colonists, it wasn’t as successful as he desired. Massasoit was generous in his giving and trading and when the Colonists gave back, they gave back a lot smaller fractions of what they had been gotten in terms of the land. The Colonists were now getting stronger during this era and they didn’t seem to need the Indians as much anymore. This was what Massasoit feared most upon the first thanksgiving: betrayal (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). At the very start of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, the governor, John Winthrop, had declared the philosophy of the rulers: “…in all times some must be rich, some must be poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in subjection (Zinn). This was very true and was growing dramatically quick in Massasoit’s old age in regards to how they wanted to accumulate more and more land from the Indians and hardly give them anything in return. The colonists started to gain more and more power by the minute and the Wampanogs were starting to die off from sickness, death, exposure, lack of resources, etc. With power comes great responsibility, and the colonists did not use either one justly, like they promised to always do at the first Thanksgiving back in 1621. The New England Puritans aspired to reform the corrupt Church of England by setting an example of godliness in the new world (Roark et al). Funny how from murdering and kidnapping, one can still believe that God has their back and these acts of civil disobedience are right, holy, just, and perfect. Oppression really started the Indians hard after Massasoit died and it when was getting harder and harder for King Philip to uphold his father’s legacy. As the Massachusetts Bay Colonists started to expand their territory and their name, create farms and breed animals, (whom some Native American Women referred to as (“English beasts”), in addition to establishing new cities and towns (We Shall Remain, Episode 1) the Native American’s were running out of time, money, resources, and options of how to protect themselves, their people and their land. In 1675, warfare between Indians and colonists erupted in the Chesapeake and New England (Roark et al). Massachusetts settlers had massacred hundreds of Pequot Indians in 1637, but they had established relatively peaceful relations with the more potent Wampanogs. In the decades to come, New Englanders steadily encroached on Indian land, and in 1675 the Wampanog struck back with attacks on settlements in western Massachusetts (Roark et al). The colonists made Philip sign a treaty, stating that he was a traitor for wanting to fight against the English but he out right stated that the accusations against him were false (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). However, the colonists had a lot more power over them at this time and they feared that this was true. Afterwards, when militias from Massachusetts and other New England colonies counterattacked all three tribes, a deadly sequence of battles killed more than a thousand colonists and thousands more Indians (Roark et al). The Indians destroyed thirteen English settlements and partially burned another half dozen (Roark et al). In the end result, King Philip returned home to Mt. Hope like his father, Massasoit, and he was later on burned alive. His head was decapitated from his body and was upholstered in the front of the region for nearly another 20 years after to where all would be reminded of the power and authority the colonists’ had (We Shall Remain, Episode 1). King Philip’s War left the New England colonists with an enduring hatred of Indians, a large war of debt, and a devastated frontier. And in 1676, an agent of the king arrived to investigate whether New England was abiding by English laws (Roark et al). While the Native American’s lived in fear of other tribes amongst Colonial Americans (We Shall Remain, Episode 1) and struggled with oppression, there were select times where the Wampanog Indians experienced liberty, ordeal, and opportunity.
Liberty, in regards to they themselves inhabiting the land first and being able to live their cultivating, hunting, fishing, etc. alone without “micromanagement” from the Colonists. Ordeal, in terms how really contradicting it may seem towards the Colonists when they decapitated King Philip’s head from his body as an “act of God.” And lastly, it may have been a time of opportunity. The Indians sailed looking for land first, they ate their own home-grown food, they gain respect from virtually everyone, they ruled in power, etc. However, oppression was the “lifestyle” from the 1620’s to the late 1670’s, for the Wampanog Indians in the Algonquian Region established unfortunately by the Massachusetts Bay
Colonists.
There was no definite property line in the early New England colony, causing animals roaming freely to become an issue between the two societies. The Indians were ultimately unprepared for the European’s livestock to wonder into their property without any boundaries. The animals would not only walk into their land but eat their resources and grass along the way. Destruction that the livestock caused to the Native American’s land led to a distinct boundary line between them and the Europeans, creating further tension rather than assimilation. Cattle were trapped into Indian hunting traps, causing both a problem to the Indians hunting rituals as well as the Europeans livestock supply. These issues among land division ultimately led to the acceleration of land expansion by the colonists during the 1660’s and early 1670’s. Before King Phillip’s War, Plymouth officials approached the Indians at least twenty-three times to purchase land. The author argues that previous mutual consideration for both the society’s needs was diminished at this point and the selling of the land would eliminate the Indian’s independence. Whenever livestock was involved, the colonists ignored Indian’s property rights
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
When considering the birth of America, most people look to Christopher Columbus and the Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth Rock. In An Infinity of Nations, Michael Witgen looks to shed light on the role Native Americans played in the formation of early America. Witgen analyzes the social relationships between the European settlers and the indigenous tribes of the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee in order to tell the story of the westward expansion of early American civilization. Witgen depicts agreement and conflict between the colonizing groups while also explaining the formation of power within them – but his analysis is incomplete. The incorporation of Joan Scott’s and Michael Foucault’s definitions of gender and power relationships into
The Saga of the Tigua Indians is an amazing one. By all reasoning they should have been wiped out long ago. There quiet defiance to change, however, has carried them through. From the height of civilization to near extinction the Tigua have remained. They endure imprisonment by the Spanish, oppression and manipulation by everyone that followed. This is the story of a people thought to extinct, that are once again learning to survive.
Nomads of the Rainforest is a film which focuses on a tribe in Ecuador called the Waorani. The purpose of this documentary is to discover how this culture has maintained their cultural identity amidst Western culture and remained an enigma. The Waorani were known as savages and likely to attack any outside influence indiscriminately. These people were a mystery due to the fact that their savagery was brushed against the landscape of an egalitarian society in which all people were equal and must contribute to their society. The message of the film is to describe the Waorani lifestyle and how the rainforest is critical to their maintaining their nomadic lifestyle that has been a part of their culture for centuries.
According to tribal legend, “when the life force of the universe first called into earth, the ancient forebears of the Quapaw people were adrift in the froth of the sea. In time, they say, the breath of the sky set them ashore on the glistening coast.” Tradition, as well as historical and archeological evidence says that these tribes of people were wandering the Ohio Valley well before the 15th century. The Quapaw Tribe of Indians, also known as the O-Gah-Pah, or several other translations of the word which in general terms means “downstream people” or the “ones from downstream”, along with their Dhegiha Sioux kinsmen (the Osage, Ponca, Kansa, and Omaha) attained a cultural level of excellence that was only surpassed by the tribes in central Mexico and Peru. The Quapaw Tribe of Indians, history, culture, values, strength, and perseverance have allowed them to stay united as a tribe and sets them apart from other Indian tribes, although they deserve a better fate (Baird “The Quapaw People” 2).
Have you ever heard of the Powhatan tribe? If not let me share a little fact about them. Powhatan means “waterfall” in the Virginia Algonquian language. The Powhatans didn't live in tepees. They lived in small roundhouses called wigwams, or in larger Iroquois-style longhouses. Another fact is Powhatan warriors used tomahawks or wooden war clubs. They also carried shields. Powhatan hunters used bows and arrows. If you would like to learn more about the Powhatan tribe please continue reading this paper. You will learn all about the Powhatan and how they lived. Enjoy.
The translation of the Quapaw name means “downstream people”. The tribe got the name after splitting from the Dehgiha tribe and moving down the Mississippi river. There were two tribal divisions within the tribe. The two divisions were named Han-ka or the Earth People and the ti-zho or the Shy People. The total number of clans with in the Quapaw tribe is 21, some of the tribal clan names include; Elk, Eagle, Small Bird, Turtle, and Fish. For my five words I chose; Bitter- ppahi, chicken- sikka, gray fox- to-ka xo-te, jay bird- ti-ta ni-ka, star- mi-ka- x’e. Before I listened to the audio file of the pronunciation I tried to pronounce it on my own; many of my pronunciations
"Man corn", warfare and atlatls were not the only interesting aspects of the Anasazi culture. The history and lifestyles of the Ancestral Puebloans may have contributed to their mysterious disappearance. Their societies were more complex than most humans realize.
Throughout our country’s history there have been several groups who have fared less that great. Every minority group was treated unfairly, Indians were uprooted and had no control, I can’t imagine for a second being a soldier in combat, women struggled for basic rights, and many people fell victim to the changing ways of our economy, losing their jobs and fighting to survive. It seems wrong to pick one group over another, as if to say some people who were treated horribly or who faced mounting obstacles didn’t actually have it as bad as another group. But throughout all the years we’ve studied, one group that stood out to me who were dealt a horrible fate were Native Americans living in the west during the 19th century. When Americans began to expand westward, Indians unwillingly had their lives flipped upside down and changed drastically. After years of displacement, they were being forced to live in certain areas and follow certain rules, or risk their lives.
The Powhatan were such a large group, they were known as the Powhatan Confederacy. The confederacy consisted of almost 14,000 Algonquian speaking people inside of thirty different tribes. The Powhatan confederacy was ruled by one person whom Helen Rountree refers to as mamanatowick or “Great Kinge.” Chief Powhatan had weroance who were in charge of individual tribes under his control. In English terms, a weroance means petty chief or commander. The weroance achieved their title through matrilineal kinship. Most all of them were sons of Powhatan. This paper provides insight on the impact the English settlers, called Tassantassas by the Native Americans meaning, “strangers or foreigners,” demonstrated on the Powhatan losing their land. The clash of these two completely different cultures led to the demise of the Powhatan confederacy. In due course, how the English were ordered by Queen Elizabeth I who established the Virginia Company, to colonize the Chesapeake area without regards to the hardships placed on the Powhatan. ...
The Wampanoag first encountered the new settlers in 1621 and at fist they stayed hidden as they looked upon these new people. Chief Massasoit went against the majority’s desire to finish off the English that had lost 45 people during the harsh winter and were struggling to survive. Chief Massasoit had come to power by gaining his peoples respect and leading by example. Massasoit had been deeply affected by the horrific loss of his people to unhappy spirits. Massasoit knew the English came from a land of great wealth and military power. In his mind he thought he could manage this small group of religious pioneers and it would be mutually beneficial. The Wampanoag’s first appearance to the puritans consisted of them asking for a hostage to negotiate a peace treaty and alliance. Edward Winslow was 25, a widower, and had nothing to lose. Winslow conveyed the pilgrims’ desire for peace and their christianly love towards their neighbors. This message was ...
When the Virginia Co., chartered by King James I, arrived in Virginia in 1607, the Virginia Co. gave land freely to men who payed their own voyage to Virginia. For every servant or family member who accompanied whose voyage was also payed for, 50 acres of land was given. In Massachusetts, land was allocated to wealthy individuals who were well connected with higher-ups or royal officials. Both settlements seeing that they have a right to just take and claim their land proved to be a big issue. The colonists figured that since the Native Americans did not have visible claims on land, that said land was free for the taking. Also, from the Native American point of view, they assumed that they would be sharing land with the colonists, not being robbed of it. Moreover, the Puritans even punished the Native Americans for not using the land to its maximum potential. The disagreements and different religious outlooks between the settlements and the Native Americans resulted in wars such as the Pequot War (1636) and the King Philips War (1675). This is significant because over the next hundreds of years, Native Americans would continue to get pushed out from their own homeland, and, set a precedent that we, Americans, can take virtually anything we
advantage of the rich black soil for farming. Corn was their main source of food,
Relations were peaceful. Massasoit, the noble leader of the Wampanoag Indians, was curious and friendly to these new visitors. Thanksgiving was shared mutually with these new inhabitants. The two cultures existed peacefully, and some assimilation occurred. No anger existed between the two worlds. He did his best to keep his mind and the minds of his people open, ensuring that the visitors would be safe from harm. A descendant of the Wampanoag tribe described Massaoit’s generosity and genuine curiosity.