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Mary Rowlandson's narrative of her capture presents native americans in a rather negative and demeaning light. She speaks of them as "barbarous creatures"(130), whom remove her from her family and murder her friends and neighbors. Her view of Native Americans is relatively consistent with the way they were viewed by the majority of the white population during this time period, however, this evaluation was not always accurate. European and white writers often only wrote of natives destroying settlements or senselessly killing. However, the other side of the story was not nearly as well told. Native American leaders like Black Hawk and Petalesharo, offered their prospective on the violence between these two peoples in the form of published accounts …show more content…
The Natives viewed their homelands and hunting grounds as having been given to them by their creator at the dawn of their creation. Black Hawk, the Native leader of a tribal resistance band following the war of 1812("Lincoln/Net"), says in regards to the buying and selling of land "My reason teaches me that land cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon, and cultivate, as far as is necessary for their subsistence; and so long as they occupy and cultivate it, they have the right to the soil"(586). His position on this issue prompted the beginning of "Black Hawks War", during which he lead a band of assorted tribes across the Mississippi river in order to reclaim lands that had been lost following the treaty of St. Louis in 1804. In his explanation, he argues that "I had appealed in vain, time after time, to our agent, who regularly represented our situation to the great chief at St. Louis, whose duty it was to call upon our Great Father to have justice done to us; but instead of this, we are told that the white people want our country, and we must leave it to them"(588)! This offers us sound reasoning and a different perspective than the one given to us by Mary Rowlandson in the account of her capture. She writes of them as senseless killers, when in fact, they only sought to defend and reclaim the …show more content…
She views the natives the same as New England settlers viewed them all throughout their early conflicts with them, as heathens or God-less devils. This however, was not the case at all. The Natives practiced a form of religion not entirely different from the white based Christianity that the settlers practiced. The Natives often referred to "their creator" or "their mother" as their supreme object of worship and they attribute their creation and all of the events in their lives to the actions of this "creator". Petalesharo says, in reference to his form of religion, "Him who made us and placed us on this earth. I feel grateful for the Great Spirit for strengthening my heart for such and undertaking, and for preserving the life which he gave me. The great spirit made us all-he made my skin red, and yours white; he placed us on this earth, and intended that we should live differently from each other"(589). This concept of a singular creator bears striking similarities to the Christianity practiced by the settlers. They were in fact not the Godless heathens that Rowlandson makes them out to be, but instead they practiced a devout form of their own religion based upon the individualism and creation that Petalesharo speaks of in his aforementioned
Franklin's attitude towards the Native Americans is very different from Mary Rowlandson's because he recognized that even though their manners were different from english men, they weren't savages as Rowlandson described them. In Rowlandson's narrative she clearly shows her opinion on their habits when she says: "and myself also in this wilderness condition," by comparing their normal condition to "wilderness" she calls them animals. Meanwhile Franklin is sure to state that: "These Employments of Men and Women are accounted natural & honorable," and by doing so he clarifies a good opinion on the natives and in the way they lived. Rowlandson also compares the Indian's manners as unpleasant, when she describes: "(in their hellish manner)."
Rowlandson’s journey was uncommon among Puritans of the time. She saw a more humane side of the savage, evil Indians that most Puritans did not or refused to see. Although she attributed their compassionate and humane behavior to god, she did acknowledge it, which was a first among Puritans. Though she may not have done it intentionally, Mary Rowlandson became one of the first Puritans to treat the Indians like human beings in their writing.
In conclusion to all these articles, Mary Rowlandson and John Smith set the perception for Native Americans due to their Captivity Narratives. Puritans already had an evil view of Indians and these stories adding to their belief of how they were in cahoots with the Devil.
These advocates expected the Native Americans to leave their lands voluntarily. With the promise for land west of the Mississippi there would be no limits to the tribe’s choice of government, assistance, relocation and protection. Jefferson believed that the Indians’ failures were theirs to own and they needed to depend on themselves alone to become numerous and great people. He encouraged them to take the new land and cultivate it, build a home, and leave it to his children. He was failing to tell them that they really didn’t have much of a choice. Boudinot determined that many of the Cherokee people would leave their land if the true state of their condition was made known to them. They were left with only two real alternatives, one to live under the white man’s law or to be forcibly removed to another country. However some American’s worried about the future of the Native Americans. John Ross’s letter to president Jackson believed it was the white man’s duty to relieve the Indians from their suffering. This could only be accomplished by allowing the Native Americans to obtain their land in Georgia under the rights and privileges as free men. Nevertheless no great lands good for farming would be given to the Native Americans and Jackson would sign the Indian removal act. This act would allow the government to exchange fertile land for land in the west, where they would forcibly relocate the Indian
God displays his protective powers in various ways. She is shown to be in despair numerous times. So many things happen that keep chipping away at her spirit. The Indians come and ransack the town, basically burning it to the ground. She is separated from all of her children except for one and even in that moment, her daughter dies in her arms after being wounded by a gunshot. Rowlandson herself is injured and is forced to keep travelling despite her conditions. Chaos seems to surround her at every angle. She is initially given a very miniscule amount of water to sustain her on the trip along with some nuts and crumbs. Rowlandson states that “… still the Lord still upheld me...” and also that “he hurt me one hand, and proceeded to heal me with the other”. She believes that due to her people being unfaithful, the Lord is now punishing them so that they can repent. But her being puritan and a chosen one, instead of being killed off, she is preserved and is allowed to get back in God’s good standing. At one point she even thinks of attempting suicide and ending all the misery but she states that thanks to God, she came back her senses and reason to know that she couldn’t go through with such an act. God was using the Indians as agents to punish the Puritans and in doing so, whenever the opportunity for freedom arrived and for some reason the opportunity was not seen
As white settlers poured across the mountains, the Cherokee tried once again to compensate themselves with territory taken by war with a neighboring tribe. This time their intended victim was the Chickasaw, but this was a mistake. Anyone who tried to take something from the Chickasaw regretted it, if he survived. After eleven years of sporadic warfare ended with a major defeat at Chickasaw Oldfields (1769), the Cherokee gave up and began to explore the possibility of new alliances to resist the whites. Both the Cherokee and Creek attended the 1770 and 1771 meetings with the Ohio tribes at Sciota but did not participate in Lord Dunnmore's War (1773-74) because the disputed territory was not theirs.
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.
Black Hawk started considered if the great chief of St. Louis could give them 6,000 dollars to buy treaty and other objects, they will agree to move to the west of Mississippi River. However, a few days later, the war chief came back and said: “The great chief of St. Louis would give us nothing! – and said if we did not remove immediately, we should be drove off!” Then, Black Hawk denied to admit the treaty of 1804 “We had never sold our country. We never received any annuities from our American father, and we are determined to hold on to our village!” (Black Hawk,
The movement westward during the late 1800’s created new tensions among already strained relations with current Native American inhabitants. Their lands, which were guaranteed to them via treaty with the United States, were now beginning to be intruded upon by the massive influx of people migrating from the east. This intrusion was not taken too kindly, as Native American lands had already been significantly reduced due to previous westward conquest. Growing resentment for the federal government’s Reservation movement could be felt among the native population. One Kiowa chief’s thoughts on this matter summarize the general feeling of the native populace. “All the land south of the Arkansas belongs to the Kiowas and Comanches, and I don’t want to give away any of it” (Edwards, 203). His words, “I don’t want to give away any of it”, seemed to a mantra among the Native Americans, and this thought would resound among them as the mounting tensions reached breaking point.
“Pontiac, chief of the Ottawa Indians, is trying to take Detroit, and the neighboring Indian groups join in and help. They have become disenchanted with the French, plus the French aren’t really there anymore. They hate the English. They want their land back. Starting to succeed and the British negotiate and reach a settlement. In order to keep Pontiac happy, no settlement allowed in the Frontier region. An imaginary line is drawn down the Appalachian Mountains, colonist cannot cross it. This doesn’t last long, in 1768 & 1770, Colonists work with the Iroquois and Cherokee and succeed in pushing back the line and send in surveyors. Colonists begin to settle. So, despite this line, colonists push west anyway” (Griffin, PP4, 9/16/15). During the Revolutionary War, “Native Americans fought for both sides, but mostly for the British, thought they stood to be treated more fairly by British than colonists. Those that fought against the colonists were specifically targeted to be destroyed during battles. There were no Native American representatives at the treaty meetings at the end of the war” (Griffin, PP8, 9/21/15). Even the Native American’s thought of their women, because they believed “an American victory would have tragic consequences: their social roles would be dramatically changed and their power within their communities diminished” (Berkin,
In this way the religion practiced by the Native Americans was taken as contradictions to Christianity. The natives were informed that Christianity was designed to be an eternal rule of significance and a means from which they could use to return to God from their religions that had deviated (Eliot par. 3). Through sermons given by Whitfield, the minds of the natives were engaged in religion and making religion the subject of most of their discussions. They embraced all the opportunities to hear what was been taught on Christianity. The Christian revivals were attended by the young and old alike (Edwards par.
In her account, A Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Rowlandson
In “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson,” Mary Rowlandson, a Puritan mother from Lancaster, Massachusetts, recounts the invasion of her town by Indians in 1676 during “King Philip’s War,” when the Indians attempted to regain their tribal lands. She describes the period of time where she is held under captivity by the Indians, and the dire circumstances under which she lives. During these terrible weeks, Mary Rowlandson deals with the death of her youngest child, the absence of her Christian family and friends, the terrible conditions that she must survive, and her struggle to maintain her faith in God. She also learns how to cope with the Indians amongst whom she lives, which causes her attitude towards them to undergo several changes. At first, she is utterly appalled by their lifestyle and actions, but as time passes she grows dependent upon them, and by the end of her captivity, she almost admires their ability to survive the harshest times with a very minimal amount of possessions and resources. Despite her growing awe of the Indian lifestyle, her attitude towards them always maintains a view that they are the “enemy.”
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God is a primary source document written in the 17th century, by a well-respected, Puritan woman. This book, written in cahoots with Cotton and Increase Mather, puritan ministers, tells the story of her capture by Indians during King Phillip’s War (1675-1676). For three months, Mary Rowlandson, daughter of a rich landowner, mother of three children, wife of a minister, and a pillar of her community lived among “savage” Indians. This document is important for several reasons. First, it gives us insight into the attitudes, extremes, personalities and “norms” of the Puritan people we learn about in terms of their beliefs, and John Calvin’s “house on a hill”. Beyond that, despite the inevitable exaggerations, this book gives us insight into Indian communities, and how they were run and operated during this time.
The Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson is a personal account, written by Mary Rowlandson in 1682, of what life in captivity was like. Her narrative of her captivity by Indians became popular in both American and English literature. Mary Rowlandson basically lost everything by an Indian attack on her town Lancaster, Massachusetts in 1675; where she is then held prisoner and spends eleven weeks with the Wampanoag Indians as they travel to safety. What made this piece so popular in both England and America was not only because of the great narrative skill used be Mary Rowlandson, but also the intriguing personality shown by the complicated character who has a struggle in recognizing her identity. The reoccurring idea of food and the word remove, used as metaphors throughout the narrative, could be observed to lead to Mary Rowlandson’s repression of anger, depression, and realization of change throughout her journey and more so at the end of it.