The Indian Awakening In Latin America

The Indian Awakening in Latin America

This book describes difficulties of the Indians who inhabit the following countries: Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico, Paraguay, Panama, and

Brazil. This book is a compilation of the various struggles of indians living in these countries of Latin America. For over four centuries, these people have been taken advantage of by the Europeans who invaded their lands. Many of the customs and traditions of the Indians in Latin America have struggled for survival throughout the centuries from the problems that the whites have caused.

Latin American Indians have struggled through hardships created by the whites that include a loss of lands, slavery, discrimination, a complete rearrangement of their beliefs and cultures, ethnocide, and genocide.

The Latin American Indians have struggled for centuries since the invasions of their lands to reclaim their lands, and way of life. The lands for them is not simply dirt for them to cultivate. The various Indian cultures have lived with their lands in harmony for thousands of years. The land to them is their sense of identity in which they respectfully care for and live with in harmony. The land which they once owned was meticulously cared for and the lessons which they learned of respect for nature was passed down to their children for generations. Much of the land they once owned was stolen from them when the Europeans invaded.

Another aspect which was described in this book was religion and the effects it had on the natives of Latin America. The Catholic church was forced upon many of the Indians when the European, mainly Spanish, ideologies were forced upon the Indians. The church claimed to want to help them to enrich thier lives and help their communities. The new church soon forced the natives to work for many days without any pay. The impression of the church was forcfully imposed on them in many ways. The Europeans believed that the Indians were not equall to them. The believed the Indians did not know any better, and the religion they followed wasn't the true one. If the Indians didn't want to worship the Catholic religion, harm was given to them oftentimes. Religion has always been an important life to the Indians of Latin America. It has been an integral part of their life for thousands of years. Although disputs about religion has been going on since the beginning of time, the pressure which the

Spanish settlers imposed on them was one which was integrated with dominance.

The dominance which was imposed on the Indians of Latin Americans when the

Spanish settlers arrived, stripped the Indians rights to have the freedom to