Essa Y. AL-Mogbil Mre. Riebe ENG 098 06 Apr , 2014 Chief Seattle: A Letter to President Pierce In his speech, a Letter to President Pierce 1855, Chief Seattle attempts to prove that if the Native Americans and White Setters can be tolerant of these alliances perhaps the two groups can learn to live and understand each other. Chief Seattle a leader of Native tribes of America. He is known for his bravery and great leadership. Aside from that, he has also pursued the friendly relationship to the White men( California State University Northridge, 2014) “For the most part the tribes lived peaceably believing that nature was sacred and was to be shared. However, the coming of the Europeans and the removal of their land led to conflict both between the different tribes and between the Indians and whites (History on the Net, 2012).” Places in America were dwelled by many groups of Native Americans. Some of whom were the Apache, Cherokee, Pawnee, and the likes. As natives, their value systems focused on the value of nature and sharing it all the living forms on earth. Also, they valued equality on all things with life. From the letter of Chief Seattle to President Pierce in 1855, he has included this line: “For all things share the same breath – the beasts, the trees, and the man.” The Indians or Native Americans had a completely unlike ways of living compared to the White men. They think that the Whites are only there to get what they wanted from the resources and treasures of the earth, living others spoiled. White men’s ways are too selfish. They are getting all the pleasures of what they do, not minding the damages they might cause because of that. The letter used the words “red man” to talk about the Native Americans. This term is... ... middle of paper ... ...tion of those intended for usage. But that is not too much to risk for them. What would be the effect of small sacrifices in exchange for the progress and all? But, the red men think about it the other way around. The nature and the earth is not something that should be wasted in all sorts. They believe that earth is a friend, and all in it. So, whatever is found in it, they must not be expelled by any means. Because destruction of which, means destruction of us. References: "Random Thoughts." : Summary and Response of "Letter to President Pierce, 1855" Ed. Rnorm. N.p., 30 June 2007. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. Barefoot Bob. "CHIEF SEATTLE'S LETTER." CHIEF SEATTLE'S LETTER. N.p., 1931. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. "Red man." The Free Dictionary. Farlex, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. "Native Americans - Tribes/Nations." Native Americans. N.p., 2000. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
Cronon raises the question of the belief or disbelief of the Indian’s rights to the land. The Europeans believed the way Indians used the land was unacceptable seeing as how the Indians wasted the natural resources the land had. However, Indians didn’t waste the natural resources and wealth of the land but instead used it differently, which the Europeans failed to see. The political and economical life of the Indians needed to be known to grasp the use of the land, “Personal good could be replaced, and their accumulation made little sense for ecological reasons of mobility,” (Cronon, 62).
Rhetor’s since the days of Aristotle and Isocrates have been using their rhetorical situations to deliver messages with a sense of urgency and persuade others to see their point of view. In 1933, Luther Standing Bear published his book “Land of the Spotted Eagle”. In this book, he talks about the terrible conditions under which his people live and how it needs to change. He speaks specifically to this in the excerpt “What the Indian Means to America”. Here he is referencing the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Standing Bear talks about how the European Americans caused these disasters and how the Native American could be the solution to these problems. He uses his rhetorical situation to try and convince the American government to listen
The white men were never content and were constantly on a mission to find more land. Indians
To the Native Americans, the misuse of natural resources caused a disruption in the natural order of the environment. They lived in harmony
The Europeans invaded America with every intention of occupying the land, the bountiful natural resources as well as the complete domination of the native people. The Europeans desire for the land created an explosive situation for the native peoples as they witnessed their land and right to freedom being stripped from them. They often found themselves having to choose sides of which to pledge their allegiance to. The Europeans depended upon Indian allies to secure the land and their dominance as well as trade relations with the Indians. The Indians were in competition with one another for European trade causing conflict among the different tribes altering the relationships where friends became enemies and vice versa (Calloway, 2012, p. 163). These relationships often became embittered and broke into bloody brawls where it involved, "Indian warriors fighting on both sides, alongside the European forces as well as against European forces invad...
of Native American Culture as a Means of Reform,” American Indian Quarterly 26, no. 1
Axtell, James. “Native Reactions to the Invasion of North America.” Beyond 1492: Encounters in Colonial North America. New York: Oxford UP, 1992. 97-121. Print.
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
In the first narrative, the Indians boys and girls were sent to the east to become just like the white men. Indians children were oppressed with new cultures and new ways of living that were the opposite of how they have always been living. They were forced to wear new clothes that were much more uncomfortable, such as trousers, high collars, boots, stiff- blossomed shirts, and suspenders. The Indians could not understand how the whites could be comfortable in those clothes. The Indians were also degraded when it came to tampering with their culture. Their hair was cut and their names were changed to common English names and most of all they were not allowed at all to speak of their mother tongue. The food was also modernized and they had to change accordingly to stuff they never experienced. Disease was never apart of the Indian community but there were imposed as well on the Indians. So the Indian children did not necessarily benefit from the change only make them feel worse about who they were and the fact that they could not do anything about it.
It is evident that the Native Americans were unfairly removed from their homeland because the Europeans settlers saw them as savages not worthy to live among them. The Native Americans responded to their cruelty with pleads of desperation. These pleads of desperation were annoyed and instead excuses of doing what’s “best” for them both proceeded.
The article, “Native Reactions to the invasion of America”, is written by a well-known historian, James Axtell to inform the readers about the tragedy that took place in the Native American history. All through the article, Axtell summarizes the life of the Native Americans after Columbus acquainted America to the world. Axtell launches his essay by pointing out how Christopher Columbus’s image changed in the eyes of the public over the past century. In 1892, Columbus’s work and admirations overshadowed the tears and sorrows of the Native Americans. However, in 1992, Columbus’s undeserved limelight shifted to the Native Americans when the society rediscovered the history’s unheard voices and became much more evident about the horrific tragedy of the Natives Indians.
As a result, identity plays a role in articulating. According to Smith, “racism can be seen as a form of sexual violence against indigenous peoples” (Smith 2005, 3). The faith of the Native American’s empire lies in the hands of the U.S. Congress. For that reason, “indigenous people do not have full authority to decide because, under U.S. law […], it is the U.S. Congress that has full ‘plenary power’ to decide the fate of indigenous peoples and lands” (Smith 2005, 60). This explains the reason for their suffrage, and also the reason why they as portrayed as a target for sexual violence. Native American organizations have continued to demand the U. S. to disburse their land as compensation, due to its history of racial oppression. For this purpose, “one of the reason for tensions between Native and main stream environmentalists’ use of rhetoric – usually concern for the well-being of the earth – that obfuscates colonialism and racism” (Smith 2005, 62). Which explains why, “many women and men of color do not want to have any dealings with white people” (Anzaldúa 1987, 107). As Smith explains, reparations will only be effective if we “continue the legacy of these pioneers, remembering that white supremacy is a global problem that
In Thomas King’s novel, The Inconvenient Indian, the story of North America’s history is discussed from his original viewpoint and perspective. In his first chapter, “Forgetting Columbus,” he voices his opinion about how he feel towards the way white people have told America’s history and portraying it as an adventurous tale of triumph, strength and freedom. King hunts down the evidence needed to reveal more facts on the controversial relationship between the whites and natives and how it has affected the culture of Americans. Mainly untangling the confusion between the idea of Native Americans being savages and whites constantly reigning in glory. He exposes the truth about how Native Americans were treated and how their actual stories were
To understand Jackson’s book and why it was written, however, one must first fully comprehend the context of the time period it was published in and understand what was being done to and about Native Americans in the 19th century. From the Native American point of view, the frontier, which settlers viewed as an economic opportunity, was nothin...
The Native Americans or American Indians, once occupied all of the entire region of the United States. They were composed of many different groups, who speaked hundreds of languages and dialects. The Indians from the Southwest used to live in large built terraced communities and their way of sustain was from the agriculture where they planted squash, pumpkins, beans and corn crops. Trades between neighboring tribes were common, this brought in additional goods and also some raw materials such as gems, cooper. seashells and soapstone.To this day, movies and television continue the stereotype of Indians wearing feathered headdresses killing innocent white settlers. As they encountered the Europeans, automatically their material world was changed. The American Indians were amazed by the physical looks of the white settlers, their way of dressing and also by their language. The first Indian-White encounter was very peaceful and trade was their principal interaction. Tension and disputes were sometimes resolved by force but more often by negotiation or treaties. On the other hand, the Natives were described as strong and very innocent creatures awaiting for the first opportunity to be christianized. The Indians were called the “Noble Savages” by the settlers because they were cooperative people but sometimes, after having a few conflicts with them, they seem to behaved like animals. We should apprehend that the encounter with the settlers really amazed the natives, they were only used to interact with people from their own race and surroundings and all of this was like a new discovery for them as well as for the white immigrants. The relations between the English and the Virginian Indians was somewhat strong in a few ways. They were having marriages among them. For example, when Pocahontas married John Rolfe, many said it has a political implication to unite more settlers with the Indians to have a better relation between both groups. As for the Indians, their attitude was always friendly and full of curiosity when they saw the strange and light-skinned creatures from beyond the ocean. The colonists only survived with the help of the Indians when they first settler in Jamestown and Plymouth. In this areas, the Indians showed the colonists how to cultivate crops and gather seafood.The Indians changed their attitude from welcome to hostility when the strangers increased and encroached more and more on hunting and planting in the Natives’ grounds.