Changes in the Land Essay

Like the Oneida, the Cherokee men were the hunters and the women were the farmers. Although the women did most of the farming, the entire Cherokee community would come together to plant and harvest the big fields of corn, pumpkins, beans, gourds, and potatoes. The women would keep personal gardens outside their homes to have fast growing corn and other produce that they could quickly use to make a meal. The Cherokee were famous for the many dishes that they made with corn. They made breads, soups, used corn as a side dish, and used it in stew. Corn was a necessity in the Cherokee community.

Proprietorship- also known as Restoration Colonies, the Carolina and Jersey grantees, the Duke of York, and William Penn owned all the land in their new colonies and could rule them as they wished, provided that their laws conformed broadly with that of England’s. (1660s)

The Europeans and the Indians had very contrasting ideas of personal wealth and ownership. The Europeans believed that only the rich should own land, and

Both had to be recognized and accepted by the other villages or communities. Since the land was a divided boundaries, Europeans had deeds for the land, records of ownership, that made it accessible to sell and buy land. Since the Indians thought of the land as free for anyone to use, nor did they have the need for money, therefore the Indians couldn’t buy land and Europeans believed that they were indigent.

Aboriginal Land Rights Aboriginal Australians have always had an eternal bond with the land. For the 50,000 years or more, they have occupied the continent; the land provided not only the basic needs, but also the spiritual beliefs. In the Dreaming, the forms of the land, mountains, rivers, landscapes and animals took shape and the spirit of ancestors resided in places that became sacred sites to the Aboriginal people. The land to these people were their most precious commodity. When white settlement began in Australia in 1788, the concept of terra nullius {the land belonging to no-one} was adopted by the British.

The domesticated animals that the Europeans brought carried over diseases such as small pox and measles which ultimately decimated the Native American population along with numerous animals and thus harming the ecosystem. Furthermore, after numerous crops from the New World was introduced to the Old World, there came a rising demand for those crops. This eventually led colonists to mass produce these crops in hopes of selling them for extra money. Excessive farming eventually led to deforestation for farm land along with depletion of the nutrients in American soil (Nun 174). Soil depletion then resulted in poor farming which followed starvation of the colonists and the destruction of American land. This early example shows the dangers of deforestation and poor soil that people still risk today by harming the

Most native people lived in impermanent settlements, and in more settled groups, women tended the crops while the men hunted, fished, gathered fuel, and cleared fields.

Documents B and C represent the distribution of taxable property (Document B) as well as the distribution of land holdings (Document C) that took place in 1756 and 1773. In a letter written by Silas Deane, a Wethersfield merchant and Connecticut delegate to the First Continental Congress, to Patrick Henry, a Virginia delegate to the First Continental Congress, on January 2, 1775, Silas wrote: “[The Connecticut man’s] first principle is to possess a disencumbered freehold, be it ever so small, in preference to the largest under quit rents and landlords…for a Connecticut farmer with two hundred and fifty or three hundred acres of good land, is a rich man, that is, as rich as he wishes to be” (Document F). In that letter, Silas Deane asked Patrick Henry to grant permission to a group of Connecticut settlers and allow them to travel to an Ohio settlement in hopes of procuring the land. By interpreting the above quote, it’s easy to visualize the colonial belief that to own a piece of land, even a small one, provides a greater sense of accomplishment than living on a larger property owned by someone else.

Property: The right to claim and hold property; When it has been laboured for, one encloses it for greater individual profit the profit of the community of Man, it has been laboured for – Natural means of ownership one encloses it – The process of holding legal “deed” for greater individual profit – to build investment equity and avoid poverty of waste the profit of the community of Man – Moral commitment to Human Development (Locke: 1689).

The book “Changes in the Land” by William Cronon in summary is based on environmental history where science, social science, the way society affects human nature and vice-versa is all combined into his narrative. With that being said, he believed that humans are dependent on nature, and nature is something that’s either made or broken by humans. Same goes for vegetation and land area. He wrote about conflicts between two cultures, where when the settlers came in to New England, they took over the Native American’s home. The power the settlers had over the Native Americans grew so strong that it got to a point where the rule of usufruct was put in place, where Native Americans could make use of any natural resource on earth as long as it wasn’t being needed by another person.

Native American women had to follow their husbands, fathers, and brothers to wherever they wanted to go in order to stay close to the bison. Therefore, with all the moving around, they had teepees that could be put up for living and taken down for travelling. Women were in charge of both packing up and putting up these moveable homes. Once they had claimed their new home, women started working the fields. These fields were their responsibility. Their children were also theirs to care for while the men were out on long hunting journeys. On top of all that, Native American women made things to trade, such as jewelry, tools, and pottery.

Chickasaw Indians were semi nomadic, people who moved according to season in search for food, water, shelter, and land. Families lived in villages made up of small houses with more than one house per family. Throughout the family, tasks were established separately; one category for the women and one for the men. Women were introduced at an early age how maintain their own land and raise their own crops. They accommodated in looking after their children, cooking, and cleaning. They also tended to the slaves which were often given through war with other tribes. Young girls had the option to stay close to their mother and assist their mothers with the labor or spending their day as they chose.

Woodland Indians inhabited the large geographical area in eastern North America. The varying climates and four seasons affected how each individual group of Indians lived and ate. The Appalachian mountains and Great Lakes prohibited movement of people to some extent. Some people were able to harness the shoreline water as a means of transportation. Gardening and harvesting of crops became a way of life for these people but was sometimes complicated by the harsh winter conditions in northern Wisconsin. Utilization of natural resources controlled the economy. These Indians were very knowledgeable about the trees and plant life in their area. They used the abundant wildlife as part of their

Through this painting John Gast managed to reflect various land ownership attitudes from his time. To begin with the attitude of Manifest Destiny which helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal, and war with Mexico. Such beliefs and other attitudes, like Locke’s theory of property, strengthened the expansion of the civilization and institutions across the breadth of North America. According to Locke’s theory of property, “the right of use and ownership is determined by the farmer's labor, when he mixes his labor with the land, the results are improvements” (Locke 171). Attitudes like these greatly influenced the environmental ethics of the 19th century because they were in direct opposition to some of the traditional land attitudes

The modern definition of property is the allocation of right to valuable resources between and among entities or individuals. In Whiteness As Property, Harris stated that the origins of property rights in the United States are rooted in racial domination, specifically by whites. Cheryl Harris, Whiteness As Property, 106 Harv. L. Rev. 1707, 1715 (1992-1993). Harris states, possession - the act necessary to lay the basis for rights in property - was defined to include only the cultural practices of whites. Id. at 1721. This definition laid the foundation for the idea that whiteness - is valuable and property. Id.