How Horses Changed The Lifestyle Of Indians

He described that for the Pueblos, the Spanish came with benefits like new animals, but the forced labor and swear fealty to the King of Spain was too strict . He recollected that Navajo did not yet experience the authority of the Spanish because “the white man did not know the Navajo existed” because they inhabited area that was dangerous and hide amongst bushes and trees. It was only until exposure to the ways of the Spanish that the Navajo even thought of taking care of animals like horses, so “the Navajos became horse stealers.” During Oakee’s interview, he stated that the violence of the Spanish encouraged peace amongst the Navajo and Pueblo, but eventually times turned hard and both groups looked towards the Spanish for help. He stated the “It was cruel time which the Indian had never forgotten, yet they were learning something too, and yet the Pueblo learn from the Spanish, the Navajo learn from the Pueblo.” Also, he stated that “the Spaniards did not understand [the Pueblos’ religion]”, which led to the revolt because the Spanish disgraced the sacred masks and stopped the Pueblos from communicating with their spirits. Furthermore, Oakee’s interview summarized the various ways that the Spanish had affected the lives of the Navajo, which was through contact with the Pueblo as the Navajo people incorporated sheep, new methods of farming, and new rituals into their way of

With the introduction of new resources found desirable in the new environment by the colonists and new products imported from Europe, Native Americans were launched into a brand new world of commerce to keep up with the quick pace of the developments. The Europeans valued the fur of buffaloes while Native Americans soon “became dependent on the manufactured goods the fur trade brought them, and hunted to the meet the demands...rather than the needs of their families” (Page 15). Moreover, Native Americans previously used animals in religious rituals, but after European contact, animals became “regarded as a form of property” and “crucial components of Navajo and Pueblo economy” (Page 13). Accordingly, Native Americans engaged in trade with Europeans way more than they had with each other before the arrival, boosting the rate of economic activity in the New World. Adding on, many colonists emigrated to America in order to gain economic freedom which came with owning property. However, “Indian peoples generally regarded land as something to be shared and utilized...They soon learned that

As far back as the Spaniard expansion in the 1600’s the Comanches were a tribe that was actually close to the bottom in terms of power and were bullied by other tribes. Then around the year 1625 to 1750 the Comanche tribe gained massive amounts of power due to pretty much one change in their culture, the horse. Conquistadors who moved from Mexico up to what is now New Mexico brought their Spanish horses with them, and when the Comanches started to fight, they took off and left their horses behind for the Comanche’s to get ahold of. Once the Comanches got ahold of Spanish horses they became a wrecking ball in Native American culture, and became such good warriors on horses that they have even been compared to Mongolians. As stated in the book, the Comanches were not the first tribe to utilize horses. The tribes before them used horses in a different way, such as transportation and food purposes. These tribes never really learned how to breed and use the horse as a war tool and were known to still use their feet to attack enemies, yet the Comanche would do a raid on horseback and escape on the Spaniard horse which is known for its speed. The horses were also a tool to hustle white men in racing bets. The horses that the Comanches used were not too easy on the eyes, and to the white man who had these European stallions, were not any test in races. So the Natives would gamble with the white men in horse races, most of the time winning by a wide margin, and would be known as the fastest horse and riders on the plains. Since the Comanches were also really advanced at breeding, some of the tribes were known to have anywhere from 500 to 1000 horses per section. They would not only use these fast horses to race but they would use them to steal other horses which was a huge market for

The Great Pueblo revolt of 1680 all started with the droughts of 1660 when the Southwest had severe drought that brought famine and disease. During this, hungry Apaches who couldn’t find food on plains attacked the pueblos. This angered the people on the pueblos, but there new leader Pope’, a mysterious medicine doctor, tried to keep the Indian beliefs around and resisted the Christian religion. The Spaniards hated this, so they captured his older brother. This enraged Pope’ against the Spaniards so he held meetings to tell everybody that the Spaniards must leave. The

One extreme change for the Indians was the arrival of Anglo-Europeans. Native peoples’ lives were changed at the blink of an eye while new ideas, practices and beliefs were shown to them. The arrival of the Europeans changed the way the Indians viewed their world and manipulated their resources. This new change could be viewed as positive as well as negative, for while some tribes entered into trade relations with the Anglos, others were used as slave labor and all were subject to disease brought on by the European newcomers. However, despite all the advantages and disadvantages, no other introduction changed the lives of the Indians more than firearms and horses. West outlines one of the most important evolutions for Native life and how it represented a new way to harness resources and gain power. In just a few chapters, we are able to see the great advancements the Indians made in hunting and trade due to these new technologies and how they allowed the Cheyennes to rise to a new purpose as the Called Out People.

The Comanche were a fierce tribe who rivaled the Apaches and eventually ended up pushing them out of Texas. They originally lived in mountains until they acquired horses in the 1600s and became powerful and mobile, thus deciding to move southwest to find more mustangs, buffalo, and a warmer climate. Together with their exceptional fighting skills and horse riding skills, the Comanche quickly controlled most of the Plains region and became very wealthy. They were able to follow the buffalo as nomads and use this animal as a resource for almost everything. They also could trade their buffalo goods with other tribes and make a profit. The Comanche would skin the animal and use it for moccasins, leggings, breechcloths, teepee coverings, and skirts for men and women. The tribe was organized with a war chief and peace chief. The tribe believed in good and bad spirits including the Great Spirit which they would smoke a pipe to. Men in the tribe were warriors and would steal horses from other tribes and people. If they were killed the tribe would kill their horse also and put them in a trench.

Raiding had been something to Apache had only done once in awhile but now that they couldn’t hunt buffalo any longer raiding became necessary for their survival. The hostility between the Apache and the Spanish settlers increased when New Mexico became a Spanish Colony . From the time of the Spanish colonization until 1886 they were noted for their warlike disposition. According to the written history of whites, Apaches have always been hostile; in truth, serious warlike behavior could usually be attributed to belligerent behavior on the part of the whiteman, or misunderstandings between the two peoples.

The buffalo were evidently everything to the Native Americans, hereby causing the defeat of buffalo to fall hand in hand with theirs. The plains Indians used bison as not only food, but in religious rituals, for clothing, for hunting, for shelter, and more. The buffalo were an integral part of the native’s lives. In the aftermath of the increasing killings of bison, the lives of countless Native Americans were destroyed. The said 30-60 million buffalo which had roamed freely upon the Great

The Great Plains were home to many Native Americans and several animals, most importantly the buffalo. Life was peaceful for the Native Americans until the railroad started being built and Americans began to expand westward. The Great Plains at first were viewed at in a negative way by the Americans because they thought it was just a “useless wasteland.” Americans thought that this land was too dry for their farming and agriculture. As these railroads were built westward Americans realized how beneficial they actually were. For example, many settlers found no dry land, but millions of acres of fertile soil. Also, cattlemen saw an open range for cattle and the opportunities here started to open up. Although this land was already taken by both Native Americans and buffalo, that meant nothing to the new settlers as they planned to get rid of both of them (Doc 1). I thought that the expansion of the Great Plains was negative for the Indians, but also positive for the Americans. I believe that the expansion of the railroad was positive for the Americans because as I said earlier, it brought them new opportunities find better lives and better land. It was very negative for the Indian because Americans decided to invade their land and get rid of them and

The mustangs run with a spirit that makes them legendary here in the west. On a bitter cold morning, dozens of wild horses descend off the mountains of eastern Oregon, galloping miles across the rangeland. Stallions and mares, guiding their young. It is an incredible sight, but also one that infuriates many hard working Americans. Horse’s hoof prints in cattle grazing lands, drinking the water supply dry. Farmers are losing their grazing rights before their cattle even step foot on the property. There is another animal taking over the land. Wild horses.

The cause of the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 has brought up a substantial amount of controversy between historians. Several historians took the preserved historical documents and gathered information from oral history to try and piece together the reason why the Pueblos revolted to begin with. Some historians point to religion as the sole cause, while others say it required the right leader, and still others point to the racial segregation and mixture of the Pueblos and Spanish blood as the cause of the revolt. While each historian has his own viewpoint, it is important to look into the reasons why each come to their own specific conclusions and determine if their argument is a biased or a balanced perspective. The main things to consider are

As Native’s live throughout their lives they face inherent obstacles requiring drastic measures to overcome. Indian Horse provides first person narrative into the exciting life of Saul Indian Horse as he makes his way to the top echelon of hockey excellence. This elite status comes a price however. Natives such as Saul, and Fred Sasakamoose have endured horrid pasts filled with mental, physical and sexual abuse. This abuse necessitates some a means to escape this reality and hockey is used throughout this novel to illustrate how it can be used as a means to mentally and physically escape. Sadly, once Saul’s career is over it becomes evident that a need for escape is inevitable and alcohol quickly becomes the vise that provides it.

Cattle has a reliable significance by being the personification of the Native American people. Although white ranchers rejected the animals, Josiah has his faith and intuition that his cattle would be unique, not the ordinary which have lost touch with their lands. He demonstrates the animals as “any living thing” (Silko, 74), which illustrates that the cattle would lose their origins if they “separate from the land for too long” (Silko, 74). Silko highlights the dissimilarity of treatment of animals by the whites from the Laguna method of hunting animals since the Laguna people expresses their respects and appreciations for the prey through rituals and ceremonies. When the Herefords owned by the white ranchers are about to fall to death because of thirst, the spotted cattle can find water on their own. In other words, they are self-sufficient and close to the lands

The Pueblo revolt was the changing point for the relationship between the Spanish and native population and one of the earliest tragedies to befall the Natives at the time but to explain what lead to the revolt we must step back into history and look at the events that lead to this.

Indian minimalism is when the characters have items that are only necessary for survival. One example of the basic Indian principle of minimalism is the killing of the colt. Horses are a luxury that must be exchanged for time and speed. Indians believe walking is a better and faster resort, and that horses are unnecessary, so they got rid of them as well in chapter five. The foresters using walking and water as main methods of travel because they are available. “The death of the colt sits heavy on the heart of its owner” (Cooper 51). This quote was right after the Indians killed the colt. They only kill the colt for religious purposes, and hope that good things will happen.