Nation to Nation The Nation to Nation exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. was focused on the treaties between the Europeans and Native Americans. The exhibits talked about how those treaties are a part of what helped the U.S expand their territory. In addition, the exhibit explored the different Native tribes and their varying cultures. Native American history was shaped by the meaning of civilization and who was civilized, how this affected the relationships between Natives and Europeans and the assimilation programs targeting Native American children. Many of the conflicts between Native Americans and Europeans were due in part to a difference in what is means to be civilized. Because the Native Americans were living differently than the Europeans, they were deemed "uncivilized' and taken advantage of. However, the Native Americans had most of the essential parts of a civilization. For example, Natives had a form of religion as well as arts and architecture such as longhouses and feather headdresses, a …show more content…
The exhibits showed many pictures, graphs and artifacts which made the information it was providing easily accessible for many age groups and learning abilities. In addition, there were many quotes from people who were important figures in the historical events that occurred. However, the downside of having many pictures is that sometimes the displays would rely solely on the pictures and artifacts to tell the story which would leave some details out and make the exhibits too brief. Another thing that was a recurring issue was the overall lack of organization in the museum. The exhibits only went in chronological order some of the time and could become very confusing. Overall, the museum does a good job showing that Native American culture and history is still here despite many attempts to wipe it
Museums serve as a way to connect with the public on a large scale, and the knowledge held within exhibits can be a fruitful experience for those who choose to visit these institutions. Experiencing all that a museum has to offer, no matter how well intentioned, can at times be confusing and overwhelming to the individuals visiting the site. The Smithsonian’s Museum of the American Indian dedicates itself to Native Americans in North and South America, and worked tirelessly with varying tribes to create a new standard. Some visitors and scholars found their work to be successful in design and approach while others found it to be lacking in execution. This institution does not approach Native American history in a familiar fashion; however it does cover an expansive period of time, and produces a great amount of detail while generating powerful emotions.
The Europeans and the Native American’s come from very different customs and cultures. The colonists had very
From the very first interaction, the social and political relations between the Native Americans and the Europeans had begun with much tension. Many Europeans came to the Americas with the intention of discovery. However, when it became apparent that these new lands were inhibited the motives changed, and then the natives were colonized, abused, and in many cases killed. From then and throughout the impending periods of time, the relations between the natives and the Europeans had a few points of mutual peacefulness, but were overall negative.
Throughout the course of history there have been numerous accounts regarding Native American and European interaction. From first contact to Indian removal, the interaction was somewhat of a roller coaster ride, leading from times of peace to mini wars and rebellions staged by the Native American tribes. The first part of this essay will briefly discuss the pre-Columbian Indian civilizations in North America and provide simple awareness of their cultures, while the second part of this essay will explore all major Native American contact leading up to, and through, the American Revolution while emphasizing the impact of Spanish, French, and English explorers and colonies on Native American culture and vice versa. The third, and final, part of this essay will explore Native American interaction after the American Revolution with emphasis on westward expansion and the Jacksonian Era leading into Indian removal. Furthermore, this essay will attempt to provide insight into aspects of Native American/European interaction that are often ignored such as: gender relations between European men and Native American women, slavery and captivity of native peoples, trade between Native Americans and European colonists, and the effects of religion on Native American tribes.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, when the Europeans started to come over to the new world, they discovered a society of Indians that was strikingly different to their own. To understand how different, one must first compare and contrast some of the very important differences between them, such as how the Europeans considered the Indians to be extremely primitive and basic, while, considering themselves civilized. The Europeans considered that they were model societies, and they thought that the Indians society and culture should be changed to be very similar to their own.
There are many reasons Native Americans and European Colonists did not have a good relationship. The reason for conflict between Colonist and Indians was due to the Colonists insatiable greed for power and land. Some of the reasons not only included physical mistreatment but also an ethical mistreatment of the Native Americans. European Colonists not only brought with them many different diseases that would later aid in the genocide of many Native American tribes, but also a mindset in which they felt superior to there Native neighbors. This feeling of superiority led to an outbreak of violence and many different civil wars. Due to the Native American and the Colonists irreconcilable
The Native Americans sustained and took care of their home, while the Europeans pushed and pulled for more money to fall from it. This caused the land to lose a lot of its density and eventually the Europeans’ wealth as well. Things that were lost were proper farming grounds, culture of the Native Americans, and wild life. Different views of the Europeans and Native Americans caused a lot of conflict. The Europeans’ views on the Indians’ way of life became critical once they saw and felt as if their society was not controlled
Native Americans had conflict with the Europeans over social and environmental problems; this led to violence and war. Also, Europeans and Native Americans were both violent and Europeans enslaved and killed Natives to conquer land and people.
Many prominent historians argue a clash between culture and religious philosophy was the primary cause of conflict between European settlers in North America and Native Americans. However, a closer analysis of American history suggests otherwise. While a clash in cultures and religious differences did exist, the European domination of Native Americans was primarily fueled by European economic motivations, a desire for valuable natural resources and a craving to expand the American colonial system. Due to this, the conflict was inevitable.
biggest issues that the people have to deal with and solve. Many cultures, Indian culture is one of the examples, were affected by the persecution of the people who were though to be “superior” to others. Indian culture was persecuted by whites, which wanted to wipe off the Indian civilization from the face of the world. The Native Americans wanted the same as anyone would, peace and freedom for their people. The Native Americans did not consider “white way of living righteous” for them, they were spiritual and had a different outlook on life, and did not want interference from outside world.
When Europeans first set foot upon the shores of what is now the United States they brought with them a social structure which was fundamentally based around their concept and understanding of Western European Christianity. That the indigenous peoples might already have a thriving civilization, including religious beliefs and practices, that closely paralleled the beliefs and practices of European civilization, was a concept not considered by these early explorers and settlers. This European lack of cultural understanding created tensions, between Native Americans and Europeans, and later between Native Americans and Euro-Americans, that eventually erupted into open warfare and resulted in great bloodshed between cultures. For the Lakota
They display vary from actual replications of stores, the wildlife that can be found here, and the Native American artifacts that were found in this city. Most of the exhibits are pleasing to look at and well organized. They did a great job with making the replica store displays interactive with getting to press the button to hear the telling of what is being viewed and getting to learn more about this area from history. Some areas, though, are more cluttered and hsve quite a lot to try and take in all at once. An example of this is the area with the war memorabilia. In the display case there is a lot of objects such as photos or items like canteens and clothing items all lumped together. It is neat to look at and learn more about the army and war our veterans were a part of, but this display is bit overwhelming. There does not seem to be any true inaccuracies in the displays at the museum. There could potentially be small ones like an item being put in the wrong display in the store replications that might keep it from being completely historically accurate, or the dinosaur exhibit could be inaccurate because the dinosaur replica is of one that was thought to have roamed here. There is chance that it may not have which leaves it open to the potential to be a historically inaccurate
Their resources doesn’t seem to be as ingenious, neither does their clothing. In my opinion, they could definitely upgrade in clothing and weapons. Their settlements were quite enterprising, and they truly cherished their culture. According to the Europeans, Native Americans were far from civilized, which means to have an advanced or refined culture. Europeans perceived Native Americans as uncivilized people who were extremely backwards. They saw them as having horrible resources, cannibalistic individuals, who were atrocious; meanwhile, they anticipated them as advanced and civilized people. Their perception of Native Americans absolutely impacts relations between the two people, due to how harsh they recognized them on one hand, and how organized they grasped them on the other. The different notions undeniably could create conflict, because of how they could be taken, which is in many negative and downing
The early European settlers came to American in hopes of starting a new society. The first issue they ran into though, was that somebody else was already there. The Native Americans already had a society set up on their own. Their society was much different than that of the Europeans. Native Americans lived in what can be considered as an uncivilized community. Something that was open and free with little structure. Europeans
In school, we are somewhat taught about the conflicts Native Americans and Europeans had. We are taught what happened, but not really why it happened and what was gathered from the experience. For example, the United States government has roots in the Iroquois Confederacy (Indianyouth.org, 2017). European settlers gained from the forceful taking of Native American land, while the Natives suffered. They were lied to, robbed, and the majority killed. Native Americans used to be all over America, now there are only 556 federally recognized Indian and Alaskan tribes (Indianyouth.org, 2017). Although most Americans blame the conflict between Native Americans and European settlers on the Natives being uncivilized, the differences between the two cultures are more to blame due to them having contrasting values and Europeans believing they were superior.