Native American Religion Chapter 3 Summary

Trigger agrees that “...the native American evidence was strongly colored by a desire to please Europeans...historical records are stereotyped in various ways that must be understood before they can be used reliably as historical documents” (Trigger, 1991, p. 1196). Trigger’s thorough article provides clear, specific situations that occurred during European contact, and the position they were affected in. For example, Natives believed the Europeans were“...supernatural spirits...Europeans...offered...supernatural interpretation in terms of native religious concepts” (Trigger, 1991, p. 1200). This situation is related to the romantic behavior of the Indians as the Europeans were arriving into their land. A historiographical example which relates and agrees to Trigger’s argument is the novel, Native Americans: Opposing Viewpoints, because it provides several different viewpoints rather than favoring only the

The Native American religion was very different from the Christian religion of the Europeans. The Native American’s didn’t pray to a god, they prayed to something in nature such as the sky or the sun. “O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky” (Tewa Indian). The colonists thought that it was barbaric that the Native American’s didn’t believe in a God. The colonists thought that there was only one correct way to be religious and that the way that the Native American’s practiced religion was ‘the wrong way’.

Much of European criticism of Native American was based on differences in religion, land use, and gender relations. Most Europeans reasoned that Indians needed to be converted to the “true religion” of Christianity (Give Me Liberty, 11). In fact, Verrazano concluded that the Indians had “no religion or laws” (Voices of Freedom, 10). The Europeans did not understand the Indians’ use of the land and thus justified overtaking it, reasoning that they did not truly “use” it. Some Europeans criticized gender relations, claiming that women lacked freedom due to their work in the fields (Give me Liberty, 12-13). Others, like Verrazano, criticized the Indians for having “absolute freedom” in which they did not abide to any laws due to ignorance (Voices of Freedom, 10). Regardless of

At first the Indians welcomed the Americans with open arms and generosity and were in turn given “poison”, alcohol diseases, and a war. If these men who devastated his people were Christians, then it is not a religion his people are interested in. Furthermore, Red Jacket uses the past to tell the British how the Great Spirit created, has guided, and provided for his people over the years. It was not until the America “forefathers” came to the Seneca Tribe, that conflict began to arise. With that it goes to say that the religion that is associated with these men is not a good religion.

Throughout the stories told in both Mohawk Saint and The Unredeemed Captive, the unintended consequences of attempting to convert the American Indians to Christianity are powerful players in the unfolding events. When these Christian groups arrived in the New World, they came armed with the word of God that they wished to share among a group of people that have never before encountered the concept of Christianity. While eventually these relationships improved and Christians and American Indians began to have closer contact, there were still results from the conversion process that no one could have expected when the progress had started. In both of these stories, the unintended consequences of the encounters between Christian religious and

The history of the United States with regards to its native population is inaccurate and assumes that the history of this country began when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock (Richter, pp. 4-5). With regards to the native people’s

As all authors are undeniably guilty of, James Axtell has a bias, and not one shamefully swept underneath the rug. The enlightening article Axtell has published remains not only as informational; it stands convicting in a sense. Unfortunately, the reader may find themselves lumped into the assemblage of Americans that regard the Native Americans as “pathetic footnotes to the main course of American History” (Axtell 981). Establishing his thesis, Axtell offers plentiful examples of how Native Americans contributed to Colonial America,

The Cherokee are perhaps one of the most interesting of Native American Groups. Their life and culture are closely intertwined with early American settlers and the history of our own nation’s struggle for freedom. In the interest of promoting tolerance and peace, and with regard to the United States government’s handling of Native affairs, their story is one that is painful, stoic, and must not be forgotten.

Two distinct communities call Winner, South Dakota, home, the Lakota community and White community. Although the majority of my friends from school were Lakota, there were few Lakota members at our church. Initially, I did not understand this divide between the diversity of the town and the homogenous white community within many of the churches in Winner. As I grew older, however, my parents explained the historical tension between the Christian church and Native American tribes. Although practices like forcing Anglo-American culture at boarding schools or banning traditional religion are no longer church and governmental policy, the memory of these events and the perceptions these events created continue. When I went to university, I realized the Native American culture and struggles I observed were unknown to the majority of my classmates. I realized I could marry passions for Native American history and Western American church history as I research the factors that contributed to the historical interactions between Native American tribes and the church. I intend on using this research raise awareness for Native American issues, support existing efforts social justice efforts, and promote reconciliation between Native American tribes and the

Despite the reluctance of early missionaries to serve in North America, some evangelists saw it as a worthy mission field. Conroy-Krutz also examines the role of the American Board in evangelizing the Cherokee and the Choctaw in the 1810s and 1820s. From its inception until Andrew Jackson’s election, the United States government funded the American Board’s missions through the Civilization Fund. Their job was to help convert Native Americans to Christianity and to spread Western-style development among the tribes. After the War of 1812, the American Board moved into Cherokee lands. The United States government hoped that the Native Americans would quickly assimilate into Anglo-American society. Despite reports from the missionary schools, many

From a European stand point, altering the lives of the Native Americans was a perfectly justifiable action. They were uncivilized, and thus must be welcoming of their attempts to convert them to a more advanced manner of living. At the same time, however, they must have notions of owning land, of claiming sections of the Earth as their own, of trade and association of certain objects with high value. This, however, was a paradoxical viewpoint. The main problem that resulted from the intermixing of European and Native American populations was a misunderstanding of what each culture maintained as important within their lives. To the natives, mourning wars, gods who were part of the Earth itself, sacrifices, and any other number of various traditions were natural to who they were. The Europeans, in contrast, valued war as a means of gaining territory, not people; they often were monotheistic, with odd customs all their own, such as self-torture or confession. The differences between the two cultures could have been overcome, perhaps, if there had been some attempt to understand one another’s values. However, as evidenced, Europeans did not attempt to understand without an ultimate aspiration to change.

Historical scholars, critics, and archaeologists have thoroughly analyzed and developed often conflicting opinions on the superiority of religious perspectives of American Indian culture versus European culture. However, in American Colonies by Alan Taylor, Taylor notes that it is futile to claim that one culture was better or worse than the other because of the religious ideologies that shaped their societies, and instead claims that both shared faults and strengths that should be considered before making generalizations (Taylor 4). Alan Taylor identifies important comparisons between the cultures of American Indians and Europeans, particularly in reference to religion, which include their shared involvement in persistent warfare, their similar yet different arrangements of social order, and their contrary approaches to spirituality in regards to the natural and supernatural world that in turn shaped their

Religions take a large part in history. IN 1805, The British Empire believed in Christianity and followed the beliefs in The Father,Son and Holy Spirit. They also believed that everyone should follow this set of beliefs. Native Americans believes in the spirits of the indigenous people of the Americas. At the time the Red Jacket,a chief and orator born in eastern New York, was asked for the permission to convert the Native Americans in Iroquois settlements to Christianity by a Boston missionary society. Author, Daniel Drake took notice of this, and included this event in Native American history in his book “ Lives of Celebrated American Indians”.The author builds an argument, alike The Red JAcket’s that Native Americans shall have religious

Christianity has been an impactful religion throughout the world due to its constant diffusion carried out by the Europeans. Europeans had stayed in one part of the world until the fifteenth century. By the end of the century they set out to explore further west. Further west they found what they called the “ New World” and in this world different people with unique customs. The Europeans found these customs too unique and thought of them as “savages.” As a result, they decided to convert the “savages” to Christianity because they thought the religion would make the natives want to change their lives for the better (or make their lives more European). Although, it can be argued that the Europeans’ actions negatively impacted the natives more than it did positively. The purpose of this paper will be to expose the negative impacts the spread of Christianity had on the natives of the Americas. The negative impacts are that the spread changed the cultural customs of the natives, it brought harm to them, and brought diseases. By analyzing the impacts of the spread of Christianity, it will also be analyzed whether this history affects the legitimacy of Christianity.

The identity of Native Americans can be described in connection with Christianity considering their stand on religious matters. In the book Sermon on Moses Paul, the writer, Samson Occom explains how grave sins can be and the fact that they can produce severe consequences. During his sermon, the