Zenas Leonard: A Brief Summary

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

The first argument Faragher presents in Sugar Creek: Life on the Illinois Prairie is the warring off of Native Americans with Anglo-Americans. The Kickapoo, an Indian tribe that settled in Sangamon Country, a county full of many resources that were vital for survival. The Kickapoo knew the land and hunting was their number one economic activity (Faragher 20). Fur trading became an important market between Native Americans and 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.

As humans, one of our most important natural instincts is survival. The Indians were an ancient people who were developed important survival skills and pass them down to the next generations. They were mostly hunter-gatherers with simple yet efficient lifestyles usually supported by the agriculture and wildlife. They were able to conserve water from streams, springs, and rainfall for irrigation, weave baskets to store foods derived from wild plants, and eventually create pottery, a more efficient way to store or retrieve resources. They did not wear a lot of clothing, but what clothing they had was from the hides of animals, woven from plant fibers. They were expert hunter-gatherers and created their own weapons such as spears, bows, and arrows. Some tribes were known to have tracked their prey and

When the first colonists landed in the territories of the new world, they encountered a people and a culture that no European before them had ever seen. As the first of the settlers attempted to survive in a truly foreign part of the world, their written accounts would soon become popular with those curious of this “new” world, and those who already lived and survived in this seemingly inhospitable environment, Native American Indian. Through these personal accounts, the Native Indian soon became cemented in the American narrative, playing an important role in much of the literature of the era. As one would expect though, the representation of the Native Americans and their relationship with European Americans varies in the written works of the people of the time, with the defining difference in these works being the motives behind the writing. These differences and similarities can be seen in two similar works from two rather different authors, John Smith, and Mary Rowlandson.

The relationship between the English and the Native Americans in 1600 to 1700 is one of the most fluctuating and the most profound relationships in American history. On the one side of the picture, the harmony between Wampanoag and Puritans even inspires them to celebrate “first Thanksgiving”; while, by contrast, the conflicts between the Pequots and the English urge them to antagonize each other, and even wage a war. In addition, the mystery of why the European settlers, including English, become the dominant power in American world, instead of the indigenous people, or Indians, can be solved from the examination of the relationship. In a variety of ways, the relationship drastically alters how people think about and relate to the aborigines. Politically, the relationship changes to establish the supremacy of the English; the English intends to obtain the land and rules over it. Socially, the relationship changes to present the majority of the English settlers; the dominating population is mostly the English settlers. Economically, the relationship changes to obtain the benefit of the English settlers; they gain profit from the massive resource in America. Therefore, the relationship does, in fact, change to foreshadow the discordance of the two groups of people.

description of native life are described in such a way as to emphasize some of

Additionally, Royal gives clarification for Native Americans’ positive stereotypes. He explains, “ But this is far from modern concepts of ecology. Native Americans in fact overhunted deer and beaver even before the arrival of the white man, and did not seriously try to preserve the resources in the vicinity of their villages. As a result, the typical woodland village, having exhausted local soil and game, had to move on average every eight to 10 years” (Royal 47). Although the Native Americans did not destroy the environment like Europeans on such a large scale, they are not trying to protect the environment either. This opposes the stereotypes that Native Americans are model ecologists. Royal also examines the inhumane sides of Native American tribes. Royal reveals, “The

The colonisation of North America by the Europeans became one of the most crucial points for the native North Americans. The differing experiences of contact between both cultures had overwhelmingly disastrous impacts on the normal way of life. From such contact arose the issue of land disputes, in turn resulting in massacres and frontier wars which could have otherwise been unnecessary. The factors stated above provide a suitable stimulus for a discussion in regards to the varying encounters of the Indigenous North Americans.

To better understand the conflict between the Europeans and the Native Americans, one must closely examine the state of Europe’s economy at the time. Europe struggled with difficult conditions. This included poverty, violence and diseases like typhus, smallpox, influenza and measles. There were widespread famines which caused the prices of products to vary and made life very difficult in Europe. Street crimes and violence were prevalent in cities: “Other eruption of bizarre torture, murder, and ritual cannibalism were not uncommon”.2 Europeans

In, A Severe and Proud Dame She Was, Mary Rowlandson recounts the treatment she received as prisoner of war from Natives in the Wampanoags and Nipmuck tribes written in her perspective. In 1675, Mary Rowlandson found herself and children held captive in the hands of Massachusetts Native Americans. Mary writes with a bias that seems to paint the Native Americans as a species different than her own, but her tone suggests she tried her best to understand their tribe. The purpose of this article appears to be written with the intent of persuading the masses on account of personal experience; that is the interaction among Natives and their customs to be seen in a light of hypocritical behavior. Through the lens of the captured author, she details the experience of her captivity with merciful gestures on the Native’s behalf, despite them keeping her for ransom. Rowlandson suggests traditional Native warfare surrounds a central recurring theme of manipulating mind-games; psychological warfare.

It's very often that the public has the impression that Native American cultures were inflexible, unchanging societies, with little or variation through the centuries. This is the central theme of this chapter I believe because throughout my days on this earth I have heard plenty of puts on the Native community. I believe the author was trying to address people with negative views on the Native community and open their eyes to the beauty, land, social classes, and development of the Native culture and this book counter acts the misconception of society. Throughout these chapters the dynamic culture of the Northwest Coast people are revealed. With a history that has many twist and turns just like in other civilization these 1400 miles called

The attacks on Indians by the whites could now be excused because the Indians had murdered family members. They could kill, scalp, and rob Indians without much fear of being caught or punished. A play based on real life, written by Indian fighter, Robert Rogers, showed how two hunters happened upon two Indians. As they talked, both told of how Indians had murdered some family members, so it was logical to them to kill the Indians, scalp them and robbed them of the guns, hatchets and furs. The “victims’ furs were a fantastic windfall”. (129)

The pelts were very valuable. The Mountain Men were like locusts who fed on beavers, moving from stream to stream and decimating local beaver populations. The Native Americans, however, had developed a harmonious relationship

In Leonard’s journal entry, he seems to be of two minds. Unlike some in his party, he does not seem dead set on killing Indians and tries to avoid conflict, but on the other hand, he seems to feel that the ensuing battle was unavoidable. He seems to appreciate and respect the harsh beauty of the land and even makes some notes of the Native Americans diet and habits. However, he then immediately describes the Indians that the party meets at various points along their route as being, “of the most poor and dejected kind - entirely naked and very filthy” (8). He also alludes to the fact that the Indians are poor in material goods and thus are willing to make unfair trades which benefit the trappers when he says that they traded two awls and a fish hook to an Indian in exchange for a beaver-skin robe which was probably worth, “from thirty to forty dollars” (8). In reality, the Indians probably had a much different idea of what things were more valuable, but the Leonard appears to imply that the Indians are quite naive.