Question for Megan's Section
This week, I would like you to think about Native American culture. What are some of the key characteristics? What are the differences between native and European cultures? What role does gender play? Age? How did these differences lead to misinterpretations about each other? Which culture is more appealing and why?
I would like you to focus specifically James Axtell's "White Indians," White Woman of the Genesee Mary Jemison (pg 71-77) and Rev. John Heckewelder, "Defense of Indian marriage practices and gender roles."
Please remember that these responses need to include substantial discussions and evidence from the readings. Although length, does not necessarily make strength, answers that are too short will not fully address the requirements.
I would like you to focus specifically James Axtell's "White Indians," White Woman of the Genesee Mary Jemison (pg 71-77) and Rev. John Heckewelder, "Defense of Indian marriage practices and gender roles."
Please remember that these responses need to include substantial discussions and evidence from the readings. Although length, does not necessarily make strength, answers that are too short will not fully address the requirements.
posted by Megan Boccardi at 9:44 PM
32 Comments:
Differences between the cultures and which culture is more appealing:
In the first few chapters of The World Turned Upside Down the differences between the European and Indian cultures were discussed. There was tension between these groups when the Europeans first came to America and came in contact with Indian culture. The Europeans immediately trying to change their culture created many problems. However, some Indians did adopt the European ways. A big aspect of European culture brought over was religion. The Europeans followed the ways of the Christianity and believed very heavily in it. When they brought this over to the Indian culture, it was both accepted and rejected. Some Indians did not want to change their beliefs but at the same time some Indians were up for the change and followed the European ways. The Indians were not the only ones taking; they also gave the Europeans aspects of their cultures. The Indians taught them about farming and they both learned more about trade. Also, Indian- European marriages started occurring. This helped incorporate the cultures together. I don’t think one of the cultures was better than the other. I think they were both important in creating the culture of yesterday and today’s American culture.
According to Axtell's article Indians were seen in rough skins with which they hardly covered themselves. Indians aslo replenished thier fields with grains and trees and used useful animals. Because Indians lived of the land, and dind not know English, nor live lavishly and follow Christian lives, they were viewed by the Europeans as savages. It was interesting to me that when the whites took indians they tried to teach them English and adjust their customs to a more European fitting, and Indians usually turned back to their ways. When the Indians took whites they "treated [them] with all imaginable kindness". Indians found many Europeans willing to wholly convert to the Indian ways, but the Europeans could not find many Indians who truly wanted to fully change their wasy to match the Europeans. Many Europeans who lived any length of time with the Indians became "tainted" with the indians ways. Usually family memebers were able to mark the differences in the members who spent time with the Indians saying that they would even begin to look like Indians. In my opinion the Indian's culture was much more appealing due to the fact that the Indian were able to create more converts than the Europeans were. The Indians were much more loving and lived more sustainably and allowed the Europeans to learn to learn to live in their new land.
What are the differences between native and European cultures? What role does gender play?
The biggest difference I saw between native and European cultures was that of marriage. European culture looked down upon the divorcing or the seperating of husband and wife for any reason. As in the native culture it was "as women are not obliged to live with their husbands any longer than suits their pleasure or convience, it cannot be supposed that they would submit to be loaded with unjust or unequal burdens." Both genders of Indians were allowed to leave or end a relationship if it was not working. Unfortunately for Europeans, especially women, the fact that the relationship wasn't working didn't matter. They had to stick things out. In native culture women and men are seen as both needing the other. In the 1700s while European husbands oversaw the lives of everyone in their family, native couples were working with each other to make better the lives of themselves and their children. In native culture, the husband did the hunting while the wife did the farming and therefore both shared the workload and tried to keep each other happy and satified. In European culture, it was more about what the Father of the family wanted. There was little to no input from the wife, even though she took took care of the household.
What culture is more appealing and why?
Today, the question of which culture is more appealing is in the eye of the beholder, but it seems that back in 1700s, the more appealing of the two was the native culture. As stated in the James Axtell excerpt "Most of the Indians who were educated by the English returned to Indian society at the first opportunity to resume their Indian identites. On the other hand, large numbers of Englishmen had chosen to become Indians..." This means that while Europeans had strictly educated Indian children and pushed to show their superiority and the comfort of their lifestyles, Indians were still more pleased by their original way of life. Not to mention, Europeans alike were choosing to become Indians in a hope that "treaties of peace [would] periodically afford them the opportunity to return home."
According to Axtell's article ;When the Europeans first arrived they saw Native American women working in the fields, some with babies even strapped on their backs. They were dressed in only thin animal skins. The Europeans believed this to be barbaric and unorthodox. In the native American culture gender does not play a role. The men and women split the chores equaly so everything gets done. In European culture however, it was customary for the women to stay home and complete the household chores and watch over the kids. While the men go out and work for wages. I think the Native American culture is more appealing because it makes everything fair. it cuts down on fighting about the jobs.
One of the key characteristic of Native American culture is that Native American women had a more important role. After marriage the men would leave their families to go live with their wives clan. In native culture the couple’s children were to be taught and raised by their mother's brothers. The clan’s village was basically run by the women. Many of the native villages were successful at farming and women were able to run the fieldwork since the men fished and hunted. Women were also able to be apart of their clans board which was unheard of back in Europe. It was very easy for captive women to take to native culture because their gender relations.
Some differences between native and European cultures were that the elders held a dominant spot in the government instead of a king. Another difference was that when it came to trading the Native Americans would exchange gifts as a way of making alliances and friendships whereas Europeans would trade just for profit or their own gain.
I think that the Native Americans culture is more appealing because it is something different compared to how we live to this day. Still women are seen as inferior because they don’t always play a prominent role in society.
-corey mueller
The key characteristic about Native Americans is their purely sociallistic way of living. Everything is shared, everyone works together, not for personal gain, but for the continuation of the tribe or the village. They have abandoned everything that gets in the way of survival such as gender inferiority and personal ownership. This varies with European culture because Europeans were generally only concerned with thier own lives and had little to do with the daily upkeep of society. They merely existed within the society that was already available, rather than having to make sure that the society didn't crumble around you.
In Europe, women were socially repressed, having very little to do with daily politics and social concerns. However, in Native American culture, women were seen as equals, or at least were given an essential role in the upkeep of the village. Women farmer, rose children, cooked, cleaned game, built, possibly even hunted with men.
These differences caused much concern with the Europeans. When the Europeans saw the Native American women being treated equally, performing manual labor, and sharing in the desicion-making, they thought of the Native Americans as barbaric and uncivilized. They sought to take the native Americans under their wings and show them the "benefits" of their culture. Apparently the Native Americans saw things the same way, because they attempted to do the same to the Europeans. And according to James Axtell, "The White Indians of Colonial America", the Native American culture was more appealing becuase a significant number of Europeans became affilated with Native American tribes, often forsaking their European lifestyle and livelihood for the native American way of life.
Some of the key characteristics of the Native American culture were the ways of preparing and cooking food. Other characteristics consist of religion, marriage, and the houses they built. Most Native American tribes lived in what was called long houses. The long house was typically enclosed in a barricade made from timber. Native and European cultures differ greatly. The main difference between these cultures was the way women and children were treated. European men made their wives slave in the house all day. On the other hand, Native American women were in charge of their families. While the men went hunting, the women worked in the garden. Also, another difference was when a man and woman married. In Europe, once married, the woman belonged to her husband’s family; however, in Native American culture, once a man and woman were married, the man went to live with his wife’s family. Age played a role in the difference between these cultures. European children were treated harsh. They weren’t allowed to speak unless spoken to, they had to bow when an adult came in presence, and babies were swaddled so that the shape of their bodies couldn’t be seen. Native American children were treated in a more humanly way. They worked in the gardens with their mothers, were treated like an adult, and had no corporal punishment. These differences lead to the interpretations of Native Americans as a bunch of wild banshees and Europeans as strict, proper, and religious. Both cultures are appealing, because we have taken aspects from each culture and made a culture of our own.
The key characteristics of Indian culture revolve around cooperation between the husband and the wife. The wife would work the fields providing harvested food while the husband hunted to provide the family with meat as well as skins. This was a joint cooperative and both partners relied on each other. There were definitely gender differences between the European patriarchal culture, and the Indian’s matriarchal culture. “The women have the chief authority amongst all the nations of the Huron,” stated Pierre de Charlevoix in his article about Indian child-rearing, politics, and criminal justice. Men in the European based colonies had the utmost authority which was very different in comparison to the Huron nation. It seems as though the Europeans looked down upon the Indians for letting the women hold positions of authority, thinking that they were in superior. In my opinion the Indian culture was more appealing. I believe this because the Indian’s way of treating others was very fair, allowing equal opportunity for men and women to participate in society, compared to the Europeans who only allowed men to make decisions.
Women in Indian and European cultures were vastly different. In European cultures women didn't not have much powere outside of the household. They didn't do much besides tend to the children adn oversee the house. While in an Indian culture women even made a couple of decision. When I mean they made a couple of decision it was exactly like it is today. The men would sit around in circle and make decisions for the tribe. The women could stand on the outside of the circle and whisper there feeling on the subject to the men. The men would then speak up in the circle for the women. The Indian women also tended in the field, while an European women would never do manual labor. The Europeans thought that to be cruel punishment. However everyone loves to do something for themselves. Even if it is hard work you still feel better, because you did it
There are several differences between the Native American & European culture. The Native American husband & wife could separate from each other if they were not happy. The woman could leave the man. In European culture, the woman could not leave the man. The man was the only capable of leaving the woman. The husband & wife of the Native Americans were kind of equal. The woman had some say in things, but the European woman did not have say in matters in their household. The man was the patriarch in the European household. The Native American men had the job of going out and hunting for food while the woman stayed at home & worked in the fields. The European women did not work in the fields. They stayed inside most of the day & ran the household. In terms of religion, the Europeans believed in Christianity & tried to get Native Americans to convert to Christianity. Native Americans had their own beliefs. As you can see, there were several differences & even more, between the two cultures.
Women in the Native American society played a very big role. For example, the eastern woodland indians practied ideas such as matrilineal descent. Women also were allowed to do things such as the farming while the men did the hunting. Women made the major decisions of the clan. In the European culture women had little or no say in basically everything that went on. The European women saw how the Native American women had so many rights and they saw it as wrong. I feel the Native American culture is way more appealing because the women actually had a say in what went on.
Some of the main characteristics of the Indian culture are that they gave more responsibilty & respect to women. Also they did not have the family values that European families had. In an indian tribe the father did not play a major part in the raising their own children, instead the brothers `of the mother were more influential. These are just a few of the differences that seperated the europeans and indians. When the Indians lost a member of their tribe they would capture a person either to adopt into the tribe to compensate the loss or to just get revenge. when Mary Jemison was captured and later adopted by the tribe she claimed it was a scary experience and she was terrified to move but after the ceremony Mary claimed that she was treated like a member of their family. there are so many differnces but these are a few to start with.
In the native american culture, women were the head figure. Many people are mislead when they see the cheif being asked about important decisions for the tribe. Cheifs were "beloved men", but they were not the head honcho as people believe. Women lead the tribes and made the major decisions such as whether to move the tribe or to go to war or not. Women were the farmers in the native american culture, while the men were the hunters. As both jobs were very important, the womens job was seen to have more importance as they were the ones bringing the food that could be controlled, crops. This is a major cultural difference between the "new americans" and the natives, as in the new world, women had very little say and were not counted on for their opinions or beliefs.
Michael Gremaud
The Native American and European cultures had many differences, starting off with the role of women. In European culture women did not have a specific role besides staying at home. In the Indian culture women would work in the fields while the husband went off to hunt for food. The European women didn't have the opportunity to leave the men if they were not happy, where the Indian women could leave if they were not happy. The Europeans came to America to establish themselves, and try to convert the Indians to Christianity. But the Indians had their own beliefs, and they never accepted each other's views even though some people from both cultures converted to the other.
Native american women played a big role for the family. They worked out in the fields, as well as raising the children. Colonial men were the ones who plowed and planted the fields. In native american culture the women kind of had a say in what was going on, but colonial women did whatever the men said. Colonial children were beaten and taught strickly to behave, but native children were not physically hurt when they were being raised Colonial men could do whatever they wanted to women, but natives beleived that a "woman's body was her own."
The Indian culture is easily more appealing to anyone who has read the information and facts contrasting them with the Europeans. First off, Indians in war will take prisoners back to their village and adopt them as a member of whichever family is out a man, INSTEAD of just killing the people. Secondly, the Native Americans never beat, hit, or abused anyone within their tribe, except for the initiation of new whites into a family in which the person was only hit few time in order to mourn a lost family member. Thirdly, once a white person was initiated into the tribe, "from that day I never knew them to make any distinction between me and themselves in any respect whatever." Whites were treated as COMPLETE equals. After initation the new members were showered with gifts as well. Fourthly, the white members after time were so trusted that they were offered spouses of the Indian race. And if the spouse was not able to satisfy the white person then the white could leave them at any time. Fifthly, the people who were adopted into a community were never forced to accept the Native American's culture, but instead took it upon themselves to join in with the Indian people who were always very caring and encouraging. Sixthly, women were equals with men. Period. And lastly, the age of a person did not matter to a tribe, 13-year-olds could be the chief of their village (even if the 13-year-old was a girl). Indians accomplished an incredible society of friendship and common courtesy that puts to shame any society past or present in this world we call Earth.
There was a big differnece between the European and Native American cultures. When it comes to the treatment of women, native americans had a greater respect for each individual woman, while the European women did not recieve this respect. The European women mostly had the responiblity of staying at home and nurturing the children, Native American women on the other hand worked in the fields, and also had somewhat of a say so within the tribal decisions. The Indian women also could leave there man, when the Europeans would be forced to stay in an unhappy home.
There are many key characteristics and differences in Native American culture compared to European culture. Native Americans believed in what is called matriarchy. In their culture, women played the more dominant role. For example, when a man married a women, the husband would leave their family and move in with their wives family. Also, many villages were basically ran by the women. The childern were all to be taught and raised by their mother's and brothers. Farming and field work were done by the women and was very successful. Women were to stay home more, while men were out hunting and fishing for food. Also, in native american culture, age plays a huge role. While Europe had kings, elders were the Native American leaders.
Joey Huynh
The main differences in Native American and European Culture lie in their beliefs of the roles of women and children. In native american culture, the women have a lot of freedom, they can leave their husband and they raise their children how they wish, they also are in charge of farming and getting food.While, in European culture women were considered to be evil and they had to obey their husband no matter what. The children were also treated differently, Native american children were allowed to run free with minimum discipline where in European culture, their parents and teachers tried to break them of their evil ways. In this aspect the Europeans and Native americans were very different.
The key characteristic of native american culture is to work to survive. Their whole life evolves around working to feed their families or tribes and protecting each other. European Americans were also interested in wealth and material possessions. Gender is almost completely opposite to the European American tradition than in the Native American tradition. I addressed the story of Mary Jemison in my last post, and i will restate that women were treated with a much greater deal of respect in and Indian tribe. This was kind of respect was earned through working in the fields, harvesting and taking care of the children as well as being a huge influence politcally. White captives would be terrified at first but would adapt to the native american lifestyle pretty easily becasuse of the different gender roles. Mary Jemison was scared and devestated at first but soon learned to love the lifestyle she was a captive in. Also the role of families was a different story in the native american tradition. Instead of the woman moving out of her families house with her husband, the opposite would happen. When the couple had kids the father would not be the male figure in the kids life, that role went to the uncle.
As Pasley said in lecture the other day, Indians were not all nomads constantly on the move for food and shelter. A lot fo them did stay in one place and establish their own little villages. The common misinterpretation of Indians being savages came from the Europeans who happened to come across the small groups of nomadic Indians. These Indians would be seen in loin clothes and other "barely there" scraps of clothing. This caused the Europeans to come to the conclusion that Indians were barbaric. (Also the sight of women working could also whip them into a frenzy.)
Overall the Native American lifestyle does sound more appealing to me. They were not justified in the torture and brutal slaying of someof their captives, but they did not understand the ways of the Europeans and why their land was being invaded. Of course the fact that i am female does play a part in that decision!
- Hayley Craigmile
The European and NAtive American cultures differed tremendously. Whereas the NAtive AMericans livelihood focused on survival and preservation, the European's gluttonous mentality was to expand and colonize.
The Native Americans saw their women as people who could work and help them to benefit the tribe. Though their tasks differed, Native American women worked as men did. Europeans were somewhat different. The women worked but not as an equal to the man. Eupropean women were denied such rights as voting, education, and a profession.
Though we know now that the European culture prevailed, even after the seperation of the US in the American Revolution. Native Anmerican culture was by no means a lesser of the two. It benefitted unity and the preservation of nature.
In the Indians culture gender does not play a role like it does in the European's culture. They are considered equals and have respect for each other while in the European's culture women are expected to run the house and not anything else. The Indians were generally led by the women while the Europeans were led by men. The Indians gave women power while the men had very little and close to none. On the other hand the Europeans gave no power at all to the women and gave them no say. The Indians respect the elders and listen to them for advice because they know they are wiser while the Europeans also respect the elders they do not give them as much respect as the Indians.If it were not for the Europeans were stronger so it would be safer to be a European, I would want to be an Indian because there is mutual respect to others and they do not just kill for no reason if they kill anything it is because they have to.
Native American culture was based on honesty, honor, love, friendship, and community. The Native Americans didn’t live life to get rich like the Europeans, they lived life to pass on their legacy and support nature. Some of these values were causes of why the Europeans easily walked all over the Indians. The Indians never wanted any trouble with anyone, only to get along, as an Indian chief once said “Why do you take with force what would have been given to you out of love?” This attitude was reflected by the stories of many captives who chose to stay and live within the Indian villages than return home. Indian marriages were also very easy going. The man respected the woman for the duties she fulfilled and the woman respected the man for his hunting ability. If one of the partners wasn’t satisfied with the other, they could leave at anytime. As Rev. Heckewelder put it “as women are not obliged to live with their husbands any longer than suits their pleasure…”. The Native Americans treated their women with more respect and dignity than the Europeans did. The women were given more responsibility with less pressure than in the white world. The women had to grow crops, make clothing, or as Mary Jemison said, even carry the game meat back from the hunting grounds. The Indian men never over looked the women like a slave driver as the Europeans did which made things a lot easier and showed that they trusted the women and thought they were capable. This made the Indian culture more appealing to women and children. Most men that were captured were usually killed or ritually tortured because they were already set in their European ways. But consequently these rituals led the Europeans to consider all Indians as savages which just justified their reasoning for pushing the Indians farther west.
Some of the key characteristics in Indian culture are honesty, hard work, equality and responsibility. The native Indian cultures and the European culture differed quite a bit. The European culture was centered on patriarchy. Men were the head of the household and had complete power in marriages. However, in Indian culture, women had equal power. In marriage, women share power and responsibility with men. When an Indian couple is married, the man often moves in with his wife and her family unlike in European culture. Both sides agree that they shall not live with each other any longer than they are pleased with each other. Therefore divorce is a lot easier in Indian culture and is initiated more often by women than that of in European culture. Women work hard, but do it because they know it will help the family. They know they have to help farm if they want their family to survive and live healthy. The men are expected to provide for the family by hunting and trapping while the women work in the fields. Before a marriage, men are often expected to go to great lengths to please women by showing his skill in trapping and hunting and if he is successful the woman will do her best by farming and running the household. These differences between the two cultures led to misunderstandings. The Europeans often believed that the Indians were savages with no understanding of how a culture should run. This is due to the fact the Europeans did not give women the same equality that the Native Americans did. Between the two, I would say the Native American culture is more appealing to women and men who want an equal society. However, during this time many men wanted complete power in the household and therefore would prefer the European society.
From the headdresses to the rituals, there is no doubt that Native American culture is a lot different than European culture. However, it is not just the way that the Native Americans and Europeans looked, it is also the way they acted as a whole. Gender played a huge role in how a society works for both cultures, but in different ways. Traditionally, in European culture, women and children were regarded as second to men. Women were assumed to be the caretakers and obeyed any orders that their husband may have given. Their opinions never held any weight and they were often not consulted in any decisions that were made. On the other hand, women in the Native American culture decided if and when the husband was to be “thrown out.” They would stand behind their husbands while they were in political meetings and whisper to them their feelings on the subject being discussed. And furthermore, they were treated as equals among the men. When Europeans first saw the Native American women working in the fields, having a say in decision-making and generally being treated as equals, they thought the idea was crude and ridiculous. This is why many stories and movies refer to Native Americans as “savages.”
In hindsight, it is clear that living with the Native Americans was probably more appealing, especially for women. However, since history books rarely say anything against the European settlers (mostly because what we know about this time is bias), it is also seldom mentioned that the Native American culture may actually be superior to the European culture. According to Benjamin Franklin, “When white persons of either sex have been taken prisoners young by the Indians, and lived a while among them…and treated with all imaginable tenderness to prevail with then to stay among the English, yet in a Short time they become disgusted with our manner of life…and take the first good Opportunity of escaping again into the Woods, from whence there is no reclaiming them.” This shows that even Europeans were convinced that the Native American culture was not as “savage” as they once thought it was and may even be better than the traditional European culture.
-Kristin Robben
Some key characteristics of the Native American culture are that they saw nature as a brother. They took only as what was needed compared to the Europeans who came over taking land killing animals for furs and etc. The gender plays a big role. The males did the hunting and females grew crops. Even in community meetings the men did the speaking but women still were there giving their input. Age played a big role too. Kids were watched and allowed to relax but when they were old enough to contribute they did. The older Natives were the wise and looked upto. And Like what Doctor Pasley said divorce was way different. In Indian culture the women could leave when they wanted and in Europe they had a huge line to go through to have someone decide if they can. And also in Europe the men could sleep around, but if the women did they were looked down upon and their level of class dropped. I think the Native culture is more appealing because they lived among eachother helping eachother out. They hunted and grew everything they needed and were independant and needed no help from the outside. And they were peaceful and meant no harm. The offered peace with settlers but selttlers were the greedy ones.
Native American and European cultures were very different in the way they treated their women. The Native Americans saw their women as equal to the men. They were free to work in the fields and do more of the manual labor while European women were primarily in charge of only the household duties like cleaning and preparing dinner for the men. They were told what to do by the men and expected to do the tasks they were given, whereas Native American women were more able to make their own decisions on what to do. They even had a voice in some of the decision making within the tribe. In the end, Native Americans had more respect and honor for their women than the Europeans did.
The differences between the Native American and European culture begin with the very fundamental aspects of Native American society. One of the most important aspects of Native American culture, and something that incidentally completely contrasts European societies centered on patriarchy, is that family and even political structure to a certain extent are centered on the reverence of a matriarch. Native Americans tended to live in clans or groups that all traced their ancestry back to a common matriarch. For example, there might be many different children all living with their mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers, but only the daughters would live with the lineage their whole lives, when the sons came of age, they would have to marry into another clan. This was very different from the European sense of a family, in that the males, those who married into the clan had very little say and always had to answer to the matriarch. Also in these families, the children were not expected to be submissive to their fathers like in European cultures. Native American fathers didn’t hold fear over their children’s heads and the children were not taught to obey thy father and mother in school or face God’s almighty wrath. In regards to that, Native American religion is another key difference to that of the Europeans. As Native Americans founded their faith and belief system off of the beauties of nature, their religions were bound to be a more tolerant and more open-minded, than any Christian institution had to offer. For instance, while the French and British were trying to ‘save Native American souls’, they would use often use coercive tactics to force them into converting to Christianity.
Even the European’s sacred vow of marriage seemed to differ greatly from the way the Native Americans thought of marriage. First of all, in order for a Native American woman to marry a man, he would have to go out and prove to her that he was capable of providing for her. Unlike European cultures, the woman would do little to make herself seem pleasurable to her husband. In Native American society, it was a man’s duty to be the provider of the family, meaning that he was to go out and hunt or trap meat. However, to keep the man’s body supple enough to perform this task, it was the strenuous job of the woman to tend to the family’s fields in addition to making sure all the household chores were done. Unlike the women put on pedestals in European societies, these women were perfectly happy to do this sort of work simply because of the matrilineal system that they were a part of. If a Native American woman were ever upset with her husband’s performance then she had the ability to kick him out of her clan. Also, the relationship between a Native American woman and her husband was looked at as a sort of business agreement. For example, the man hunts and brings back pelts for his wife to prepare and trade. He trusts her to make trades to the best advantage of the family, but if she ever comes upon a debt the woman must repay her husband in the form of things like a horse or livestock.
Europeans had many misconceptions of the ‘savage’ Native Americans. They, for instance, believed that Native American women were treated like slave just because of the amount of work they did. What Europeans didn’t understand was that the women were more than happy to put in their fair share of work and, in Native American societies, had more personal liberties than their own women. Native American women were allowed more political power, higher social status and greater sexual freedoms. Europeans also didn’t understand the matriarchal system of the Native Americans. They simply could not see how a man wouldn’t quarrel or physically abuse their wives though, at times, she would give her husband good reason.
In my opinion and in the opinion of the many Europeans who became “white Indians”, Native American society appears to be more appealing than the traditional European culture. Just as the first citizens of the U.S. wanted their civil liberties, these earlier people sought out their own individual freedoms in a less radical way.
The Native Americans and the Europeans had two very diverse cultures. The Native Americans culture was based on nature and the beliefs of their ancestors. While the Europeans culutres were more towards expanding and spreading there religion to the Native Americans. Another difference was that the Native Americans were peacefull people even while the Europeans were taking there land. While the Europeans forced the Natives to move and relocate to fit there own needs.
Key characteristics of the Native American culture are conqueror peoples like the Aztecs and Incas lived in large cities and small, seasonly mobile peoples lived in villages. There was a huge diversity in the north. Different climatically-adapted culture areas had around 100 different languages. Native American culture also had the 5 nations that met with each other, somewhat like a government. There were differences between Native American cultures and European cultures. Native religion was very open-ended and non-exclusive were Europeans went to church every week and worship the same time and place. Natives were more spiritualized with nature and lacked concept of original sin. Natives really had no father figuress and Europeans did. Women also played a much more important role in society for Native Americans. The men hunted and the women did the farming. A key difference in gender play in Native American society was the women had a lot of say. They had direct political influence such as nominations and advice on things like wars and captives. The Native American culture seemed more appealing. They were independent and very peaceful even when Europeans threatened them and took what they had.
When the Native American culture is compared to the European culture its hard to believe they both existed on the same planet. The main difference between the two cultures was the role of the women. In the european culture woman were not seen as equals to the men. They had to spend their time inside of the house and do all the house work such as cleaning, cooking, child-rearing etc. and they had no political power. Also, when married the women had to move in with the husband. As far as the men went, they were seen as the patriarch of the family and held all the political power. In the Native American culture the women were seen as equals. They shared the the work equally with the men and actually held lots of political power. For instance, if the women in a Native American culture didn't agree with going to war with an enemy then they would simply stop supplying the food, clothing etc. that was essential to the men. Also, the husband had to move in with the wife after marriage. One ironic point that was brought up durring lecture was the fact that after the Europeans witnessed the women of the Native American culture doing labor similar to what European men did they referred to the Native Americans as savages because they forced the women to do such back-breaking labor, while the Europeans basically did the same thing to their women, but it was behind closed doors.
Family life wasn't the only difference in each culture; Religion was also very different. The Native Americans were polytheistic, and were more in tune with nature and their ancestors, while the Europeans were monotheistic.
The Native American culture would seem more appealing because it was more equal for the women and overall the Native American culture was more peaceful than the European culture.
Native American culture varied from European life in many important ways. First, Native Americans' religion was very different. The didn't necessarily follow one divine being but believed in the spirit of their ancestors and respected nature in a religious sort of way. Europeans all followed God through different denominations, and had the idea that their religion was superior to all others. This led to misinterpretations. They saw the Indians as a godless and savage culture that needed to be shown the light. As mentioned in James Axtell's "White Indians," they assumed once Native Americans were shown the way of the Europeans and the way of Christianity, that they wouldn't look back at their old, primitive culture. They did not respect the heritage of the Native Americans.
The Native Americans however, took their heritage very seriously, despite conforming to the Europeans in some ways. Native American heritage consisted of things like gender roles where the man hunted and the woman farmed. As well as the role of children being more free and their behavior based on honor rather than discipline. Marriage in Native American society was more free as well, where divorce was allowed and quite simple. The Native American culture was peaceful, simple, conservative, and appealing. They shared excesses of supplies with those in need and did not focus on personal material wealth. To live in their society would seem preferable to me rather than living in the European lifestyle. In the European lifestyle, the average settler is oppressed by the government, higher social classes, and even their own church by ways of strict expectations. Though the Native Americans could never have overcome the European colonization, their way of life was a good one, and seemed much more pure than many lifestyles today.
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