We've Done Them Wrong!: A History of the Native American Indians and How the United States Treated Them
We've Done Them Wrong!: A History of the Native American Indians and How the United States Treated Them
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Overview
Imagine that someone comes to your home and forces you at gunpoint to leave. Your response might be termed “savage.”
“Savage” was how the New World invaders described American Indians. Settlers chased them across the continent, as the government signed treaties that they later broke. They also subjected the native inhabitants to horrible atrocities.
Author George E. Saurman, a World War II veteran and proud American, explores what really happened to Native American Indians, examining
• Native American Indian tribes and their customs; • the actions of early settlers, including William Penn and his holy experiment; • contributions of the Native American Indians; and • conditions on reservations today.Saurman also considers how the Bureau of Indian Affairs handled relations between natives and settlers, as well as what Native American Indians from the past and today have had to say about events.
Even today, broken promises obscure what’s really going on in Native American Indian communities. It’s time that a serious effort be made to rectify the situation, and it starts by realizing that We’ve Done Them Wrong.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781475944891 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | iUniverse, Incorporated |
| Publication date: | 08/29/2012 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 1 MB |
Read an Excerpt
WE'VE DONE THEM WRONG!
A History of the Native American Indians and How the United States Treated ThemBy George E. Saurman
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 George E. SaurmanAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-4488-4
Chapter One
The New World before the Invaders
History has described the continents of North and South America as the "New World" as it related to the then known world of Europe and Asia. There was even the incorrect assumption on the part of early geographers, that if you traveled far enough west on this flat surface called earth, you would fall off. Maps didn't include the continent of North America, because it had not yet been "discovered" by the European adventurers.
However, the continent did exist, having been included as part of creation. Not only did it exist, but it was inhabited. According to anthropologists, the first inhabitants of the Americas migrated across the Bering Strait to Alaska by way of existing land bridges, probably in search of game. They resembled the early Mongoloid people of northeastern Asia, with medium skin pigmentation. For the most part, their hair was black and straight, with minimal body hair and very little balding. However, they have several unique characteristics which distinguish them from the Mongoloids.
Estimates vary as to the total number which existed before the coming of the Europeans, but it runs as high as eighteen million. And the time table for their migration is nowhere recorded, but it is believed to have been 20,000 to 30,000 years ago and it is obvious that once they crossed onto this continent, they spread out, going both south and east, breaking into many hundreds of different nations and tribes.
The Walum Olum (Red Score) is reportedly a historical narrative of the Lenape (Delaware) Indians. Botanist and antiquarian Constantine Samuel Rafinesque published an account in 1830 which he claimed to have been an English translation of the original story as told by the Indians. It suggests a migration some 3600 years before his writing and while its authenticity has been questioned, it is the position of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania that they have been in the area for 10,000 years.
The Indians were adaptable and wherever they wound up they made wise use of the natural resources available to them. They respected the land and all that it had to offer. Different conditions caused them to live in different ways. When they found good hunting and an adequate supply of berries and seeds, they settled down and learned to utilize the trees and plants, as well as the animals, fish, birds and even the stones and land itself for their sustenance.
They were the first to grow potatoes, tomatoes and many other food staples that continue to provide nourishment for people throughout the world today. They were the first to raise turkeys. They found uses for Native American products such as rubber, tobacco and sugar maple and even utilized the cinchona tree, the source of quinine.
Because of the vast variation in climate and the kinds of land involved, the various Indian tribes reflected these differences in their clothing, food, shelter and even the way they lived. Since they depended on nature, they studied the animals, determined which plants were poisonous and which were good for eating. They even identified plants that were good for medicine. And they learned the signs of weather variations and even the changing seasons.
With no text books to explain nature they believed the sun, rain, wind and other forces of nature were controlled by spirits and they worshipped animals, plants, the sun, rain and wind in ceremonies and prayers by which they sought to gain favor with these deities in accordance with the teachings of earlier generations.
Scholars explain culture as the way of life of a people. They have identified several cultures in the pre-European North American arena. Because the inhabitants shared many of the same environmental factors, they shared much of the same culture.
Because there was no technical system of immediate communication, the Indians developed many ways to send signals, such as waving buffalo robes, marking trails, audible signals which were made by drums, horns and shells, or by using smoke signals by day and fire by night. To communicate most information they depended upon storytellers to travel from one band or tribe to the next, carrying the message.
These traveling storytellers had free passage through foreign territories in Indian lands and they carried news of births and deaths, wars and treaties. Each storyteller was held in high esteem for his or her role in tribal life. The tradition carries on today and storytellers are still considered very important tribal members. Such people existed in Europe before newspapers appeared which eventually replaced them.
Eastern Indians
Those who made their homes along the Eastern part of the continent enjoyed a climate with much rainfall. Forests spread out to cover both the mountains and the valleys. Lakes and streams were also found in abundance. The inhabitants depended upon the trees, the animals that dwelt in the woods and the fish and shellfish that were plentiful in the streams and ocean for food.
They selected tree bark and branches to provide shelter and also many of their weapons and utensils. Hollowed trees provided canoes for traveling over the waters. Most of their clothing came from the skin of animals. Because they knew how to grow crops and because game was plentiful, they could live in villages. The women planted corn, pumpkin, squash, beans, tobacco and gourds. Usually the weather was cooperative, especially in the warm, rainy summers.
The village was a busy place. The men helped with building wigwams and they made areas for gardens by burning off the trees and bushes. Trees were cut by a method called girdling. Wet clay was located a short distance up the trunk and then a fire started at the base. Then the fire was extinguished and the Indian would use a primitive stone axe to chip away until the tree fell. Lack of sharp tools was a major hindrance to the Indians. Skilled men of the tribe made bows and arrows, war clubs and stone knives from bones and wood from trees and bushes in addition to the stones they found in abundance on the ground.
Many chores kept the women busy most of the day. They wrapped the babies in moss and furs and bound them in wooden cradleboards. These they carried on their backs while gathering food. While in the village they stood the boards by the house and while working in the garden simply hung the cradleboard on a tree limb.
It was their responsibility to plant the seeds in the garden and harvest the food when ready. They also prepared the meals. One method was to roast green corn in a pit with hot rocks or to broil meat or fish on a grill of green twigs over a fire.
To grind dry corn they had to pound it in a mortar made of a hollowed log with a small piece of wood for a pestle. To make hominy they soaked grains in a solution of wood ashes to loosen the hull of the kernel. They parched or toasted corn for warriors on the march. In addition they dried vegetables, fish and meat for the winter months. Pottery jars were used in which to stew foods.
Many days were required to make their buckskin clothing. The tanning of deer hides involved many steps. The flesh had to be scraped from the hide along with the hair then the hide was washed, dried and stretched. Sometimes they smoked it to make it waterproof.
Shell or flint knives were used cut the skins to make it fit and then they were sewn with sinew from animals. Awls and needles were made from bones or horns. The women decorated clothing with beautiful porcupine embroidery, colored or stained hides, and used shells, wampum, colorful stones or rocks, bones and plant matter to enhance the appearance of clothing. The ability of the Indians to utilize what nature provided was amazing.
The Plains Indians
The Plains Indians lived on the rolling terrain of the mid-west where there was sufficient rain to maintain a thick carpet of grass, but not enough to grow many trees, most of which bordered the rivers. Huge herds of grazing animals found the grass to their liking.
Foremost among these animals was the buffalo or bison which came to be considered by some as "the Plains Indian's galloping department store" because it provided them with most of the things that they needed. They ate the flesh and made tents from the skin, which were called teepees. The word "tipi" in the Siouan language refers to a dwelling place. It could refer to a Hogan, a tent, a lean-to, or a modern home. The tents made from buffalo skins were mostly sharp pointed, although larger tents were elongated in order to accommodate more people.
Skins were also used to make boats, utensils, baggage and some items of clothing. Bones were used to make utensils and even the stomach was used to form a cooking utensil by lining a hole in the ground.
Hunting was usually a tribal activity, especially in the case of the buffalo. Over the centuries the hunters had developed strategies to reap the desired number of buffalo. If the herd was scattered, a few of them would move quietly among the animals and shoot several with their arrows.
A more successful plan was to station one man draped in a buffalo robe at the edge of a cliff. The other Indians would circle behind the animals and jump up from behind the herd, shouting and waving robes. The buffalo would begin to trot, then gallop in the direction of the decoy. The animals in the rear would push those in front. The decoy Indian would jump aside and the buffalo would go over the cliff where many were killed and the others shot with bow and arrow.
After the hunt there was much to be done. The animals had to be skinned and the meat hung over a fire on green branches to cook, or perhaps cut up, and put in a pot to boil. The buffalo even provided the pot which was made from the stomach or a piece of hide fitted into a hole in the ground. Hot rocks were dropped into the pot to do the boiling.
The Plains Indians moved on foot about the open lands following the herds. They also hunted other animals found in the area such as elk, deer and antelope. In order to transport their small portable shelters, dogs were employed.
The introduction of horses in the 1500s by the Spaniards brought about many cultural changes, transforming them from plodding pedestrians to nomadic hunters and warriors. Once they were able to utilize this "Big Dog," life took on a different complexion.
They became famous as expert hunters. With their swift ponies they could easily overtake a herd of buffalo and kill all the animals they needed. Horse stealing between tribes became a big sporting event and an honorable way for a young warrior to achieve a reputation for himself.
Horses became an integral part of a horse medicine cult featuring a dance in imitation of horses, which was believed to influence the outcome of horse races, heal sick horses, calm a particularly wild horse and even affect the quality of a newborn horse.
Ornaments and war paint had special meaning to the Plains Indians and was not intended for cosmetic reasons. They painted their bodies for dances and for battle. After smearing their bodies with a base coat of buffalo or deer fat, they used red and white clays, black charcoal and yellow pigment from bull berries or moss for paint.
The practice of using animal grease or fish oil to clean and soften the skin was common among Indians even though it resulted in an unpleasant odor. They also practiced the use of a sweat bath. For this purpose they constructed an airtight hut in which they placed hot stones. Called an inipi, the process is a ceremony by which the individual's soul and conscience is cleansed. By sprinkling water on the stones they created steam. The Indian would stay inside the hut until perspiring freely and then dash outside and jump into a cold stream of water.
Pueblo Indians of the Southwest
The Indians of the Southwest lived on land that was high and dry. It was divided by mountains and canyons. Rain was sparse but came in the summer when it did the most good for the crops. Snow fell on the mountains in the winter and supplied water for streams, springs and watering holes, The Pueblo Indians learned how to irrigate and find moist locations for farming. Good crops provided adequate food for the most part.
Early Pueblo Indians carved homes in canyon walls or inhabited existing caves. Later, they built large homes from stone and adobe (sun-dried clay) in which whole villages lived. These buildings had several stories and many rooms. The ground floor was constructed without doors or windows. The second floor was built leaving the space of a room which provided a kind of front porch for the inhabitants. If there was another floor, the same arrangement provided another front porch. Each level was reached by means of a ladder. People often watched dances held in a common area outside the residences from these "front lawn" locations.
The name "Pueblo" was them given by the Spaniards because of their communities. The most important focus of these Pueblo Indians was, and remains, the "kiva" which is a stone-walled ceremonial and meeting chamber, usually dug deep into the ground somewhere prominently in the village. These units symbolize the World Below and are the domain of the spirits which inhabit all creation.
Of special significance is the "sipapu," a stone-lined hole in the floor of the kiva, which is a passage way for the spirits. It is also this World Below to which the Hopi Indians believe they will return after death. The Hopi Pueblo village at Oraibi, Arizona, is one of the two oldest continuously occupied settlements on the North American continent north of Mexico.
Oraibi was located on top of the mesa and to reach the area where they planted and hunted, the men had to descend more than 600 feet of steep cliff, along trails that were cut into crevices. Once down, they often had to travel a great distance to where their crops were planted.
Although often thought of as one people, the Pueblo Indians were divided into many tribes with four different languages. Farthest west were the Hopi villages located on high, flat surfaces called mesas. They were located where springs could be found. Across the border, in what is now New Mexico, were the Zunis. These two groups made up what was referred to as the dessert Pueblos. Along the Rio Grande River, as it flowed through New Mexico, were the river Pueblos.
Pueblo farmers knew how to locate underground water by studying the growth of wild plants. They then located their fields where there would be moisture for the crops to grow. This sometimes resulted in a field located at a distance from their shelter.
Among the Pueblo Indians the man was the farmer. He did so with primitive tools. A tough but sharp digging stick was driven into the ground to a distance of about eighteen inches. He would drop in a host of kernels so that some would grow. The seeds sent their roots deep into the ground and the stalks grew in clumps. The farmer then created dams with branches to direct the water to the plants. Sometimes he would dig a ditch from a stream to the area of his crops to irrigate.
There is a legend of Three Sisters involving corn, beans and squash. The Indians believed that each had its own spirit in the form of three sisters who were very fond of each other and enjoyed living together. They were planted together to provide physical protection and nutritional abundance.
Corn is the eldest and was planted first. When it reached about four inches in height, the beans were planted. As the corn grew tall, reaching for the sun, the bean grew up the corn. A week after the bean sprouted, the squash was planted. It grew over the ground, protecting her sisters from weeds and keeping the ground moist.
When it was time to harvest the corn there was a great celebration. The corn was spread out on the flat roofs to dry. Strips of squash were hung on branches to dry and the women pounded dry beans with sticks to open the pods and then they emptied the contents into a basket. It was a regular practice to store about two year's supply of their crops to provide for a lean year.
When marrying there was a strict prohibition of the two partners coming from the same clan. Mating with someone in the same maternal line of descent was sacrilege. Once a marriage was agreed to, the boy and girl had their hair washed in the same basin, a ceremony symbolizing the mingling of their lives.
The groom-to-be worked to weave a marriage costume for his bride. He spun cotton into cloth and then wove it into two blankets and a white-fringed belt. He also made her a set of white leggings and a pair of white moccasins. When finished, the two moved from the groom's house to that of the bride where they would remain for the rest of their lives.
In other geographic areas the Pima and Papago tribes, located in what later became southern Arizona, lived in simple huts made from a framework of logs and poles which were covered with arrow wood or grass and held together with clay.
While closely related, the two tribes shared different homelands and hence had somewhat different lifestyles. The Pima were located along the Salt and Gila Rivers in an area that was environmentally friendlier than the arid dessert where the Papago lived. The Pima could establish villages, but the Papago lived as nomads. They lived in "field villages" in the desert during the summers where heavy rains provided the necessary water. In the winter, they had to retreat to their "well villages" located near springs, where they depended mostly on stored foods and hunting for sustenance.
In the northern territory, the Navajo and Apache Indians were hunters who raided the villages. They didn't settle in villages, but were nomadic, following game and attacking other tribes when game was scarce. After the influx of the Spaniards, with the introduction of sheep and goats, they raided the Spanish settlers and stole sheep, but instead of eating them, they kept them to build herds of their own. After they began herding sheep themselves, they were forced to move over the dry, rocky land seeking grass for their flocks.
At this point they built homes from stones, logs and earth called hogans. Because of the need to move in search of grazing according to the seasons, they had summer and winter homes, following the same routes as they moved about.
Within the Navajo society, women played a pivotal role, as in most Indian culture. Possessions were passed from mother to daughter. When married, the man moved in with his wife's family. Oddly, he continued to have responsibilities to his mother and sisters which would at times cause him to be absent from his own wife and children.
Unlike the Navajo, the Apaches never settled into farming or herding sheep. Instead they continued an existence supported mainly by raiding the various Pueblo tribes that lived nearby and hunting the animals that roamed about in the fields and forests. They lived in "wickiups," hut-like structures made of slender poles, covered with brush and grass.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from WE'VE DONE THEM WRONG! by George E. Saurman Copyright © 2012 by George E. Saurman. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Acknowledgement....................viiIntroduction....................ix
Chapter 1: The New World before the Invaders....................1
Chapter 2: The Old World Looks Outward....................18
Chapter 3: William Penn's Holy Experiment....................25
Chapter 4: The Spread of Civilization....................33
Chapter 5: The Indian Wars....................40
Chapter 6: Atrocities Suffered by the Indians....................62
Chapter 7: Contributions of the Native American Indians....................76
Chapter 8: Conditions on Reservations Today....................89
Chapter 9: The War Goes On....................95
Chapter 10: Comments from Native Americans....................107
Chapter 11: Conclusion....................110
Bibliography....................115
Native American Charities....................119