On the European Perspective of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Alex Nguyen














World History 10H
Ms. Michel
May 20
th
, 2013


Alex Nguyen
Ms. Michel
World History
19 May 2013
On the European Perspective of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas
Common wisdom had told us that history is written by the victors. After 1492, the year
Columbus had discovered the Americas, according European names to American islands, bodies of
water, and other geographical features of importance, European colonists rushed over in droves to
divide the pristine resources of the New World. Europeans exploited their superior weaponry to exert
control over the indigenous peoples and established empires which heavily discriminated against these
people. Europeans justified the colonization as an attempt to imbue civilization to these savages.
Encountering a different way of life, European colonists, under their preconceived notions on
civilization, perceived Native Americans as religiously, socially, politically, and intellectually primitive,
whereas reality speaks strongly against this characterization.
Europeans colonists and missionaries believed that many Native Americans were irreligious and
tried to force Christianity upon the Native Americans. For example, among the Jesuits who came to
New France, Father Pierre Biard in his writings surmised that the conversion of Native Americans to
Catholicism is impossible. Jesuits have observed that the Native American tribes in New France,
especially the Algonquins, did not have a strict priestly hierarchy and had less regular worship. There is
no specific founder of a tribes religion and few sacred text. Indeed, the natives have woven a complex
oral tradition in order to explain many natural phenomena. This tendency to utilize stories to explain
natural phenomena led a lot of Native Americans, especially the Maya and the Aztecs, to create a
religion which heavily depended on celestial bodies, making them much more eminent astronomers
than Europeans. Under the Europeans own preconceptions on religion, Jesuits immediately declared
the natives to be pagan. However, Native American spirituality is complex and was very incorporated
into daily life. Whereas a collective Native American spirituality is extremely diverse, the tribes religion
share a common trait: a pantheon of spirits and gods assigned to natural objects, spearheaded by an
almighty Creator. Native American spirituality calls for a harmonic relationship with nature. This aspect
of animism was unacceptable to the Europeans. Many Europeans believed that the pagan belief systems
of the natives implied their primitiveness and savagery. This is false because many tribes have
developed theological and cosmological perspectives that are as sophisticated as Christian theology. In
fact, theological confrontations between local shamans and Jesuit priests frequently took place in New
France. (Ronda 389) Europeans saw the Native Americans as a people succumbing to superstitions and
therefore, ignorant.
Europeans viewed the natives as lacking in government. Then again, the average colonist lived in
an agrarian, pre-Industrial, Christian, and likely autocratic society, which was very different from the
Native American governance, leading to this unfair interpretation. Most tribes were headed by chiefs,
whose elections were not hereditary, but instead based on merits in warfare. This greatly contrasted
with the authoritarian European monarch whose policies were immediately implemented and who
played an enormous role in the civilians life. Some tribes even had a democratic tradition which many
argued was drawn upon by the writers of the U.S. Constitution. For example, the Iroquois Confederacy
was a coalition of several states under a constitution, with well-set rules to maintain a balance of power.
Power was distributed to councils of elders which allowed for those in the minority to voice their own
opinions. Women were featured prominently in the decision making process. They had the power to
impeach male rulers, much to the Europeanss shock. This was quite progressive compared to the little
status women had in European society at the time. Society was much more collective: the concept of
private property was much less prominent than in European society. This meant a more equal division of
labor and thus, a much more egalitarian society than had Europe, where sharp class differences led to
deep conflicts from within. (Johansen)
Many Europeans viewed Native Americans as barbaric peoples. This, however, are very broad
generalizations from incidences of interaction with some tribes. The European viewpoint of the natives
are as childlike, artless, and nomadic people who could not tell lies and had to be educated. This is a
false point of view because some civilizations, have developed technology that is even more advanced
than that of the Europeans. Mayan mathematicians utilized the zero as a placeholder during the first
millennium, a concept that did not reach the European mathematical community until the twelfth
century. Their astronomers developed a much more accurate calendar than did the Europeans. In
addition, the natives talent for administration showed in the administrative genius of the Incans. On the
other hand, the Incans developed a system of roads and other engineering feats which miraculously
allowed it to survive without having ever to discover the wheel. These elaborate designs completely
discredited the European idea that the indigenous people were not sophisticated. Many modern history
textbooks presented a simplistic view of the indigenous peoples in which they submissively bowed out
of the scene when the Europeans attacked. This correlated with the European view that the natives
were among some of the most primitive human beings, little more than beasts (Callender). Some
believed that their aversion to the ways of the Europeans were caused by their idleness and ignorance.
Reverend Callender even attributed the decimation of the Native Americans to the adherence to the
Indian way of living. However, the natives have responded by demanding the Europeans to respect their
culture, and that each race has its own laws and customs. (Gachradodow) This spirit of resistance was
further stoked by the Oneida leader, Shickellamy, who eloquently declared, We are Indians, and dont
wish to be transfomed into white men. Throughout history, Native Americans have risen up against
their European enslavers.
The American peoples were perceived as savages by European colonists merely because the
indigenous peoples did not fit in civilization as envisioned by Europeans. In a sense, Native Americans
developed cultures richer, more diverse and subtle than the Europeans, rendering European contempt
of the indigenous peoples culture and society mute. This automatic pigeon-holing justified much of
Europes attempt to transform the Americas into a European-diffused continent.


Works Cited
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