Hoodwinked, betrayed, and duped are
just a few words we could use to describe just how a more technologically
advanced people were able to conquer foreign land of which belonged to our red
brothers and sisters native to the Americas – the Indians or, as the
description suggest, the Native Americans. It’s no secret that the “new world” has been formed on the foundation
of status, class, and power. Additionally, the quest of these things has driven
a historical narrative that eventually causes the shift of dominant world
powers. Leaders of the new world like missionary John Heckewelder documented
these feats in great detail, giving account of the first encounters with the
Native Americans and even admitting to the objective of conquering their land. While
it may take the run a few generations to see the mission actualized, the
summation of cunning attacks are anything but gradual, with battles being
gruesomely bloody, coming without warning, and almost always resulting in
displacement of a people. Something interesting to consider is the consistency
of the motives of these leaders throughout time. From America’s conception,
forefathers like Heckewelder have been guided by the motives of God, glory, and
gold, with intentions functioning the same today in the new millennium just as
they were over 400 years ago.
God: The Spread of
the Christian Faith
Since the shift from
polytheistic to monotheistic religions, faiths like Christianity and Islam
began to thoroughly permeate a mass of cultures of the world. This was no
different when it came to European invaders, who sought to spread Christianity
to the Native Americans. According to them, God justified all the actions of
the Europeans: the safe travels, acquisition of land and resources, the winning
of bloody battles, etc. In the introduction of the text, we are given insight
to the strong beliefs that prompted missionaries like Heckewelder to take a
stab at converting the Natives, “Although
he cared deeply for the Native peoples, he of course sought to convert them to
the faith of the European invaders.” (Greenblatt, pg.69) Part of the
reasoning for the bloodshed that would soon follow could be the rejection of
the European faith, as the text suggests a complicated relationship between
Heckewelder and the Natives (a relationship that surely existed among others in
the land). Religious battles were not uncommon in this time, and if God were to
make his presence known, it may come with the price of some bloodshed.
Glory: The Pride of a
People.
The European’s view of the
Natives plays a great role in the narrative that ends with the dissolution of a
people. Hoodwinked, betrayed, and duped are just a few words we could use to
describe just how a more technologically advanced people were able to conquer
foreign land of which belonged to our red brothers and sisters native to the
Americas – the Indians or, as the description suggest, the true Native
Americans. And just how does that happen? Well, if another sees one culture as
inferior or weaker, the stronger of the two may realize no potential threat
from their opponent.
Hints of this notion are seen
midway through the text upon the return of the Europeans to the Americas.
Heckewelder uses phrases like, “The
Dutch made them understand” as if both groups were not just as unfamiliar
with the others’ language. He also
recounts the laughter of the Europeans at the Natives’ misuse of tools they had
given to them as gifts a year prior, “They
went away as they had said, and returned the following season…but the whites
laughed at the Indians, seeing that they knew not of the use of the axes and
hoes they had given them they year before”(Greenblatt, pg.70) The concept
of superiority and the desire to be a dominant power were motivation in
historic endeavors of patriotic pursuits. The goal was to build an empire
strong enough to govern its own civilization. If the factors of this new
territory would allow for this, then conquest would eventually be done, and
they would do if for the glory.
Gold: The Power of a
People
The acquisition of resources has
always been used to strengthen a nation. The Golden Rule of history tells us, “Whoever
has the gold, makes the rules.” And just what is the gold? Well, it could be
any resource of prominence. In centuries past those resources have included
gold, silver, land, silk, cattle, even on up to things like oils, and fabrics.
The seizing and acquisition of resources can be seen in every historic battle,
where in effort to further strengthen a nation and promote their agenda on a
mass scale, the dominant force sought to conquer another’s land or resources. No
surprise in how this tactic has stayed fairly constant even into the new
millennium.
Gold: Present
Reflections of the Past
So, now the year is 2016 and we
find ourselves in the middle of a silent war (if we judge by just how little
media coverage this issue is getting). The narrative of the Natives that has
been centuries in the making continues as big business in America (per usual)
takes precedence over humanity with construction of a North Dakota crude oil pipeline
that is to be built straight through Native Land. Although the pipeline is
projected to pull crude directly to the U.S. cutting importing cost, and making
for a less energy-dependent nation, the line too crosses many burial plots
sacred to the Natives, and also poses the threat of contaminating local water
sources. What is worse is that the natives could be deemed criminals as protest
in these sacred lands against the construction of the line gain traction. The
crime: trespassing – on their own land. A complete disregard of constitutional
rights and liberties in the “land of the free”
And so the cycle continues.
Documents/texts that are part of the cannon, which should be used to realized
and stop the injustices, are just reminders that freedom has its restrictions.
Unfortunately, these constraints still seem to be reserved for the likes of
black, brown, and red people of the day. While the times have changed the motives
have remained the same: God, Glory, and Gold.
Greenblatt,
Stephen, gen. ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed.
Vol. A. New York: Norton, 2012. Print.
Hi Marcus,
ReplyDeleteThis blog has some very strong points. To make it stronger, you would need an introduction that tells your reading who Heckewelder is and what makes him different from the other explorers we read in the unit. Also you would have to engage with his language and ideas more. As it stands, you have a good framework, but you do not exhaust all of its potential because you do not use it to fully read Heckewelder. This become the most apparent at the end of the post, when Heckewelder does not make an appearance and you engage in a general discussion of the pipeline. How does Heckewelder help us to read what is happening now? Also you need some evidence for the pipeline.