Samuel De Champlain from The Voyages of the Sieur de Chaplain [The Iroquois] by Raqir Black

Throughout the history of the world, it has been a cruel but common practice of those in positions of power to seize property, currency, or even people from those who are incapable of defending themselves. These circumstances were, of course, the same in the case of French explorer, Samuel De Champlain, and during his expedition through the Saint Lawrence River and modern day Montreal, Champlain did not deviate away from the norm. To provide some historical context, Samuel De Champlain was a true French explorer who sailed across the sea over six times in order to find uncharted North American soil. His attentiveness and persistence in discovering parts of North America was contagious, as his interest in this land became France’s interest as well. This increasing curiosity eventually led Champlain to going on his expedition through the Saint Lawrence River.  During this expedition, Champlain was successfully able to document his experiences and encounters with the Native Americans of this area, keep an accurate record of his travels, and create maps in order to capture a better understanding of this uncharted territory. However, these were not the only “feats” accomplished by Chaplain during this expedition. He was also responsible for the disestablishment of a group of Native Americans from the area of the expedition. These actions, while certainly not the focal cause, are part of the reason for the continuous negative portrayal of Native Americans that is still prevalent in the current mainstream media as well as the complete lack of respect for the Native American people and their belongings.

Objectively speaking, Champlain was definitely able to accomplish a great deal of work and research in terms of his cartography and documentation of the native people and their lands. Yet, his exploitation and negative depiction of both the native people and their way of life, heavily outweigh any of the positive outcomes that were the result of his expeditions. Both of the negative qualities that Champlain labeled the native people are distinctly noticeable in his account of the expedition titled, The Voyages of the Sieur de Champlain. There are a couple of passages throughout the excerpt of this book that truly highlight the incorrect ways of Champlain and his fellow explorers. For instance, an example of Champlain creating a negative image regarding the native people is on page 60 in which Champlain states, “Nevertheless, they kept up their usual superstitious ceremonies in order to know what was to happen to them in their undertakings…” (Norton) This excerpt gives the reader the idea that Chaplain believes that these methodical rituals that the native people constantly perform are not only senseless but also futile. Champlain probably participates in these rituals as well, however he reveals to the reader how he looks down upon them and they are designated for a lower, less modernized class. This quote is a prime example of how Champlain, and many other explorers during this time, truly looked down on the natives and their customs. This lack of respect for the native’s culture and heritage would then shift into a complete and total feeling of superiority for the foreigner travelers. This feeling of superiority would then lead to a lack of respect and this would then evolve into exploitation which is exactly what took place in the case of Champlain. On page 63, Champlain discusses how he has a lake named after him while he also slowly reveals his plans to use the trust of the native people in order to properly displace them away from their homes. (Norton) By utilizing the tactic of, “Divide and Conquer,” Champlain was able to fight alongside one group of Native Americans, and then, while utilizing their gained trust, he was also able to displace these same Native Americans away from their homes. The events that took place in this expedition in particular were so heinous and violent that the majority of Mohawk Indians possessed a strong disdain for the French for over a century.

            Of course, with all of this taking place during the early 1600’s, it is easy for one to dismiss the actions that took place because one could possibly say, "Well, this all occurred during an earlier, more barbaric period in the world's history." However, these same type of heinous actions against Native American people are still taking place to this day. Right now in America, there are large protests being held in North Dakota over the construction of an oil pipeline and this construction is so controversial because it is projected to be built right in the middle of an Indian reserve. Unfortunately, this wrongdoing of the Native American people only received local news coverage in the beginning of the protest. However, thanks to the continued efforts of local Native Americans, the exposure that social media brings, and the severity of this situation, the Native Americans in North Dakota have been able to shed some light on the injustice that the United States government is once again attempting to commit against their people. Now, Native Americans from across the United States have banded together in order to take a stand against the government's actions. (Heim) Hopefully, the Natives will successfully be able to rectify the wrongs they are currently forced to endure. If they are unable to change their fortune, it would not be surprising because the Natives have always been given the "short end of the stick," so to speak. From the time of the first European explorers traveling to North America, to Champlain's expeditions, and even to the present, the mistreatment, exploitation, and disrespect of Native Americans has been significantly widespread with no signs of slowing down or coming to an end. The only real question is when will it cease?

Works Cited Page

Baym, Nina. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 7^th ed. Vol. 1. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. Print.

Heim, Joe. “Showdown over Oil Pipeline Becomes a National Movement for Native Americans.” Washington Post. The Washington Post, 7 Sept. 2016. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.