Native Americans in the "Civil
Native Americans in the "Civilized" LandThere were different ways of getting the message across, but the views expressed when it came to the different images and texts relating to Native Americans were all the same. Indians were savage people that needed to be "civilized". It seemed like the only purpose the Indians served once America was conquered was to be trading partners with the Europeans and to be converted to Christianity. Other than that, the Indians were either attacked or ridiculed by the colonists. I was surprised at how the Indians had to face such harsh and difficult situations, yet somehow they still stood strong. The different texts scorned the Indian population through different techniques. I tried to analyze how they were written, but it was hard to determine the viewpoint of such works as the essay "Indian/Non-Indian Relations". I first decided that it had to be written from a Native American's viewpoint because it discussed how brutally the Europeans treated them and how they were ostracized from the colonies, but then I changed my mind after reading "many Indians died a 'wonderful plague' of smallpox" (Indian Relations). I simply refused to believe that a Native American could write those words,
Byrd made sure that the Indians were educated and tweaked enough to be evolved into the depth of the European culture. The two females looked free with a certain beauty to them. One of them looks like a savage because his body is all decorated with animals and there are Indian heads in his hand and at his feet. This elegant beauty is what I think frightened the Europeans. I knew that this work was biased, but at times it got hard to figure out which side was being supported. In the text, "The Prophecy of Metacomet", I was able to get an Indian's perspective on everything previously mentioned. Metacomet gave me the viewpoint of the Europeans being the foes instead of the Indians, which was more likable for me because I'm not of European descent, so I like to see the side where the European conquerors aren't always the heroes. While the tones of the essay and Byrd's work might have been different, both texts wound down to the Indians, even as the only true Americans in the New World, as objects of conquer and civilization by the Europeans. I think they showed this particular Indian not as devilish, but as silliness to assuage their fears. In two of the other images the Indians are portrayed as large and mighty and wild savages. I guess the Europeans weren't ready for it. That's exactly how the Indians were depicted in the images, such as "A young gentill woeman doughter of Secota". It was a shocking thing for me as a reader.
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Acceptance Essays
