Native Americans in the "Civilized" Land
             There 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, even if he was writing the Puritan's viewpoint. It was a shocking thing for me as a reader. I knew that this work was biased, but at times it got hard to figure out which side was being supported.
             After reading William Byrd's text, I saw that he had the same views on Indians as the essay writer, but he chose to be nice and describe a few admirable traits before abruptly attacking the Indians, calling them "indolent wretches", and using a humorous tone to ridicule the Indians because they "depend entirely upon the English, not only for their trade but even for their subsistence" (Byrd). Byrd made sure that the Indian...