"Changes in the Land; Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England"
             In this paper, I will answer the following question: Compare and contrast the impacts of the New England Colonists and New England Natives on that region's ecosystem. Explain the cultural, social and economic factors that account for the different impacts the two groups had on the land.
             For starters I would like to state that I really enjoyed reading this book. I found the facts and stories presented in the book to be very interesting and honest. I believe the author did a great job of looking at both perspectives and presented the information in a fair and concise manner. From my experiences growing up, a lot of the information presented in this book is rarely taught in the classroom. From what I can remember growing up, the emphasis is placed on Christopher Columbus and the other Europeans arriving at the New World and their trials and tribulations they experience here. Never is anything taught about how the Native Americans feel about this and how their way of living is affected by the new settlers. I am a graduate student in the Education field with the hopes of one day becoming a Social Studies/Psychology teacher and this is relevant information that I feel should be shared with the students. Not only that but I feel that by not sharing this information, we are oppressing the lives of Native American students that we may have in our classrooms. Now that I have stated these points, I will step off of my soapbox and continue on with the relevant parts of my essay.
             The first specific change in the ecosystem I would like to discuss is deforestation. When the European settlers arrived and prior to their arrival, deforestation occurred for many reasons. When the European settlers arrived, they would clear the land to be able to establish homes and to be able to grow food. The tress that they cut down would be used to build homes for the ne...