The American Indians in Brief
Foreward: This was originally done as a school project. I had to read the article "Myths That Hide the American Indian" by Oliver La Farge. While a substantial amount of the info within comes from his work the wordining is all my own as are the point of views. I hope you enjoy it and learn a little about the original forefathers of America.
Oliver La Farge brings to us a very telling point in his article. He explains very adamantly that modern culture has painted a singular picture of the American Indians while providing several details to demonstrate how false this assertion is. While our common misconception of the “Redman” is a typical Plains Indian complete with bow, horse, and a head full of feathers, this Indian did not exist until Spanish horses had spread to the Great Plains. Instead in North America stood three very distinctive groups whom may be irreconcilable compared to the Indian of popular image. With the evidence provided by Farge’s article we can begin to understand these mysterious cultures of old.
When exploring the pre-Columbian Indians of North America it is only natural to start with the societies of the Southeast. Along the Mississippi River valley formed a complex culture known to us simply as the “Mound Builders”. This group was heavily influenced by the Meso-American Indians as their almost pyramidal burial mounds show. During their reign the Mound Builders would create some very exquisite art that Farge would go as far as to claim “the finest that ever existed in North America”. However, despite their success the fate of the Mound Builders would be very similar to that of the complex cultures that formed along the Mediterranean. As they focused on art and other fine points of culture less civilized “barbarians” moved in and conquered their former realms. The decedents of these barbarian invaders would later be known as the Seminoles, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Cherokees. These new peoples would adopt many of their forerunner’s ways, but as in all takeovers progress would be slightly backwards. Indians of the American Southeast developed to be quite the warmongers and bloody tribal wars were hardly unknown, yet we must be fair to these people. While they did engage in very primitive warfare that is not to say they did not have complex societies as well. Social stratification was presents, yet it many ways it was much more relaxed than European counterparts. Also very notable is the fact that these tribes were forming “towns” and had rulers that could be described as kings. Surely then, these people were embarking on a journey to a more complex culture. Among these Indians was agriculture, but it never became predominate simply due to the fact that other sources of food were so abundant. These Indians would be the first to encounter “White Man” and as such would be the first devastated by them. Despite this many would adapt to the new ways and form new cultures based off of ancient customs and Western culture which in turn were forced to flee ever westward. Which takes us to the next high culture group, the American Indians of the Southwest.
The peaceable Indians of the Southwest form a sharp contrast to their Eastern cousins. While this group is rather broad the most identifiable is to be the Pueblo Indians. Living in defensible towns made of adobe these peoples were significantly more agrarian than the other Indians of North America. These interesting people were not only classless, but ruled by a theocracy of sorts. This area was also influenced by Meso- American culture, but to a much lesser extent than the East. Thus the culturally transfusion must have happened only indirectly which when considering the large desert between the two cultures makes sense. While Pueblo Indians were content to live in peace their neighbors were not. Raiders from the north looted and pillaged their cities with theirs superior bows. These raiders eventually settled to what is now known as Navaho, but their warlike ways would continue on. The Navaho did not honor war, but simply saw it as an outlet to gain profit, again sharply opposed to their Eastern counterparts. Due to the situation with the Navaho the Pueblo Indians were almost welcoming to the Spanish. The Spanish unlike the English were not settlers, but merely conquerors so as a result the Pueblo culture remains very much intact even to this day. Having well covered these peoples it is now time to move on to the final cultural group, the American Indians of the Northwest Coast.
Along the Northwest Coast of North America formed a very unique civilization. With tundra to the North, mountains to the East, and desert to the South these peoples were very isolated from the rest of the world. These people must have truly lived in paradise. Surrounded by thick forest, rich streams, and deep oceans these people never had any real need to farm. Who would farm when such abundance can be found elsewhere? In one of the most forested regions in the world these people became masters of wood. Wood was used in everything from totem poles to canoes to wooden armor. Like the Mound Builders before them the Indians of the Northwest became extremely skilled artists, a skill which was greatly enhanced by the arrival of tools from the Whites. As like complex cultures social stratification developed with slaves at the very bottom. Many descendants of this culture remain, but often they put on the guise of the popular Indian to appease audiences. Thus the populace on a whole is very ignorant on the subject of their rituals and customs.
In hindsight we can easily see what a crime it is to portray all the Indians as the Plains Indian of the 1800’s. In reality the American Indians had a plethora of customs and by stereotyping them in a singular caste we are doing ourselves a great injustice. Maybe in time more light can be shed into this dark spot on the avails of history.
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