News – Any discussion of sustainability cannot go forward without mentioning the first dwellers of this land: Native American Indians. In this second installment of the Propeller sustainability series, we pay homage to those to whom we owe so much.
You seem far more taken with the "spirituality" of Native American Cultures than with their actual activities. In fact, there are several common myths which need to be dispelled.
1. There was no "Native American Culture" as such. In fact, people of the New World, like those of the Old, adapted to their surroundings and exploited the available resources. It is apparent to even the shallowest observer that Eastern Woodlands Indians lived quite differently from those who fished and whaled along the Pacific coast, and the Plains Indians, so celebrated in our folklore, were among the poorest, most miserable people on the planet before the Spanish brought the horse to America. There were primitive peoples in some areas, and highly advanced societies in others, but there was no unifying "culture" in the New World. (cont)
2. The American natives were not particularly good stewards of the environment. This myth largely derives from our own desire to elevate their way of life (and spirituality) to an equal place in modern society. In fact, natives on the plains often used fire to drive the buffalo, thereby destroying grasslands and opening them to increased erosion from wind and rain. Fire was also used to clear woodlands, although girdling was a more common way of killing trees to prepare for planting. The people always killed as many animals as they good, and in times of plenty the excess meat simply spoiled, since there was no refrigeration, preservation in salt was almost unknown, and drying meat and fish too tedious for men who regarded themselves as above manual labor. One way we identify old campsites is by the wastes left behind, and the Indians of North America were particularly wasteful. (cont)
3. The Native Americans possessed no sophisticated tools, even though myth credits them with startling accomplishments. In fact, one reason for the destruction of the native cultures was the superiority of European implements. When a man can trade a few deerskins for an excellent iron ax or knife, he will no longer teach his sons how to make these tools from stones. Men who can buy muskets no longer need the skill to manufacture excellent bows or arrows. When a woman can get iron pots for cooking, she no longer teaches her daughters how to make clay cookware, and she no longer needs to weave baskets in which to store things. It was the process of TRADE, bringing better tools to the natives, which actually destroyed their ability to live independently. It is false to romanticize the "old ways" without regard for the hardships which the old ways entailed. Actually, after the relatively brief Clovis period, American tools were decidedly inferior.
4. The social organization of Native peoples is often romanticized, but it proved unable to hold these peoples together in the face of competition from across the oceans. The Aztecs (perhaps the strongest of all American societies), for example, beset by new diseases brought by the Spaniards, suffered an almost complete social breakdown. Believing they had been abandoned by the Gods, they scorned their traditions and ignored the priests, and sought the protection of the new "Christian" deity. Likewise, they ignored their temporal authorities and attached themselves to whichever Spaniard seemed most likely to protect them. But mostly, they just died.
There is much that was tragic about the destruction of Native American societies., and we rightly lament their passing. But we should not pretend that they were superior. Had they been superior, they would have been able to not only to survive, but perhaps to prevail.
I would disagree 'a little' the Aztecs had strong religious beliefs that the end of the world was coming the culmination of this belief with the arrival of the Spanish & Cortez, they thought it was the end.
And the weapon difference was not that great 'to start with' a number of the early Spanish "de León, de Ayllón, Narváez(600 men) All had their butts kicked by the 'poor natives' only 5 returned from Narváez's group.
The musket of the time was actually inaccurate & slow to reload, an Indian archer could get off 4-5 accurate shots before a Spaniard could reload once.
The Aztec had quite powerful weapons the 'Macuahuitl' was a sword shaped weapon with obsidian glass glued around the edges, the Spaniards feared and respected this, it was said to be able to decapitate a horse in a single blow.
Disease was the decider, measles & chickenpox not muskets, something like 80% of all Native Americans died of these.
You are truly loopy. The Indians lived in balance with their environment because, just like animals, if they didn't, they DIED. You've been watching too many Hollywood movies about the "noble savages."
Oscar is right i what he says. Each different tribe lived differently. They had many ways of getting food and clearing land. Not all of them "in tune" with nature. They made their living from the land in many different ways.
Here in Florida many people have shell drives. The shell comes from the rubble left by the old tribes that lived here a long time ago. When the pile got too big they moved.
Many tribes were strong on ecological balance but others were not. Some were very peaceful while others were very warlike. The Sioux were warriors. They claim the Black Hills as their home place. The problem is they ran out the previous occupants a few centuries earlier.
In Texas there was a tribe of cannibals. They were despised by everyone and were finally wiped out. In short the American Indians had the good and bad like any other people. Lets praise the good and use the bad as lessons of what not to do as with all history.
How does everyone know what the Indians did ?
Most were not observed except to figure out how to eliminate them .
I can see where this is going , Gullible Warning point in the making .
Ridiculed , treated like dogs or worse , called savages .
How would you like it if someone came into your home and said you are not living the way God intended , you worship more than one God "savage" , and here , here are some nice blankets .
I think using the Indians to exploit a point on Gullible Warning is despicable to say the least , shame , shame , white man using the Indian again .
I cannot speak for "everyone," but one way to know a great deal about Native American peoples and their culture is to study them, as I have done.
You are guilty of at least as much factual distortion as anyone in this thread. For example, you say, "Most were not observed except to figure out how to eliminate them." That is not true. Educated people observed and recorded the activities of the native peoples from a very early date, and much of what they wrote has survived. It is augmented by modern studies, by archaeologists, sociologists, historians, and others. The native peoples have had vocal advocates since the conversion of Bartolomeo de las Casas in 1513. Many have worked to protect them from exploitation and destruction.
Your blanket comment is based upon a fiction. Contributions of that sort do nothing but poison the conversation.
Except the interesting facts and information presented here by 1-2-Oscar I found nothing of value in this posting. I'd like to know more Oscar, where would I start learning?
If you're going to look for information on line about Native Americans, start with the Clarke Library at Central Michigan--it's obviously the best in the country. Other online resources are available through the University of Florida, Washington, Arizona and Arizona State, and Penn State. Go to the university website and hook into their library to find these.
An acquaintance of mine, Mary Jane Ward, is Curator at Oklahoma's State Museum of Native American History, the largest in the nation. They have a good website. Oklahoma, of course, is where we collected most of our eastern natives, and the state has the largest NA population.
John Hann of the Univ. of Florida has done a lot of reconstruction work at San Luis. The website is at http://www.missionsanluis.org/ and it will lead you to others.
If you live in the Southeast, you can visit San Luis, or go to New Echota in GA, or to Chukalissa in TN. In fact, wherever you live, the opportunities are endless.
Not a member? Sign-up today!
iaids
inatural
zefiwuqo
tunobydi
xezijaly
bihofezu
karugiwo
ukajedo
qefowilu
xuzynifo
zocupibe
hekinody
ogakiwu
owenahy
pydomiba
elyjiwo
ikaxubo
uropyta
ygamote
ilotemu
ziqekuhy
muqyhabo
onlinevideorental
vzlomy.net.ru
gurugnu
bcoynejr
traveler.com.br
zephyr_ali
Ionic
Kopik
Rastam
Masking
GoodShot
Hantam
Grisson
Macondo
DiffeeOnline
capn_caveman
christopher1
Rigel
Compt
Jimms
AlwaysAngry
Radiofreeeuropa
Coldsun
gsmaster
Dlaster
berkeley
Ratskii
deathray
About Propeller | Frequently Asked Questions | Help
© 2003-2008 Propeller. All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy
17)
Vote
"Any discussion of sustainability cannot go forward without mentioning the first dwellers of this land: Native American Indians."
This was not always correct, a number of native tribes / civilizations were almost as good at environmental damage as we are, the Anasazi deforested large areas of the S.W USA as did the Mayan in central America.