Introduction
Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot on the American territory. When he arrived, he thought that he had found a new land. However, the region was inhabited by an old civilization that had arrived from Asia thousands of years before Columbus arrival. The discovery of America by Columbus opened the way for more Europeans to visit the place. The Europeans had a significant impact on the Native Americans. Contact with the Europeans led to some changes in beliefs and practices. The paper explores the American history and specifically focuses on changes that occurred in the Native American beliefs, trade, and culture as a result of European contact.
Colonial Impact
Native American lives were impacted after several years of contact, mainly through trading. The changes were notable on religious traditions. Contact with the Europeans resulted in a change in mythological stories, which were altered to reflect the existence of the Europeans (Dennis, 2018). Initially, the Native American myths indicated that Mother Earth had created people of one race. However, contact with Europeans led to an alteration of the story to indicate that it had created people of different colors. Members of the Creek tribe indicated in their stories that the Europeans had been undercooked hence their white color (Paradies, 2016). The Natives had been properly cooked hence their brown color. Such myths were used to indicate differences between the Natives and the Europeans. During the early periods of contact, the relationship was harmonious. Later, after many years of contact, problems began to emerge.
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Initially, the Native Americans were dependent on their own products that were mainly got from hunting and gathering in the forests. The Europeans introduced their products to the Natives. By 17 th century, they had become dependent on European goods and they were mainly got on credit (Salisbury, 2017). The Native Americans ended up accumulating a lot of credit due to overbuying. Repayment of debts was thus done through ceding of land. They lacked enough money to pay for goods and services. Besides, the hunting seasons were sometimes poor. The Indians held land with a high spiritual regard. As more colonists arrived, settlements began to expand. They began to be more interested in the Indian land as opposed to trade. Land was acquired from the Natives through any means necessary.
The Europeans introduced Christianity to the Native Americans thus altering the traditional belief on spirituality. Missionaries were sent from Europe to help in converting the Indians to Christianity (Paradies, 2016). There were some Natives that voluntarily converted such as the Cherokee tribe. The process also spurred tension between the locals and the colonists. Attraction to Christianity for some Natives was less spiritual and more practical. They converted to achieve greater recognition, respectability, and gain better education from the whites. On the other hand, the missionaries’ main intention of converting the native people was to incorporate them into the dominant European culture. Therefore, religion in this instance was being used as a means to an end.
The Europeans also aimed to achieve cultural domination by massacring a large number of the native people. It was used as a means of reducing resistance. People who survived the massacres were taken to reservations and provided with limited resources to reduce their survival rates (Cameron, Kelton, & Swedlund, 2015). The colonists also deliberately introduced diseases that included small pox and plague. The natives did not have immunity against them and thus led to massive death. The colonial strategy of cultural domination also affected children. They were forbidden from conversing in their native languages, which was a strategy to eliminate their original culture. The young children were also separated from their parents by being taken to distant boarding schools. The act was aimed at minimizing parental influence and subsequently lowering the chances of community survival. There were sporadic Native uprisings as a result of the atrocities and inhuman treatment. However, they were unfruitful as they led to further losses to the Native Americans.
The local American culture was altered by a change in linguistic and educational culture that was influenced by the colonists. The Natives had been forced to forsake their selves. The colonial contact had an influence in all aspects of Native American lives. Their customs and beliefs were influenced both directly and indirectly. The locals viewed spirituality as being in harmony with all aspects of the environment (Salisbury, 2017). The Europeans separated them from their sacred objects thus breaking a connection that existed with their spiritual elements. Remaining in the spiritual path was important to the Native people as it ensured maintenance of righteousness and good. Contact with the colonists however altered their strong spiritual beliefs.
Conclusion
Colonization had a great impact in the lives of Native Americans. The contact had an impaction in all aspects of their lives that included trade, beliefs, spirituality, and cultural practices. The Natives were forced to convert into Christianity and adopt the European education. The locals were also forced to abandon their languages and adopt the colonists’ languages. They were thus incorporated into the dominant European culture. The contact also led to loss of land and establishment of missionary bases and settlements.
References
Cameron, C. M., Kelton, P., & Swedlund, A. C. (2015). Beyond Germs: Native Depopulation in North America . University of Arizona Press.
Dennis, M. (2018). Cultivating a landscape of peace: Iroquois-European encounters in seventeenth-century America . Cornell University Press.
Paradies, Y. (2016). Colonisation, racism and indigenous health. Journal of Population Research , 33 (1), 83-96.
Salisbury, N. (2017). The Indians’ old world: Native Americans and the coming of Europeans. In Colonial America and the Early Republic (pp. 1-24). Routledge.
