Native American Groups pre-European Contact

Native American Groups pre-European Contact

The Americas in general and particularly the USA has undergone exponential change since contact with European culture in the 16 ^th century. So great has been the change that it is easy for an assumption to be made that the history of the Americas begun with the landing of European settlers . However, before the Europeans even discovered the existence of the New World, a vibrant society, made up of what has come to be known as American Indians did exist. These Indians were not just a singular tribe but were rather a great collection of groups, tribes, and bands, which varied immensely from one another. In the instant essay, a comparison will be made between the Mohawk and the O’odham, who not only lived in different parts of the USA but also had very different cultural affiliations.

Geographical Location

The O’odham have been called the desert people while the Mohawk has been dubbed the keepers of the gates. The O’odham got were called keepers of the gates because they mainly resided in the deserts in the Western parts of the USA, Mainly the Sonoran Deserts ¹ . Before the arrival of the Europeans, this was just a vast desert area without a common name but currently, it falls within Sonora in Mexico and Arizona in the USA. The traditional residence of the Mohawk, on the other hand, was in the East and includes what is now called the Mohawk Valley . The greater part of this area falls within New York State, west of the Hudson River ² . However, part of the traditional Mohawk area also falls in states neighboring New York including Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Further, after the European instigated divisions, part of the territory is also in Canada, including southern parts of Quebec and eastern parts of Ontario. The title of keepers of the gates is based on the fact that The Mohawk were among the first natives that Europeans who came to America encountered. The Mohawk and the O’odham can only be considered as similar in geographical location because they both lived in the northern part of the vast Americas. However, their actual residential locations and the climatic conditions under which they lived vary exponentially.

Tribal Affiliation and Structure

Mohawk and O’odham are names that have been given to these Native tribes. These names came about after the Europeans occupied their respective territories. Having a common name may create the impression that these groups were organized into a singular tribe or group with a governance system that is true for the Mohawk but not the O’odham. Around the 12 ^th century, traditional leaders and prophets united the Mohawk into a powerful confederacy. It is in part because of their unity that they managed to be such as powerful adversary for the early settlers ³ . On the other hand, the O’odham were but a collection of different bands that came to be named as a tribe because they were found to be similar in almost all ways including language. For the O’odham, the principal unit was a small band made up of a few families ⁴ . These bands lived together and operated independently from the rest of the tribe.

Economic Activities

The Mohawk lived communally with several closely related families sharing a large hut. Part of the reason for communal living was economic as it enables the pooling together of labor. The women would work together in farming and raise crops such as corn for subsistence ⁵ . The men, on the other hand, would be hunters and would also operate together to supplement the diet of the larger family. Most of the economic activity was, therefore, geared towards subsistence. Like the Mohawk, the O’odham’s economic activities were mainly for subsistence and also included plants and animals. However, the O’odham’s were not farmers due to the arid nature of the land they lived in. Instead, they mainly engaged in hunting and gathering. The women would forage for edible plants while the men would hunt game for food. Normally, labor was communal, based on the band, which was slightly larger than the Mohawk extended family.

Cultural Comparison

The center of the Mohawk basic unit was the family whose leadership was matriarchal in nature. It is the women who would inherit the family name and fortune, making women the center of power within the family. The Mohawks were also a deeply religious people based on animist based religions. Indeed, it is their religious affiliation that enabled the unity of the tribe as one long before the Europeans settlers arrived ⁶ . The O’odham were patriarchal in nature with the society being totally dominated by men ⁷ . Even on important cultural issues such as marriage, the decision was made by the fathers on behalf of their daughters. The religion of the O’odham was centered on Mother Earth as the primary deity and involved several critical rites and ceremonies.

Conclusion

Based on the above, it is clear that before the arrival of the European, modern USA was not an empty land waiting to be tamed. Instead, it was an occupied land with many different tribes living in different places and having different cultural affiliations. The Mohawks were an eastern tribe, living in the fertile arable land and were involved in crop farming, which they combined with hunting. The O’odham were desert people who survived by having an understanding of which wild plants were edible and, just as with the Mohawk, also hunted for game. The Mohawks were a large united tribe while the O’odham were a collection of different bands living independently. The Mohawk were matriarchal as opposed to the patriarchal O’odham. With all these differences , it seems unfair to lump them all together and dub them as Native Indians.

Bibliography

"Mohawk." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2017): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia . March 8, 2018

Heller, Monica, and Bonnie McElhinny.  Language, Capitalism, Colonialism: Toward a Critical History . University of Toronto Press, 2017

Kroker, Arthur. "The Mohawk Refusal."  CTheory  (2015): 10-25

Lee, Guojun. "Desert People." Indigenous Religious Traditions. November 22, 2011. Accessed March 08, 2018. http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/indigenoustraditions/sacred-lands/desert-people/.

Phillips, Steven John, Patricia Wentworth Comus, Mark Alan Dimmitt, and Linda M. Brewer, eds.  A natural history of the Sonoran Desert . Univ of California Press, 2015