The European colonists who colonized the Americans were relatively more different from the Native American Indians than similar. The significant differences between these two diverse groups led to subsequent cultural change in the Native American population. Gender roles among the indigenous Americans were very different from the Europeans. As the population of the Europeans, mainly the English steadily increased between 1680 and 1790, the population of Native Americans significantly decreased. This term paper seeks to compare and contrast the Native American Indians and the Europeans in terms of religion, land ownership, gender roles, and political systems.
Religion
Before the European colonial invasion into the American territories, the Native American Indians worshipped idols and practices spells and rituals. However, when the Spanish and the French arrived, they converted a significant fraction of the population to Christianity. The section of indigenous converted by the Spanish adopted Franciscan friars doctrines while those converted by the French adopted Jesuits religious principles. During the colonial era, a vast majority of Native American Indians began to practice Christianity just like the Europeans since the Spanish vandalized the indigenous Americans’ idols and religious shrines. They often used torture to forcefully baptize the natives while the Spanish persecuted those who were adamant.
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The French missionaries, on the other hand, were highly skilled and trained speakers who used Iroquoian and Algonquian languages to teach the Native Americans Christianity beliefs and doctrines. Additionally, the French simulated the Native religious ceremonies as they taught the indigenous Americans Christianity (for example, they wore black robes which were used in the Native American Indians’ religion). However, as the French baptized Native Americans that were dying of smallpox before their death, the indigenous Americans perceived this as the French’s plot to kill their people rather than saving and redeeming them. Despite the Native Americans’ temperament against the missionaries, more than 36, 000 Native American Indians were converted to Christianity within 40 years.
Land
Unlike the Europeans, the Native American Indians were closely associated with the land and all the agricultural produce that came from it. Owing to this belief, they did not have the idea of land ownership; thus, the land was communally owned. Although they dwelled off the land, they never perceived themselves to be owners of the land. However, they did not share the land with other neighboring tribes since they established well-defined territorial boundaries, which gave them territorial rights within their geographical settlement location. Bypassing the territorial boundaries of other tribes was considered an invasion and intrusion, which was often met with fierce warfare or imprisonment of the invaders.
The Europeans, on the other hand, practiced the land tenure system where individuals owned specific sets of land. In most cases, the Europeans used devious means to acquire land from the Native Indians, while in rare circumstances, they bought land from the natives. The increased land privatization by the Europeans forced them to formulate policies meant to remove the Native American Indians from the ancestral lands and relocate them to reservations. Once all the indigenous had been moved to reservations, the federal government passed a law (the Dawes Act of 1887) that sectioned the reservation lands for individual ownership. The land tenure system led to conflicts and formation of revolts by the Native Indians to fight for their traditional homelands from which they hand been ejected.
Gender Frontier
The differences in gender roles between the indigenous Americans and the Europeans during the colonist era established a boundary between the two groups. In the Native American Indians’ culture, women were in charge of caring and nurturing of children, trading, and farming activities. Men, on the other hand, were active in political and leadership roles, while boys and younger men protected the natives’ territories. However, gender roles among the Europeans were the complete opposite, which made the indigenous Americans perceive the European men as femininely. The European men played active roles in trade, animal rearing, and agricultural production. The differences in gender roles made the European men view the indigenous American men as lazy people who burdened their women with all cumbersome tasks and relied on the women for survival.
Political Systems
The Native American Indian women and men practiced a matrilineal political system whereby men and women practiced equal economic, social, and political roles in the society. Typically, the Native American men moved in to reside with their wives together with their wives’ families. Women made most decisions regarding trade, social events, and movement. The Europeans viewed this system of politics as an ‘unnatural’ system since the Native American women more or less ruled men. Unlike the Native Americans, the Europeans adopted a social and political system where women were subordinate to men. Therefore, European society was more of a patriarchal political system. Women were given limited social, economic, and political powers since they were tasked to coordinate household chores only.
