Native American and indigenous Brazilian displacement and colonization

American West and Brazil, The People Who Lived There First

The American West and Brazil: The People Who Lived There First

This paper addresses the Native American population in the West and compares it with the indigenous people of Brazil. While many people may feel as though there are no commonalities between these two groups, there actually are many similarities that can be addressed. The main similarity, however, and the issue dealt with in the following pages, is the fact that both of these groups of people have been displaced from what was rightfully theirs by others for reasons beyond their control and reasons that they most likely did not understand and would not agree with.

The Native Americans were displaced over colonization and Manifest Destiny, and the indigenous Brazilians were displaced over the removal of the rainforests so that commercial interests could be pleased. This issue is very important for all of the individuals that were involved with it at the time, and for historians that examine the issue today. The reasons that these things have happened to both groups of people are important to look at, and conclusions regarding this particular issue generally indicate that these kinds of problems come from too many people and not enough resources. This is something that will continue to be an issue well into the future of the world.

Introduction

The Native Americans

Brazil's Indigenous People

Comparison and Conclusion

Endnotes

Annotated Bibliography

The American West and Brazil:

The People Who Lived There First

Introduction

Individuals that live in a specific place for a long time, and/or individuals that have always been in a particular place and call it home, often feel as though it belongs to them. They resent the idea of other individuals and how they may come in and attempt to usurp what others already have. Often, however, those that have been in a place for a long time have grown complacent there. They do not have the fighting mentality that others have and they generally mean no harm. They only want to live their lives in peace. As often happens, though, others will not simply allow for that.

With the Native American people, the settlers that came to them and ultimately killed many of them and took their land had more weapons, better gear, more technology, and other items at their disposal. This ensured that they would win, even though the Native Americans often outnumbered them. It was not that the Native American people did not have the will to fight back or to keep their land, but only that there was little that they could do in the face of the technology and abilities of the settlers.

As for the indigenous Brazilian people, they also wanted what the Native Americans wanted - to be left alone and to live their lives. However, they were not allowed to do this because land developers, businessmen, entrepreneurs, and others determined that the rainforests must be cut down. Some of this was to make way for development and some of it was to utilize the timber from the trees, but both reasons displaced people that were happy where they were and had no desire to leave. However, those that came into the area had more technology, more education, and often connections as well, and so they got what they wanted at the expense of others.

So often, this is the case with indigenous people in many areas of the world. They are peaceful, and often they have little or no contact with other tribes, groups, or civilizations. Because of that they live a very sheltered existence and when others appear and try to take over their land and life there is often little they can do. The weapons that they have are not sufficient to fight back and win, and they can also be outnumbered or tricked because they misunderstand the other people's language. This in no way implies that they are not intelligent, but only that they are very different from others that live in more technologically advanced parts of the world, which puts them at a disadvantage with respect to many issues.

Both groups of people - the Native Americans and the indigenous people of Brazil -- will be explored in the following pages, as it is important to understand them so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated. It is suspected, however, that many of the issues that were faced by the Native Americans and by the indigenous people of Brazil will continue to be faced by groups of people in various areas. This is likely due to the increasing population of the planet and the need to make way for further development. Whether this is actually helpful in the long-term, however, is often a topic of debate.

The Native Americans

When settlers first came to this country, they discovered that there were already people living here. The Native Americans already occupied this land, and they did not want the settlers invading their territory. While the settlers did not want the Native Americans around, some of them did realize the benefits of befriending them. For example, the Native Americans taught then settlers how to grow crops and survive the harsh winters.

The settlers were also able to establish some trade with the Native Americans, and some had a good working relationship by employing Native Americans as guides and helpers. There were problems, as well. Not all Native Americans and settlers got along, and there were wars, villages burned, and people massacred. The Native Americans wanted to keep their land, and the settlers wanted to take it. Obviously this caused a lot of friction between the two peoples and started many difficulties.

When the settlers first arrived, they brought many things that were bad for the Native Americans. Diseases that had not been found in the New World came over on the boats with the settlers, and many Native Americans died from diseases they caught from the settlers. Although they knew much about herbal remedies and medicines, they were unprepared for the kinds of diseases that came from far away. The settlers also took much of the land that the Native Americans had owned. They used it to raise livestock and build villages, and much of the native plants that the Native Americans had used and relied on disappeared.

The Native Americans in general were not motivated to work along side the settlers or help them with their conquests. The settlers, however, had strong motivation for settling near and developing relationships with the Native Americans. The settlers were strangers in a strange land, and they did not know about the climate, the food, or anything else. Because of this they attempted to become friends with the Native Americans so that they could be shown how to grow crops, and how to prepare for the freezing New England winters.

As settlers were building and establishing small villages, they were also working toward some kind of trade with the Native Americans. Many things that the settlers brought with them had never been seen by the Native Americans before. The reciprocal was also true. Because of the cultural differences there was some suspicion, but it faded in the exchange of interesting goods from other countries. This helped to benefit both the settlers and the Native Americans, and was good for both groups of people. Most of the settlers traded things that they brought with them or that came over on later ships, such as clothes, tobacco, and rifles. The Native Americans responded with horses and food.

This trade helped the Native Americans and settlers get along better than before, since the settlers could now travel on horseback, which was faster and more convenient, and they also had plenty to eat. On the Native American side, they enjoyed the tobacco and the clothing that helped to keep them warmer in the winter. They also enjoyed the rifles, since they could kill beasts for food easier than with the bows and arrows they were using.

Despite the trade, and the seemingly good relationship, the settlers worried a great deal about attacks from Native American tribes. Some were friendly, traded with the settlers, and had a good relationship with them. Others were more aggressive and determined not to help the settlers, but to cause them to return to their homeland. Even though the settlers worried, very few were actually killed by Native Americans.

The most serious confrontation between Native Americans and settlers did not come until 1854, when the Grattan Massacre occurred. A cow wandered away from the settlers. When a tribe of Sioux found the cow, they ate it. After armed settlers showed up, the Sioux realized their mistake, and offered the settlers a horse in exchange. The settlers did not accept, and Lt. Grattan ordered his men to fire on the Sioux. They killed the chief. This caused an escalation of strikes and counter-strikes that went on for decades.

Despite incidents such as the Grattan Massacre, most settlers and most Native Americans got along fairly well. The relationship they had with one another included a fair division of land, and a good balance of trade. Unfortunately, after the settlers learned what they needed from the Native Americans and took what they could from them, they no longer had any use for the proud people whose land they had invaded.

The relationship between the settlers and the Native Americans began to change as settlers learned to do things for themselves, grow their own crops and breed their own animals for food. With the settlers being able to survive on their own, there was no longer any need for the Native Americans to help. The population of settlers was also growing, and new villages were being built on land that used to belong to the Native Americans.

The settlers kept expanding the areas that belonged to them, and this made the areas belonging to the Native Americans smaller and smaller. Most Native American tribes were very peaceful and did not put up much of a fight, which made it much easier for the settlers to spread out. There were some tribes which objected to the taking of their land, but battles were fought and the settlers eventually won, driving the Native Americans on to less and less land.

Native Americans also helped the growth of the colonies.

Some tribes were fierce and tried to eradicate the settlers, but most were friendly. Some of the colonists captured Native Americans to be sent back to the settlers' homeland and sold as slaves. Most of the Native Americans, however, were treated decently as trade increased between them and the settlers. If it was not for the Native Americans, the growth of the colonies and the subsequent population of America might have been quite different. The Native Americans helped the colonists grow food, and they showed them how to survive the first harsh winter, which the colonists were totally unprepared for.

Comparison and Conclusion

As can be seen from the examinations of the Native American population and the indigenous Brazilian population, settlers from other areas caused the problems for both of these groups. This does not mean that the settlers should be condemned, however, because they were doing what they thought was right at the time and they were doing these things for a specific cause. There have been many, many cases throughout history of someone or a group of people doing exactly what they think they should be doing but causing harm to others. Sometimes this is intentional, but overall this is something that just happens as an unfortunate side effect of expansion and growth, both economically and in the population of an area.

Where the Native Americans and the Brazilian indigenous people were concerned it appears that there were both accidental and deliberate problems that were caused by the settlers. Accidental problems include many of the changes that the countries and the people went through when the settlers arrived. Even if the settlers tried to make peace with the indigenous people and become their friends there were still unforeseen issues that took place. The main one of these was the threat of disease. Both the European settlers that went to Brazil and the settlers that arrived in America brought diseases with them that the people in other lands were not used to. Because of this they had no natural immunity to these diseases and suffered from them, many times to the point of death.

This was, of course, regrettable and upsetting, but there was little that could be done about it once it began to happen. The Native Americans and the indigenous Brazilian people simply had to build up an immunity to the diseases that the settlers brought with them. This took some time and many people died as a result of it. Those that survived, however, were made stronger by this and in some ways this could be seen as a benefit to the native people of these countries. However, the tragic loss of life was not a good start for relations between the people that lived there first and the 'new' people in the form of the settlers that moved in and took over land.

Had the settlers been more willing to adapt to native customs, things also might have been quite different. Instead, however, those that came from Europe and tried to settle these new areas were determined to change the indigenous people that they found. Often, the settlers felt as though their religion was the only 'right' one and they wanted to 'save' the poor, naive people that they found. This was admirable if done for the right reasons, but most of these people were actually interested in forcing the indigenous people to become like the Europeans. If they did not, or they were not able to due to a lack of understanding, they were often killed by the settlers in the name of their religion.

Surprisingly, the settlers often saw nothing wrong with killing these individuals, largely because they were believed to be 'ungodly.' One can only wonder what life would have been like for people all over the world today if the settlers would not have behaved this way and instead just integrated their cultures with the cultures of people that they encountered during their travels. This question, however, will never be answered. History has already been made and it cannot be changed now. What can be changed, however, is the future, in that individuals can be aware of what has taken place in the past and can then use that knowledge as an attempt not to repeat the damage that was caused to others.

Endnotes

An Outline of American History. 2002. From Revolution to Reconstruction. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1954uk/chap4.htm.

Manifest Destiny. 2003. Darien.k12. http://www.darien.k12.ct.us/rclarke/apdbq/1840g/manifest/manifest.htm.

Osava, Mario. 2006. Brazil: Indigenous people fight for their rights. CorpWatch. http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13217

Manifest Destiny. 2000. The Britannica Concise. http://education.yahoo.com/search/be?lb=t&p=url%3Am/manifest_destiny.

Takaki, Ronald. 2000. Iron Cages. London: Oxford University Press.

Norton, Charles. 1998. Frontiers in History. Lewis&ClarkTrail http://lewisandclarktrail.com.

Norton, 1998.

Nineteenth Century History Wall. 2003. Museum of Westward Expansion http://www.nps.gov/jeff/mus-1840.htm.

Nineteenth Century History Wall. 2003.

Veltman, Kim H. 2002. Why culture is important. Sumscorp. http://www.sumscorp.com/articles/art49.htm.

Foreigners in our own country: Indigenous peoples in Brazil. 2005. Amnesty International. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR190022005.

Foreigners in our own country: Indigenous peoples in Brazil. 2005.

Indigenous peoples in Brazil. n.d. Instituto Socioambiental. http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/english/whwhhow/index.shtm.

Indigenous peoples in Brazil. n.d.

Annotated Bibliography

An Outline of American History. 2002. From Revolution to Reconstruction. http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1954uk/chap4.htm.

This Web site gives a timeline and outline of many of the things that took place throughout the history of the United States and ensures that individuals who are studying history are aware of the good and the bad that occurred.

Foreigners in our own country: Indigenous peoples in Brazil. 2005. Amnesty International. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAMR190022005.

Brazilians are struggling today because they are still losing land to foreign development. Because of that they are being forced to move into smaller and smaller areas and their resources are diminishing.

Indigenous peoples in Brazil. n.d. Instituto Socioambiental. http://www.socioambiental.org/pib/english/whwhhow/index.shtm.

There are many indigenous people throughout Brazil, but there are not nearly as many as there used to be when Brazil was still young. So many of the indigenous tribes have been lost to development and change which began with the European settlers and has continued even into the present day.

Manifest Destiny. 2003. Darien.k12. http://www.darien.k12.ct.us/rclarke/apdbq/1840g/manifest/manifest.htm.

The concept of Manifest Destiny is what caused many people to leave their settlements in the east back when America was young and move out toward the west to find whatever was there for them.

Manifest Destiny. 2000. The Britannica Concise. http://education.yahoo.com/search/be?lb=t&p=url%3Am/manifest_destiny.

The idea behind Manifest Destiny was that people had to go out and find what it was that they actually wanted and needed. They were not going to receive everything that they desired if they stayed in one place, so they went forward to find and discover the rest of the world.

Nineteenth Century History Wall. 2003. Museum of Westward Expansion http://www.nps.gov/jeff/mus-1840.htm.

Ideas behind what life was like in the nineteenth century, who was important during that time, and what kinds of goals and ideas were in place during that period in history.

Norton, Charles. 1998. Frontiers in History. Lewis&ClarkTrail http://lewisandclarktrail.com.

Charles Norton addresses the major changes that took place during the time of Lewis & Clark and the huge westward expansion that happened during that time.

Osava, Mario. 2006. Brazil: Indigenous people fight for their rights. CorpWatch. http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=13217.

The indigenous people living in Brazil have been oppressed for many years, and they apparently feel as though it is time that this is changed. They are beginning to fight back to stop so many of their rights being taken away from them.

Takaki, Ronald. 2000. Iron Cages. London: Oxford University Press.

In this book, author Takaki addresses how so many people that are oppressed or that have their culture violently questioned and changed feel as though they are caged by those that come from other places and take over.

Veltman, Kim H. 2002. Why culture is important. Sumscorp. http://www.sumscorp.com/articles/art49.htm.

The importance of someone's cultural beliefs is often overlooked, and suggestions are that this must be addressed. The culture that an individual has is part of that person and part of what he or she is and does. Ignoring it or forcing a person to change it can be disastrous from a mental health standpoint.