Early encounters between Native Americans and Europeans

¶ … Indians & Europeans

Encounters between Europeans and Indians changed the course of history forever. From the moment both cultures intertwined, the United States as we know it was in the making. However, both of these different cultures were each set in their own ways. They independently held their own beliefs, religions, and practices. Their way of life was so drastically different from one another, that conflict arose from the same differences that also united them. Despite the argument that these two cultures were so vastly different that a common shared understanding was never possible is false. Both cultures learned a great deal from one another and were able to learn traditions that they shared with each other; this ended up shaping early American culture. The connections made between cultures so immensely dissimilar from one another greatly influenced their interactions with one another and in fact established more meaningful connections as a result.

When both cultures first encountered each other, the culture shock that was felt left them in disarray as they tried to comprehend what was occurring. The Europeans had never encountered such a group of people, both free within their own establishment, but at the same time having such a structured and hierarchical way of life (Kupperman c. 34). As Kupperman stated in her text, "…writings held the Indians up as a mirror in which English readers could examine their own society" (Kupperman a. 19). Despite the confusion, astonishment, and perplexing emotions that both the Europeans and Indians felt when encountering an entirely new and different world, they immediately attempted to establish a common ground -- one where both parties saw a mutual benefit. Both cultures encompassed people whom they could learn things from, but whom they could also relay their teachings and beliefs to (Taylor 53). However, some individuals at the time did acknowledge that it would be futile to interrupt an entire culture with teachings that Indians may have found to be more harmful than beneficial, "writers who sought to direct the energies of the godly to America pointed out that religious controversies at home were unproductive and smacked of pride" (Kupperman a. 31). Both cultures had this view of wanting to contribute to one another instead of hurting one another. Finding a common ground was indeed a goal for both cultures who desperately wanted to get along for the betterment of both peoples.

Indians and the Europeans both thought highly of hierarchy (Kupperman b. 78). Both cultures believed that in order for a systematic structure to be maintained and for a society of people to prevail, there had to be a social and gender hierarchy. Status was a sign of power, one in which "one's outward aspect tailored to the part, a person's actions were subtly molded to its demands" (Kupperman a. 71). This mutual belief of being arrogant when it came to one's status was evident in artwork that both the Indians and the Europeans contributed to America's history and as a representation of their native people (DuVal 118). Although this may be seen by today's interpreters as a trivial observation, it was one that mattered greatly to the people of their time. Finding some common ground in an aspect that mattered greatly to them meant that although they may have seemed to be vastly different from one another, they did indeed have more in common than they may have originally thought.

Religion was an essential part of life to both cultures at the time. It aided in providing an explanation to all that neither culture understood (Taylor 56). The Indians had a belief in multiple supernatural beings. They worshipped different Gods that provided them with what they thought to be blessings from the different natural occurrences in their world. Despite both cultures worshipping seemingly dissimilar religious characters, they were both after the same thing: peace and salvation from a world that offered very little answers and explanations about their surroundings (DuVal 103). Indians and Europeans both believed in religious figures that represented both evil and good; there was an "[acknowledgment] of two preeminent gods, one good but remote and the other potentially harmful and intimately involved in daily life" (Kupperman a. 116). In their own way, both cultures believed in soul immortality and its ability to move on into another realm once death came upon them. Although the Indians worshipped differently and had some distinct views about the world, the Europeans had more alike with the Indians than has been previously acknowledged. The underlying beliefs from which their entire cultures were based on stemmed from the exact same teachings of religious hierarchy, explanations about an unfamiliar world, and beliefs that brought social order to their respective societies.

Family life was an aspect that both united and differentiated the Indians from the Europeans. Early on it was evident to the Europeans that family life was vastly essential to the Indians who valued their family more than anything. To the Indians, outsiders were just that: outsiders. As Kupperman stated, "whereas in England most children left home in early adolescence, Indian parents kept them at home until they were adults" (Kupperman a. 153). This notion was viewed as something novel to the English who saw their own family unit and respect as deteriorating (Kupperman b. 133). The Indians depended on one another for virtually everything. Indian parents cared for their children in such a way that would prepare them for their survival in the world, so that in return their children would do the same as their parents aged and had to become more dependent on others. Outsiders were not taken in too well, as it was the family unit's responsibility to care for their own, unlike the Europeans at the time (Taylor 32).

Despite an attempt to reach a common ground among both the Indians and the Europeans, their respective presence created a sense of fear among both cultures. They were both attempting to understand their new experiences, but feared losing grasp of their own culture (Kupperman a. 57). This fear brought on civil wars between the Europeans and the Indians, and even within the different Indian tribes. While attempting to educate the other about their own individual practices, the line of teaching and forcing ideas upon one another, was blurred. As is stated in Kupperman's text, "…some native practitioners crossed over into English life and attempted to bring their own natural and supernatural powers to bear on the project of controlling the newcomers" (Kupperman a. 184). Both cultures bared a resemblance to one another in terms of their underlying societal structures, but when it came to finding peace with one another, their strong characters and their strong belief that the other culture was not conducting things in the correct manner, never allowed for a peaceful arrangement. It was this same notion that inevitably lead to the downfall of the Indians and the eventual genocide that was committed by the Europeans, "the enemy -- people who were permanently on idealogical or religious grounds or temporarily for strategic reasons outsiders -- was treated as the other" (Kupperman 232).