Faith, Native & European Relations

Author

Institution

Relationships between communities are always bound to elicit mixed reaction from different quarters. This is especially when the case in question applies to the relationship during times of colonialism. This is the case in the relationship between Europeans and Native Americans. The phrase or term Native Americans is used in reference to the Indigenous peoples in North America, who are within the present-day boundaries of the continental United States, the island state of Hawaii and parts of Alaska. These are composed of the varied, unique Native American ethnic groups and tribes, most of which have survived as intact political communities (Calloway, 1994). European explorers and colonialists discovered and settled in North America. It goes without saying that their intrusion on the Native Americans modified their culture. It is noteworthy that the relationships between Native Americans and their European colonialists and settlers had started out in a friendly manner before they became uncomfortable to the point of skirmishes and conflicts breaking out between them (Calloway, 1994). One of the key sources of the conflicts was the mere fact that the European settlers and colonialists felt obliged to convert of change the natives into Christians, something that most of the Native Americans especially Indians suspiciously resented. The conditions resulted in the loss of lives and trust for innumerable people. It is obvious that the people of North America still experience the repercussions of the colonial times even today (Calloway, 1994).

It have always thought that faith and religion created strong bonds between the Native Americans and their European colonialists and settlers. This is especially having in mind that the teachings of Christianity have always espoused on virtues such as kindness and always doing right, especially when dealing with other human beings. These virtues were extremely likely to be appealing to the Native Americans, in which case they would have felt compelled to reach out to the settlers and colonialists.

However, this does not come out as the case between Native Americans and the European counterparts, at least going by James Roark’s “The American Promise: A History of the United States”. Obviously, faith and especially Christianity played various key roles in the relationship that existed between Native Americans and the European settlers or colonialists. It is worth noting that several millennia before the European settlers established their foothold in the North American continent, the Native Americans were aligned to varied spiritual practices, which they held strongly. It is noteworthy that the Indian Americans were particularly suspicious of the teachings of Christianity that were introduced by the European settlers and colonialists. In essence, it emerges that faith served as a dividing tool between the two groups of people (Roark, 2008). This is especially when considering that their efforts to treat Native Americans fairly were undermined by the religious misunderstanding and their greed for land. The West underlines a story of conquest, as well as competing visions and promises on the land with quite a large number of people laying claim to it and playing a key role in settling it (The people, 2001). This is the same case that applies in African countries and other colonies, irrespective of the variations in the colonizers. The treatment of Native Americans by the European settlers and colonialists led to a combination of exploitive greed and the altruistic religious ideology. It is worth noting that the combination broke down to an unfortunate loss of blood, justice and trust.

References

James Roark, J (2008). The American Promise: A History of the United States. New York: Bedford/St Martins

The People, (2001). The West: Episode One (to 1806). Web retrieved 4th July 2012 from HYPERLINK “http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/one/” http://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/program/episodes/one/

Calloway, CG (1994). The World Turned Upside Down Indian Voices from Early America, Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1994

(Calloway, 1994)