From the mountains, to the prairies To the oceans white with foam, Every Native American Must leave his home l. Imagine that someone comes to your home and forces you at gunpoint to leave. Your response might be termed "savage" "Savage" was how the New World invaders described American Indians. Settlers chased them across the continent, as the government signed treaties that they later broke. They also subjected the native inhabitants to horrible atrocities. Author George E. Saurman, a World War II veteran and proud American, explores what really happened to Native American Indians, examining Native American Indian tribes and their customs; the actions of early settlers, including William Penn and his holy experiment; contributions of the Native American Indians; and conditions on reservations today. Saurman also considers how the Bureau of Indian Affairs handled relations between natives and settlers, as well as what Native American Indians from the past and today have had to say about events. Even today, broken promises obscure what's really going on in Native American Indian communities. It's time that a serious effort be made to rectify the situation, and it starts by realizing that We've Done Them Wrong.
WE'VE DONE THEM WRONG!
A History of the Native American Indians and How the United States Treated ThemBy George E. SaurmaniUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 George E. Saurman
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4759-4488-4 Contents
Acknowledgement.............................................................viiIntroduction................................................................ixChapter 1: The New World before the Invaders................................1Chapter 2: The Old World Looks Outward......................................18Chapter 3: William Penn's Holy Experiment...................................25Chapter 4: The Spread of Civilization.......................................33Chapter 5: The Indian Wars..................................................40Chapter 6: Atrocities Suffered by the Indians...............................62Chapter 7: Contributions of the Native American Indians.....................76Chapter 8: Conditions on Reservations Today.................................89Chapter 9: The War Goes On..................................................95Chapter 10: Comments from Native Americans..................................107Chapter 11: Conclusion......................................................110Bibliography................................................................115Native American Charities...................................................119
Chapter One
The New World before the Invaders
History has described the continents of North and South America as the "New World" as it related to the then known world of Europe and Asia. There was even the incorrect assumption on the part of early geographers, that if you traveled far enough west on this flat surface called earth, you would fall off. Maps didn't include the continent of North America, because it had not yet been "discovered" by the European adventurers.
However, the continent did exist, having been included as part of creation. Not only did it exist, but it was inhabited. According to anthropologists, the first inhabitants of the Americas migrated across the Bering Strait to Alaska by way of existing land bridges, probably in search of game. They resembled the early Mongoloid people of northeastern Asia, with medium skin pigmentation. For the most part, their hair was black and straight, with minimal body hair and very little balding. However, they have several unique characteristics which distinguish them from the Mongoloids.
Estimates vary as to the total number which existed before the coming of the Europeans, but it runs as high as eighteen million. And the time table for their migration is nowhere recorded, but it is believed to have been 20,000 to 30,000 years ago and it is obvious that once they crossed onto this continent, they spread out, going both south and east, breaking into many hundreds of different nations and tribes.
The Walum Olum (Red Score) is reportedly a historical narrative of the Lenape (Delaware) Indians. Botanist and antiquarian Constantine Samuel Rafinesque published an account in 1830 which he claimed to have been an English translation of the original story as told by the Indians. It suggests a migration some 3600 years before his writing and while its authenticity has been questioned, it is the position of the Lenape Nation of Pennsylvania that they have been in the area for 10,000 years.
The Indians were adaptable and wherever they wound up they made wise use of the natural resources available to them. They respected the land and all that it had to offer. Different conditions caused them to live in different ways. When they found good hunting and an adequate supply of berries and seeds, they settled down and learned to utilize the trees and plants, as well as the animals, fish, birds and even the stones and land itself for their sustenance.
They were the first to grow potatoes, tomatoes and many other food staples that continue to provide nourishment for people throughout the world today. They were the first to raise turkeys. They found uses for Native American products such as rubber, tobacco and sugar maple and even utilized the cinchona tree, the source of quinine.
Because of the vast variation in climate and the kinds of land involved, the various Indian tribes reflected these differences in their clothing, food, shelter and even the way they lived. Since they depended on nature, they studied the animals, determined which plants were poisonous and which were good for eating. They even identified plants that were good for medicine. And they learned the signs of weather variations and even the changing seasons.
With no text books to explain nature they believed the sun, rain, wind and other forces of nature were controlled by spirits and they worshipped animals, plants, the sun, rain and wind in ceremonies and prayers by which they sought to gain favor with these deities in accordance with the teachings of earlier generations.
Scholars explain culture as the way of life of a people. They have identified several cultures in the pre-European North American arena. Because the inhabitants shared many of the same environmental factors, they shared much of the same culture.
Because there was no technical system of immediate communication, the Indians developed many ways to send signals, such as waving buffalo robes, marking trails, audible signals which were made by drums, horns and shells, or by using smoke signals by day and fire by night. To communicate most information they depended upon storytellers to travel from one band or tribe to the next, carrying the message.
These traveling storytellers had free passage through foreign territories in Indian lands and they carried news of births and deaths, wars and treaties. Each storyteller was held in high esteem for his or her role in tribal life. The tradition carries on today and storytellers are still considered very important tribal members. Such people existed in Europe before newspapers appeared which eventually replaced them.
Eastern Indians
Those who made their homes along the Eastern part of the continent enjoyed a climate with much rainfall. Forests spread out to cover both the mountains and the valleys. Lakes and streams were also found in abundance. The inhabitants depended upon the trees, the animals that dwelt in the woods and the fish and shellfish that were plentiful in the streams and ocean for food.
They selected tree bark and branches to provide shelter and also many of their weapons and utensils. Hollowed trees provided canoes for traveling over the waters. Most of their clothing came from the skin of animals. Because they knew how to grow crops and because game was plentiful, they could live in villages. The women planted corn, pumpkin, squash, beans, tobacco and gourds. Usually the weather was cooperative, especially in the warm, rainy summers.
The village was a busy place. The men helped with building wigwams and they made areas for gardens by burning off the trees and bushes. Trees were cut by a method called girdling. Wet clay was located a short distance up the trunk and then a fire started at the base. Then the fire was extinguished and the Indian would use a primitive stone axe to chip away until the tree fell. Lack of sharp tools was a major hindrance to the Indians. Skilled men of the tribe made bows and arrows, war clubs and stone knives from bones and wood from trees and bushes in addition to the stones they found in abundance on the ground.
Many chores kept the women busy most of the day. They wrapped the babies in moss and furs and bound them...
