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NATIVE AMERICANS OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND.
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Examines the indigenous culture in the 16th and 17th Centuries.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines the indigenous culture in the 16th and 17th Centuries. Horticulture activities. Their food supply, housing, socials units, cultural & political practices. King Philip's War of 1675 as reaction to white colonial settlements and threat to traditional Native Ameican economic and cultural activities. Issue of land and displacement of natives by whites.
Paper Introduction:
Introduction
The first peoples of Southern New England was essentially unified by a single cultural group. The lives of these American Indians would be radically altered during the 17th century as their culture came into conflict with that of the Europeans. This paper examines that original culture of the area, then looks at what made this region attractive to the Europeans who displaced the natives and then explores how the final outcome of European incursions into this area was the result of the traditional native settlement patterns and the ways in which these interacted with the specific goals of the Europeans. While the displacement (and often murder) of Native Americans by European and later white Americans tends to be treated as if it were all a single phenomenon, in fact the displacement of natives by whites varied from place to place and acros
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Among the plantproducts that were gathered were berries, grapes, chestnuts and acorns.Fresh vegetables are ill preserved in the archaeological record and so maywell have been important, but it is impossible to discern this absolutelyfrom the evidence that remains (Trigger, 1978, pp. The war then ended, and resistance to further colonialsettlements in southern New England ceased and made any return totraditional Indian economic and cultural activities an impossibility(Schultz and Tougias, 1999, chapter two). While the displacement (and often murder)of Native Americans by European and later white Americans tends to betreated as if it were all a single phenomenon, in fact the displacement ofnatives by whites varied from place to place and across time depending onthe specific cultures that came together with the desire to occupy the sameland. The land that had supported a combination of foodcollection and horticulture could not support dual agricultural societies,and in the end the agricultural society with the better weapons won(Cronon, 1983, p. Tribes to the north of this region were substantiallyless invested in horticultural practices (and so less inclined toward anentire range of cultural and political practices associated withhorticulture). 159). The land of New England seemed to stretch on forever, but it did not.There would be in the end simply not enough good arable land for theincreasing population to use, and this would force a deterioration ofrelations between the Indians and the whites until violent conflict wouldbreak out. Indians of this region, as noted above, certainly supplemented theirfood collection activities with horticulture. The furnishings of these houses were simple, with bedsconsisting of mats and skins laid directly on the floor or on lowplatforms. 164). The major crops of thenatives of this region were maize, kidney beans, squash, Jerusalemartichokes and tobacco. The Land Is Vast but Finite The traditional story about the first interactions between the nativesand the Europeans is that the Europeans simply stole the Indians' land. But they did notsimply vanish like Atlantis, but remained on the outskirts of Europeansettlement, constant witnesses to all that they had seen and lost. Themats could be rolled up easily and moved from place to place, leaving theuprights behind. Although early Europeanobservers characterized the sachems as monarchical leaders (seeing in theNew World what they themselves had left behind in the old), the sachemsapparently had little power to coerce others into action but relied insteadprimarily on powers of persuasion, personal generosity and personalcharisma. The problem came about withincreasing European population, and thus with an ever increasing desire forland that was sometimes claimed by more than one native. Multivillage alliances did exist, but were perhaps more ad hocand temporary than enduring (Trigger, 1978, p. King Philip's War Contact changed this immediately as Europeans began to introduce metaltools and to encroach on the Indians' land. The largest canoes - 4 or 5 feet long -could carry up to 4 men. 16 ). There was no clear moment aftercontact before which the Indians were still traditional and after whichthey were not, but certainly King Philip's War can be used as an historicalproxy for this shift from the traditional ways of life to that which wascircumscribed beyond recognition by the white immigrants to the country. 166). 162-3). It had always been a surplus commodity in New England, and after the epidemics of 1617 and 1633-1834 there was even more to spare. They both wanted and needed land and there was simply notenough to go around. It is true that many would die, that many wouldlose their lands, that their traditional culture would be circumscribed,transformed, diminished, and then remade. Inreturn the colonists captured Native American women and children, destroyedcrops, and promised impunity to Native American deserters. There is no doubt as to the willingness, often eagerness, of the Indian to sell land. Spades were made of hardwood to help in the cultivation andfish were used as fertilizer (although this practice may have been borrowedfrom the Europeans). New England Frontier: Puritans and Indians, 162 -1675. They would endure terrible and unforgivable tragedies. (1983). Whales stranded on shore were butchered and some offshore whalingwas probably done as well in addition to the hunting of seals. But in fact the native peoples ofSouthern New England, like the natives in other parts of the Americas,would endure. Butthis is not entirely true. (1999). Finally, the social system of the natives was structured mostlythrough the villages, each of which was headed by a chief or sachem, whowas likely to be a man but could be a woman. 1 6). In December 1675the colonists won a major victory. While these types of transactions did happen later on and furtherwest, they did not happen in this region. Or they may have been nativeresponses to the economic pressures these groups were feeling to fullsedentism (Trigger, 1978, p. ReferencesCronon, W. There could never have been a long-term peace between the settlers andthe Indians. The native often took the initiative in such transactions, for he coveted the white man's goods as keenly as the settler yearned for more land (Vaughan, 1965, pp. 164). 161-2). & Tougias, M. 1 7-8). During the spring of 1676 the NativeAmericans held out, but their numbers steadily diminished, and in August,Philip was killed. They burned towns and killed many of the inhabitants. Populationswere more concentrated in the winter and so the houses were larger then.These long houses were bark covered, while the smaller round houses for afew families were made of sticks covered with mats or possibly bark. 167). The material culture of the natives of this area was simple,consisting of simple, multi-purpose tools along with bows and arrows (thearrowheads made of stone, antler, eagle claws, bone and horseshoe crabtails and soon after contact metal). Once Indians inflicted violence on the settlers, the nature ofthe equation changed, and land would be taken in revenge (Vaughan, 1965, p.153. This was the state of native culture and use of resources at the timeof contact, although no doubt much of the complexity of the nativesocieties has become hidden by time and the paucity of the archaeologicalrecord as to some areas of Indian life, particularly the more ephemeralaspects of social and cultural life. 166). Handbook of North American Indians, Vol. Overland transport was primarily accomplished bywomen carrying goods on their backs (Trigger, 1978, p. The Indians of this area engaged in trade in beads (that trade that isgenerally called wampam) before contact, although the rate of trade wasprobably increased afterward (Trigger, 1978, p. Their greatest lack was proper ventilation, especially when rainforced people to cover smoke holes (Trigger, 1978, p. Fields were allowed to lie fallow if they were nolonger sufficiently fertile and were burned before replanting, a relativelyefficient means (given the level of technology available) for returningnitrogen to the soil in a usable fashion as well as a quick way of clearingfields of recent growth. Philip, who died in 1676 was a sachem of the Wampanoag tribe and thesecond son of the Wampanoag chief Massasoit, who for nearly 4 years hadbeen the first and staunchest ally of the Pilgrim settlers of Plymouth.Originally named Metacomet, he was called Philip by the English settlers.In 1662 Philip succeeded his brother and formally renewed the treaties ofhis father, which he honored for some years. Houses were usually made to accommodate more than a single familygroup, with the size of the habitation depending on the season. Conclusion The story that Americans learned as they were growing up is that theIndians were defeated, by foul or fair means, and then they vanished. (ed.) (1978). The later "typical" frontier transaction, in which the pioneer bought land from an Indian who, in fact, had no legal right to sell part of the tribal domain, did not occur in seventeenth century New England, where the tribes did not practices communal ownership (Vaughan, 1965, p. Most of the agricultural work was done by women,who stored the grain in woven sacks or baskets that were then interred intrench-like earthen granaries (Trigger, 1978, pp. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution.Vaughan, A. In return the white man offered metal knives, hoes, and other implements or rare value to a neolithic society; in lieu of these the Indian might ask for cloth, clothing, jewelry, and other luxuries to brighten his life. Moreover, the entire cultural group was marked by speakingone of five Eastern Algonquian languages, and so were distinctly set offfrom their Abenaki-speaking neighbors inland (Trigger, 1978, p. 164). Introduction The first peoples of Southern New England was essentially unified by asingle cultural group. These were planted in fields from which the smallerplants had been cleared and the trees cut down (the stumps removed when theroots died). These may not betruly native structures, resulting instead from the need of the natives toprotect themselves against the Europeans. Woodstock VT: The Countryman Press.Trigger, B. King Philip's War: The history and legacy of America's forgotten conflict. Boston: Little Brown. Thesecond common story about such transactions is that while the Indians mayindeed have agreed to sell or trade land to the Europeans they did notbelieve that they were ceding their rights to the land in perpetuity orthought that they would maintain hunting, fishing and other rights to theland because these rights were all commonly held and so could not be tradedaway. Dugout canoes were commonly used andmade of pine, oak or chestnut. The colonists, however, madecontinual encroachments on native lands. (1965). The natives lived in villages defined by Trigger (1978) as "a socialunit utilizing the resources of a limited territory, usually part of adrainage system or a section of the coastal plain" (p. This paper examines that originalculture of the area, then looks at what made this region attractive to theEuropeans who displaced the natives and then explores how the final outcomeof European incursions into this area was the result of the traditionalnative settlement patterns and the ways in which these interacted with thespecific goals of the Europeans. The natives often sold their land quite willingly; it should not beassumed that they were coerced or deceived into doing so. Changes in the land: Indians, colonists, and the ecology of New England. Village sizeprobably varied throughout the region and most certainly varied by season.These villages were probably fairly simple and open in structure, althoughthere are examples of 17th century palisaded villages. Indigenous Culture of Southern New England At the time of earliest European contact with Indians in the 16th and17th century, Southern New England was a distinct cultural zone set offfrom its neighbors. [T]he possessor of either farming or hunting land enjoyed full ownership, not merely rights of usufruct. 15, Northeast. Andthey would be transformed by history, as are we all. Members of this cultural group certainly used the resources offorests, lakes and rivers as well as those of sea and wetlands to providefood and other basic raw materials and relied as well upon hoe cultivation.Deer were caught in traps and snares and some large sea mammals were alsohunted. Bothfreshwater and marine fish were eaten along with a wide variety of birds,including swan, grouse, goose, cormorants and turkeys. The lives of these American Indians would beradically altered during the 17th century as their culture came intoconflict with that of the Europeans. In retaliation Philip formed aconfederation of tribes and in 1675 led an uprising now known as KingPhilip's War. New York: Hill and Wang.Schultz, E. With Indians eager to sell land and whites eager to buy it, thereshould have been few problems, and indeed initially there were fewconflicts (except for those nasty epidemics, and the settlers could nothave foreseen this consequence of contact).
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