by Winter Chestnut

Created on: November 03, 2009

Pilgrims Perception of Native Americans

Little is discussed during the month of November about what the pilgrims might have thought about Native Americans. History books for the school children of America often only briefly mention Native Americans, and most schools by pass the fact that November is actually Native American Heritage Month. What is important about the early reactions of the Europeans, and how Native Americans and colonist reacted, is that the perceptions formed carried throughout history up until the almost complete annihilation of Native Americans.

The perception of Native Americans, from the time the first colonist set foot in the New World, was that the natives were savages, beneath the early Europeans station in life. Native Americans were viewed as ignorant, pagans. In the beginning, some were taken as prisoner, and taken back to England, away from their families, and sold into slavery. A few who were taken from their homes were able to somehow survive and make it back to America.

The early colonists were not familiar with the customs of the tribes in the area. Colonist simply landed, picked a home, and tried to survive. Native Americans, on the other hand, were much accustomed to interacting with other cultures. When the colonist first arrived, on Native American soil, the natural practice was to attack. Pictures in history books for school children often depict the pilgrims arriving and Native Americans rushing out to them with baskets of food. This simply was not the case.

Curiosity, on the other hand, is what brought the Native Americans to the colonist. At first, the tribes in the area in which the pilgrims resided, had assumed the ill equipped and strangely dressed pilgrims would die out. As time went on, however, and the tribes began to see that more ships were arriving with more colonist, tribes began to form different perceptions on how to handle the intrusion. Some tribes decided to attack, and succeeded in some cases of wiping colonies completely out. Others decided as long as the pilgrims stayed on the land they claimed, and respected the members of the tribe, then there could be peace. A system of trade was brought about, and bargaining took place.

Through this bargaining and trading, members of certain tribes who spoke a little English, were able to educate the pilgrims on agricultural practices and hunting in the region. Information was provided about friendly tribes in the region, and what regions were to be avoided.

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