THE WEST

    Originally the West belonged to the Native American. Was he a noble savage or a barbaric savage? Why the different views? Where is the truth? Is "Dances With Wolves" a true representation? Can we put all the Native Americans in one little box? Can we put any people in one little box?

    Some Native Americans seemed to live in harmony with nature and yet there were nations that ran buffalo over cliffs and took what they needed and left the rest to rot, and there were slash and burn agricultural methods, and nations that destroyed the scrub in the forest in order to make it easier to hunt and thus changed the tree population. Some Native Americans were savage fighters and were involved in torture while others gained honor simply by counting coup. Some nations depended on hunting, others were farmers, others did a combination of both and others were hunter gatherers. Some lived well and others barely survived. The roles of women varied.

    Too often we hear a racist view suggesting that they are unable to adapt. The Sioux were driven out of the Great Lakes region by the Chippewa and changed from being farmers with hunting on the side to a culture in which the buffalo became central. Throughout history societies that do not change die. Survival requires adaptation and at the same time change may make a society unrecognizable to its ancestors.

    Conquest is part of history. It happens over and over again. How has the European conquest of America been different than other conquests? How has it been the same? What is happening to native peoples in other parts of the world today?

    Historical interpretation changes over time. Why does it change? The Turner hypothesis has been thrown out by many historians. What was it? Is there any validity to it? Why did people go west? What was life like in the West? Were there any common themes in the development of the West?

     Copyright © 2005 Gary Brady