Task 2 – Investigating Sources
What is your first impression of the sources?
My first impression of these sources is that they are all very subjective and full of strong emotions and not very many facts.
Positive thoughts European Settlers had on Native Americans:
Negative thoughts European Settlers had on Native Americans:
Positive thoughts Native Americans had on European Settlers:
Negative thoughts Native Americans had on European Settlers:
What facts and opinions are presented in this source?
There are three main facts presented in these sources:
- That Christopher Columbus took possession of land in North America for the King and Queen of Spain.
- That the Indians had to move further into the mountains, away from the white settlers who were taking over the land.
- That the Native Americans agreed to retire to live in reservations offered by the Governer of Washington in 1854.
There are two different opinions of white settlers on Native Americans. These are:
- That they are somehow ‘noble’, beautiful and “perfect in their outward frame” (Source G). This was a commonly held view of many Europeans, that Natives were pure and yet ‘simple’ in their views and behaviour.
- That they were vastly inferior and did not deserve to remain on the land. This negative view varies from regarding Natives as unimportant; “I have taken possession… with no opposition” (Source H), to downright aggressive; “every buffalo dead is an Indian gone” (Source M).
What information can be inferred from this source and why?
It can be inferred that the Native Americans were constantly persecuted and forced to retreat further and further into reservations. It is also clear that neither the settlers or the Indians thought that they could possibly live together, for example the writer of Source G treats them as an entirely different species, while Chief Seattle (Source L) says, “We are two distinct races with separate origins and separate destinies. Day and night cannot dwell together.”
How does this source’s information compare with other sources about the same topic?
The opinions in these sources seem to me very to be representative of others at the time. For example, the novel Little House on the Prarie (by Laura Ingalls Wilder) contains many valuable contemporary insights of white settlers on Natives. Laura’s family regard the Natives as imposing, impressive, stately and to be respected, and yet they also have no objections with the Indians being moved on to make more room for them. Ma in particular has outbursts of hatred against the Indians, going as far as to say, “the only good Indian is a dead Indian”.
How reliable are these sources?
These sources certainly show an accurate picture of how people felt at the time, however they are still all very subjective and cannot be taken as fact. For example, Source K is a terrible description of the atrocities of the white settlers, but we do not know for sure if this is true. The language is emotive rather that factual, e.g. “They drove them like cattle”.
Leo T 