Conception of American Indians
James Axtell’s essay, “Native Reaction to the European Invasion of Africa,” made me change my perspective on how I saw American Indians when Europeans first discovered the New World and encountered these people. My initial opinion was that American Indians were happy to have the Europeans with them and that they all got along peacefully. I was never aware that there was countless disputes between the American Indians and the Europeans. They essay states, “And the Indians spent most of the conquest and colonial period reacting and responding to the European strangers and invaders,”(Axtell 99). I find that James Axtell’s essay to interest me more about the American Indians and on the conflicts that went on between the Europeans and them as time progressed.
When I was younger, I was taught that Europeans were given land by the American Indians. I was also taught that the American Indians got along peacefully with the Europeans and they had no problems with them. Those…show more content… The things that I was taught about American Indians when I was younger made me outlook them as people who were friendly and people who accepted the Europeans when they set up colonies in the New World. The American Indians are more interesting than I thought. They were very generous to the Europeans. The essay states, “They showered them with presents, offered them the calumet pipe or wampum belt of peace, and made long speeches of welcome and adoption. They then bestowed Indian names upon them, the ultimate sign of acceptance,”(Axtell 102). These statements reflect on the idea that American Indians are very interesting people who are very welcoming to outsiders. James Axtell’s essay, “Native Reaction to the European Invasion of Africa,” made me change my perspective on how I saw American Indians when Europeans first discovered the New World and encountered these
