Amerindian Culture

Status
Not open for further replies.
What if the Amerindians had a more European culture? For example, if they didn't revere the land and saw it as something to posess, as the Europeans did, ditto for animals. How would this change European and American attitudes towards them?
 
Let's not confuse current american indian cultural values with the values of these groups 4 or 5 hundred years ago. They have been greatly influenced by the concept of the 'noble savage' (Rousseau?), and are largely a relatively modern phenomena.

As one web site states:
"The concept of the "noble savage" may have been, in part, an attempt to reestablish the value of indigenous lifestyles and delegitimatize the imperial excesses - establishing them as morally superior to counter-balance the perceived political and economic inferiorities."

However, if the indian cultures were more like us I don't believe it would really have made a whit of difference. The new disease environment would still have wiped them out. An remember that the Iroqouis and Cherokee had adopted many of the ways of the European - in the end it didn't protect them against Jackson.
 
In many ways Native Americans were like Europeans, depending what tribe, kingdom or empire you're talking about.

Central Americans (Mesoamericans) were very European, with the exception of human sacrifice. Same with the Andes Americans (Incans and other people's).

The North American Indians and most South Americans were simply stuck in the Stone Age to say it lightly. So they as can be predicted of a Stone Age people worshipped nature (animism).

While the more advanced people and arguably more European people worshiped many gods and had an established religious structure.

So to sum it up, some had a culture similar to Europe just not all of them.
 
What if the Amerindians had a more European culture? For example, if they didn't revere the land and saw it as something to posess, as the Europeans did, ditto for animals. How would this change European and American attitudes towards them?
I mean, there were tribes that adopted European styles of land management, the Five Civilized Tribes being the most obvious example. So we know exactly how Americans would have reacted to them (they were still removed to Indian territory).
 
Top
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top