> America Before Columbus > > When Columbus came to America in 1492, there were over 75 > million people, twenty-five million living in North America, > inhabiting the land he supposedly discovered. Columbus called > them Indians believing he had reached the east by going west. > > The natives had migrated across the Bering Straits and settled > into warmer areas of the continent. The Hopi Indians were > building cliff dwellings, farming and creating villages about > a thousand years before Christ in what is now New Mexico. > > When Julius Caesar was conquering the Western world an Indian > culture called the Moundbuilders, who lived in the Ohio > Valley, were making huge structures out of earth. One of them > was said to be over three miles long and the area served as > a trading post. Indians came from the west, the Gulf of Mexico > and the Midwest to trade and exchange goods. So you can see a > system of trade and commerce existed before Columbus arrived. > > In what is now called Pennsylvania and upper state New York > lived the Iroquois. The Iroquois lived in villages and had a > very sophisticated social system which was in many ways > superior to the European culture. The land was worked in > common and was owned by the whole nation. > > Women held a much higher place in the Iroquois culture versus > the European. For instance, family names were tied to the > women not the men. When a man married, he joined the family > of his wife. Women farmed the land while the men hunted for > fish and game. Men and women shared power and the European > model of male dominance was conspicuously absent in Iroquois > culture. Children were not punished harshly and taught > equality in possessions. This is contrasted with the severity > of the Puritans who believed in harsh punishment. > > What did the culture of the Europeans bring to the new world? > The Europeans were a society of both rich and poor, controlled > by priests, governors and male heads of families. The Iroquois > society had no laws, sheriffs, judges or juries, however > boundaries of behavior existed. If someone stole food or shamed > their family, they were banished until they had morally atoned > for their actions. > > So this was the land Columbus "found." There was no written > language but their history was passed on by an oral culture > that was far superior to the Europeans. They told their > history through songs and fables. They paid attention to > the development of an individual's personality. This kind of > community lasted among natives long after the Indians were > conquered. John Collier who lived with the tribes of the > American Southwest said of the spirit of the natives, "if > we could make it our own, there would be an eternally > inexhaustible earth and a forever lasting peace." > > Perhaps this is myth-making. But these ideas have been > repeated in European journals. What can we learn from this? > First, we can see that hierarchy leads to divisions in all > societies and this stratification of power leads to dominance > by a few to the cost of many. This is true of all European > systems whether it be capitalism or communism. Secondly, mere > laws and punishment do not lead to a peaceful society. Maybe > we should study other cultures in our schools and incorporate > some of their beliefs into our own violent society. >

Hello list--- First off, I'd like to apologize for this posting in response to this latest non-topic posting. The original posting is an example of the abuse of history for political purposes that is frequently used by special interest groups to legitimize their political positions. It is political propaganda. As an historian, I abhore this abuse of history. The purpose for studying history is not to compare cultures of varying time periods in order to develop the good culture/bad culture thesis; indeed it is unfair to compare any past or present culture with the reader's/writer's own world view and make judgements concerning those cultures' validity. A more appropriate use of history is to explore the events which led to one's own present cultural condition; to look at similar problems encountered by various cultures over time, look at the various solutions employed to solve those problems, and evaluate the effectiveness of those solutions within the context of the needs of particular cultures; assist in finding solutions to current problems within a culture by examining similar problems encountered in the past and develop a list of effective solutions through this examination; and other similar uses. We may simply be interested in exploring the tapestry of ancestors that make the individual of the present or the network of cross-cultural interaction that has influenced the evolution of one's current culture or ethnicity. The use of history to value or devalue individuals or cultures smacks of fraud. I could develop a multi-page essay on this topic but I'll get off of the soap box. I will sprinkle commentary throughout the copy below to illustrate another side to the story in an effort to illimuniate the idea that we are all humans throughout the past as well as the present; consequently we are all subject to committing errors, successes, indiscretions, attrocities, acts of compassion and violence. In short, humans have always behaved both well and poorly as judged by contemporaries. Roland Elliott wrote: > > America Before Columbus > > > > When Columbus came to America in 1492, there were over 75 > > million people, twenty-five million living in North America, > > inhabiting the land he supposedly discovered. Columbus called > > them Indians believing he had reached the east by going west. > > > > The natives this term is contradictory, for if they had to migrate into a region, they could not be natives--- > had migrated across the Bering Straits and settled > > into warmer areas of the continent. The Hopi Indians the Hopis did not exist at this time---it was their ancestors. > were > > building cliff dwellings, farming and creating villages about > > a thousand years before Christ in what is now New Mexico. > > > > When Julius Caesar was conquering the Western world an Indian > > culture called the Moundbuilders, who lived in the Ohio > > Valley, were making huge structures out of earth. One of them > > was said to be over three miles long and the area served as > > a trading post. Indians came from the west, the Gulf of Mexico > > and the Midwest to trade and exchange goods. So you can see a > > system of trade and commerce existed before Columbus arrived. All cultures develop this exchange-type economy. Studies in European colonization of the Americas also have revealed exchange economies that functioned for various numbers of years---sometimes decades---before the more modern capital-based economies took root. > > > > > In what is now called Pennsylvania and upper state New York > > lived the Iroquois. The Iroquois lived in villages and had a > > very sophisticated social system which was in many ways > > superior to the European culture. The land was worked in > > common and was owned by the whole nation. Ignoring the mutiple problems in this paragraph, I would like to point out that the land claim was to the exclusion of all other tribes. In fact one tribe, the Erie, was never known to Europeans---the Iroquois boasted to their first European contacts that they had annihilated the Erie down to the last member---genocide. > > > > > Women held a much higher place in the Iroquois culture versus > > the European. For instance, family names were tied to the > > women not the men. When a man married, he joined the family > > of his wife. Women farmed the land while the men hunted for > > fish and game. Men and women shared power and the European > > model of male dominance was conspicuously absent in Iroquois > > culture. Children were not punished harshly and taught > > equality in possessions. This is contrasted with the severity > > of the Puritans who believed in harsh punishment. Men and women did not share power---just as in European culture in which domestic concerns were the sphere of women, Indian women had their own spheres that they dominated and other spheres from which they were excluded, most notably in determining diplomacy and war---the councils were male. The other issues here are far more complex than the simple statements made. > > > > > What did the culture of the Europeans bring to the new world? > > The Europeans were a society of both rich and poor, controlled > > by priests, governors and male heads of families. The Iroquois > > society had no laws, sheriffs, judges or juries, however > > boundaries of behavior existed. If someone stole food or shamed > > their family, they were banished until they had morally atoned > > for their actions. Such law issues become a necessity as societies become larger---the Aztecs and Mayans had laws, a ruler, a class system and all of the other "evils" that are implied in this naive statement. > > > > > So this was the land Columbus "found." There was no written > > language but their history was passed on by an oral culture > > that was far superior to the Europeans. Because Europeans wrote it down---ever compared the similar stories in documents and oral history---very different, huh. > They told their > > history through songs and fables. They paid attention to > > the development of an individual's personality. This kind of > > community lasted among natives long after the Indians were > > conquered. John Collier who lived with the tribes of the > > American Southwest said of the spirit of the natives, "if > > we could make it our own, there would be an eternally > > inexhaustible earth and a forever lasting peace." > > > > > Perhaps this is myth-making. Right, precisely that. > But these ideas have been > > repeated in European journals. What can we learn from this? > > First, we can see that hierarchy leads to divisions in all > > societies and this stratification of power leads to dominance > > by a few to the cost of many. This is true of all European > > systems whether it be capitalism or communism. Secondly, mere > > laws and punishment do not lead to a peaceful society. Maybe > > we should study other cultures in our schools and incorporate > > some of their beliefs into our own violent society. > > There is no evidence offered to support these overly simplistic conclusions. Again I apologize, but I find it difficult to ignore history abuse. I hope the posting of politically motivated historical abuse does not occur on this list anymore. Let's keep it to exploring our own roots!!! Terry Gruber