By The Rocket

Early Native legend states that from the stars two sons came to live and inhabit the Earth. One brother remained in North America and the other left across the water. When the one brother returned from across the water to the American continents he was nervously welcomed back. The aboriginal people were not prepared for the consequences of Europeans finding North and South America.

European explorers considered their stumbling upon a land, that was already settled by a civilized culture, a discovery of a new place only inhabited by savages. They saw a land that could be plundered for its riches and people they could change to their ways and religion. The Americas were considered unclaimed land that could be colonized and claimed in the name of the early explorers home countries. The films ‘Babakiuera' and ‘War Against the Indians: The Feather and the Cross' both identified early practices of colonialism. The introduction of a foreign people and their diseases, the stealing of rightfully native owned land, and the non-acceptance of Native culture, were all factors that led to the European take over and colonization of North and South America.

The most damaging effect on Native population was due to the spread of disease. Massive numbers of Native death due to sickness not only depleted numbers but also weakened and changed the Native culture. At the time the European people were considered to be one of the most unhealthy groups of people ever. Diseases such as smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, and influenza were all brought across the ocean to the Americas (Brizinski 1993: 94). All of the diseases had been in Europe for a long time and the Europeans were able to cure them with a vaccine or they had built up an immunity against the diseases. The Native people were generally a very healthy race and had never experienced such diseases. With no immunity or vaccine the sickness took a heavy toll on the aboriginal people. Although no exact numbers can be given on the death as a result of disease some certain estimates have been made. A number of tribes are known to have been completely eliminated, the Assiniboine had their numbers reduced by half, up to ninety percent of the Chipewyan were killed, and two-thirds of the Blackfoot were dead (Brizinski 1993: 94). Hunters would no longer have been able to hunt, elders would no longer have been able to teach, and leaders would not have been able to lead. All of these effects and more weakened the Indians as a race.

Europeans impression of the Americas was an unclaimed land that was only populated by a race of savages. They saw a land open to plundering for its riches and free to be settled as if it was uninhabited. In reality Indian tribes populated almost all of both North and South America. They had a number of distinct languages, agriculture, art, and were a very civilized culture. The European people failed to see the truth about the native people and without any regard for their historical claim on the land began to settle it and treat it as their own. The fact that the Native peoples felt that no one could actually own land and their naive trust of the white people attributed to the reasons they did not attempt to try to stop the Europeans by force. The white people began moving across the land and systematically stealing all of it.

From the earliest explorers to arrive on the new continent through out the years of colonization Europeans showed an unwillingness to accept native culture and a constant urge to change Natives to European ways. The white people introduced a number of foreign ideas and used a number of methods that weakened the native peoples as a race thus making them easier to colonize. The horse and fire arm was given to the Indians, changing hunting practices and mobility of Native tribes. European wars were fought in the new land with countries enlisting the help of Native tribes. In wars that were not theirs Native lives were being lost. Jesuit ministers came in hopes of changing Native belief from what was viewed as a heathen religion to Christianity, although historically it is believed no Indians were converted. Later in history Native children were taken from their families and homes in order to be schooled. This practice would again weaken the Native race by denying children knowledge of Native beliefs, religion, and language. These actions and more due to lack of understanding of Native peoples allowed Europeans to take over the Americas and feel justified doing it.

A great population of peoples once flourished through out North and South America. Their trusting ways and lack of cynicism for the outside world caused them to allow a dangerous group of people on their shores. The Europeans had experience in colonizing countries and wasted no time in colonizing the Americas. They claimed land they had no right to and attempted to change a group of peoples with their own great history. Lack of Native numbers due to disease and murder decreased any resistance to losing their homeland. Over the course of history these methods and more succeeded for the Europeans and America was claimed by the white man and the Native peoples were forever changed.