Shavonne Gilkey
Reimaging Native American Violence
In the Europeans’ eyes Native Americans were violent, uncivilized, savages. This is apparent in descriptions of interactions between the French, the Iroquois, and other neighboring tribes. In one Jesuit document the author described the Iroquois as “wolves”, a violent predator, which may be warranted considered the horrific and gruesome violence they enacted. Three documents emphasize the violence found in Indian tribes. Indians recounted some of these events to the French. The first document is a Jesuit Relations document from 1642 that discusses the Iroquois mourning-war ritual. The second is another Jesuit Relations document from 1640 that addresses how Indians dealt with the disease and illness brought by Europeans. The final document is by a French official and gives two different accounts of the same situation involving a captive. All of these documents show instances of what the French considered savagery and nonsensical violence: murder, kidnapping, and cannibalism. But, now we know that isn’t the entire story. Warfare and the …show more content…
Father Buteux wrote of the Iroquois, “Homo homini lupis; man becomes a wolf to other men, when he allows himself to be ruled by Demons.” But as Richter explained, mourning-war was ritual and essential to Iroquois culture. As he said, “Warfare thus dramatically promoted group cohesion.” Part of the problem for the French was that this kind of warfare was so different from what they practiced. Mourning-war’s number one priority was captive taking while European wars were over territory or economic reasons. This explains the Iroquois propensity for ambushes and retreat. Due to these personal biases and cultural differences the French were not able to see mourning-war as a valid use of violence. For the French, mourning-war was not “war” but
Reimaging Native American Violence
In the Europeans’ eyes Native Americans were violent, uncivilized, savages. This is apparent in descriptions of interactions between the French, the Iroquois, and other neighboring tribes. In one Jesuit document the author described the Iroquois as “wolves”, a violent predator, which may be warranted considered the horrific and gruesome violence they enacted. Three documents emphasize the violence found in Indian tribes. Indians recounted some of these events to the French. The first document is a Jesuit Relations document from 1642 that discusses the Iroquois mourning-war ritual. The second is another Jesuit Relations document from 1640 that addresses how Indians dealt with the disease and illness brought by Europeans. The final document is by a French official and gives two different accounts of the same situation involving a captive. All of these documents show instances of what the French considered savagery and nonsensical violence: murder, kidnapping, and cannibalism. But, now we know that isn’t the entire story. Warfare and the …show more content…
Father Buteux wrote of the Iroquois, “Homo homini lupis; man becomes a wolf to other men, when he allows himself to be ruled by Demons.” But as Richter explained, mourning-war was ritual and essential to Iroquois culture. As he said, “Warfare thus dramatically promoted group cohesion.” Part of the problem for the French was that this kind of warfare was so different from what they practiced. Mourning-war’s number one priority was captive taking while European wars were over territory or economic reasons. This explains the Iroquois propensity for ambushes and retreat. Due to these personal biases and cultural differences the French were not able to see mourning-war as a valid use of violence. For the French, mourning-war was not “war” but