For many years Indigenous populations have been greatly admired for their holistic cures and approaches. They are not only respected for their incredible knowledge, but also for their utilization of available natural resources. For example, it was common knowledge amongst the Iroquoians that by concocting a tea made from needles of the White Cedar tree, a person could ward off scurvy. Scurvy, a crippling disease caused by lack of vitamins, plagued Europeans upon arrival to the Americas. In 1535, French explorer Jacque Cartier made his second voyage to Canada. As he ventured up the St. Lawrence River his ships became immersed in the frozen waters. Many of his crewmen suffered terribly from scurvy during the winter months, but within days
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The news of the magical “black gold” spread. As trade became more and more prevalent the Seneca “sold kegs of it [oil] to passing traders. By the early 1800s practically every household within the Keystone State had a bottle of Seneca oil on the cupboard shelf. Eventually, even the pharmacies in New York City began stocking it.” As a result of the newfound popularity of their oil products, the Seneca were faced with backlash after backlash as settlers flocked to their traditional land in search of the oil. The discovery of oil on traditional Seneca territory demanded a call for workers with the means of extracting it, refining it, and selling it. Much of these events excluded the Seneca, and their Five Nations …show more content…
Oil was found along a creek at the shallow depth of a remarkable 69 feet. The well drilled by Edwin Drake was also the first recorded account of what we refer to today as a “Gusher”. A petroleum well that spews oil, due to immense pressure and large proportions of product. This find skyrocketed the prospects of American oil, as there became a higher demand for natural resource products daily. Much of this production excluded the local Seneca population, who had already known of the potential of petroleum oil, and had the means of extracting it as needed. Unfortunately, this group of individuals were perhaps “robbed” of this natural resource, which they had already been using for hundreds of years. In less than one hundred years, European descendants and settlers had once again swindled members of the Iroquoian Five Nations out of something that could be seen as theirs in the first
The news of the magical “black gold” spread. As trade became more and more prevalent the Seneca “sold kegs of it [oil] to passing traders. By the early 1800s practically every household within the Keystone State had a bottle of Seneca oil on the cupboard shelf. Eventually, even the pharmacies in New York City began stocking it.” As a result of the newfound popularity of their oil products, the Seneca were faced with backlash after backlash as settlers flocked to their traditional land in search of the oil. The discovery of oil on traditional Seneca territory demanded a call for workers with the means of extracting it, refining it, and selling it. Much of these events excluded the Seneca, and their Five Nations …show more content…
Oil was found along a creek at the shallow depth of a remarkable 69 feet. The well drilled by Edwin Drake was also the first recorded account of what we refer to today as a “Gusher”. A petroleum well that spews oil, due to immense pressure and large proportions of product. This find skyrocketed the prospects of American oil, as there became a higher demand for natural resource products daily. Much of this production excluded the local Seneca population, who had already known of the potential of petroleum oil, and had the means of extracting it as needed. Unfortunately, this group of individuals were perhaps “robbed” of this natural resource, which they had already been using for hundreds of years. In less than one hundred years, European descendants and settlers had once again swindled members of the Iroquoian Five Nations out of something that could be seen as theirs in the first