Native American Exploration Research Paper

Who lived in America before the immigrants came? It was the Native Americans, and after them were the European settlers and explorers. When the white settlers came, they were friendly with the Native Americans and vice versa. At least, it looked like that on the surface; secretly, the Europeans, including Christopher Columbus wanted to enslave the Native Americans. Native Americans were tortured and killed, treaties were violated, and fights and raids broke out. Was exploration of the Americas worth the casualties and deaths on both sides?
What was the impact of European exploration and the consequences of discovery? Before the Europeans ventured onto the Americas, it was originally inhabited by Native American tribes, including the Pueblo …show more content…
The tribes originally hunted buffalo on their traditional hunting grounds, produced beautiful clothing, crafted tools, traded with one another, gathered food, and planted crops. Most of this took place on the Great Plains, a vast grassland. For many generations, these Native Americans lived together in small villages, consisting of tepees. Unfortunately, this way of life was before the settlers arrived and “invaded” these lands. While the Native Americans believed that the land belonged to everyone and that it was best to maintain balance in the food cycle and nature itself, the Europeans argued otherwise. In the white man’s perspective, the land did not belong to the Native Americans even though they inhabited the area. In order for people to acknowledge that another possesses property of land, the land must have “improved” in some way; in other words, it must be technologically more advanced in some way, like have factories, houses, and other buildings. There must also be better transportation, like trains. The settlers wanted to modernize the land, so they claimed it as theirs and felt a need to use it for financial reasons. This includes the digging of gold like how in the Treaty of Fort Laramie, the U.S. government agreed to allow the Sioux and Cheyenne keep their land “forever” and that it would not be disturbed by any trespassers. This treaty was broken when soon afterwards, the settlers arrived to …show more content…
We cannot take away the pain that the Native Americans suffered at the hands of the whites and vice versa. However, the descendents of the Native Americans are still affected by the hardcore truth of their history. They live less fortunate lives than white Americans in today’s world. What we can do to help them is to give Native American children and teens more opportunities at education, in order to strive for a more successful lifestyle when they grow older. Education in the 21st century America is essential and key to success. To show the people of America that minorities can live a healthy, good life even after the struggles with their own race and history, is the sweetest revenge against the European explorers who oppressed their ancestors. Personally, if I were one of the Native American descendents, I would be irate at how horribly my own race was treated and show the world that the history won’t discourage or bring me down. In fact, it would make me feel more hopeful for the future and show everyone my capabilities and grit. I would want people to know the fact that I can surpass even the people who were entitled their whole life and handed more chances at a better education, compared to how I started at