Native American Colonization Effects

Decent Essays
In light of the European colonization, Natives in the present day still have resounding impacts, which illustrates how durable the negativity the settlers brought truly was. An impact that remains in the present day is the deterioration of Native religions, which can be see through the religious patterns of Native American tribes. According to the University of Baltimore, Dr. Jerry, Fremand stated that there has been a considerable drop in those who subscribe to the traditional animistic religions- in which the premise is centered around the close bonds between people, animals, and the natural environment, and the harmony that must be shared. Fremlo stated that especially amongst descendants of the Hopi, Zuni, Algonquian, and the Iroquoi, they have claimed to be a members of religions such as christianity, hinduism and islam (Bates). Granted, colonization is not necessarily the conclusive cause however, the Europeans brought along with them, new religions in which the Indigenous tribes were not necessarily aware of or exposed to. Additionally from American census reports, Indigenous population levels as of 2012 have shown to be the 4th lowest in recorded history and an approximate 72 distinct Native languages have been lost (Bates). Moreover, what this proves is that not only were the impacts the Europeans brought subjected to the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it impacts …show more content…
Along with the Europeans came religious reforms, intricate diseases in which the Natives have never seen nor were able to cope with and the murders of hundreds of Indigenous peoples which brought many tribes to the brink of extinction. The Europeans may have intended to bring positive impacts however, it can be agreed that the impact they had on indigenous peoples was predominantly

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    When Colonisation took place the Europeans did not only take Aboriginal people’s land, but also had a great impact on their health and housing. Harris (2003, p. 81) states that between 1788-1990 the Aboriginal population was reduced by 90 per cent. There were many factors that lead to this outstanding decline in population; some of the major ones were diseases, loss of land/identity, and the overuse of alcohol and substances. According to Oxford Second Opinion, it states “the health status of Indigenous Australians at the time of the British invasion was better than that of most people then living in the UK” (Gray, Saggers, and Stearne 2015, p.151).…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Collision Of Cultures

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Beginning in the late 1400s, the contact between the Europeans and the Native Americans has claimed to shape the time period into an era called the Collision of Cultures. This time period experienced drastic changes amongst these two groups, which primarily were not supposed to be as life changing. Everyone in America and Europe were completely unaware of the existence of each other—much less aware of how to interact and get along with one other first hand. The Collision of Cultures seemed to be inevitable while the Europeans constantly searched for bigger and more beneficial ways to better themselves. On the other hand, the Native Americans were settled in their own ways and they seemed content until the Europeans came along.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Western expansion affected the lives of Native Americans during the mid 1800’s to the end of the 1800’s because the government forced them to move to the middle of nowhere because there was no use to the land and the land that the Native’s were originally on, there was valuable uses to them. Another thing that affected the Native Americans was the Sand Creek Massacre, the Indians were at Sand Creek and one morning militia came and they started to shoot at the Indians and they killed men, women and children. Another thing that an affect on the Native Americans was the Indian Policy Reform, it affected them in a way that, stated in the policy, that the Indians are moving a lot and that the money spent on them for their reservations and that they should just leave them as is and there should be schools built for the Indians. So they have to change the problem they gave with the Indians and make the problem better to deal with and there would be no more conflicts. The last event that affected the Native Americans was the Dawes Act, the Dawes Act affected the…

    • 1044 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    General racism, environmental devastation, and poverty on Indian reservations makes it burdensome for many Native people to live according to their traditions. As many are simply trying to survive daily life, they do not have the energy, money, or time to be taught and teach their indigenous languages and cultures. For some Native peoples, their very survival is dependent on preserving their language and particular ways of life. While it does seem that some languages and cultures are in danger of being exclusive to history, it is a surprising fact to many that many Native groups have a very diverse original language and many cultural customs. With the supremacy of European-American cultural and economic identities, it is astounding to see the perseverance of these sustained livelihoods adapt and remain feasible in the middle of constantly-changing social change.…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq Native Americans

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages

    European explorers and the colonization of Indian Tribes heavily impacted the north American in the New World from 1492-1609. European explorers and their colonization of the Indian tribes affected the Native Americans socially, politically, and economically. Socially, the European explorers forced Indians to convert to Christianity and decimated the Native Population. Politically, Europeans caused Indians to aid each other in protecting themselves against the Europeans. Economically, the Europeans introduced the Indians to new goods and spread their trade.…

    • 470 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Being that the natives were never previously encountered their bodies had no immunity against them. The most prominent disease was smallpox amongst many others. The diseases brought killed roughly 20 million Native Americans. Because the Spanish never set out to kill the Indians and they solely wanted their labor, a debate on the rights of Indians was created. A Franciscan monk, Pedro de Cante told the emperor that you have to lay off the Indians because they’re dying.…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The quote is an explanation of the activities that European settlers carried out on arriving in New England, a region that was occupied by Indians. The region was covered with forests and had numerous wild animals. The Indians lives did not transform the land as they seemed to have a peaceful co-existence with nature, in that although they practiced farming and hunted the wild animals, they ensured that there was a balance, a situation that helped enhance the progress of the forests and the existence of wild animals. In essence, on arrival in the region, European settlers were shocked, because they were not used to regions with so much untamed land, and had not practice hunting because that was a sport only enjoyed by the large land owners…

    • 1638 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Paper #1: Chapters 1-3 of Voices of Freedom Looking back at the whole occurrence of the discovery of the New World it becomes evident the many hardships that the colonial settlers caused which justifies the egocentric intentions of the many Europeans. It seems that even though the settlers were fleeing from a country that forced views among themselves or caused unjust situations; the colonists were precisely acting on the foreign population, who they viewed as “lesser”, similarly to that of their homelands. Although at the time the occurrence was not obvious, looking at it from today’s standpoint, it is quit ironic. On more than one instance the settlers treated distinctive groups with an inhumane disrespect with no regard to their well-being.…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Expansion, the Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines the word as “the act or progress on expanding”. Expansion is something that our history has come to know for many years. Throughout all these years of expansion one question arises, is expansion always positive? When thinking about expansion many people think of the people actually expanding, but never consider the people affected by it. For example, expansion in the new world had a negative effect on the Native Americans in North America.…

    • 1445 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the year of 1492, the Spanish monarchs funded Christopher Columbus on his voyage to what was later called “the New World,” initiating a race between European countries to send out explorers to become the continent’s dominating power. Driven by the promise of wealth, status, and new beginnings, explorers conquered the lands of North and South America, resulting in their direct disruption of the indigenous peoples’ lives. Following this contact, the lives of both Native Americans and Europeans were permanently transformed by the Europeans’ desire for wealth and need to spread and dominate through religion. While providing beneficial outcomes for Europeans, these motives ultimately incited the deterioration of once-thriving native civilizations…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Native Americans’ culture was impacted by Christianity, but more importantly was the impact caused by trading. By trading with the Europeans, Native Americans purchased useless items, lost land, and ended up relying on the English. When Europeans first came to America they brought their own religions with them. Between the English and the Puritans, Christianity was a popular religious practice for the newly founded colonies.…

    • 897 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When Europeans came to North America for the first time, they called it The New World, because to them it was a land that was mysterious in many ways. The native population that lived in North America was nothing like that of Europe and the environment of North America was even more foreign. There was no way of knowing the effect of European settlement and what the consequences of their actions would be on the native people and the land. Before the invasion of Europeans in North America, the Natives had a system of living. Their way of life and ability to live off the land were soon challenged by European expansion and technology.…

    • 1758 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Colonization has had a great impact on the lives of Indigenous people. Since the first European settlers came to Canada, the way of life, traditions, and culture of Indigenous people have been threatened. Additionally, their mental and physical health have been impacted by methods of assimilation and government policies . Numerous diseases were introduced to Native communities thanks to the contact with Europeans . However, the social conditions of Indigenous people also contributed to the creation of health problems .…

    • 1576 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The explorers and conquistadors of Europe had a tunnel vision, blocking out what they put the natives and Africans through, choosing to focus on wealth and land for their country and patrons. However, when looking at the big picture, they destroyed more than they achieved. Although there were both good and bad outcomes of the Age of Exploration, a greater extent of negative effects occurred because Africans and natives were exploited by Europeans, plagued by death, and stripped of their traditions. These significantly impacted our country today, for we can still see the effect. There was the civil war, and even now there is racial tensions, along with an increasing loss of Indians and their tradition, where nowadays, the only place for remaining Indians is on confined…

    • 913 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Other regions such as the Americas were utterly devastated as a result. The impact of exploration was profoundly negative for indigenous peoples. Europeans consciously worked to re-create the Old World in whatever lands they found themselves. Religious, political, and social modes were introduced and native customs suppressed or destroyed. The high culture of Native American civilizations disappeared shortly after European contact.…

    • 843 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays