The Native Americans believed in animalism; the belief that everything has a spirit, including trees, rocks,and all animals. They believed these spirits were all-powerful and had to be …show more content…
The Europeans valued ownership of the property greatly. The more property they had to their name, the more wealthy they were thought to be. Ownership of land also improved social status of many Europeans. The Europeans would inherit land passed from generation to generation and were very territorial of their property. They would fence the property in so that no one else could have access it. After all, it was theirs and no one else should be able to use it for any reason. Individual needs were more important than those of the community, according to the Europeans.
Native Americans views on property was complex. Land was viewed as communal. It belonged to everyone. They would “give” families land to farm; however, anyone could hunt on that same land. They believed the land was supposed to be shared, not fenced in to keep people out. The Native Americans rejected individualism and materialism. They thought the needs and wants of the community were more important than the wants of …show more content…
Capitalism slowly destroyed the Native Americans’ way of life. The Europeans drew the Native Americans into their capitalist ways by using metal goods. The Native Americans wanted the metal weapons, sewing needles, and pots the Europeans had to offer. In order to obtain these goods, the Native Americans began to trade with the Europeans. The Europeans wanted fur for coats and other material goods. However, they did not know how to track, hunt, kill, and skin the animals for the fur. After years of trading with the Europeans, the Native Americans had forgotten how to make their own weapons.. This caused the Native Americans to become dependent on the Europeans. To keep up with the demand for the furs, the Native Americans began to over hunt the animals with fur. As as result, they had to start venturing into land that other tribes occupied. This caused conflict between different