Different Tribes for Different Strokes

As women became more balanced and realistic in their attitudes, they began to discriminate between types of Indians and to realize that different groups had different qualities.  Taken from women's journals, these are some of their own observations...

The Pawnees of the Platte River country were the most troublesome.
The Sioux in the upper Plains  and Oregon were the most handsome and the cleanest, a fine intelligent looking tribe. 
The Cheyenne were the most intelligent, wealthy and had the most stalwart appearance.
The Diggers of the Plains who dug roots and insects for food, were the most loathsome.
The Snake were the worst beggers.
The California Mission were the friendliest.
The Apache were the most blood thirsty warriors.

The Five Civilized Tribes: Chickasaw, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole were peaceful in dealing with white settlers in Oklahoma Territory.  Settlers referred to their neighbors as "lovely people, honest, hard-working, and the warmest friends in the West".

These settlers shared schools, towns and reservation lands in the spirit of peace and friendship, according to the settler's accounts.

Navjo - says on settler's account:  "I learned to respect the way the Navjo made use of the rocky, arid land.  I admired the architecture, the design, skills, and sincerity in carrying out their art.  As a rule they were industrious and their religion wholesome and clear, and their respect for their belief compares favorably with the white man's attitude toward his God".

"Why do we try to thrust our civilization on a people like this?" said one man when the Navajo problems were blamed on the white man supplying the Apache with whiskey.  Why indeed, sir!

Next time...time improves all things, almost.

Cultures Clash

A major cultural barrier between Native American and the white settlers was the settler's wish to impose the standard of their society upon a people who represented an entirely different way of life. 

Indians were condemned for a lack of cleanliness when it was a well known fact that settlers rarely bathed more than once a week and used large qualities of toilet water instead.  Yet they viewed the Indian and "dirty"!

Settlers refused to see the customs or economic demands of the Indian, nor were they interested in understanding them. 

Demonstrating derision and outright racism in their judgments, they were quick to judge Indians as poor specimens  of humanity.  Native customs and culture were seen as needing eradicated by the "enlightened white civilization" To intermarry, for instance, was considered both a shame and a disgrace to the country.

In my opinion, reactions to Indians culture and customs of a a once proud and self sufficient people was just intolerant, ignorant and heartless.

Note:  Let me close this post by saying that I am not a Native American, nor were my ancestors, nor do I have any Indian blood in my veins...my family tree goes back to a man named White on the Mayflower, but do we have to share blood to see how greed was the governing factor in the way we treated the Native Americans?  It is a truly sad commentary of the wonderful period of pioneer history which I love so much...just so you know!

Next...The custom of Hospitality