What source did you
review and who created it? What perspective do you think it is meant to convey?
I found the video links
for the second discussion very interesting.
One common theme that seemed to be apparent for the majority of them is that
of personal accountability. One elder,
Floyd Red Crow Westerman of the Hopi Tribe talks of having a purification time
and a renewal time (Westerman, Indigenous Native American Prophecy). With all the environmental issues in this
world today, the Native Americans feel it is a direct result of ignoring your
surroundings. The Native Americans
believed in using the resources earth provided, but also acted responsibly in
maintaining a balance. Westerman talks
of planting crops and using landscape patterns to maintain nutrients in the
soil. He goes on to say that Native
Americans would not clear cut acres of trees, as is common practice now. They realized the importance that trees had
in purifying the air. Their practices
were successful for thousands of years in maintaining diverse and productive
ecosystems. Unfortunately I believe that
the demands of the Europeans for furs, housing, etc started the ecological
imbalance that continues today. Many do
not realize the strain we have put on our environment or the importance of our
natural resources.
Has the information you have read thus far changed, in some way,
your view of native communities?
I was surprised to see that
Native Americans had their own trading networks already established prior to
the arrival of the white settlers. With
the lack of information about the Native Americans upon the arrival of
Columbus, I was under the impression that the European settlers had created the
first trading. This was not the
case. Many Native Americans already had
preexisting trading partnerships. Such
was the case with the Illinois Indians. “In
the late 1600s, the Illinois served as middlemen in an extensive trading network. They received hides and furs from the Osage
and Missouri tribes living to their south and west, which they exchanged with
the Ottawa and other Great Lakes tribes for guns, brass kettles, tools, and
other objects” (Museum Link Illinois, 2000)
Map of the Illionois
Indian trade routes: 1673 - 1700
Citations:
Westerman, (Part 1)
Indigenous Native American Prophecy
(Elders Speak part , retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7cylfQtkDg
Museum Link Illinois,
(2000) The Illinois Economy Trade,
retrieved from http://www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/nat_amer/post/htmls/ec_trade.html
