Experience of Native Americans During the Colonial Times

The experiences of the Native Americans during the colonial period were both positive and negative. When the colonists first showed up the Native Americans and the colonist traded goods with one another. The Native Americans traded fur for kettle, guns and other metal goods because the colonists were amazed by the beautiful pelts the Native Americans made and hats were a big thing back in Europe. The colonists didn’t interact sociably with the Indians because they came over thinking they were better then the Indians in the first place. How the colonists first met the Native Americans would affect how they related to one another. If the Native Americans helped the colonists (think about the Thanksgiving story,) then the colonists thought maybe that they were okay, but never really equal. If a village was attacked by a Native American tribe then the colonists would think the Native Americans were dangerous, vicious, unfriendly people who should be killed. Last, if the European met the Native Americans by trade then the colonists saw them as people they could deal with as business people. The Native Americans tried to fight the British colonization of their land, but they were defeated very badly twice. They also stood up to priests who tried to ruin their religion.

Different Native Americans had different impressions of the French and the British. For example, the Huron tribe was considered “business partners” by the French. The Huron tribe did not like the British, however. I think the Huron joined the French because they thought that the French were more powerful than they were and would kill them if they didn’t accept their job. I also think the Huron felt the French would let them keep their land. The Mohicans, however, were on the British side. Overall, the Native Americans viewed all colonists warily.