When Europeans discovered America in 1492, there were more than 2,000 different cultures flourishing that, while having similarities, were different from certain perspectives. An example is a fact that the Native Americans spoke several hundred different languages depending on the tribe and the locations where individuals would either settle or travel through. The complex cultures, the different traditions, and the unique ways of life that Native Americans had before the contact with the Europeans illustrate how diverse and unique the characteristics of each group were. This paper examines why there were so many tribes, the development of the Native American cultures, the role of the environment, and the impact of Europeans.
As mentioned previously, America was not a monolith and consisted of various tribes with different languages, traditions, and habits. There are multiple reasons why the number of tribes was so high, the first being the environment. The role of the environment cannot be underestimated when it comes to impacting people’s way of life. Native Americans, depending on the group, could be hunter-gatherers or farmers cultivating certain crops. This depended on the environmental characteristics such as temperature, landscape, the soil, animals, and other aspects that people relied on. As a result, certain tribes were able to live off the land by cultivating crops, while others had to have a nomadic way of life. Thus, the different tribes were formed based on the environmental characteristics which influenced people into forming communities and either relying on farming practices or hunting.
An example that can illustrate the phenomenon is the shortage of opportunities to harvest shellfish. This affected specific populations and impacted people into forming different tribes in western Washington, such as the Chemehuevi Tribe and Te-Moak Tribe that would survive of other food sources.1 Thus, the environment was a major impact on the formation of tribes, their development, and the way of life of people.
Resource shortages, as exemplified prior, were detrimental causes of tribe formation. Researchers mention that since the Native population survived of natural resources through hunting or farming, the disappearance of a certain animal, fish, or berry in the region was a significant concern2. This became an even bigger concern when Europeans arrived on the continent. Hunting became more challenging since it became so prevalent when an influx of people arrived on the continent, especially in certain regions. As a result, tribes like Cree, whose primary source of food was bison hunting, experienced difficulties when more people started adopting the same way of life. Thus, besides the environmental impact, the multiple tribes were impacted by the European involvement in the standard way of life of Native Americans.
The indigenous population was majorly influenced after the Europeans entered their territories. At the very beginning, some of the impacts had to do with the trade relationships. Thus, the native tribes could access tools that would make hunting easier while the Europeans were able to access certain goods inaccessible previously. However, the diseases that the indigenous people had never encountered before were deadly. Even if they were not intentionally brought to the continent, the lack of immunity to the previously unknown infections and viruses has had a negative impact on the native populations. Slavery was another concept that Europeans brought in the form of certain tribes capturing rivals and selling them as slaves.
It is essential to point out the differences in approaches to the life of the tribes compared to the nations from over the ocean. Thus, Native Americans understood the importance of natural resources, had close-knit relationships with the members of the tribes and were spiritually and culturally rich. On the other hand, Europeans have other religious, cultural, and social backgrounds that differ entirely. As a result, the tribes were to encounter people who were willing to alter every aspect of their way of life. As exemplified prior, the shortage of resources was only one major influence that has damaged the indigenous communities. As a result, the differences in all the aspects have led Europeans into imposing different values that opposed those of Native Americans, such as different religious beliefs, a more apparent disregard of natural ways of life, a change from tribal communities, and a shift in language. Thus, the impact was complex due to its damaging effect on multiple levels.
It is certain that Europeans have had a critical impact on the Native American tribes. The initial encounters were the beginning of centuries-long colonization that has influenced the traditional religion, languages, habits, food sources, and other essential parts of the lives of indigenous people. The influence began with hunting and fishing tools and ended with the desire to create an entirely different environment on a continent on which multiple tribes flourished. The current situation is an exemplification of how Native American cultures have been influenced by Europeans. However, the traditions live on through individuals cherishing the previously forgotten habits, cultural aspects, and traditional activities, which were daily rituals in the lives of the indigenous people of America.
Bibliography
Minick, D. James, L. Blair Paulik, Brian W. Smith, Richard P. Scott, Molly L. Kile, Diana Rohlman, and Kim A. Anderson. “A Passive Sampling Model to Predict Pahs in Butter Clams (Saxidomus Giganteus), a Traditional Food Source for Native American Tribes of the Salish Sea Region.” Marine Pollution Bulletin 145 (2019): 28–35. Web.
Ritchison, Brandon T., Victor D. Thompson, Isabelle Lulewicz, Bryan Tucker, and John A. Turck. “Climate Change, Resilience, and the Native American Fisher-Hunter-Gatherers of the Late Holocene on the Georgia Coast, USA.” Quaternary International 584 (2021): 82–92. Web.
Footnotes
- 1 – Minick, D. James, L. Blair Paulik, Brian W. Smith, Richard P. Scott, Molly L. Kile, Diana Rohlman, and Kim A. Anderson. “A Passive Sampling Model to Predict Pahs in Butter Clams (Saxidomus Giganteus), a Traditional Food Source for Native American Tribes of the Salish Sea Region.” Marine Pollution Bulletin 145 (2019), 28.
- 2 – Brandon T. Ritchison et al., “Climate Change, Resilience, and the Native American Fisher-Hunter-Gatherers of the Late Holocene on the Georgia Coast, USA,” Quaternary International 584 (2021), 82.