Analysis Of Canaanites, Cowboys, And Indians By Robert Warrior

Robert Warrior’s article, “Canaanites, Cowboys, and Indians”, provides an intriguing perspective on the subject of Christian involvement in Native American liberation. Warrior’s interpretation of the biblical text offers a unique comparison between the Exodus stories and European conquest in the Americas; his interpretation and comparison spark reactions amongst his readers, particularly Christians.
I was intrigued by Warrior’s comparison between the biblical Canaanites and the common day Native Americans as it greatened my understanding of what God and his chosen people were doing to the inhabitants of the Promised Land. Christians, including myself, only view the Exodus stories from the Israelite perspective, which involves being set free from enslavement and eventually acquiring the land God had
Warrior’s viewpoint differs in that he sees the Native Americans as the Canaanites and European explorers as the recently freed Israelites. Most people, including myself, agree that European conquest over Native Americans and Israelite conquest over the Canaanites are very similar. When Christians use the Exodus stories in the fight for Native American liberation(meaning they do not approve of the past treatment of Native Americans), they are inadvertently disapproving God’s conquest and the Israelite’s conquest over the Canaanites. One major difference between European conquest and Israelite conquest that Warrior either failed to realize or failed to mention is the reason behind each conquest. Europeans conquered the Native Americans because of their pursuit of wealth, land, and power. God led the Israelites in the conquest of the Canaanites as a way of eliminating temptations that the Israelites would encounter due to the presence of the Canaanite people. Simply, Europeans conquered out of desire and selfishness, while God conquered out of the