Native Americans In Nathaniel Philbrick's 'A Vanished People'

A Vanished People
One of history’s greatest ironies concerns the American treatment of Indians, particularly those who once inhabited the New English Colonies. While Nathaniel Philbrick’s Mayflower depicts these Native Americans as essential to both the Pilgrims and Colonist’s survivals, it also fails to elaborate on how utterly meaningless the role of these people became over the course of two centuries. What was once a large, prosperous nation of self-sufficient individuals became a mere smudge of paint on the vast portrait of American Society. Contemporary rights activists and inquisitive historians alike will value Philbrick’s novel as an accurate representation of native american/colonial relations, and how they began to deteriorate over time.
Philbrick introduces the Native Americans as an overwhelmingly dominant force in New England. Their ability to survive through harsh winters and fluctuating temperatures distinguishes them from other North American tribes. What made them so valuable to the colonists was their knowledge of the land;
almost every Indian had an acute understanding of farming, hunting and gathering. There were no conflicts in which a tribe completely destroyed another, which supports the fact that Native Americans, although not exactly docile, were not “inherently malevolent” as Philbrick states on page eighteen.
There is a stark contrast between the Indians and the original colonists. While the natives were one with nature, the Europeans had a hard time adjusting to the ‘wilderness idea.’ They didn’t know how to cultivate the land, hunt large wild animals, or build homes that regulated temperature. Even though the Native Americans were the epitome of savagery in the eyes of many colonists, they were treated with fear and deference because of their ability and willingness to help them survive. In short, they were equals with one another, caught up in “a perpetual cycle of give and take- as long as one side recognized that they needed the other, there was peace” (18). If it isn’t already evident, the role of Native Americans has drastically changed within the past four centuries.
Philbrick himself describes them as “a vanished people, who…” This term embodies what became the greatest irony of American history: how what once was a nation of immeasurable importance became nothing more than a displaced minority. To my current understanding, the Native Americans are indeed a ‘vanished people,’ disappearing from their homelands as well as in a sea of foreign immigrants. Philbrick’s novel reminds me of the gravity and significance of this issue. His description of the native americans as a powerful nation cements the claim that they went from dominant to submissive in a brief amount of time. Although the Native Americans “have successful gambling casinos and hotels on reservations,” these petty achievements are nothing compared to the important role they played in founding American
society.
My honest reaction to learning about their changed status ranged from disappointment to mild anger.