Summary Of Chief Powhatan
Summary
In the beginning of American history, we were a mighty people numbering close to 21,000 Powhatan Indians in the Chesapeake Bay and numbered almost 200 villages (Weiser, 2012.We were a proud people not relying on anyone other than ourselves for food, shelter and any of our basic needs. We depended on the land to provide us our food and nature to help in growing this food. We depended on the land and nature to get us through. Our peope worshipped those things which may bring us harm, such as: “fire, water, lightning and thunder (Weiser, 2012). We continued to live in the area, even once strange people began to come to our lands. We were leery of these visitors, but decided to give them a chance. Chief Powhatan (Wahunsunacawh) was our …show more content…
leader and leader of the Powhatan Confederacy (Weiser, 2012). He was also the father of my friend Pocahontas and the brother of Opechancanough.
My people were considered to be advanced in farming, hunting, gathering, and in building shelters compared to the English settlers who came to our country (Weiser, 2012). For years, Chief Powhatan attempted to live in peace with the English settlers. He did, however, send Indian scouts to observe and trade with the settlers in order to see what their intentions were and to make sure they were not there to harm us. They were ordered to bring back to him anyone who appeared to be out of place or going places other than their settlement. It was during one of these excursions, a stranger named John Smith was captured and brought to our Chief. The chief according to John Smith “acted with dignity and wisdom” (Marks, n.d.). Chief Powhatan used the relationship with John Smith to learn more about the culture and language of the English settlers. It was not until a few years later as the English settlers were short on food that we began to see this relationship begin to decrease and trusts began to be broken. During this time of distrust, my friend, Pocahontas was kidnapped and her father Chief Powhatan passed. Chief Powhatan’s brother took over our tribe and began different invasions on the English settlers. Invasions continued until the day Opechancanough was dragged to the center of Jamestown and killed (Weiser, 2012). We began to be forced off the land we knew and made to go to strange lands if we wanted to survive.
This event in American history continued to impact the American Indians and American history. The Powhatan tribe has continued to survive despite the conflicts and massacres which occurred. These conflicts paved the way for the Indian Removal Act signed into law by President Andrew Jackson in 1830 (Remini, 2001). This Act allowed the United States government to move the American Indians off of the only land they knew and to take occupancy for themselves. They stole the Indians cattle, burned their homes and ushered the Indians into barracks much like the ones seen by the Jewish people during the Holocaust (Remini, 2001). Thousands of Indians died during their transition to other land. The Indians were not allowed to leave this land and were forced to settle for whatever the government sent their way. Food supplies many times did not arrive of if they did it was not enough to feed those encamped (Remini, 2001). The settlers were then moved onto the Indian’s land which had already been primed for farming and cleared for shelter. The American Indians were just the beginning of the negative ways our country treats minority citizens.
Author’s Thesis
The Powhatan and English settlers were extremely ethnocentric. Each of the groups believed their culture and beliefs were superior leading them to not accepting the individual groups as being different. Both groups of people looked at the other as an inferior group. The author argues that the Indian people seen the English settlers as lazy, invaders and even squatters. She argued how English settlers would force or extort the Indians into giving them their last food supplies rather than growing and producing their own. The English settlers seen the Indians as savages and uneducated.
The author covered history through the perspective of the Powhatan tribes in writing this book. The Indian culture in this timeframe were unable to read or write, which kept them from sharing their side of the stories like the English have over the years. The stories we have heard have portrayed the Indians as a savage group of people and not of a group of people with strong beliefs, morals and values. The historiography according to the author has been very one-sided and did not adequately cover the true history of the Indian people. The stories we have heard from the English settlers such as John Smith have their biases and the mindset anyone different than them was inferior.
Helen Rountree has been studying and teaching others for over 35 years on Indian culture. The author has become an honorary member of the Nansemond and Upper Mattaponi tribes after working closely with these tribes to translate their lives into stories (Quest, 2005). The author is a professor emeritus of anthropology and has written many books on Indian culture. The author is deemed an expert, researcher and writer of Indian Culture. Helen Rountree has a background in history and anthropology.
Support
The author attempts to portray both sides in this book but, focuses on the aspect of the Powhatan population. Upon reading the writings of this author, I believe the author did support the overall thesis for her writings. Each chapter gave accounts supporting the author’s claim of the Powhatan Indians and English settlers believing their individual groups were more superior then the other. The author gave examples of the Indians referring to the settlers as being “not real men or women” (pp.16, 62). This was due to the settlers’ lack of knowledge to take care of themselves in a strange land or their unwillingness to fight back in their first confrontations with the Indians. The author at one point quoted Chief Powhatan as calling the settlers of the Jamestown Fort as “incompetent, morons and fools” (p. 120).
The author refers to the Indians as referring to themselves as the “Real People” throughout the book (pp.16, 18, 23, 151).
They felt they were the original people of the land and anyone else were outsider. The author used very few written resources during the time she speaks of the Indian people, she states she uses interviews of the descendants of the Powhatan tribe. The author uses the stories that have been passed down through generations as the Indian population at the time of these events were unable to read or write and their stories had not been documented. The author uses a quote from a book written by John Smith in regards to the Indian people and his understanding of how the live. He states derogatorily, “he does not understand how anyone can live from hand to mouth” (p.21). Basically, he did not understand how they can go from one season to the next and get only enough food to get by. The Indians are referred to as “savages” (pp. 15,115). The English seen the Indians as walking around naked and hunting as being untrained. The author uses references from other books she has written, John Smith’s journals or books and other primary sources.
Several chapters address the Powhatan environment, culture, traditions and beliefs allowing the reader to understand what the people of this time were exposed to. This serves to support the author’s thesis in developing the importance of the Powhatan culture and in-grained belief system. The author states that even John Smith who the Powhatan came to trust was not able to get accurate information regarding the Chief’s lineage (p. 33). Whether this was due to the lack of trust of these “strangers” or the inability of the Indian people to write their own stories is not
known.
Next, the author discusses the landing of the English settlers on the Virginia shores. She states the Indians were not worried about the Englishman who strutted around “bragging about the superiority of their weapons and their culture” (p.50). Little did they know the English were under order to “assimilate the residents” of the region to make another England (p. 51). The English had been told to take over and force those inhabiting the land to believe and convert to their culture. Again the author did not use a written resource, rather an account passed down. This portrayal illustrates and supports the author’s thesis of the English feeling of superiority. The author is using secondary resources throughout her writing of this book as those who lived during this time have been dead and the stories have been passed down through generations.
Critique
The book was very informative about all of their backgrounds and personal lives I thought the book was very well written. The authors telling of the Powhatan story has allowed me to see a side of a population we may have never been able to see. Television and other books have portrayed and given the English version of these events. I cannot think of any negatives regarding this book. I believe it was a very informative book and finally gave voice to a people that has been quiet for a long time.
The author’s writing style varies throughout the book. During parts of the book the author uses a descriptive form and in other sections, a narrative form. This allows the reader to visualize the Indian’s environment and experiences. Her writing is interesting and does not use the typical writing of those with the educational expertise she has. She works on using language the everyday person can understand, all the while not taking away from what she is trying to convey. I believe the references the author uses throughout the book are reliable and credible. She uses primary resources of individuals who lived during this era and used secondary resources of others such as herself who have studied the events. The author uses the descendants of the Powhatan tribe and uses the stories they have passed down. She also uses other historians to convey the message of the Powhatan people. The author uses credible sources to convey the point of view of the settlers as well. She uses sources from this era and others who have continued to study the time and day this history happened.
The reviews of this book stated, “lots of information, overall good book, an eye-opener, most informative, highly recommended” (goodreads.com). Over all the reviews I read were positive and felt the book was educational and added a twist to what we have always heard relating to this topic. The book adds to the historiography of this topic as there is very limited information for this population. This author continues to add to the knowledge surrounding the Indian population. The author continues to work with American Indian tribes to bring understanding of their cultures, beliefs and values.
Conclusion
There is a battle of two wolves inside us all.
“One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.
Which wolf wins? The one you feed.”
Cherokee Proverb
I was lead to this topic through our discussion in class and wanted to learn more about this population of people. I was interested in learning more about a people we seldom hear anything positive about. This topic is important to American history because we can learn from the past and the mistakes made in the past. We have no excuse to move into the future and make the same mistakes our forefathers made. Just like the quote above, if we feed the negativity, we will continue to be negative and convey negativism to others, but if we feed the positive side of ourselves, we will bring about positive outcomes to those who come in contact with us. This book, I believe does contribute to a better understanding of American history. It brings further depth to a view point we hear nothing about.
In the beginning of American history, we were a mighty people numbering close to 21,000 Powhatan Indians in the Chesapeake Bay and numbered almost 200 villages (Weiser, 2012.We were a proud people not relying on anyone other than ourselves for food, shelter and any of our basic needs. We depended on the land to provide us our food and nature to help in growing this food. We depended on the land and nature to get us through. Our peope worshipped those things which may bring us harm, such as: “fire, water, lightning and thunder (Weiser, 2012). We continued to live in the area, even once strange people began to come to our lands. We were leery of these visitors, but decided to give them a chance. Chief Powhatan (Wahunsunacawh) was our …show more content…
leader and leader of the Powhatan Confederacy (Weiser, 2012). He was also the father of my friend Pocahontas and the brother of Opechancanough.
My people were considered to be advanced in farming, hunting, gathering, and in building shelters compared to the English settlers who came to our country (Weiser, 2012). For years, Chief Powhatan attempted to live in peace with the English settlers. He did, however, send Indian scouts to observe and trade with the settlers in order to see what their intentions were and to make sure they were not there to harm us. They were ordered to bring back to him anyone who appeared to be out of place or going places other than their settlement. It was during one of these excursions, a stranger named John Smith was captured and brought to our Chief. The chief according to John Smith “acted with dignity and wisdom” (Marks, n.d.). Chief Powhatan used the relationship with John Smith to learn more about the culture and language of the English settlers. It was not until a few years later as the English settlers were short on food that we began to see this relationship begin to decrease and trusts began to be broken. During this time of distrust, my friend, Pocahontas was kidnapped and her father Chief Powhatan passed. Chief Powhatan’s brother took over our tribe and began different invasions on the English settlers. Invasions continued until the day Opechancanough was dragged to the center of Jamestown and killed (Weiser, 2012). We began to be forced off the land we knew and made to go to strange lands if we wanted to survive.
This event in American history continued to impact the American Indians and American history. The Powhatan tribe has continued to survive despite the conflicts and massacres which occurred. These conflicts paved the way for the Indian Removal Act signed into law by President Andrew Jackson in 1830 (Remini, 2001). This Act allowed the United States government to move the American Indians off of the only land they knew and to take occupancy for themselves. They stole the Indians cattle, burned their homes and ushered the Indians into barracks much like the ones seen by the Jewish people during the Holocaust (Remini, 2001). Thousands of Indians died during their transition to other land. The Indians were not allowed to leave this land and were forced to settle for whatever the government sent their way. Food supplies many times did not arrive of if they did it was not enough to feed those encamped (Remini, 2001). The settlers were then moved onto the Indian’s land which had already been primed for farming and cleared for shelter. The American Indians were just the beginning of the negative ways our country treats minority citizens.
Author’s Thesis
The Powhatan and English settlers were extremely ethnocentric. Each of the groups believed their culture and beliefs were superior leading them to not accepting the individual groups as being different. Both groups of people looked at the other as an inferior group. The author argues that the Indian people seen the English settlers as lazy, invaders and even squatters. She argued how English settlers would force or extort the Indians into giving them their last food supplies rather than growing and producing their own. The English settlers seen the Indians as savages and uneducated.
The author covered history through the perspective of the Powhatan tribes in writing this book. The Indian culture in this timeframe were unable to read or write, which kept them from sharing their side of the stories like the English have over the years. The stories we have heard have portrayed the Indians as a savage group of people and not of a group of people with strong beliefs, morals and values. The historiography according to the author has been very one-sided and did not adequately cover the true history of the Indian people. The stories we have heard from the English settlers such as John Smith have their biases and the mindset anyone different than them was inferior.
Helen Rountree has been studying and teaching others for over 35 years on Indian culture. The author has become an honorary member of the Nansemond and Upper Mattaponi tribes after working closely with these tribes to translate their lives into stories (Quest, 2005). The author is a professor emeritus of anthropology and has written many books on Indian culture. The author is deemed an expert, researcher and writer of Indian Culture. Helen Rountree has a background in history and anthropology.
Support
The author attempts to portray both sides in this book but, focuses on the aspect of the Powhatan population. Upon reading the writings of this author, I believe the author did support the overall thesis for her writings. Each chapter gave accounts supporting the author’s claim of the Powhatan Indians and English settlers believing their individual groups were more superior then the other. The author gave examples of the Indians referring to the settlers as being “not real men or women” (pp.16, 62). This was due to the settlers’ lack of knowledge to take care of themselves in a strange land or their unwillingness to fight back in their first confrontations with the Indians. The author at one point quoted Chief Powhatan as calling the settlers of the Jamestown Fort as “incompetent, morons and fools” (p. 120).
The author refers to the Indians as referring to themselves as the “Real People” throughout the book (pp.16, 18, 23, 151).
They felt they were the original people of the land and anyone else were outsider. The author used very few written resources during the time she speaks of the Indian people, she states she uses interviews of the descendants of the Powhatan tribe. The author uses the stories that have been passed down through generations as the Indian population at the time of these events were unable to read or write and their stories had not been documented. The author uses a quote from a book written by John Smith in regards to the Indian people and his understanding of how the live. He states derogatorily, “he does not understand how anyone can live from hand to mouth” (p.21). Basically, he did not understand how they can go from one season to the next and get only enough food to get by. The Indians are referred to as “savages” (pp. 15,115). The English seen the Indians as walking around naked and hunting as being untrained. The author uses references from other books she has written, John Smith’s journals or books and other primary sources.
Several chapters address the Powhatan environment, culture, traditions and beliefs allowing the reader to understand what the people of this time were exposed to. This serves to support the author’s thesis in developing the importance of the Powhatan culture and in-grained belief system. The author states that even John Smith who the Powhatan came to trust was not able to get accurate information regarding the Chief’s lineage (p. 33). Whether this was due to the lack of trust of these “strangers” or the inability of the Indian people to write their own stories is not
known.
Next, the author discusses the landing of the English settlers on the Virginia shores. She states the Indians were not worried about the Englishman who strutted around “bragging about the superiority of their weapons and their culture” (p.50). Little did they know the English were under order to “assimilate the residents” of the region to make another England (p. 51). The English had been told to take over and force those inhabiting the land to believe and convert to their culture. Again the author did not use a written resource, rather an account passed down. This portrayal illustrates and supports the author’s thesis of the English feeling of superiority. The author is using secondary resources throughout her writing of this book as those who lived during this time have been dead and the stories have been passed down through generations.
Critique
The book was very informative about all of their backgrounds and personal lives I thought the book was very well written. The authors telling of the Powhatan story has allowed me to see a side of a population we may have never been able to see. Television and other books have portrayed and given the English version of these events. I cannot think of any negatives regarding this book. I believe it was a very informative book and finally gave voice to a people that has been quiet for a long time.
The author’s writing style varies throughout the book. During parts of the book the author uses a descriptive form and in other sections, a narrative form. This allows the reader to visualize the Indian’s environment and experiences. Her writing is interesting and does not use the typical writing of those with the educational expertise she has. She works on using language the everyday person can understand, all the while not taking away from what she is trying to convey. I believe the references the author uses throughout the book are reliable and credible. She uses primary resources of individuals who lived during this era and used secondary resources of others such as herself who have studied the events. The author uses the descendants of the Powhatan tribe and uses the stories they have passed down. She also uses other historians to convey the message of the Powhatan people. The author uses credible sources to convey the point of view of the settlers as well. She uses sources from this era and others who have continued to study the time and day this history happened.
The reviews of this book stated, “lots of information, overall good book, an eye-opener, most informative, highly recommended” (goodreads.com). Over all the reviews I read were positive and felt the book was educational and added a twist to what we have always heard relating to this topic. The book adds to the historiography of this topic as there is very limited information for this population. This author continues to add to the knowledge surrounding the Indian population. The author continues to work with American Indian tribes to bring understanding of their cultures, beliefs and values.
Conclusion
There is a battle of two wolves inside us all.
“One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, lies, inferiority and ego.
The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth.
Which wolf wins? The one you feed.”
Cherokee Proverb
I was lead to this topic through our discussion in class and wanted to learn more about this population of people. I was interested in learning more about a people we seldom hear anything positive about. This topic is important to American history because we can learn from the past and the mistakes made in the past. We have no excuse to move into the future and make the same mistakes our forefathers made. Just like the quote above, if we feed the negativity, we will continue to be negative and convey negativism to others, but if we feed the positive side of ourselves, we will bring about positive outcomes to those who come in contact with us. This book, I believe does contribute to a better understanding of American history. It brings further depth to a view point we hear nothing about.