Sunday, November 13, 2011

Comparing the Changes amongst the Iroquois and the Calusa

Some people have made the assumption that all Native American tribes were exactly the same. In this particular line of thought people also tend to believe that the Native Americans were led by similar chiefs, believed in the same gods, and traded all the same way. All through grade school (kindergarten through twelfth grade) we are taught this way of thinking. However if we continue to follow this way of thinking then we might also be lead to assume that once the Europeans came and began to settle, trade with, and influence the Indians; that each tribe reacted in the same exact manner. While such assumptions would have the potential to produce a plausible scenario, they are just one side of the story that we receive growing up. When people delve into research on just two tribes-- say one from the north, and one from the south--on a few key topics, then they may be able to see some of the differences that existed between the different tribes.

That is precisely the route I took for this particular research project. I decided on one tribe from the northern area,the Iroquois tribes in what is now the New York and Canadian area; and one tribe from the southern region, the Calusa Indians from the south-western Florida peninsula area. For the purposes of this particular research project I compared and contrasted three specific categories for each tribe in order to show how they were either similar or different from one another. These categories included: leaders and family units, trading habits and rituals, and finally religious beliefs.

I also researched how the arrival and influence of the European people affected each of the three categories listed above. By showing how the coming of the Europeans and their influence affected the lives of the Native Americans it will be easier to see whether or not the Native American tribes were really as similar as we believed them to be. My ultimate goal is to show a clear picture of the differences that may or may not have existed among the Iroquois and Calusa Indian tribes.

Click here to begin the short journey to discover whether or not there were differences among these two Native American Tribes: Calusa v. Iroquois: Leadership and Family Units

No comments:

Post a Comment