American Indian Hist

The question of what motivates people more when they act - cultural priorities , such as religion or tradition , or the so-called rational motivations , such as economics and politics - has been one long debated on . This debate has been quite fierce , members of both sides providing valid and powerful arguments to support their claims . One of the focal points for this discussion are the people known under the blanket term Native Americans . Where did their motivations stem from ? Was it merely pragmatism , a wish to get the most out of any outsiders ? Or was

culture and tradition vital to decision making ? It is doubtless that both of these factors were present , however , the question is , which was the initial factor of influence , dominating thought and action . Scholars have attempted to prove points both ways . I support the side which claims that culture was the primary factor . I shall first provide counter-arguments to the opposing side , then provide supporting arguments for my own claim

First , however , it must be noted that Native Americans is a very catchall term , which is used for lack of a better one . As the website of the Native American research center states , It must be emphasized that no one person speaks for Indian People . There are nearly three hundred distinct American Indian Nations in the present United States . Each has its own language and history , its own sacred places and rituals . Each is rooted in and part of the land out of which it grew . There are dozens of tribes , including some that are officially considered extinct now that had quite different customs . If we say that there were Native Americans and they had one kind of culture and , as a consequence , had the same customs , we may just as well say that there are Europeans and they have one culture , completely losing the obvious distinctions between different nations . The cultures of different tribes of Native Americans are very different - to deny this would be to unjustly diminish their cultural value - and yet there are cultural tendencies and there are exceptions . I will attempt to prove that the tendency is to use tradition as a guideline , and the occasions where pragmatical reasons have been primary are the exceptions verifying the rule

First I shall examine the political argument . It seems very difficult to think that politics ' in the sense that we understand them now had an influence on the Native Americans . When we think of politics ' we think of diplomatic traditions , of treaties that are made to be broken of backstabbing . This , however , was not the dominant case with Native Americans . As Dee Brown wrote in his book Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee , So tractable , so peaceable , are these people ' Columbus wrote to the King and Queen of Spain [referring to the Tainos on the island of San Salvador , so was named by Columbus] , `that I swear to your Majesties there is not in the world a better nation . They love their neighbors as themselves , and...