History

Did Native Americans have any options open to them to deal successfully with Whites
The natives of America viewed the coming of the Europeans with both surprise and caution. Unlike their usual ways of life, the Europeans brought new things that they were not used to. The intolerance by the Europeans to their religions, sexual and marriage arrangements as well as eating habits and customs took the natives by surprise and wonder as this were the ways of life they had known to exist (Beasley, 2006). It came as no surprise that the Europeans often received accusations about being stingy with their wealth and possessing an insatiable desire to amass wealth. The permanent wooden and stone structures too perplexed natives as they had never previously seen such structures. This was unlike their usual life of relocations as dictated by their activities e.g. in search of local game, fish and firewood. The ways of the Europeans proved to be an obstacle to the natives ways of life. The ignored the beliefs of the natives and viewed the vast resources from the comical point of view rather than sacred as the natives had always taken them. They viewed forests as timbers, wild animals as robes among others. This was unlike the natives perspective of the same. To them even the natives were resources ripe for religious conversion, and source of labor. Despite the natives acknowledgement that Europeans were human,   somehow they regarded them as soulless creatures that possessed great and powerful tools and weapons that helped them achieve their goals.

As mentioned earlier, to be able to understand whether or not the Native Americans had any options of dealing with the whites, it is important to understand the history of the whites and the natives. It is important to establish the events that led to the immigration of the whites into America and further, their motives in America. To answer these questions then, it is vital to know who the natives were, what challenges they faced from the whites, how they handle the challenges and in conclusion what alternatives did they have.

The Native Americans
The Red Indians commonly referred to as the aboriginals who form the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North, South and Central America make up the Native American population (Beasley , 2006).  The exact origin of the natives is not traceable as their own cultures are distinct in nature. A theory has recently been proposed that they could have originated from two large Asiatic families. The traditions, norms and ways of life seemingly support this theory as great similarities exist between them and the Asian Indians. They are thus believed to be the descendants of the Mandans and Chinooks who are said to have lost their ways in the wild s of North America about 700 years ago.

The natives way of life
Historical evidence suggests that the American Natives ways of life often revolved around War, hunting, and fishing(Beasley, 2006).. Additionally, they engaged in agriculture and domestication of animals. Their main crops production included maize (Indian corn), beans, squashes, potatoes and tobacco (Beasley, 2006). Surprisingly almost all the manual tasks were performed by women amongst the natives. The natives also engaged in manufacturing activities whereby they produced war tools, fishing and hunting gears, clothing and mats among other things.  Objects carved in wood and stone have also been able to reveal that they too engaged in art activities.

While some of the native tribes totally depended on agriculture and thus had established permanent villages e.g. the Pueblo, some were complete hunters and more so the plain Indians. A few though engaged completely in fishing as their only source of livelihood.

Most however, engaged in any activity that would result into acquisition of food and other materials they needed like clothing. They thus did not have places of permanent residence and moved as dictated by the seasons activity. Such tribes engaged in corn farming in spring where more or less permanent village sites were developed. However, they would later on move to the hunting grounds during the summer. The hunting grounds though were frequently changed as the preys moved to run away from the native hunters. Later they would return to the villages to harvest before moving back to hunting.  Along the ways they usually made winter stops in order to gather wild food e.g. the wild rice and camas roots however mush of the stop times were spent fishing. The migration trend of these tribes were more of similar year in year out though some variations could result to other routes being followed e.g. exhaustion of hunting grounds.

Up until the coming of the Europeans, they used travois as the dominant means of transport. Mainly dogs were used in this transportation system. However the coming of the Whites made them shift to use of horse as a mode of transport. This allowed them to move longer distances. In the Northern areas from Alaska to the Atlantic coast, bark frame canoes were sued for transportation. In the pacific coast however, dugout canoes were the main means of water transport. The Missouri river tribes on the other hand used bullboats which were made from buffalo hides.

Amongst the American natives, majority of the tribes considered children as members of mothers clan. Marriage within clans was a forbidden taboo. Although plural marriages were common, often the man would marry sisters of the same family. Plenty of time was dedicated to training children in the ways of the natives.

The Indians believed in many Gods and often engaged in thanksgiving practices to their gods e.g. the buffalo dance during hunting, the corn dances during harvest and the rain dance during planting. The young warriors too prayed to their gods in solitude and also practiced prolonged fasting for guiding spirit during their hunting expeditions. Their beliefs too were strong and just like any other communities they believed in a supreme being and the existence of evil spirits. They additionally believed that there were no infidels amongst them and that their existed a future life after death. Superstition is probably the most powerful swaying factor that guided all the activities they engaged in. they had a team of medicine who performed incantations on behalf of the community whenever necessary. Their beliefs had great respect and esteem for life. They also held strong respect for the earth and believed in treating it with dignity and respect. It is believed that they had four basic guiding commandments. These were respect for mother earth, respect for the Great Spirit, respect for fellow men and women and finally the respect for individual freedom (Microsoft Encarta, 2000). These basic summarized the ten Indian commandments shown below

THE TEN INDIAN COMMANDMENTS Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect Remain close to the Great Spirit Show great respect for your fellow beings Work together for the benefit of all mankind Give assistance and kindness wherever needed Do what you know to be right Look after the well-being of mind and body Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good Be truthful and honest at all times Take full responsibility for your actions(Microsoft Encarta, 2000).

The natives lacked proper governance structures but they are believed to have been divided along distinct familiestribes which were under patriarchal rule. The families bore identification symbols mostly an armorial symbol with various leaders given honorary titles. However, these simple governance structures were rarely disobeyed by the natives.

Challenges faced by the natives upon the coming of the whites
The coming of the whites into Americans generally posed a direct threat to the way of life of the natives. The whites came with new cultures, and very little regard for the existing cultures amongst the natives. Most if not all their activities seem to be bent on breaking the commandments that the natives had believed in and had offered them guidance over time. The well preserved environment suddenly became a victim of the whites. They needed to build structures where they lived among others, towns began to emerge and the need for land became extensive. The most challenging acts of the Europeans to the natives were the encroachment into their traditionally religious sites. The Indians lost plenty of land as their existed no policies to protect them. The whites rushed in to claim ownership of the lands which they considered un-owned disregarding the Indians and their ways of life. Their quest for resources was so strong that they had no time to think about the original inhabitants of the place.

The missionaries who came along with the whites were also keen on transforming the natives from their existing religions. They put little or no regard at all to the religious beliefs of the natives. Additionally, the natives way of life became a threat to the natives cultures and way of life. Their sacred lands faced destruction thus putting a strong challenge to their beliefs and traditions. These are some of the most fundamental challenges that the natives had to face upon the migration of the Europeans into America.

Coming of Europeans
Upon arrival in America, the whites realized that the natives had not yet had any forms of civilization as the ones that existed in Mexico and to some extent Peru. The culture was more representative of the Stone Age. Their main sources of food were fishing, hunting, gathering and farming though in small scale. In the South Qwest, Middle America and the Andes, farming was the main source of food. However, most of the tribes in the North East and the Tropical rainforest areas also raised crops. The Europeans primarily whites brought with them things they had learnt and practiced in Europe thus resulting to a change in life..

The white immigrants
The white population migrated into America for a number of reasons. These whites originated from Europe migrated as a result of avalanche of disasters in Europe ranging from diseases, political persecutionexecution, land attraction in America, quest for religious freedom and shortages of land in Europe. Some however moved to simply search for a chance to start life a fresh in the new world as they referred to America. These reasons led to the whites rush to move into America as early as 1830. The American government keen to increase its population and hence labor force welcomed them and viewed them as prospective future citizens more especially given their white race. However, most of the Jews migration was sparked by the 1930s persecution of the Jews under the Nazi rule.

Composition of the white immigrants
The white immigrants into America came from different parts of Europe. They included the Eastern Europe Jews who mainly came from what was commonly referred to as the czarist Russia (Poland included), European nationals from England who went on exploration trips and subsequently desired to stay and the Mexicans who mainly came in the late 19th century. Up until the 19th century very few Jews had immigrated into the America. Projections indicate that by around 1840, only 15,000 Jews existed in America. However into the 1940s more Jews from German increasingly migrated into America (Eli, 2000).  The Jews engaged in various economic activities and more so business. By 1890, it was estimated that half of the German Jewish population in America were engaged in business related activities.

Most of the Jews are believed to have settled in New York, Chicago, Pennsylvania and Boston. Due to the unskilled nature of most of them, they had to settle for jobs within the factories and the mines (Eli, 2000). More especially, their prowess in the garment industry could not be ignored.

The Jews
The Jews form the largest population of the whites who moved into America. The first batch of Jews in America came from Brazil where they were facing persecution under the Portuguese rulers (Cooper, 2008). This was in around 1654. While the previous Dutch rulers had tolerated religion, the Portuguese were intolerant to religion and thus the Jews were forced to flee. Later in 1702, the first lot of Jews from German arrived in America (Cooper, 2008).. They joined with the already present Jews in performing their religious activities. It was during the Nazi rule that saw an influx of Jews into America (Eli, 2000)..

The Jewish migration into America can be classified as shown
Year Reason 1654-1820The first large group of Jews arrives in the united states. Though few than 15000, this was the largest then. Most were fleeing religious intolerances from Brazil, Portugal, and Spain (Eli, 2000).1820-1880This second wave brought with it up to 250,000 German Jews.
1880 - 1920sThese mainly comprised of the Jews from Turkey and Greece. They were mainly fleeing the Turkish Revolution and the collapse of the Ottoman empire. The Syrian Jewish immigrants also entered the united states during this time.

18811924The pogroms, poverty and mandatory conscriptions in the Jewish settlements in Russia and East of Europe resulted in over two million Jews migrating to the united states.

Additionally, it is during this period that world war II breaks out leading to migration of 138,051 Jews into the united states.19241944More Jews up to 100,000 escaping the Hitler regime arrive in the United States.19451960The survivors of the holocaust  arrive in the united states, up to 250,000 Jews
In 1956, Hungarian Jews arrive in the united states fleeing the invasion of Hungary by the Soviet Union.
1n 1959, more Jews arrive into the united states as a result of the Cuban revolution.1968The Prague springs result into Czechoslovakian Jews migrating to the United States.1970sThe pogrom in Poland results to more Jews moving into the united states.

In 1979, Shahs overthrow results into an influx of Jews into America mainly from Iran
The Jews continue to move into the united states yearly up to nowOther immigrants
Fro as early as 1607 to the late 1700 the whites who moved into America were mainly explorers, colonizers and those bent on land exploration. The found riches and wealth but at times some even ended up dead as a result of their explorations (Cooper, 2008).  The early 19th century though saw an increased influx of whites from Europe for reason other than those previously mentioned.  They were mainly searching for better lifestyles. While some attained this some did not meet the ideal life they had envisioned in their coming. They ended up facing problems and hostilities amongst the new populations they found in America.

The explorers though were searching for land to grow raw materials and send back to their home countries e.g. land to grow tobacco. This posed a challenge as the locals had over time preserved forest and regarded them as sacred. However later on some whites escaped to America to run away from religious persecutions in their home countries. Entire families over time left Europe and moved into America in a bid to settle and start their lives entirely anew. The prospect of a nation where individuals could worship freely further invited more whites to move into America.

Initial Reaction to Whites
Given their strong beliefs in culture and respect for earth and the environment in general, the actions of the whites resulted into the natives viewing them with a mixture of skeptism, fear, caution and surprise. The strong weapons they wielded made the natives feel like they were soulless creatures who had so much power and irresistible. While records have indicated that by the 16 and 17th century, the natives had acknowledged they were human, they still regarded them as despicable organism that bore strong weapons that they used to dictate their ways (Microsoft Encarta, 2000). The whites disregard and down looking of the Indians, did not help much as they only resulted into the natives even more dislike for them.

The natives viewed them as possessing an insatiable desire for wealth. Their intolerance to the natives religious activities and sites further drove the natives away from the whites with little or contact between them. They were surprised at how the Europeans were oblivious to the sanctity and spirit of nature and environment.  The whites further fuelled this view and made the natives view them as enemies through their action of grabbing some of the lands the natives considered sacred and used for incantations and sacrifice.

In general the natives resented intruders but also allowed trade for goods they needed. Their general reactions to the intruders included friendliness, curiosity, fear, and at times hostilities.  Conflicts often arose between the natives and the white settlers

Effects of the whites presence to the natives
The whites presence affected the lives of the natives in a number of ways. They were not only deprived off their lands but also their livelihood. Their hunting sites were all of a suddenly marked as private property and movement into them limited. The environmental destruction resulted in destruction of forests that offered them livelihood. Additionally, their moral values were put to test as the whites seemed to have no regard at all to the rules that had been their source of guidance over time. Most significance effect of the whites too was the destruction of the natives religious sites.

The whites coming brought drastic changes to the life of the natives both positive and negative. Trade amongst the whites and the natives grew over time. While the natives needed firearms, metallic knives and even iron pieces of arrowheads which replaced their stone tools, the whites were more interested in the Indian furs thus resulting into trade amongst them (Foner, 2005). Initially, the Indians would kill horses for food but through the whites they learnt that the horse were more valuable as a form of transport rather than for food. They also engaged with the Spanish in horse trade and at times even stole horses. Significantly the use of horses gradually spread across the whole native tribes. The ease of transport offered by the horses helped the natives in tracking of buffaloes over a longer distance compared to before thus increased their food base and acquisition of hides which they used for clothing and as teepees. This resulted into some Indians abandoning agriculture and concentrating more on tracking and hunting of buffaloes.

The sweeping changes brought about by the whites resulted to development of permanent places of residence and farms which resulted into need for labor. The native were taken as slaves and used for labor. This elicited a reaction from the natives who had to fight for survival. The natives retaliated with waves of arsons and attacks on the whites and their plantations. To curb the growing insurgency by the natives laws were enacted that allowed the whites to perpetrate their misdoings to the natives.

The Spanish for instance destroyed the West Indian islands that belonged to the natives, they ruthlessly interfered with the natives and thus destroying the Mayan civilizations among others (Foner, 2005). However, the whites not only engaged in war but also in spread of religion, the missionaries opposed the cruelty meted on the natives and thus winning their confidence. They ten engage in attempts at trying to Christianize them.

The natives too often meted out their anger on the whites. For instance, after death of Powhatan, the natives led by Powhatans brother massacred many white settlers in 1622 and 1644(Foner, 2005). The French however, took a friendly approach to the natives through becoming friendly to the Algonquian tribes in order to obtain fur. The Indian tribes were also used by the whites to fight wars which each fighting alongside the colony it allied to.

The whites who came to America were hardworking and over time begun asserting their authorities in various sectors of the economy. The Jews for instance established their dominance in the garment industry petty trade, cigar manufacture, and food production and construction industry (Foner, 2005). They formed strong trade unions that offered strong forces to the economy. The whites dominance on the economy led to their political might and eventually formulation of policies that favored their developed. A good case was the passing of legislation that allowed investors to use the sacred Indians lands for development.

It will be important to note that the coming of the whites was for various reasons, while some of the reasons were in line with the natives ways of life, most were completely in contradiction to the natives way of life. This led to conflict of interest and while the whites wielded power from the weapons they had, the natives had to device ways of dealing them. This resulted into conflicts, changes in the ways of life of the natives, destruction of the natives customs and religious sites and hostilities of the natives to the whites.