Stereotyping Of The Native Americans - 1620 Words

Stereotyping of the Native Americans in the 1820’s and 1830’s For Americans moving west in the 1820 s and 30 s there was a little actual knowledge of what the frontier would be like when they arrived. There was a lot of presumption about the Indians. Many felt, through the stories they heard, that they had sufficient information to know what the Indians would truly be like and how to respond to them. Unfortunately, as is described in books and articles, white settlers stereotyped the Native Americans as savage, heartless beasts. The interest in the Native American culture was great and far-reaching. According to Sandra Myers in her book Westering Women and the Frontier Experience, she describes them as naked, disgusting, and dirty†¦show more content†¦In the Indian culture, family was very important and there was great emphasis on working together. They depended on one another for survival. For instance, the elderly were taken care of by their family, not left to take care of themselves. They were revered as wise and given great importance, while the whites put importance on youth. For example the first fruits that are picked by a child are given to one of the elderly, so that they will always give before receiving. Also children learned to put great value on the world around them. Indians hated all white people and would go to any lengths to kill them, Indians would wake up to whooping and, unable to fight would end up in captivity. Unfortunately, most of the ideas held to be true by the white sett lers and brought about many stereotypes. Sebastian LeBeau on The Great Sioux Nation Website says that, â€Å"The two stereotypes most often portrayed of Native Americans are the heroic noble savage or the ignominious drunken Indian.† LeBeau tells us that, â€Å"The noble savage stereotype is generally seen as a male who is resplendent in full regalia, and proudly sitting astride his war pony and gazing fiercely out across the rolling plain† (The Great Sioux Website). It was one of the ways Europeans looked at Native Americans before coming to the New World and has apparently stayed with us. After Columbus discoveries, Europeans idealized the