Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America“Gracefully written . . . thoroughly researched . . . America is a banquet prepared by the Indians—who were forgotten when it was time to give thanks at the table.”—St. Paul Pioneer-Express “Well written, imagery-ridden . . . A tale of what was, what became, and what is today regarding the Indian relation to the European civilization that ‘grafted’ itself onto this ‘ancient stem’”—Minneapolis Star Tribune In Indian Givers, anthropologist Jack Weatherford revealed how the cultural, social, and political practices of the American Indians transformed the world. In Native Roots, Weatherford focuses on the vital role Indian civilizations have played in the making of the United States. Conventional American history holds that the white settlers of the New World re-created the societies they had known in England, France, and Spain. But, as Weatherford so brilliantly shows, Europeans in fact grafted their civilizations onto the deep and nourishing roots of Native American customs and beliefs. Beneath the glass-and-steel skyscrapers of contemporary Manhattan lies an Indian fur-trading post. Behind the tactics of modern guerrilla warfare are the lightning-fast maneuvers of the Plains Indians. Our place names, our farming and hunting techniques, our crafts, and the very blood that flows in our veins—all derive from American Indians in ways that we consistently fail to see. In Weatherford’s words, “Without understanding Native Americans, we will never know who we are today in America.” |
Contents
1 | |
6 | |
Women and a Few Men Who Led the Way | 19 |
Firestorm | 37 |
The Tree in American History | 48 |
Hunting | 60 |
How the Fur Trade Shaped the American Economy | 75 |
Beads and Buildings | 89 |
Guerrillas and Warriors | 163 |
Americas Patron Saint | 181 |
Americanization of the English Language | 195 |
The Naming of North America | 214 |
North Americas Inca Historian | 234 |
Intellectual Mining | 252 |
MixedBlood Nation | 271 |
The White Roots of Peace | 286 |
Corn Cotton and Tobacco | 108 |
The Trade in Indian Slaves | 129 |
Fishing for Food and Profit | 148 |
289 | |
Acknowledgments | 301 |
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Common terms and phrases
African Algonquian American Indian Anasazi ancient animals Arctic Astor Atlantic became British buffalo building built Cahokia California called Canada canoes Caribbean caribou Carolina Chumash civilization Cloquet clothing coast colonial colonists corn Coronado cotton crops culture Cutifachiqui Dakota deer Ely Parker England English Europe European explorers fire fish forest French fur trade grew Hohokam horses human hunters hunting important Inca Garcilaso Indian names Indian slavery Indian slaves Inuit Inuvialuit Iroquois Island Lake Lake Itasca land language lived Lower Fort Garry Mesa Verde Métis Mexico miles Minnesota mission Mississippi River modern mounds nations Native American nineteenth century North America northern Ojibwa Ojibwa language organized Pacific Parker plains plants polar bear powwow pyramids redwoods Riel scalp Schoolcraft settlers ships Soto South southern Spaniards Spanish Tammany Society thousand tion tobacco town traditional translated trees tribes Tuktoyaktuk United women wood word York