European Images of Native American Women

The United States government is a compromise of institutions. Before this grandiose institution was officially formed in 1776, the Europeans who initially colonized North America engaged in a drawn out process of decimation and dehumanization of people of color. The European colonizers began exploring and looking for new land with a particular agenda in mind: to conquer, dominate, and expand--nothing could stand in their way of spreading their European ideology through inexorable imperial advancements. The colonizers used Native Americans to further their progress of colonization and concurrently degenerated the population of Native Americans. When colonists encountered Native Americans in North America in 1511, their hegemonic motives went unaltered.

Whitesattempted to destruct and change the natives’ culture as well as way of life. They used their own European Christian ideology to justify the harsh and barbaric actions against the natives. The Europeans viewed Native Americans as savages, inhuman, and animalistic. The views of Native women were that of fascination, as they seemed free, without inhibitions, and without clothes. Native culture was often that of a matriarchal society, which valued women and their roles. Native women were much more empowered than the European women. That resulted in lonely colonial men to pursue Native American women, no consent needed. After white settlers progressed into new territories for settlement, they relocated Native Americans to reservations. The tribes were forced to adapt to new agricultural methods, often left with limited, if any, resources. Starvation, disease, and corruption quickly grew to another hardship Indians were to face. Initially, in 1492, Native American population was over 5 million, and this drastically was reduced in a ten year span from 1890-1900 to roughly 250,000 Native Americans. This shift was due to an increase in mortality rates and a decrease in the birth rate, as a direct result from European colonization. From the beginning of reservations and to this day, the quality of many Native Americans’ lives is on the same level of that of third world, developing countries. Today there still remains economic and political barriers many Native Americans struggle against.