Mariana Mesa

Mr. Hazlett

CSU-P History of the Southwest

28 August 2015

A History of the Indians of the United States Summary

In Debo Angie’s, A History of the Indians of the United States: The Indians in Their

Homeland, she objectively writes about the history and cultural differences of the various Native

American tribes in America. She visually distinguishes each tribe by location, descriptively

mapping out their homes in relation to today’s known landmarks. Angie starts off with a denial

of general stereotypes of an American Indian, leading to the words of one of the most popular

ones America is associated with, Geronimo. Transitioning from his words, she then is able to

hint at other Indian characteristics, such as the love for homeland, depth in religion, and the

belief and dependency on nature. She continues to reveal the tense relationship between the

“white man” and the Native Americans, identifying in what is the lack of “ruthless driving force”

and the unwillingness to adapt to what they could not accept, both causing the Indians’ demise.

After tangibly illustrating the “white man’s” excessive behavior towards the Indians, she goes on

to elucidate the places of which these tribes lived. The Iroquoian, which consists of six nations-

Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas, and later Tuscaroras, lived in the central and

western New York. The Algonquian tribes, who were the first to meet the colonists, extended

along the Atlantic border, north to the St. Lawrence River and west to the Mississippi.

Centralizing around the Great Lakes were the Ottowas; around Ohio were the Shawnees; in

Wisconsin moving south were the Sauk and Faux; the Chippewas lived in northern Minnesota to

Canada; Cheyennes and Arapahos were located near the buffalo plains.

Continuing the list of tribes, she moves on to cultural differences and similarities. Many

practiced agriculture, raising corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, and tobacco, however, their

practices differed greatly. The area east of the Mississippi, Native Americans settled in villages

and well-constructed houses, located near rich crops; they often traded with each other and were

able to establish trails to take or rivers. Their political, social, and economic organization

contributed to most of their success as a society. The area near and on the plains differed because

the focused mainly on cattle. It became more inviting with the use of horses as it became easier

to herd buffalos, a major resource for their survival, as it provided hides, meat, and cargo

carriers. The area in the Southwest, like the area of the east, established villages, but their houses

were made of adobe and stone; they were also rapid hunters and grew crops through irrigation

canals. The area of the Great Basin and the California desert were for the most part gatherers,

utilizing all the resources as much as possible. Being of a “poor” location, they were very

nomadic and sociable people. The area of the Pacific Northwest, a land opposite of the West

being rich in natural resources, Native Americans practiced no agriculture, but relied on gather

and storing wild products, such as salmon, deer, and wild fruit. Debo Angie vividly classifies the

life of these Native Americans, by demonstrating the inhabitants of the self-sufficient people

“before the coming of the white man.”