The Native American Question: Images, Perception and Development of Native American Identity

According to the saying, history is written by the winners. This is also the case of American history. The history of America was written in the spirit that ¿everything can be explained¿; the American point of view as justifying every deed and action is not only a few decades old, it goes back to the time of the Puritans. By the advent of the late 18th and early 19th century, the early images and perceptions of the Spanish, French, and English about the Native Americans affected every aspect of life, science, and society. The concepts became regarded as facts, and the whole picture of the Natives as Indians turned into central themes in understanding the indigenous people of North America. With the idea of Herbert Spencer ¿ further developed by Charles Darwin ¿ of what was to become known as Social Darwinism, the Native Americans were labeled as unfit, and their ¿downfall¿ was explained as a result of their unwillingness to adapt to the new ways. Self-determination was the main goal to be achieved by the revitalized Natives. In a way the national historic memory was reshaped, and the Natives brought into foreground the real, present day identity of the Native Americans.

Varga Szabolcs, BA: Studied English Language and Literature at Partium Christian University.