The Era Of The American Revolution created & Crafted by Joshua P. bebis

Introduction

• Change was a common theme for Native Americans throughout the American Revolution. Whether it was defending themselves against various enemy oppressors, migrating from village to village, or trying to receive equality, the Native Americans always received the raw end of the stick.

"The whitest and wealthiest families dwelled near the central plaza, while the lower-caste people with darker complexions lived on the outskirts."

~ Alan Taylor (2016)

"In Virgina, a leading minister prayed for the reduction of that mongrel race of French and Indian savages, who have been the eternal eneimes of humanity, peace, religion and Britons."

~ Alan Taylor (2016)

Relations between Native Americans and other various groups began to turn sour once settlers kept on migrating and taking over Native American lands as they continued to push out the natives. These settlers that migrated into Indian Country wreaked havoc on various Indian villages. The settlers brought in Christain missionaries to introduce Christianity and force Native Americans to accept Christain values and beliefs or else would be subjected to death. Along with missionaries, various diseases were brought over by the settlers which ended up being contracted by the Native Americans resulting in Native American decimation. Upset that their rights were being stripped from under their feet, Native Americans decided that it was time to defend their land and freedom. According to Taylor (2016), "Although diminished by disease, the natives of the interior remained formidable guerilla fighters who dominated the vast forests between the rival empires. Advancing stealthily along paths through the woods, they struck suddenly before slipping away and eluding pursuit. Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) chiefs warned Virginia's governor, 'Our Young Warriors are like the Wolves of the Forrest.''' Taylor continues to state, "In 1755, a Carolinian noted: 'The importance of Indians is now generally known and understood. A doubt remains not, that the prosperity of our colonies on the continent will stand or fall with our interest and favor among them. While they are our friends, they are the cheapest and strongest barrier for the protection of our settlements; when enemies, they are capable of ravaging in their method of war, in spite of all we can do, to render those possessions almost useless.'''

"They came with a bible and their religion. They stole our land and crushed our spirit, and now tell us we should be thankful to the Lord for being saved."

~ Chief Pontiac (u.d.)

According to the American History Channel (u.d.), "Pontiac's rebellion was an uprising of Native American Indian tribes against British forts in the Ohio Country and Great Lakes region after the Seven Years' War." As I had previously stated, many native tribes had specific alliances and loyalties to various groups, whether the British or French, so specific tribes fought alongside their respective armies. The British basically knocked out the French in Montreal in 1760 leaving most of the Indians who had ties to the French subjected to follow British rule. According to the American History Channel (u.d.), "At first, when the Indians found out the French were leaving and they would be expected to be loyal to the British, they were upset and skeptical." In 1763, the Treaty of Paris was signed leaving the British in control of a plethora of land in North America. Many Native Americans called this newly acquired British land, home. Interestingly enough, "The British insisted they were not going to encroach on the land — unless absolutely necessary — and the two sides agreed to peace. Unfortunately, as soon as the Treaty of Paris was signed, the Indians realized the British did not intend to keep their promises. Colonists living on the Eastern Seaboard also had other ideas. For them, the land on the other side of the mountains represented new opportunities for westward expansion" (American History Channel, u.d.). Chief Pontiac, who was an Odawa war chief, rallied many of the Native American tribes together to defend their land and fight off British forces. Pontiac and his followers were sweeping through North America capturing British forts. For example, according to Taylor (2016), "At Fort Michilimackinac, [Pontiac's] warriors fooled the garrison by playing a game of lacrosse in front of the fort. In pursuit of the ball, they rushed through an open gate and grabbed guns from native women, who had entered with weapons hidden beneath their robes. But the natives failed to capture the three largest and strongest western forts: Detroit, Niagara, and Pitt (the former Fort Duquesne and the future Pittsburgh). Britons called this uprising 'Pontiac's Rebellion' or 'Pontiac's War'''. Pontiac's Rebellion lasted from 1763-1766.

"By relying on stereotypes to describe Native Americans, whites came to believe that Indians were stupid drunks."

~ Walter C. Fleming (2006)

The Native Americans weren't the most beloved group in the villages after the incident that occurred in Philadelphia. Most settlers wanted them all murdered as they viewed them as traffic cones in the way of their dreams of owning and setting on land. These dreams and ambitions caused rumors to start spreading like wildfire across villages regarding the Native Americans. Yet, "despite the partial convergence of frontier cultures, most settlers preferred to exaggerate differences to justify dispossessing Indians as supposed savages" (Taylor, 2016). Even men of high power like British Officer Sir William Johnson stated, "Killing an Indian was the same thing as killing a wild beast!" (Taylor, 2016). Due to their lack of popularity, many natives were taken advantage of, especially women who were often times beat and raped by settlers. In most cases, the criminals who committed these horrendous crimes wouldn't be charged due to the fact that their victims were Native Americans. In fact, one criminal stated to a crowd gathered that it was "a meritorious act to kill Heathens whenever they are found." (Taylor, 2016).

"The Virginians are now come very near my nation and I don't want them to come any nearer."

~ Creek Chief (u.d.)

Various attacks and battles started erupting after many standoffs with the settlers due to the fact that many Native American tribes sided with British forces over colonists. One Choctaw chief mentioned a possible reason for Native Americans choosing to join the British over the colonists. "The Americans, a great deal more ambitious and numerous than the English, put us out of our lands, forming therein great settlements, extending themselves like a plague of locusts" (Taylor, 2016). In reality, most of the Indian tribes "regarded the British as just the lesser of two evils" (Taylor, 2016). In July of 1776, colonists attacked various Cherokee settlements insisting that the Native Americans are acting as British pawns. The colonists continued to attack from August through October hoping to ruin the harvest season for the Indians and make them go hungry during the winter season. During one of the attacks, "a Patriot commander directed the militiamen to 'cut up every Indian cornfield, and burn every Indian town' & promised 'that every Indian taken shall be the salve and property of the taker; that the nation is extirpated, and the lands become the property of the public'" (Taylor, 2016). The colonists ended up being pretty successful in burning most of the crops which forced Native Americans to relocate to nearby mountains.

"Native Americans played a major role in the Revolutionary War, a role that is often minimized or misunderstood. Including them in the history of the war is crucial to understanding the full story of the founding of the United States."

~ Isaac Makos (2021)

The Native Americans were starting to get driven out of their lands by Patriot forces by the 1780s. By that time, Patriot forces had the British troops on the ropes. With that being said, the British troops started to retreat leaving their Native American alliances at the mercy of the ravenous Patriot forces. The Native Americans could only hold the Patriot fighters for so long until they had to retreat themselves. Most of the Natives who couldn't retreat would be captured by American forces which would force Native Americans to accept American culture and religion. Most of society doesn't recognize Native American involvement in the war. In fact, American historian Colin Calloway calls Native Americans in the war "the other revolution." Calloway's statement couldn't be more accurate as while the Patriots were fighting for their independence from a British monarchy, the Native Americans were trying not to be slaughtered and massacred praying and protecting the land that was originally theirs.