A Study Of Early Indian-white Cultural Exchanges In North America

During the early relationship between the indian and the white in North America,early colonists had a sense of civilization superiority and undertook the mission of promoting the civilization of the indians.They made use of material erosion and cultural conquest,but in vain.By contrast,indians took advantage of affinity and unique means,partly urging the white to become indians.Such a strange phenomenon provides a new angle of early relationship between the indian and the white in North America.Through the discussion of the causes,processes,means and results of cultural infiltration between the indian and the white in North America,this paper attempts to use the research method of ethnological history to analyze the influence of cultural blending on both sides.Facing the unpredictability and potential danger of the indians,it is not difficult to imagine that the early colonists who came to the New World had to assimilated the indians and adapted them to the settled life and material civilization.This demand was extremely urgent.Promoted by preconceived cultural concepts and instrumental rationalism,the early colonists attempted to assimilate the indians by means of material erosion and cultural conquest,but they were resisted by the indians and failed to assimilate completely.At the same time,facing the diseases and wars brought about by the European colonists,the indians began to adopt prisoners and change them in order to filling the losses.Compared with the colonists,the indians still changed some white people thoroughly,leaving them in the Indian tribe forever,even though there was a great material gap.In this process,the natural environment of early North America and Indian virtues,kinship structure and the way of life were all important reasons for whites to accept Indian culture.The technological advantages of whites,special images and the efforts of missionaries also promoted the civilization of Indian tribes,but due to the integrity of Indian culture and the inadaptability to white culture,they could not be completely integrated into the civilized society.However,although such a cultural blend provided material convenience to the Indians,it was more about the dependence on whites and the torment of disease.In contrast,two changes have taken place in white culture:the adaptive change in the temporary use of Indian means to achieve the intended British goal,and the reactive change caused by the omnipresent risk of Indians as military and cultural enemies.The former changed the frontier culture of the United States,while the latter promoted the"Americanization" of European colonists.