Mayflower: Question 8

Compare Philbrick’s portrayals of natives in Mayflower with the ways in which they have been represented in popular culture, for instance, in Hollywood movies. How does Mayflower encourage us to rethink those representations? On the other hand, are there some popular images of Native Americans that seem to be somewhat rooted in what actually happened in the seventeenth century?

Philbrick, in portraying the Native peoples, chooses very much the same perspective with which he portrays the English people: relatively impartially (by relatively I keep up my DBQ practice of not asserting things too fully).

I think Philbrick's main goal in writing Mayflower was to dispel any misconceptions Americans (or other readers) had about anything related to the Plymouth colony, and perhaps greatest of these were those concerning the Natives. Many Americans, many of whom are probably more accurately deemed "European-Americans", stereotypically see Native Americans as primitive, clan-based peoples who stand little chance against European intrusions. While many natives on the American continent did indeed succumb quickly to the European threat, this usually was not due to the superiority of the Europeans themselves (or, conversely, the inferiority of the natives), but due to the superiority of the Europeans' immunities. However, that's another story (for those interested in learning more, I recommend the work of renowned author Jared Diamond).

What is true is that the Natives were more cunning, clever, intelligent, resourceful, etc, than most Americans (and even the Pilgrim settlers) give them credit. However, these qualities are lost in the sands of time, perhaps because of the eventual subjugation of Native Americans. The truth of the matter is that, in many cases, the natives such as the Pokanokets and Naragansetts held the upper hand in diplomatic reliations with the colonists. It was their home turf, and most of these groups had already encountered Europeans before (another common misconception is that the Pilgrims on the Mayflower were the first). The Indians were not stupid; they were trying to gain as much of an advantage as the Europeans.

There is also an image in popular culture of Native Americans being sneaky and devious, and that one should be careful in dealings with them (perhaps a European analogy could be drawn to the Jews). From the Pilgrims' perspective, this is certainly an accurate portrayal, as many occasions saw the colonists struggling with the decision to trust the Indians or not, with the consequences potentially being fatal. Personally, I think there is a mystique surrounding Native Americans, owing to their distinctive spiritual practices, that have blinded present-day people of the realities of the Amerindian culture.