The American Dream 2

In the next  two readings, Native American talk about explorers coming to America. First, a Native American of the Wintu nation, talks about her view of the Europeans that came to explore her land. Then, Crazy Horse, a prominent member of the Siox nation tells his story.

M.E. Sokolik University of California, Birkeley

By Holy Wintu Woman THE SPIRIT OF THE LAND

The white people never cared for the land or the deer or beer. When we Indians kill meat, we eat it all up. When we dig roots we make little holes. When we build houses, we make little holes. When we burn grass for grasshoppers, we don’t ruin things. We shake down acorns and pine nuts. We don’t chop down trees. We only use dead wood. But the white people plow up the ground, pull the down the trees, kill everything. The trees says “Don’t. I am sore. Don’t hurt me.” But they chop it down and cut it up. The spirit of the land hates them. They blast our trees and stir it up to its depths. They saw up the trees. That hurts them. The Indians never hurt anything, But the white people destroy all. They blast rocks and scatter them on the ground. The rock says “Don’t you are hurting me.” But the white people pay no attention. When the Indians use rocks, they take little round ones for their cooking......How can the spirit of the earth like the white man?...... Everywhere the white man has touched it, it hurts.   

By CRAZY HORSE  CIVILIZATION

We did not ask you white men to come here. The great spirit gave us this country and home. You had yours. We did not interfere with you. The great spirit gave us plenty of land to live on, and the buffalo, deer, antelope and other game. But you have come here: you are taking my land from me: you are killing of our game, so it is hard for us to live. Now you tell us to work for a living, you white men can work if you want to. We do not interfere with you, and again you say, why do you not become civilized? We do not want your civilization! We would live like our fathers did, and their fathers before them.