I just finished the book 1491, by Charles C. Mann. I'm no John Stewart, this book took me four months.
The book was a kaleidoscope of Indian cultures, with respect to the book, that is the title they would prefer to be referred to as. It was a unique mosaic of Incas (Inkas!), Mayans, Amazonians, and maize.
The ideas Mann puts forth deserve scrutiny for sure, but he inspires a number of insightful theories:
- 1. There was much, much more extensive Indian life than we were ever taught in school
2. The Indians (again see my disclaimer above, in the interest of succinctness, I use it broadly, from Inka to Haudenosaunee) were that elusive tribe that formed the nature around them, a twist on gaia, with its "Oh, CO2 helps buffer the atmosphere"
3. Buffaloes roaming the plain such as pioneers saw them were the result of a lack of Indians on top of the prey/predator triangle.
4. There remains discrepancy about the Amazon. Maybe there were giantesses after all, as in the 1930s movies. Who knows?
5. Everything you know is wrong! For additional information, I refer you to the source document, 1491 - New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus.
Oh, and Disney got a whole lot wrong about Squanto, that's for sure!
Read this book!
Seriously there is no way I could do justice to this book. I was ignorant of a whole world. Now I am almost wondering if it isn't part of me even. Thanks to this book, which opened my eyes to that. We inhabited, rightfully or wrongly, this world of theirs, and we should and (the book says we do, with our tattoos etc) respect their contributions to the world, and to our way of life.
Was our Constitution influenced by the Indian? He was after all, a free man. Life is complicated, I don't see how our daily experience could not have been influenced by his presence as neighbor.
To see an American Indian, so proud and independent, should stir feelings of honor, independence, and strength of character in one's soul. I suppose that's why the image was exploited so effectively back then.
After reading the book in it's entirety, I am given much pause, thinking on how much we missed the mark, when we failed to appreciate our fellow humans in all their splendor.