The Big Idea
From the sections on the Cheyenne and the Mohawk we can observe how their cultures were before the arrival of European colonists. From the introduction of the horse into the lives of the Cheyenne by Spanish explorers, to the Mohawk trading with the Dutch for firearms to combat rival tribes we can see how their culture as well as the lives of the Native Americans changed significantly. As more and more Europeans migrated to North America and pushed westward, so too did the borders of the Native American's land change as it did with the several treaties agreed upon between the Mohawk Indians and the legislature of the State of New York. As European and later American settlers intermarried into these Native tribes, so too did the culture change for the Native's who would slowly become dependent on the trade and goods that came from that union as well as the spiritual change that occurred due to the conversion to Christianity. This was the start to what many would consider the "Loss of the Native American way of life" as the people of these tribes were subjected to several treaties that were filled with false promises and slowly chipped away at their ancestral lands which eventually led to many Native tribes being forced off their land and onto the reservations that we see today.
The big idea that encompasses all of this material is that culture changes with the increase of American colonies merging into these spaces that Native Americans used for generations. Cultures and people that possessed the same way of life for generations before the arrival of European and American colonists were suddenly torn asunder and to this day have never been the same. As the borders of America grew, the borders of the Cheyenne and Mohawk shrank, never to be regained by the people who first considered it their sacred home. Looking back into these events and culture changes it is clear that whether or not these changes had a positive or negative impact truly depends on which side of these borders you consider yourself on.
