Investigating Representations of Indians in a 19th Century Textbook

Today we went on a textbook archive to do research for Indians. We read pages 18-21 and then used the search bar to find places in the textbook where the word "savage" was used. After looking it up the archive pointed out multiple spots in the text where this word was used. After reading over them, we were to answer a question discussing people views on Native Americans. We also learned what the definition of a savage is. A savage is described as a fierce, ferocious, cruel, untamed, uncivilized human being.

The question we were asked to answer in class today was:
If you were an American student reading this text as apart of your schoolwork, how would that shape the way you viewed Native Americans?

My Answer to the question:

If I were an American student reading this text, my views towards Indians would be somewhat shaped differently. After researching what a savage actually was, it is weird to think that the would refer to the Indians that way especially if they used them for trade. They took advantage of the Indians and when the Indians finally got tired of it the whites took over and made the public view them as savages. In the text, the used the word savage or savages mainly when they were talking about battles. It's like they want them to seem as brutal as possible so it doesn't make the white people look they are fighting without reason. I feel that the term is a awful word to describe any human being and that the only reason the called them that was so that people would view them negatively. However, that is not the case because most of us do not view them as that way. I would still view the Native American as mistreated human beings that were taken advantage of in the time period.