Monday, February 19, 2007
Inaccuracies of Hollywood portrayals
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Brett Sulinai Hensley
Hensley lives in Eagle Rock and is Cherokee/Shawnee.
I agree with much of Michael Ridenhour's letter in The Roanoke Times (Jan. 30 letter to the editor, "Don't blame Virginia for starting slavery") regarding slavery in Virginia.
He does state, however, that there is "compelling evidence that Native Americans regularly enslaved conquered enemies."
It seems Ridenhour has not done his research and is just pulling this from Hollywood portrayals of American Indians.
American Indian tribes were small in population and participated in a ritualistic style of warfare known as mourning war. Tribes would raid each other while training young men; few lives were taken, but captives were important.
When a warrior died in battle his family was stressed because of the lack of a provider and family member. Captives were often adopted into the families to replace the lost warrior.
The women of the tribe made these decisions. If a new family member was needed, a young man or woman could be adopted. If vengeance was necessary to relieve grief, then a ritual including torture and death was held.
Older men were rarely adopted, as they were less likely to adapt. (Daniel Boone, however, was adopted by Blackfish of the Shawnee during the Revolutionary War.)
At the end of the French and Indian War, many adopted captives preferred to remain with their new families as life among the Eastern tribes was less onerous than life in the pioneer settlements. On certain occasions the tribes did make captives slaves, but this was rare.
Another fact of slavery not often mentioned was the enslavement of American Indians for use on the plantations of the Carolinas. Both the Yamasee War and subsequent Tuscarora War in the 1600s yielded many slaves. Charles Town, S.C., was the center of this trade.
Since Indians made poor slaves and ran away frequently across the mountains, more and more Africans were brought to the colonies. In the early- to mid-1600s, Indians made up the majority of slaves in the colonies.
I certainly commend Ridenhour for bringing up the molasses, rum and slave triangle and New England's role in this trade. For too long the Northern colonies have escaped their responsiblity in the slave trade.
