Monday, March 18, 2013

American Indians Revered Nature

Occum, Connecticut is a small town in New England.  History has it an Indian tribe lived here before the European settlers came to this area.  The Shetucket River runs through Occum and two roads, Canterbury Turnpike and Old Canterbury Turnpike are said to be, originally, Indian trails.  On a piece of property, (I own), in Occum on Canterbury Turnpike, I happened to be doing some landscaping and clearing brush.  I came across about five arrow shaped stones, ranging from about two inches in length to about seven inches in length and three inches wide.  These looked like Indian tools, not arrow heads, but, maybe a tool for preparing meals such as rabbit, squirrel, or fish.  A little ways down the road, about 150 feet, I came across a few huge rocks, in an area that looks as though it maybe used as an Indian camp.  My my imagined the Indian men, free spirited, walking along the path from this area on a warm, sunny day, with the area trees in bloom and the leaves filtering the sunlight as they go to the river to catch fish or do a little hunting.  When the English came to America, one of the first things they gave Chief Occum was a Christian Bible.  To the English, the Indians were a tribal people, not sophisticated or educated in the schooling as the English were.  For instance,  building housing for the pilgrims.  Trees needed to be cut for their lumber, and the English had clocks, watches, used currency.  American Indians were not familiar with the European lifestyle.  The American Indians told the English how important their land was.  To the English, the 'white' man needed to control nature.  Nature was something to conquer to the 'white' man.  Generations, centuries later, our society, and our Earth, realize, with global warming and the whole in the Ozone area, how important it was what the American Indians were saying.  The trees, Mother Nature, the animals, the American Indians lived with, along side  and respected all the Earth's living creatures and spirits.   It did not take one person for our land to be destroyed or, not even one generation.  It took many people and generations to want to build where forests once grew plentiful.  Our generation was handed the mistakes of our ancestors, and we are the generation that will have to begin to correct it.  Yes, we are fortunate, that our generation is learning from each other and trying to take care of our Earth for future generations.

American Indians