American History Document Summary Essay

Document Summaries

The Black Robe

The clip from the Black Robe was an account of the 17th-century encounter between the Huron and Iroquois the French and the French Jesuit missionaries the native people called "Blackrobes". It showed how the Jesuits immersed themselves in the Native cultures to learn their way of life and language to further spread the Word of God. It also shed light on the French interaction focusing more on trade with the Native peoples and how those trades occurred.

Surviving Columbus

This film is about the history of the Acoma / Hopi / Pueblo Indians in New Mexico. It describes when the Spanish came north from Mexico and invaded their territory, how the soldiers forced the Indians to work and grow food for them, and how the missionaries worked to convert them to Catholicism, yet they practiced a mixed form combining their religion and still do to this day. It talked about the Americans pushing them to abandon their “beastly and uncivilized” beliefs in favor of American culture and how Hopi fought in WWII and weren’t allowed to vote when they got back.

The Other – Micmac Chief’s Observations of the French

This was a response of a Micmac chief to European arguments of cultural superiority. He points out the waste of houses compared to wigwams, questions the need of them, and mocks the inability transport the houses and lodge wherever they please. He claims they are happier without all the material possessions and rules. He questions France being a better country when they are all leaving it and speaks to all the work that goes into obtaining these materials when they can relax and enjoy life.

Terrible Transformations 1450-1750

The brutal roots of the American slave years are told in this film. Through first-hand accounts and witness testimony. It describes the how some slaves were owned by several African tribes and ventured hundreds of miles across Africa to then be sold to the European slave traders. Some describe the...