“An Unlikely Exchange”: A Dialogue on a Historic Theme

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Native American Man: Greetings. I want to trade with you, vegetables for steel weapons.

Colonial Settler: I will trade you this hatchet.

Native American Man: I would like the sword.

Colonial Settler: Why prefer the sword when the hatchet will serve your purposes? To what do you wish ill will?

Native American Man: I prefer the sword because it allows me to kill my prey without endangering myself by getting too close to the animal. I wish no living thing ill will. It is my people’s belief that the earth and all of her creatures have a spirit that must be respected, even in a necessary death.

Colonial Settler: You believe that the earth has a spirit? Do you not believe in God?

Native American Man: I believe in the power of nature and of the many great spirits that help to guide us on our way.

Colonial Settler: I believe that there is a singular being, God, who guides us on a path toward righteousness.

Native American Man: There are many different ways to see a great spirit, just as there are many ways to respect the earth. Though no man may claim the earth as his own, he may return to the same area with the seasons to plant crops, or to hunt or fish. The earth is not meant to be owned by man, though there are some who claim it for their own. The land that is ours is a gift from the earth, which provides food and shelter for my people.

Colonial Settler: Man has a fundamental right to own land. A man’s property is a mark by which he values himself and is a means for him to provide for his family. Where you travel with the seasons, my village stays in one place. This is where we build permanent housing, village common areas, and designate areas for livestock and gardens. How can you not own property?

Native American Man: To us, the land is a somewhat communal property where we not only live, but we share with others the blessings bestowed upon our people. Though we move, we do have lands that we return to when the seasons change. In your society, where land ownership defines a man’s wealth and place in society, in mine, a man is revered for his ability to care for his family through hunting and fighting. Our women are married to the most deserving of warriors, not landowners. Though like you, our women are arranged into marriage by their fathers. The woman’s main job is to care for the children and the elders while preparing food and clothing for the men who provide food, shelter, and protection. In this regard, we are much the same.

Colonial Settler: Yes we are much the same on that point. Our women are married to gain station in our society, but they are also expected to care for the children and the household. There are many who desire wealth, but can only attain it through their husband or father.

Native American Man: Our society is perhaps free in a way that yours is not. We enjoy the freedom of nomadic existence and communion with the earth, while also maintaining our own society, based off of different beliefs than yours.

Colonial Settler: To me, freedom is being able to worship our God as we choose as well as to own land and provide for my family in the best way that I can. Would you still like to trade?

Native American Man: Yes, though I would still like the sword.

Colonial Settler: We are well met, then.

Native American Man: The spirits be with you.

Works Cited

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty! An American History. New York: Norton, 2004.

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“An Unlikely Exchange”: A Dialogue on a Historic Theme

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