In the history I was taught of American Colonialism, there were only three ways in which the experiences of Native American communities intersected with my curriculum. The first was through incidents of supposed comrnddarie, when the colonists and the Natives traded or otherwise interacted without conflict. Many of these events, such as Thanksgiving, were doctored to appear far more important than was historically relevant. The second instances were through tragedies, such as massacres, although they were only ever mentioned in passing. And the third was whenever the Natives took sides in European conflicts, such as during the Seven Years’ War. In actuality, this Eurocentric teaching deprives the Native Americans who fought and died in these wars any sense of actual agency, because they were relegated to the footnotes of a colonial power struggle being fought over their own homes. The Seven Year’s War and the American Revolution both fall into this category, as it was never even explained to me why the former was referred to as the “French Indian War” in the first place, and the role of the Native Americans was never elaborated upon during any of my classes on the American Revolution.
Just as the Native Americans were reduced to footnotes in the European American wars, their conflicts for independence also fell to the wayside in my education. I am ashamed to admit that I had never heard of Pontiac’s Rebellion prior to this class, although I am not surprised. The reasons why the Natives could and did choose to revolt against the British are as plentiful as they could possibly be, and so I find it interesting that in Pontiac’s call for war, he specifically outlines the overhunting of wildlife, and thus the decrease of wildlife, as one reason why the Europeans needed to be driven out. Other Indigenous writings from the era, such as Alibamo Mingo’s reflection on the British and French, underline just how courteous the Native communities had been to the white settlers prior to this revolt. Much had already been lost, it would seem, before this unified revolution could take hold, but not because the Native peoples were complacent. On the contrary, it would seem from the evidence that, on the whole, the Native communities were welcoming of the Europeans, who exploited that trust and kindness at nearly every turn. And you can only take so much from people before they choose to fight back. Ironic then, isn’t it, that this virtue of unified opposition to tyranny was lost on the American colonies.