Technical Difficulties --- Squanto

Hello everyone,

 I had an issue registering with the blog and originally posted this as a response to Professor Nesberg's original post.  Hopefully I can get some feedback before the end of the module.
Patrick

In the American Indian Biographies, there is a post submitted by Historian Bill Petro that addressed the Native American known as Squanto. Squanto was a name that I had long forgotten, but when I saw that there was a brief biography submitted about him, I had memories of my experiences in Elementary school learning about the Thanksgiving feast between the Native Americans and the Pilgrims. Most people would probably agree that they have a working knowledge of how the Pilgrims fled England and religious persecution and sailed west to the new world on the Mayflower. Other memories come rushing back about how it was difficult for the Pilgrims, who landed at Plymouth rock, to survive in the new world and that there was a Native American, named Squanto, who assisted them in adapting to the new world. A surprising fact that Mr. Petro offers is that Squanto was actually fluent in English prior to the arrival of the Pilgrims. Squanto had quite an experience, starting with being kidnapped about 10 years prior to the arrival of the Mayflower. He was sold into slavery in Malaga, Spain and purchased by a Spanish monk. The monk freed him and exposed Squanto to Christianity. He then spent some time in England before securing safe passage back to America. Squanto had developed his english skills so well that he was able to be an interpreter for the Pawtuxet tribal Chief so that he could communicate with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. Governor William Bradford actually recruited Squanto to be his ambassador to the Indian tribes as well. I was surprised to read about this because while I do remember that Squanto played a vital role in the survival of the Pilgrims, I had no idea that he was actually fluent in English. That was certainly good fortune for the settlers who would have likely all died if it were not for the translation skills that Squanto could provide.  



http://www.billpetro.com/HolidayHistory/hol/squanto.html

Comments

  1. Yakira KellmanSeptember 30, 2018 at 6:18 PM

    Hi Patrick,

    This is very interesting. I, too, only learned a very little bit about Tisquantum/Squanto when I was younger. I do wonder how much this source leans on information created by the English settlers. The notions that he could be sold into slavery by one conquering force and then be very friendly to another, and that he chose to give his possessions to the Pilgrims, seem questionable to me. I would be interested in seeing Petro's sources, and trying to find native recollections of this story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CKaneOctober 1, 2018 at 6:54 AM

    I really never heard of Squanto in depth regarding teachings. I do recall people calling Natives the name, and never really giving it a thought. Now I realize that it is slur calling one an Indian. It seems that he was very important in many aspects, especially being able to speak English. In what you said, it seems that he had a very rough life and in the end was still capable of helping others. Not many people would still be able to see good in people after being a slave.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownOctober 3, 2018 at 6:02 PM

    I have never heard of Squanto but I am very impressed that as far back as the Pilgrims migration a dual language came in handy that enabled Squanto to converse with the Pilgrims. Undoubtedly we can view Squanto as a skilled professional interpreter before they even existed. Spanish is my second language and I have a Department of Education bilingual certification, it comes in handy when my co workers need an interpreter and my supervisors need a document translated. I saw a teacher use her smartphone to converse with the parent of a student in Arabic - technology and languages has surely advanced if only Squanto could see it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 21st Century Indigenous Person

Image
The Mohawk Proverb, Mankiller’s favorite, “It’s hard to see the future with tears in your eyes,” which she shared at the end of her video gives us insight into what she believes – there is a future for Native Americans, and they will not let tears cloud their vision. Her attitude is one of encouragement, but we must also acknowledge that her motivation is not only for the natives and that they will make room for the non-natives including them in their forward movement into a new season of self-determination. It is important to note that Mankiller does not sugar coat the historical trauma that the Native Americans suffered; she reaches out to her audience and brings them into the events without criticism or judgmentalism sharing the facts of the past and leading all into the contemporary momentum of the Pan Indian movement. Mankiller gives the audience a glimpse into the partnerships that can develop when work is conducted outside of a vacuum. She states that the Arizona tribal...
Read more

Wilma Mankiller

We reviewed the video of Wilma Mankiller speaking at Arizona State University, describing the challenges that Native American tribes will face in the 21 st Century. It is meant to display the point of a view of Wilma Mankiller, a former chief of the Cherokee tribe, and her views on the future of indigenous groups, the challenges they will face and how indigenous groups can best approach these issues. Her words speak with the authority of a community leader and as an expert not only on Native American people but on indigenous people around the world. She speaks of the connectiveness and similarities that indigenous groups have world wide. She speaks of how these groups can and should unite around. These groups face both unique challenges that are present only to indigenous groups but also larger issues such as climate change, that all humans across globe face. It is important I believe as sometimes Native American groups and all indigenous groups can be marginalized and people can fo...
Read more

Lewis and Clark

I have used the web resources off PBS regarding Lewis and Clark. I have learned that Lewis & Clark would go to tribe to tribe telling all of the tribes that the land that they have been on for years now belonged to the US. I was shocked to read that they had a slave named "York" that they brought with them; they let the Indians believe that he was a "wild creature that has been tamed" so the Indians believed it had spiritual powers. Lewis and Clark's mission was to make peace of all Western tribes, though some tribes saw them as a direct threat and were hostile in return as they had heard about the White man taking things away from them. Throughout the reading, there was many things that each Tribe would contribute and known for. The Chinook's were canoe builders, fisherman and planters. Hidatsa were farmers of corn, tobacco and beans. When Lewis and Clark would show up they would many times have exchanges so that the Indians thought that they were the...
Read more