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Natives and Explorers

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Submitted By girrby269
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Natives and Explorers

In this day, we often wonder why study Native American literature? Could it be because we instinctively feel it is because they were the first settlers of America? I will be explaining why Native American literature is America through history of the Native Americans and through literature written by the Native Americans. It is to be believed that the history of North America initiated when the ancestors of Native Americans made their way across a bridge that was once from the Bering Sea and connected Asia to North America. Native Americans believe that their ancestors originated in America and oral accounts of their foundation have been passed down from generation to generation. The Native Americans were very useful with using natural resources and adjusted well to the climate changes of where they lived. They for example, used wood that was collecting in the forest to build houses, boats, and tools. They utilized all of their natural resources including animal hide, bone as well as many other resources to sustain their way of life. Their diet depended on primarily on hunting and was supplemented with farming. When the European explorers began to reach their destination of the land the Native Americans have settled on, they were faced with new challenges. These challenges had some Native Americans coexisting with Europeans and trading and adapting to the new technologies the Europeans had to offer. This was a difficult concept for both the settlers & the Natives to comprehend; yet initially there was a peaceful coexistence as they learned from each other. The settlers picked up on many of the aspects of native life & culture. Many of these aspects would eventually work their way into the modern American way of life. In the Native Americans history there was substantial evidence to make them Americans but their

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