Portrait of the Past: Recounting Native Relations
When Native Americans and pioneers first encountered one another, an influx of new cultural relations ignited for the travelers and the natives to America. Consequently, with the growth of relations between the new peoples an overwhelming change happened within the daily lives of many Americans. Americans now had new land to explore and new people to observe. A vast proportion of literature fictionalizes tales of traveling to new lands with accounts that are focused on the settling, the exploring, and the observing of these new lands and peoples. However, other accounts of these explorations have been documented in non-fictionalized forms. One of these accounts includes an artistic rendition of Native Americans settled upon a beach on Mackinac Island, Michigan in 1843. (Wood 367.) This sketch, titled “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” should be included into the Maritime Literature canon as it is a viable reinforcement of American fascination with exploration and observation, a theme present in Maritime Literature, represented by the exploration and observation of Native American peoples through sketching. It also retains value because many accounts of the Native Americans focus on a negatively biased view due to the violence of the native people in response to the expansion of America over native peoples land. Thus these accounts do not represent an accurate portrayal of the Americans initial response to the natives culture, of which was to observe them in an unbiased light, whereas this piece, by Wood, focuses on the natives culture in a peaceful manner through observation, similar to the relations before violence had broken out over land. Taking note of the natives lodging methods and method of travel, tippis and canoes. Furthermore, it should be included in the canon of Maritime Literature as it can help determine not only how the pioneers viewed the Native Americans culture but how they viewed the pioneers culture, prior to land disputation. By observing this sketch we can see how natives and pioneers initially responded to one another and get a sense of the importance of exploration and observation of new lands and peoples, the theme of which has maintained itself consistently within the canon of Maritime Literature.
“A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” is a sketch made popular by Edwin O. Wood, who published the sketch in 1918. His family contains traces back to the American Revolutionary war and have an heritage of moving from domesticated areas of the Americas to parts of the country that are less than developed. Wood’s parents would later settle in the town of Goodrich, Michigan as Edwin Orin Wood would be born in the same town in 1861. It can be argued that Wood’s interest and subsequent publication of the sketch can be due to his family's past of exploration into the frontier and observation of previously uncontacted peoples. This only asserts “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” importance in inclusion to the canon of Maritime Literature as it furthers the claim that the sketch represents early interest in the observation and exploration of new people and places. This theme ever present in Maritime Literature. Many accounts of the Native American interactions with pioneers tread on with a negatively biased view of natives, predominantly because of the violent responses of the native people to the expansion of America over native peoples tribal land. In consequence many accounts of American/native relations do not accurately represent America's initial response to natives, which emphasized by H. Massey description and Wood’s visual representation, was to observe in order to better understand the natives culture. Supporting the notion that “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” should be included in the canon of Maritime Literature is that it can help determine not only how the pioneers viewed the natives culture but how natives viewed the pioneers culture. In H. Massey's entry we can observe that both the pioneers and natives were interested in communication. Throughout the entry it is the natives culture that is observed and detailed more so as the account is through the reference of a pioneer of natives and not a native's account of a pioneer. Had it been a reverse account, native of pioneer, it can be safely assumed that the account would have focused more so on pioneer culture. The reversal of account is trivial, however, as the important notion to receive from this is that the idea of exploration and observation of new people, a common idea in Maritime Literature, being important is presented. This idea presented in H. Massey’s work is visually shown in Wood’s sketch. This can be displayed through the sketch simply existing. By it existing shows that observing and documenting new peoples and their cultures is important. This importance, shown throughout Maritime Literature, is a logical reason to include “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” in the canon of Maritime Literature.
Recounts of native interactions with American pioneers during the 1800’s had a tendency to be detailed accounts of conflict over native versus American pioneer territorial rights. These interactions tend to be documented with a negative connotation by American writers, however H. Massey gathers information on a prolonged interaction between natives and one Governor Lewis Cass and the American folk of Detroit, Michigan. Governor Lewis Cass would serve the state of Michigan from 1813 until 1831. (Department of State) This account breaks this negative tendency, similarly to the sketch, and emphasizes with words what “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” represents. He details this initial contact of Gov. Lewis Cass and the natives through the eyes of one “Mr. Owen” who “brings fresh to recollection...various incidents connected with a journey made by himself” (Massey par. 1) Mr. Owen begins his version of events with his travels from Central New York to Detroit. This journey forces Mr. Owen to travel initially by stage, secondly by canal, and finally, on a Steamboat dubbed The Niagara. During Mr. Owen's journey he comes to temporarily reside near the residence of Governor Lewis Cass of Detroit. Governor Lewis Cass spent the late autumn of 1828 traveling the Great Lakes and Mr. Owen notes that the purpose of the Governor's trip was that “The desire of the Governor was to treat with them for their possessions in exchange for lands further west, and for valuable considerations” (Massey par. 6) This “negotiation” of shorts would be the basis for many future conflicts between Americans and natives. However, like the sketch, the account focuses on a peaceful manner in which Americans observe natives and new lands.
It was not until several weeks after the Governor's trip that a small platoon of canoe ships would arrive on Detroit's shores. These canoes contained members of a native tribe who would stay as the Governor's guests for the next two to three weeks. “The visit lasted two or three weeks,” (Massey par.8) It is noted by Mr. Owen that the people of the town as well as the Governor treated the natives with care and provided for them. The police were even informed to take great care with these people. “during which time they were the guests of the Governor, and were all provided for. The military and police force of the city were made particularly subservient to their protection and care” (Massey par. 8) Although under American hospitality and subsequent social influence the Indian culture the natives brought with them seemed not to dissipate with the prolonged time they spent within American civilization. In contrast with what the people of Detroit assumed would happen while observing the natives, they showed no change in social behavior and demonstrated Indian culture regularly. The past time of war dancing seemed to remain a particular favorite, so much so that every day they would gather on the land of the Governor and practice these dances. “Hundreds of them frequently assembled on the green in front of the Governor’s residence, where they engaged for an hour or more at evening in the violent contortions called dances, peculiar to the race, of all of them sufficiently exciting, but the war dance most of all ” (Massey par. 9) However after their short time with the people of Detroit the natives would return to their land the same way the arrived. They would travel several hundred miles back to their village by canoe following the solitary lakes. “They finally embarked on the same manner in which they came, for a passage through the solitary lakes, several hundred miles to their homes.” (Massey par. 10)
H. Massey’s recordings of Mr. Owen’s journey and subsequent experience with Governor Lewis Cass encounter with the natives forms important documentation of initial American/native relations prior to land disputes. This documentation emphasizes the importance Americans placed on observing native peoples and exploring their lands. Therefore it demonstrates the importance of the inclusion of “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” in Maritime Literature as the sketch, coincidentally or not, visually embodies the text of H. Massey, whose work is included among Maritime Literature as well as other genres as a valuable form of documentation for early American/native relations. By observing “A Sketch of the Beach at Mackinac Island (East End)” we can see and discern how pioneers viewed the natives through observation to better understand them and their culture. We can also distinguish how pioneers responded to the natives and understand the sense of the importance of travel and observation of new regions and peoples, the topic of which has bred itself heavily within the canon of Maritime Literature.
Bibliography
"Biographies of the Secretaries of State: Lewis Cass." Department of History. United States
Department of State: Office of the Historian. Web. 25 Oct. 2015.
Edwin O. Wood. 1918. Historic Mackinac, Volume 1 (of 2), facing-page 367. The Macmillan
Company: New York.
Massey, H. "Traveling on the Great Lakes When Detroit Was Young." Pioneer Collections Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan. Vol. VII. Washington D.C.: Thorp & Godfrey, State Printers and Binders, 1865. 131-133. Print.
Link to Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1843_drawing_of_Mission_Point_beach_at_Mackinac_Island,_Michigan.jpg
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