Squanto

 Squanto was a Patuxet indian, residing in what is today, Plymouth. The first history of Squanto starts in 1614, when englishman Thomas Hunt kidnapped him and other natives in an attempt to sell them to Spain. When some local friars discovered Hunt's plan they took the native americans and tried to teach them the Christian faith. Squanto was able to convince the friars to let him leave for England. He spent some time working for John Slaney, who was the treasure of the Newfoundland Company. Working under Slaney help Squanto learn the English language. He was sent to Newfoundland as an interpreter for the company. While there he met Captian Thomas Dermer, who wanted to travel again to New England and use Squanto as an interpreter and peacemaker with the hostile indians in the area who were angry over the kidnappings in 1614. In 1619 they set off for New England, but they discoverd Squanto's entire tribe wiped out by a disease. Squanto then settled with the Massasoit and his brother Quadequina. Dermer was eventually take captive by the hostile indians but was released because of negotiations by Squanto. Dermer then traveled south to Jamestown but was captured again and died from injuries. in 1620 the Mayflower landed in New England and the pilgrims settled on the deserted  Patuxet land. Squanto soon brought Massasoit and Quadequina to the pilgrims and they were able to negotiate a peace treatie. From the point on Squanto basically became part of the colony as a translater and guide for Plymoth. The power had a negative affect on Squanto, though. He became distrusted by the pilgrims and other tribes in the area because of his dealings. After trying to repair the relationships he fell very ill and died in 1622.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squanto
http://www.mayflowerhistory.com/History/BiographyTisquantum.php

Jamestown's relationship with the native americans

I think, this picture shows the turning point in the Jamestown's relaitionship with the native americans. It depicts when Pocahontas saved John Smith from being executed. Before this there was a lot of fighting and death between the two groups. Jamestown was on the verge of dying out and the native americans weren't helping. Forced to find help Smith sought out the Native's. After spending  time with them he was suddenly taken down to be executed. Before he could be killed Pocahontas jumped in to stop the killing. After seeing his daughter's actions Chief Powhatan adopted Smith as a son. The native americans were now willing to trade and help supply the settlers with food. The food given was carefully rationed but without it Jamestown probably wouldn't have survived. The fact that before they recieved aid from the natives the settlement was about to be destroyed shows that help from the indians was one of the main reasons Jamestown survived. Without the natives americans accepting the Europeans at Jamestown, America would not be the same today.

Native American video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug2TrGD7INY

I think this video shows a lot of aspects of the Native Americans. It shows their clothing, jewlery, body paint and music. I like how wild and colorful the clothing is. All of the clothing in the video is unique a just like the Native Americans. The big jwelery and paint on their faces is also pretty cool. It gives them an exotic look. I think the music is very tribal and it makes me think of nature. Nature is a very important to the Native Americans and you can see some part of nature in every part of their life. The clothing makes me think of birds and other bright animals, the jewlery reminds me of stones and rocks, the paint reminds me of the earth, and the music just makes me think nature as a whole.

I also like the way native americans express themselves. They have dances that also seem to be like plays. They act out things in nature and their lives. A lot of the things native americans do are definitely not normal, but I think thats cool. They are completely different then other people in a lot of ways. They value nature a lot higher then most and they also like to show off their values and what they believe in.

Native Americans are unique and I like that and think it makes them an interesting group of people.