White Indians

1988 • EN

Yazan Susan R. Suing

"The following paper deals with the "White Indians," a little-known but controversial chapter in the pages of early American history. The White Indians were white colonists of European descent who became so thoroughly assimilated into Indian culture, they came to be regarded either by themselves or by others, as Indians. Some had accepted the Indian way of life as a matter of personal choice, but for many, perhaps the majority, the "decision" to become an Indian was forced upon them against their will and was made only gradually and with the greatest reluctance. This latter group which included men, women and children of all ages, is the specific subject of this paper. They were taken captive, usually during bloody raids upon their homesteads or settlements, and were force-marched back to Indian villages great distances from their homes and deep in Indian territory to be adopted and "made'' into Indians. It is the contention of ethnohistorian, James Axtell, that, under the influence of the Indians' superior methods of education, the captives, young and old, willingly became Indians. In White Indians: An Alternative View of the Captivity Experience, I present a view which differs from that of Professor Axtell. I agree that young children and helpless females often left parentless and homeless as a result of the Indian attacks more easily succumbed to Indian proselytizing. But the process of reeducating whites to become Indians only worked effectively on those who were understandably too young to have developed cultural, political and religious ties or on those who were unable to escape through fear or lack of opportunity. Quoting from the captivity narratives written for the most part by the captives themselves, I trace the methods of capture, and the process of adoption and finally show that adults did not willingly become Indians, but instead preferred to return to their own society."