American Indians’ stories – storie di Indiani d’America

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Not only Celts and British people loved telling stories. Storytelling preserved American Indian culture because also the elders (= anziani) among Indian people  repeated stories to grant (= garantire) their history for future generations.  And storytelling was the only way to transmit their culture.

At first  Native Americans of the east coast met the new 16th and 17th century visitors from Europe with enthusiasm. They were curious to meet other people and their intriguing (= strane) novelties. Without their aid, the first waves (= ondate) of settlers would not have survived in the land they knew little about.

But soon the Europeans showed greed (= ingordigia) and arrogance. They wanted to  conquer this new continent with brutal attacks and invasion. The Native Americans understood the invaders would arrive in great number, as many “as the stars in heaven.” They tried to co-exist with the Europeans,  but the white men brought deadly diseases (= malattie mortali) to the Native Americans like  measles (morbillo),  smallpox (= vaiolo)  cholera, yellow fever which drastically diminished the Native American population . In addition to this, the European greed led to the Indian Wars, the Indian Removal Act (1830), and in 1890 to the terrible massacres of Wounded Knee, South Dakota where  warriors, women, and children alike were ferociously slaughtered (= massacrati) by the U.S. Cavalry. The U.S, government began Relocation Programs: Native American peoples were reduced in number,  taken from their homes, deprived (= privati) of their customs, and forbidden to speak their native languages. During the famous march Trail of Tears hundreds of Cherokee died from starvation (= morire di fame) and illnesses. The Their children were taken from them and sent to schools to “civilize” them, forced to abandon every aspect of their heritage (=eredità). In January 1876, the U.S. government forced them to live on reservations where the majority of Native Americans still reside today.

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