Introduction
For many years, more advanced people in the world have always treated the inferior members of the society with spite. The advanced people in the world will often feel that they are of more value to the world than their inferior counterparts. This was very particular in the early years of the American nation. The European colonialists often treated the natives, particularly the native Indians with a lot of unfairness. This indeed shows the backwardness of the society. However, Father Paul le Jeune “Encounter with the Indians” presents a new picture of how cultural and society development enables people to develop a new way of seeing things particularly on issues pertaining to the treatment of fellow human beings (Kenton 23).
The famous memoir by Father Le Jeune is something that should be admired. Rather than using the suppression technique that had been the common norm among the colonialist, Father le Jeune took his time to learn the traditions and even the language of the native Indians (Tyler 18). Basically, his approach shows the development of a new European’s society way of thinking. This is due to the realization of the fact that the only way to convert the local indigenous people was actually by learning and understanding their ways and traditions and educating their children on the “European knowledge” and in the process, the whole society would become culturally advanced. Le Jeune opposed some of the notions previously laid about the Indians and in fact he referred to them as “quite intelligent, though uneducated”. Additionally, he states that they are “free of greed, impatience and anger” (Pane & Arrom 56).
Le Jeune approach was indeed a plausible template for the development of the better societal and cultural relationships with the indigenous people of America. It marked the stage where the mighty European forces started to slowly enact a new strategy for enacting their will and power that was more society tolerant. This was definitely a mark of society and cultural advancement or development (Kenton 61).
Works Cited
Kenton, E. The Jesuit relations and allied documents: Travels and explorations of the Jesuit missionaries in North America, 1610-1791. New York: Vanguard Press. 2000.
Tyler, S L. Two Worlds: The Indian Encounter with the European, 1492-1509. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 2001. Print.
Pané, Ramón, and Arrom, José J. An Account of the Antiquities of the Indians: Chronicles of the New World Encounter. Durham, N.C: Duke University Press, 2003. Print.
