Altercations Between The European And Native Americans In The Film Avatar

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean and landed in what is now known as the Americas. His discovery lead to interaction between the inhabitants of the New World and the Europeans of the Old World. Conflict between the two groups, lead to the Europeans removing the Native American tribes off their homeland and claiming it as European territory. The wars fought between the two cultures became the beginning of American history and continues to be examined by generations to come. This can be seen in the movie Avatar, released in 2009. Avatar explores the world of Pandora, “a fictional Earth-like moon in a distant planetary system”(source 1) and America’s attempted conquest of the Na’vi land. The altercations between the Americans

They did not have the resources or anyone to help them during those harsh time. However, when they encountered the Native Americans , the Natives took care of them by providing food, clothes, and shelter. They taught the English their culture and way of life. Therefore, the British colonists learned how to farm and acquired crops only native to the Americas such as maize. With the Indians ’s help, the Europeans were capable of surviving in the foreign land. Similar to this in Avatar is when the Na’vi society taught Jake Sulley their culture. Like the English, Sulley came to a land he never been to before. Through Neytiri, he learned “how to bond and control his flying mountain banshee” (source 1). He also learned how to hunt and appreciate the life of the animal he killed. This example demonstrates how the Na’vi people embodied similar aspects of the Native

The Na’vi “perceive themselves as completely bound with their environment, other living things, and Eywa”( source 2) their deity. Trees especially serve as a channel between the Na’vi and Eywa. They act as hard drive in which soul of the planet and its inhabitants are recorded and the memories can be uploaded and downloaded at will. Because of this, they highly value the nature around them. Like the Na’vi, Indians had strong spiritual connection to the land. They did not believe in the concept of private property in land. They believed that land was meant to be shared and not owned. Also, the Na’vi and the Native Americans held high respect towards animals, which were viewed as equal in rights to humans. Even though they both hunted animals for food, the hunters would ask permission of the animal’s spirit and would thank the animal for its contribution. Navi and the Native Americans did not believe in killing animals for leisure or sport like the Europeans. To them, every life was sacred. Additionally, the Natives and the Na’vi had resources that were desirable to the Europeans and Americans, respectively. The Europeans wanted the land that was occupied by the Native Americans as well as gold and silver they believed the Natives had. With already conflicting view points, they were unable to settle their differences. This eventually broke out into multiple wars,