Red Jacket Speech Analysis

Literature is a window to past societies and ancient cultures; through it people are granted the opportunity to be transported in time, and are given the ability to understand the intricate dealings of societies, make sense of their behavioral patterns and the ways in which they conducted their matters. Because Native American literature was not always documented, researchers lacked the materials necessary to fully decipher the Native American cultures and comprehend their view on certain events that were originally narrated from an immigrant’s point of view. They were forced to rely on the rare occurrences of translated versions of oral literature and work with seldom written accounts by English speaking natives. Through Red Jacket’s speech

While Native American religions varied between one tribe to another ranging from monotheism to polytheism to a variety of others, they all shared an unwavering grip on their beliefs. They refused to forsake their ancestors’ beliefs and concede to new foreign ideologies. “For all these favors we thank the Great Spirit, and Him only” (Red Jacket 230), here Red Jacket implies their unrelenting refusal to convert to a new religion. They would not assimilate to the immigrants’ culture because they believed the day they loosened their grip on their beliefs is the day their own culture and dignity evaporated into thin air. Their refusal to change their religious ideals and beliefs stemmed from the fact that they were passed along to them from generation to generation, it is what they lived by, what helped them survive all these years, and change would only bring about destruction of all that is safe, familiar and unifying. “We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other and to be united. We never quarrel about religion” (Red Jacket 231), the natives feared that introducing new principles would create rifts and endless quarrels between tribe members. Their beliefs also gave them their own special identity which separated them from other nations and they were immensely proud of