Summary Of A Native Defends His Way Of Life

“A Native Defends His Way of Life” is a document written in 1641 by missionary Christien Le Clercq that translates and transcribes the words of a Gapesian man. The audience that the Gapesian intends to address are the French colonizers who are trying to push the European way of life on the natives. In the document, the Gapesian man politely rebukes the French men who were trying to tell him that the European style of living was superior to his people’s way of life. The first point that the Gapesian makes is that his people’s portable wigwams are superior to the European cottages because they can live wherever they like whereas the Europeans must make multiple houses and sometimes must rent in dwellings that they don’t own. He also points out that his people are healthier and more fit due to carrying their dwellings. Secondly, the Gapesian calls out how the French keep on saying that their homeland and culture are far

In the document, the Gapesian man lists many inconsistencies in the French men’s reasonings that the European way of life is better, and this demonstrates that the natives don’t understand Europeans’ way of life and perhaps even view it as absurd. As well as this, throughout his rebuttal of French superiority, the Gapesian man also describes and compares the housing and food of both the French and natives, thus giving a peek into certain aspects of both groups lives in the Americas. In conclusion, this document shows that natives felt their way of life was more sensible than the Europeans’ and reveals cultural information about the time, and these factors combined make the document have historical