Student Reading 6.4: Exploring the Relationship between European Settlers and Historic American Indians In the 1600s the first white men came to Ohio. These men were explorers and fur traders. Some came from and some came from the 13 British colonies. They came to claim the many natural resources in Ohio. There were rivers for traveling, forests full of wood for building homes and forts, and animals for food and fur. The animal furs could be sold in Europe and made into clothing and hats. Men started trading with the tribes that lived in Ohio. The tribes gave the fur traders skins of beaver, deer, mink, otter, and bear. The fur traders gave the American Indians (These 64 loose, modern glass beans represent a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes. They would have been traded by European fur traders to American Indians in the Ohio River Valley between the 1650s and 1750s. Courtesy of Ohio Memory.) metal tools, such as knives and pots, beads, mirrors, cloth, guns, gun powder, and bullets. Both sides benefited from these trades. American 1
Indians received things they couldn t make themselves, such as metal tools or guns. The European fur traders got rich selling the furs. The fur trade is an example of cooperation. The chart below tells about some of the men who explored Ohio and what we know about them from primary sources. Many other fur traders lived or traded in the Ohio country. Explorer and When He Explored the Ohio Country Robert LaSalle 1669 George Croghan 1740s 1760s Country He Was From Great Britain What He is Famous For First white man to explore the Ohio River He shouted from his canoe that all land on both sides of the Ohio River belongs to Could speak several American Indian languages Traded for furs 2
Explorer and When He Explored the Ohio Country Pierre Celeron de Bienville 1749 Country He Was From Gave American Indians British flags to hang on their wigwams What He is Famous For Buried lead plates along the Ohio River that said the land belonged to Made friends with American Indians Tried to get British settlers to leave Christopher Gist 1751-1752 1753-1754 Great Britain Surveyor Asked the French to leave the Ohio Country As more men explored Ohio and reported back to the people living in the 13 Colonies, more people wanted to move to Ohio. There would be more land and more freedom. But what about the American Indian tribes that were already 3
living there? The colonists moved onto American Indian land anyway. This resulted in conflict between settlers and the tribes living in Ohio. Settlers took American Indian land. They hunted on it. They cut down trees. They built log cabins. They planted crops. They didn t ask the American Indians. The settlers didn t pay the American Indians for their land. Some American Indians were peaceful and traded with the settlers. Some tried to force groups of settlers back to the 13 Colonies. In other (The Little Crow: A celebrated Sioux Chief. Courtesy of the Ohio History Connection Archives Library.) cases, settlers attacked and killed American Indians and in some instances, American Indians attacked and killed settlers. If you lived in the 13 Colonies in the 1700s, would you want to move to Ohio? Why or why not? 4
Reading Comprehension Questions 1. How did the American Indian tribes benefit from the fur trade? 2. Why did Pierre Celeron de Bienville bury lead plates? 3. What was the cause of conflict between settlers and American Indian tribes in Ohio? a. Fur traders wanted to trade furs for guns, mirrors, beads, and tools. b. Some tribes wanted to move back to the 13 Colonies, but the King wouldn t let them. c. Settlers were taking Indian land to build houses, farm, and hunt. 5