While many people in America hear about colonization through the perspective of white, European colonists and hear stories of Christopher Columbus, there is a whole reality of European colonization in America that is hidden by these false stories. Early European settlers were attracted to America by the unknown environment, the new economic possibilities, and the expansion of their homeland. While these ideas were found in America, so were hundreds of Indigenous groups that had occupied the land for 10,000 years before. As Europeans traveled through America and colonized it, they assimilated and decimated a great amount of Native Americans for their personal gain. The decimation of Native American culture was due to the differing cultures of Native Americans and European colonists, which interfered with each other’s way of life. These critical factors that led to the assimilation of Native Americans into European society and created a sense of superiority for Europeans were differences in religion, differences in tools, and Europeans’ false perception of Native Americans.

Europeans built a superiority complex through idealism and spreading their knowledge to other places, specifically through religion. A sailor on the King of France’s voyage to the western lands described the King’s beliefs and perceptions about Native Americans; “This people had no belief in God that amounts to anything…Who gives us everything we need and is the Creator of all things and that in Him alone we should believe” (Source A). In this passage, the King of France belittles the God that many Natives believe in. He indicated that there is only one right way of life involving religion by using the words “Him alone we should believe”. By using the inclusive pronouns of “we” he groups the indigenous tribes and the French together, which shows his goals of assimilation of their culture. The King describes him and others on his ship as helping Native Americans by introducing a different faith to them. This ideology proves that the King sees his way of life as superior and it is his duty to change others’ way of life. Similarly, Charles the Second, the King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland presented the same ideals in an excerpt about the Charter of Rhode Island; “Those manic evils which were likely to ensue upon some of those oure subjects not being able to beare, in these remote parties, theire different apprehensiones in religious concernements,” (Source G). The King is talking down upon the Native Americans through the language of “manic evils”. Because of this, it is inferred that when he says “different” regarding religion, he is using different as a negative term. Due to this separation of ideas in religion, a sense of superiority is brought to the King and other European colonists. 

The difference in tools used by Native Americans and Europeans brought out another difference which fostered a sense of superiority for Europeans. In an excerpt by Daniel Richter about the colonization of America, he described the process and ideologies surrounding this; “from a word new to Americans soon proved their superiority to earthenware pottery, stone tools, and fur robes” (Source E). This quote describes how Europeans saw their tools as better than the Native American tools. Not only does this belittle the Native Americans' way of thinking, but also their culture as their tools were an important aspect of their way of life. A differing perspective from Native Americans in a quote about European encounters recalls the difference in tools as well; “The English have no sense; they give us twenty knives like this for one Beaver skin,” (Source D). As the Native Americans see this as a bad trade, the Europeans need the skin because of disease wiping out a lot of animals. This shows a differing desire surrounding resources. While above in this passage, the author calls Native Americans “barbarians”. Due to the difference in tools and understanding of the land, the Europeans felt as though the Native Americans were below them. 

Europeans often had a false interpretation of Native Americans, whether this was purposeful or not. This perception created a hierarchy that presented Native Americans below Europeans. A passage titled “Counterfeited According to the Truth”, it describes these false perceptions; “White introduced Virginia’s natives to the English as if he were displaying them in a theatre” (Source C). The European colonists dramatized the Native Americans, presenting a false interpretation of these people to the public. Later on, the author states that this presentation was a specific strategy to present their plan of colonization in America. Therefore, the European colonists were using a false understanding of Native Americans, on purpose, for their personal gain. In an article by Daniel Richter, he describes a false view from the perspectives of Native Americans; “The astonishment of the Natives…they thought it was a moving Island,” (Source E). This interaction was recorded by a French missionary, and without the use of quotes, does not actually understand the Native American perspective but is assuming it. The description of the Native American reactions belittles the thought and understanding of these people. By saying “astonishment” and “moving Island” the Europeans are describing that the Natives were happy by this advancement and did not have the capability to understand what was happening. These intentional false assumptions create an incorrect depiction of the Native Americans, which forms a barrier between Europeans and them. 

Overall, the difference in religion, tools, and depictions of the Native Americans presented differences in the European and Native American way of life. Due to these differences, a hierarchy was created in the European colonists’ minds that placed themselves over Native Americans. This hierarchy is still prevalent today as in school people often learn only about the European, colonist, perspective. Today, the majority of America has a single story about how our land was founded. These single stories create implicit biases that shape how society acts and views. In order to understand why the decimation of Native Americans occurred, people need to understand the differences between the two cultures.