Question

In at least one hundred words, describe how Williams’s view and descriptions of Native Americans differed from the views held by his contemporaries and how his personal beliefs affected his views.

Answer 1

William's certainly viewed Native Americans in a different light. He was obviously very interested in their culture and sought not to exploit them or belittle them but to understand their culture. His pivotal work, A Key into the Language of America, was a key primer when it came to the early understanding of interactions between Native Americans and how Native Americans interacted among themselves and other tribes. His book gave the reader an introduction to the Narragansett tribe's social cues and norms and gave us many of the words we use today to describe Native culture - moccasin, moose, powwow. William's was a Christian missionary and valued a simpler and more intimate relationship with nature. He felt the Native Americans led a better life than Europeans.