Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative beautifully depicts many drastic changes that occurred between the times that the European men first arrived in the New World and when they left. One of the most significant changes is how the men viewed the Native Indians that lived in different areas of modern day Central America, North America, and Cuba. If Cabeza de Vaca’s narrative had to be split up for an anthology, it would be most appropriate to show this drastic change in the European men.
The crew arrived in the New World with an impression that the Native Indians were not only uncivilized, but that they were all the same. This false belief extended well into the mid-twentieth century as the Indian Reorganization Act of 1936 placed Native Americans on reservations with other Indians that were of different tribes. In American Colonies: The Settling of North America, Alan Taylor even tells about the mistake that the Spanish invaders made with the Pueblo people. The conquistadors grouped all of the Pueblo people together under their authority, assuming that they were one large group of Indians. However, as Taylor states, “the Pueblo divided into at least sixty autonomous villages that were often at violent odds with one another” (76). Not only did this lead to further violence among the Pueblo people, but it lead to them eventually coming together to revolt against their common enemy.
With this said, my choice of five excerpts for a figurative anthology are chosen with the hope of showing a reader the diversity of the Native Indians that Cabeza de Vaca and his men encountered. This, in turn, also shows how these encounters changed the European men’s mindset of the Native Indians as a whole.
Included chapters:
- Chapter 12: How the Indians brought us food – The men are unsure of how the Indians will react to them, especially in their current emaciated and naked state, but they are surprised that the Indians show them extreme kindness, bringing them food and even weeping for their dead men. At this point, Cabeza de Vaca and his men still see the Indians as being extremely uncivilized. They are grateful for their gifts of food and dance, but they sternly believe that the Indians will end up sacrificing them.
- Chapter 18: Of the account that [Figueroa] gave of Esquivel – The men encounter a new group of Indians that show them a much different kind of treatment than the first. These Indians enslave the men and torture them in different ways, holding them captive. The men are shocked at the different treatment by these Indians, and this stark contrast from chapter 12 would help readers understand that not all Native Indians were the same.
- Chapter 23: How we departed after having eaten the dogs – Another Indian group that the men encounter are ones whose intelligence is extraordinary. The Native Indians in this group are incredibly careful in their reproduction to reduce any further strain on their resources by population growth, and they are highly skilled and brilliant fighting techniques. These Indians give even more depth to the diversity of the Native Indians.
- Chapter 29: Of how they robbed one another – Giving more examples of the different customs and traditions of various Indian groups, Cabeza de Vaca and his men are travelling through villages as shamans. These numerous encounters show, as Cabeza notes, that some Native Indians share certain customs, while others hold customs that are the complete opposite of the neighbors. Cabeza de Vaca seems to be coming to a conclusion at this point that the Indians are extraordinarily diverse and he is also beginning to respect them in a new way, as they see him as a highly powerful and respected individual.
- Chapter 34: Of how I sent for the Christians – This chapter is crucial to the collection of excerpts that I have chosen as it shows how Cabeza de Vaca and his men are very different from how they were in chapter 12. After meeting up with other Europeans, the men realize how much they themselves have changed, that they do not want to see the Indians that they have come to know be enslaved, and they would like to really spread the Gospel to the Natives. This chapter is particularly interesting as the other Europeans begin to try and undermine Cabeza and his men by telling the Indians who they really are, but the Indians do not believe any of it. Such a change has occurred in the relationship of Cabeza’s crew and the Natives.
The selection of excerpts by Norton is a strong group of passages that give a strong overview of the type of journey that Cabeza de Vaca and his men endured. However, I feel as if the selection by Norton was simply to give a reader a broad overview of the suffering the men endured, the kinds of Indians they encountered, and their reasoning for the mission in the first place. I feel that my own selections may give readers a stronger perspective of the true importance and significance of the narrative. It shows how Cabeza de Vaca’s account of his time in the New World was eye opening to how the Native Indians are, even if few people paid any mind to it at all. Unlike most exploration narratives, Cabeza de Vaca’s shows a European being transformed into a quasi-Native Indian, and my selection of excerpts clearly shows this.
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