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The Traits of the Aborigines of America is a long, book-length poem written by American poet Lydia Sigourney (1791-1865) in 1822. Sigourney’s poetry, like her prose, was known to be “generally about public subjects—history, slavery, missionary work, as well as current events” (1). It treated personal matters, especially loss and death, as experiences common to all (1). Syntactically, the Traits of the Aborigines of America poem is prosaic, lacking a metrical style or rhyme scheme found in traditional poetry. On the other hand, the imagery, diction, recurring themes, and historical context all contribute to its poetic nature. The poem historically chronicles the Indians’ sole reign of the North American continent – “free and unconquered” as Sigourney puts it – especially in what is now the United States and Canada, before European occupation. The five-canto poem, over 180 pages in length, is distinctively structured from the point of view of the Indians.

Analysis

Canto One

Sigourney opens with a landscape of pre-European America through the eyes of its original ruler – the Indians. From the Great Plains area to the Arctic Pole, from the Atlantic shore to the Rockies, the Indians ruled fiercely and fearlessly (2). Such animals as the lynx, bison, panther, wolf, bear, and even eagle were the sources of sustenance and warn clothing, especially in the winter (2). War for pride and territory, “those untutored tribes, bound with their stern resolves and savage deeds, some gentle virtues,” summarized the character of the Indians (2). “Their uncultured hearts gave a strong soil for friendship, that bold growth of generous affection, changeless, pure, self-sacrificing, counting losses light, and yielding life with gladness” is a brief synopsis of the unquestionable loyalty of the Indians (2). Sigourney paints a vivid, overtly positive image of the Indians developed, undisturbed lifestyle in the poems’ opening pages.

Next, in a discussion about the warriors of the tribes, Sigourney highlights their strengths and weaknesses: “The warrior bold, who vanquished toil and famine, endured the keenest tortures, writhed pangs over his lost children, in that dire struggle when relentless grief confronts strong nature, the heart-cherished nerve broken and bleeding, rent the stubborn breast, as uptorn roots dislodge the iron oak which tempests could not bend” (2). Regardless of being the superior species in the region at the time, shepherding animals and domineering the landscape, as weather and battle affected the daily lives of the warriors, life was not easy, and the struggles are noted.

The beginning of the end for Indians begins at the first mention of Christopher Columbus, where Sigourney indicates as the turning point in Indian civilization. “As the Lucayan stood and gazed on those tall ships, words of loftiest tone fancied them Gods….their secret aim was theft and cruelty, to snatch the gold that sparkled in their streams, and bid their blood stain those pure waters” (2). Initial interaction with Europeans, in the Indians’ eyes, was regal, suspicious and threatening. It is as though the Indians knew the Europeans’ agenda for territorial surmounting and expansion before the plan could commence. Engaging in trade anyhow, the prideful Indians felt obliged, asserting “where all deeds receive their due reward, we need not fear to trust your mercy, for you cannot seek to wound the innocent” (2). The Indians never trusted the European explorers who sought to trade with them, but they associated as they sought to benefit as well while they could, keeping their intruders close rather than far away, as in the beginning there was not yet any conclusive evidence of wrongdoing or mischief.

Canto Two:

The second canto marks the arrival of European ships, who look to stay for good this time, having brought with them African slaves to help jump-start the economy and expedite the occupation of the land. The Indians sympathized with the slaves, intensifying their disdain for the new “Americans”.

Canto Three:

The Indians witness the unfolded of the American Revolution, where Sigourney documents the youth, militarized or civilian, dying during battle.

Canto Four:

Canto Five: