Native American Stereotype (native wars) - R U Suprised?

Question

So, I've been thinking of a way to use this Q&A to break stereotypes because I read SO many of them on here.
I am thinking that everyday I will post a new stereotype and see how many people are suprised to read that it is not true.

Here's the fifth one:

Myth: Native people were at war amongst themselves before colonizaton.

Truth: Native people lived in balance with each other with little to no war.

Additional Information:
Native people had highly moral socities before colonization. When colonizers came they introduced death without a cause, rape, torture, etc... This spread among Native people. Their mental health deteriorated because of such brutal acts and in turn they adopted some of these ways. It was also necessary to fight back. The government also introduced many reasons for Native people to fight each other and thus some of them did.

When war did exist before colonization it was not war as you think of it today. There were moral codes that were upheld. Also war was sometimes more like a sport. There is this term "counting coop (coo)". Some of you may have heard of it. What it refers to is getting close enough to your enemy to basically tag them (simplistic defination). This was considered more of a loss than death.

You should know that myths such as these (native wars) were spread by colonizers on purpose, they wanted to depict the Natives as savage. In their minds, if Natives were savage, then their actions against them were justified.

To respond to posts. I know this is a general description. It isn't possible to talk about each tribe in a simple post. It is intended to break general stereotypes.
And I know full and well the stereotype of the Romanticized Native, i am certainly not using that stereotype, seems like you just want to believe in harmful truths.

Answer 1

Oh please people... I am not one to be able to speak for anyone, but there is a large difference between conflicts to protect your resources and your very survival, and that of actual war. Fighting only because of hate is a modern concept, as far as I can figure

Answer 2

Wow, there ARE a lot of stereotypes here.

You've fallen victim to the stereotype of the "Noble Savage," the people who had no technology but were SOOO close to nature that they lived in harmony with the land.

It's just as false as the stereotype of the warlike, warpaint, horseback-riding Indian.

The truth is that the "Native Americans" were not one homogenous group, and those groups had their own cultural identity and interest. They DID frequently go to war against each other, as all human populations have.

They also didn't live in balance with the environment all the time. The Cahokians in the Midwest deforested and hunted the land until they were dying of malnutrition (well, the lower-class people were ... the upper-class people were clearly well-fed).

Answer 3

To group all native Americans into one homogenous group and pick and choose factoids that pertain to some of the tribes doesn't make the greater point you are trying to make. People of all races engaged in hostilities whether it involved disputes over food, resources, or the taking of slaves.