Were American colonialists cruel to Native Americans? Or was conflict between the two sides inevitable, even necessary?

Native Americans were a unique blend of spirituality and tribal brutality. They practiced Animism, a creed that taught the universe and all within it like animals, plants, even rain, rivers and caves, had souls or spirits. They had customs like feathers, peace pipes, Powwow, Totem Poles. A Medicine Man was a medium between the visible world and the spirit world.

Indians survived on hunting and farming and lived in a society broken down into elites and commoners like any society. Each town had its own political structure and in times of crisis or war, towns would come together in confederacies.

But then there was their tribal side. Warfare was a staple. Before the arrival of Europeans, Native Americans would either kill their captives or let them assimilate into the tribe. Slavery, too, was alive and well and when Native Americans fought early European settlers, they enslaved captured European hostages.

Men and women captives, including teenage boys, typically endured ritual torture, conducted publicly so that the entire village population (including children) could watched and participate. Torture techniques included burning the captive, which was done one hot coal at a time; cutting with knives, beatings with switches or sticks, and jabs from sharp sticks. They ripped out captives’ fingernails or broke their fingers. Captives were made to eat pieces of their own flesh or were scalped alive.

The genitalia of male captives were sliced one piece at a time. To make the torture last longer, Native Americans would revive captives with rest periods during which time they were given food and water. Tortures typically began on the lower limbs, then gradually spread to the arms, then the torso.

Warfare to them was as natural as breathing. Tribes measured their worth in terms of their strength. Bravery in battle, amounted to the number of scalps taken, slaves and horses stolen, enemies tortured, and captured women violated

Given the stark differences between Native Americans and the newcomers, was conflict inevitable? The root problem was how both sides viewed land ownership. Native Americans believed land was spiritual, something everyone should share collectively. By contrast Europeans saw land as property to be owned and worked for personal gain. Cultural differences further divided the two sides. Both viewed the other as barbarians.

Wracked by conflict with Europeans and enemy tribes along with new diseases, the Indian population fell by two-thirds. In the 40 Indian wars with the U.S. Government, 19,000 white men, women and children lost their lives while 30,000 Indians perished.

Was there common ground someplace that could have brought the two sides closer together? Or given its abundance of natural resources, how long would the American landmass have been protected from other foreign interference? Would they have fallen to China or Japan?

Or given their tribal nature and lack of real medicine, how long would Native Americans have survived as the world modernized?