7 - Native Peoples and Native Lands

Ben Finch

This reading was very enlightening to me. It seems like even though the early Mormons had an interesting view of the Native Americans (as described in the secondary source Brigham Young and the Famine of the Fish-Eaters), it almost made them have a better relationship, as seen in "Meeting with Utes in Utah". I was very surprised to hear that the natives were so willing to offer up some of their land to the saints and that there was more of an attitude of "there's plenty for all of us". All in all, I think it's very interesting how the doctrines around the Book of Mormon have shaped our ideas of Natives.