Writing by an Ottawa war chief named Pontiac (1763)

Question

“Before those whom you call your brothers come on your lands, did you not live by bow and arrow? You had no need of gun nor powder, nor the rest of their things, and nevertheless you caught animals to live and clothe yourselves with their skins, but when I saw that you inclined to the evil, I called back the animals into the depths of the woods, so that you had need of your brothers to have your wants supplied and I shall send back to you the animals to live on. I do not forbid you, for all that, to suffer amongst you the children of your father. I love them, they know me and pray to me, and I give them their necessities and all that they bring to you, but as regards those who have come to trouble your country, drive them out, make war on them. I love them not, they know me not, they are my enemies and the enemies of your brothers. Send them back to the country which I made for them. There let them remain.”

What is the purpose?

Answer 1

The purpose of Pontiac's writing was to address the Native American tribes and encourage them to resist European colonization and drive out the invaders. Pontiac recognizes that the Native Americans had previously lived self-sufficiently without the need for European goods and technologies. However, he observes that the Native Americans were becoming dependent on the Europeans for their necessities. Pontiac implores the Native Americans to reject the influence of the Europeans and to only allow their own Native American brothers to reside on their lands. He expresses love and support for the Native American children of their father (likely referring to their shared indigenous ancestry), but declares that those who have come to trouble their country (the Europeans) must be expelled. The purpose of Pontiac's writing is to unite the Native American tribes and inspire them to defend their land and way of life against European intrusion.