The role of gift giving in Indian land taking

Cougar Face
   Christmas is a tradition where people give gifts to younger generation and pretty much pay off their love and tenderness for their children's love and affection in return. This bizarre concept of gift giving for a holiday is a Western practice that was heaped upon the indigenous population in America as traders paved the way for their intrusion and influence on Indian peoples and lands. the Spanish,French, English and later American colonists often had their traders and representatives buy out local Indians for their alliances and lavished them with gifts and presents in something that is not much unlike the current concept and continuation of the neurotic Christmas traditions. English and French traders use to compete mightly for the love and alliance of powerful tribes in the lake region from the Ottawa, Sauk, Huron, Potawatomi and Winnebago Indians and often these gifts of blankets, ammunition, liquor, metal dishes and knives would start to get expensive. The relationship between the European gift-giving empires and the Native subjects who expected these presents in  return for the use of the land would often be called as a father-child relationship. The Indians though did not realize that Europeans were maxing out o and making great dinero from use of these virgin lands without having to pay the rice for war in this invasion. the European trader would often play Santa Clause around Christmas time itself giving toys and little dolls and figures to little Native children hiding the ore serious and sinister plots traders knew would follow these people and have their land taken. these traders didn't care and in the meantime they wanted to enjoy these mutual beneficiary arrangement that was not ever going to sustainable and was used to placate native Americans and culture while others were making economic strides from using their traditional lands.