Among the Nootka

When John Jewitt boarded a ship in England in 1802 for what was supposed to be an eighteen-month voyage around the world, he was ready for adventure. The seventeen-year-old had been enthralled by stories about China Trade, which promised enchanting islands, exotic ports-of-call, and thrills beyond the imagination. His dreams were dashed when the Nootka Indians of Vancouver Island captured him and made him a slave. But he managed to write about his experience, providing historians and anthropologists with a rare account of Native American culture before it collapsed from contact with whites. Jewitt said the Nootka were savages, degraded for their morals and customs. They were uncivilized for worshipping several gods and subhuman for enjoying rotten salmon. His writings help explain why whites were so quick to enslave Africans and push Native Americans aside. Take a glimpse into the past when people were considered inferior because they were different, and learn important lessons about why we must be tolerant and understanding by being Among the Nootka.