SOCIAL IMPACTS OF THE COMING IMMIGRANTS ON THE NATIVE AMERICAN: A Study on James Fenimore Cooper’s The Prairie Suparman

This literary research is primarily aimed at revealing the social impacts of modernization on the traditional life as reflected in Cooper’s The Prairie. The study uses interdisciplinary approach, which involves historical, cultural, and ecological approaches, including mimetic approach. The analysis shows that modernization does not only cause positive impacts but also stronger negative impacts. The negative impacts include human conflict, cultural conflict, imbalanced ecology, poverty, disharmony, social injustice of mixed marriage, greediness, kidnapping, and law breaking. The positive impacts include independence, adaptation, rationality, and efficiency. The problems that appear in the novel reflect the inner conflict of the author. Cooper as the author questions the ideas brought by the immigrants on the Indian land. For him, modernization can only be enjoyed by the upper class of the society—the White. It cannot meet the necessity of the people native the Indians. They lose some benefits because of the settlement of the immigrants in their land.


Introduction
Modernization is one of the developmental goals of a government.It is marked by a strong and conscious break with traditional forms and techniques of expression.It rejects "traditional values and assumptions" (Holman, 1981: 274-275).It is the coming of "a new era of high aesthetic self-consciousness and non-representation toward style, technique, and spatial form in pursuit of a deeper penetration of life" (Bradbury, 1976: 25).It is generally "expected by most of the countries in the world especially the superior or high class" (Abraham, 1991: 1).It can increase income or economic sector.It can also promote economic betterment for society.In addition, it can mean "development, on the other hand, it can also mean conquest or even destruction" (Wuntu, 1996: 18).Modernization also causes "social gap, disharmony, suffering or misery especially for the lower class of the society" (Hidayat, 1994: 1-2).Through The Prairie, Cooper questions the coming of modernization.The study focuses on the impacts of modernization on traditional life-the Indians.This article will explore the impacts of modernization on social life of the Indians as reflected in The Prairie.
The study uses interdisciplinary approach.Besides, it also uses mimetic approach that views the literary work as "an imitation, or reflection, or counterfeiting, or as representation of the world and human life" (Abrams, 1979: 10-14).Literary work is a reflection of human life of a society at a certain time and place.A literary work should be considered as "a social phenomenon" (Burns 1973: 35).Therefore, economic, historical, cultural, ecological, and sociological approach are "indispensable in this study" (Smith, 1980: 14-15).
Cooper is one of the American romantic writers, besides Poe, Hawthorne, and Melville.Romantic period in American literature (1830-1865) was an "age of great westward expansion" (Holman, 1981: 389).He was one of the writers who concerned with the life of Indians and the exaltation of the nature-prairie, beasts or animals, insects, and forest.To him, nature is part of human life which should be saved.
The choice of the material in The Prairie reflected his memory when he was near the prairie, forest, and river.Therefore, he regarded the clearing activities and the westward extension as his enemy because it causes some destruction.He considered that life in the settlements was really immoral and sinful, which led to the destruction.This might be the reason that he glorified and exalted the beauty of the prairie.Cooper created his hero represented by the old trapper or the old man to spend his last days in the "blessed prairie" with the good Indians.At the same time the old trapper was disturbed and competed by the bad Indians, the Siouxes.

The Concept of Modernization
Modernization is intended by the government to have even distribution of development.It is not only related to something modern and social change, but also "efficiency" (Weiner, 1977: 71).It is also a process which enables "backward people of countries to escape from tradition, to promote and accelerate transition and finally to overcome underdevelopment" (Kreutzmann, 1998: 256).Besides, it is "up to date in a specific location at any given time" (Harrison, 1988: xiii).It is usually the result of a process of westernization, involving economic, political, social, and cultural changes which contras with a previous traditional stability.
According to Levy in Harrison (1988: 40), modernization was defined as "a continuum, according to the degree to which inanimate power and tools were developed".Levy distinguished relatively modernized society from relatively non-modernized societies.The former emphasizes on "specialization, universalism, centralization, rationality and functional specificity, possessing bureaucratic organization, a highly generalized medium of exchange and developed markets".Relatively, non-modernized societies evidenced "the very opposite of these characteristics" (in Harrison, 1988: 1).Modernization can also mean "a total transformation of traditional society to modern society referring to the West" (Long, 1987: 13).
Jameelah (1966: 136) shows that the professed aim of western modernization is that the government intends "to promote economic development, industrialization and mechanization to eliminate poverty, disease and illiteracy and to facilitate a higher standard of living for the people".This statement implies that, by having modernization, people can have a better economic development.It will create effectiveness and efficiency.To have a clear example, Hidayat (1994: 5) stated that a farmer should not only work in the farm traditionally, but "he should also use modern technology for example having irrigation, good fertilizer, good seed, and intensification program".However, "sometimes, the introduction of technology faces opposition from the people who cannot enjoy it" (Saadah, 1990: 47).
Modernization is a global process.It does not relate with one place, one person, or one aspect, but it relates with all people universally.Consequently, it cannot accommodate all interests of all people.There are some people who can enjoy it very much.On the other hand, there are some people who cannot enjoy it.Moreover, there are some people who lost their sources of life.
Jameelah (1966: 139) restated that modernization was identical with Western civilization.The dominant idea of Western civilization is that mankind can achieve perfect happiness, health, prosperity, beauty, justice and lasting place through an intelligent, rational applicant of human reason unaided by any supernatural power.Nature is still viewed by scientists as an "enemy to be conquered, dominated, exploited and manipulated to serve human ends" (Jameelah, 1966: 139).
This statement reflects that Jameelah criticizes the people who have an idea that a better living can be acquired by conquering and exploiting nature.stated that the actions of squatters will cause some problems-"conflict between the land owners and the squatters, between the squatters and the previous shelters, and it breaks rule of the balance of ecological life.
Modernization then is characterized by a high degree of literacy, urbanism, media participation and empathy (Lerner in Harrison, 1988: 7).Further, Lerner showed that modernization was indicated by the presence of a distinct set of attitudes which includes: (1) a readiness for new experience and an openness to innovation; (2) an interest in things other than those of immediate relevance; (3) a more 'democratic' attitude towards the opinions of others; (4) an orientation to the future rather than the past; (5) a readiness to plan one's own life; (6) a belief that we can dominate our environment and achieve our goals; (7) an acceptance that the world is 'calculable' and therefore controllable; (8) an awareness of the dignity of others, for example, women and children; (9) a faith in the achievement of science and technology, albeit a somewhat simple faith; (10) a belief in 'distributive' justice (Horrison, 1988: 20-21).
These indications can be used to measure whether or not the people are ready to welcome the coming of modernization.The various ideas on modernization above show that modernization may cause bad impact and good impacts.These ideas support the discussion in the novel that, not all the characters welcome the coming of modernization.The immigrants welcome the coming of modernization, while the Indians reject it.It is mainly caused by their different culture.

Social Impacts of Modernization on Traditional Life
As stated in the previous discussion that the impacts of modernization can involve all aspects of life.However, this subtitle focuses on the impacts of modernization on social life of the traditional people.Traditional people in The Prairie refer to the Indians especially the Pawnee and the Siouxes who are exploited, conquered, and usurped by the immigrants or the squatters.Social life concerns with "people or society as a whole and the quality of human life.It also concerns with the organization and behavior of people on societies or communities" (Higgleton, 1995: 914).Further, he stated that social life is the part of our life or the time that "we spend going out with or enjoying the company of other people, as opposed to our working life or our private life " (1995: 914).
Modernization in The Prairie appears in the form of the coming of the immigrants in the Indian land.They are the squatters or the whites that endeavor to live permanently at the same place with the Indians.Squatter is a man who "settles on land without obtaining legal title to it, and he utters the doctrines of frontier agrarianism" (Smith in Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: xvii).In the new land they pioneer clearing program-open the land greatly for farming.This program causes bad impacts such as killing all the beasts, cutting all the trees, burning the prairie, and evicting the Indians to the west.
The immigrants bring about great influence on the Indian life.Immigrant is "the voluntary movement of national of one country into another country for the purpose of resettlement" (Encyclopedia Americana, 1978: 803).They move from their old land to the new land permanently for the purpose of a better life.In the early years, they live peacefully and harmoniously with the Indians, but later, after they are successful in their farming, they arouse their ambition and trickiness to exploit the nature and try to usurp the Indians."…if the Pawnee are the owner of the land, White and Red are here by equal right" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 43).This quotation reflects that before the coming of the immigrants, the owners and the leaders of the land are the Indians.After the coming of them, the land belongs mostly to the immigrants.They persuade and lead the people to support their clearing program for agriculture.They create a condition that the Indians are trapped into their trickiness.
The immigrants open the prairie by cutting all the trees, burning the prairie, and killing a great number of the beasts.Automatically, the Indians guided by the old man counter these actions.However, there are parts of the Indians especially the Siouxes that support the programs of the squatters.This action of supporting the immigrants startles the old man.The old man is actually the white, but he provides for the Pawnee.He takes a great part in protecting the nature from the greediness.Later, the Siouxes guided by Mahtore and the squatters get cooperation to be the conquerors."Cunning Mahtore is a friend of squatters" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 299).Moreover, there are some Pawnee who change their idea into the Siouxes and attack the Pawnee.It is a kind of desertion from the Pawnee to the Siouxes.
The most part of the Indians especially the Pawnee reject the coming of the immigrants.The ideas and attitude of the immigrants gradually influence the behavior of the Indians.Pawnee and Siouxes are two of the Indian tribes that Cooper portrays in The Prairie.Beside them, there are still some other names of Indian tribes especially in the plains of North America namely "Blackfoot, Crow Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Wichita, Omaha, Iowa, Mandan, Hidatsa, Assiniboin, and Gros Ventre" (Encyclopedia Americana, 1978: 4).
According to Smith, The Prairie is actually Cooper's own favorite.It is a novel of social protests-subversive protest against social order.Through this novel, Cooper questions the coming of the immigrants in the new land.He questions the excuse of modernization.He shows that modernization brought by the immigrants in the new land does not only produce safety and peace, but also brings about bad impacts.Hence, the main issue in The Prairie deals with " the old man's refusal to acknowledge the authority of the laws and court of justice" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: xviii).The power of Cooper is his capacity to respond to these anarchic inferences from the idea of forest freedom.Through The Prairie Cooper wants to show that there was strong conflict between romanticism and rationalism of Rene Descartes's cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am).Some romantics think that nature must be protected and saved because it is part of their life.On the contrary, for the rationalists nature must be exploited and conquered.
It is related with "Cooper's passionate concern with the problem of society in the United States" (Smith in Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: v).This novel also portrays the inner conflict of the author, Cooper himself in facing the coming of the modernization.He faces two general propositions of modernization.The propositions reveal a deep tension of Cooper's problematic mind.The two propositions are as follows: First, the westward movement of the agricultural frontier is evil.It brings the axes of the choppers, laying low the magnificent trees of the forest, and substituting the waste and wickedness of the settlement for the tranquil solitude of the wilderness.Second, the westward movement is good.It is an unceasing march of light, bringing in its train the social progress which results eventually in a settled society capable of producing priceless flowers of refinement like Inez Cooper's social theory requires him to believe that civilization is better than nature.The violation of nature by civilization is necessary and its ultimate consequences are good (Smith in Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: xvi).
The novel reveals that Cooper works from one to another of a series of sharp visual images conceived as if they were paintings lacking the dimension of time.These moments of static are interlarded with spurts of violent action: "pursuit, capture, the buffalo stampede, the prairie fire, the fight between Sioux and Pawnees, the single combat of Mahtoree and Hard-Heart and long debates between Leatherstocking and Obed Bad" (Smith in Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: ix).The problem in the novel also involves "march of civilization, that is the westward movement of the agriculture" (Smith in Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: xiii).In this process of agriculture, all human societies pass through a fixed series of social changes: "… from that of solitary hunter in the forest, through the patriarchal stage of mi-gratory pastoral tribe, to the beginning of sedentary agriculture, and so on through even more complex and stable forms of organization to the highest level of social development" (Smith in Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: xiii).
In The Prairie, Cooper does not present the life of all Indian tribes, but he focuses more on the life of the Pawnee and the Siouxes under the persuasion of the immigrants.That is why, the present writer focuses the discussion on the impacts of the immigrants on the life of Pawnee and Siouxes.The following are the impacts of the coming immigrans on the Indians.

Discordance among the Indians
Discordance among the Indians is the direct impact of the coming of the immigrants.Before the settlement of the squatters, the Indians live harmoniously.They live peacefully in the coolness, beauty and quietness of the prairie.The Indians unify to preserve and save the beauty of nature including the beasts and plants.For the Indians, nature is a very significant source of life that should be protected.Gradually, there are frictions between the immigrants and the Indians, and between the Siouxes and the Pawnee.The friction then leads to the war: "The Sioux are the thieves, live among the snow.They are sagacity" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 42).The Siouxes are hostile to everyone.They will be very hostile to the Pawnee after being provoked by the squatters.They cooperate with the squatters to attack the Pawnee.
The friction is mainly triggered by the cunning of the squatters.They create a condition that the Siouxes are tricked into their group to exploit and conquer the nature.For the immigrants, nature is a challenging comfort that can be exploited for their personal life.The squatters say that "the earth was made for our comfort" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 17).Their great ambition to conquer the nature shows one of their successes.According to Fromm (2001: xxi), being able to conquer and destruct the nature is actually the representation of man's existence, because human being has "existential needs that should be fulfilled".This action is actually used to practice the spiritual teaching stated in the Bible that they are selected people by God to conquer and rule the world.It is stated in the Genesis 1, 2 that God gave them his blessing and said: "Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control.Rule over the fish in the ocean, the bird in the sky, and every animal on the earth" (Holy Bible, 1997: 3) .
The Pawnees and the Siouxes do not respect each other, because they have contradictory purposes.The Pawnees reject the coming of the immigrants, but the Siouxes support the action of the immigrants.The immigrants engage the politics of 'divide at imperia'.The politics practiced by the immigrants is influenced by post colonial policy.It means that the immigrants, as the powerful country, rule the less powerful countries for their profits.The immigrants behave as the superior, while the Indians are regarded as the inferior under their direction.
In the daily contact with the Indians, the squatters' actions are divisive.Ishmael, the leader of the immigrants tries hard to create the condition that there must be a conflict between the Pawnees and the Siouxes.This conflict later leads them to the war.There are three powerful groups; the Pawnees, the Siouxes, and the squatters.According to the traditional symbol, the number of groups 'three' represents "a crowd" (J.C.Cooper,1993: 114).Politically, this quotation reflects that "three is a crowd".It means that, there always appears a problem in odd number of group or party.In this crowded situation, the squatters take important part as the initiators who always provoke the problem and solve the problem as well.The initiators tend to have the attention from the two opposition parties.

Mixed Marriage
Mixed marriage also shows the direct result of the coming of the immigrants or the squatters.In the new land, the immigrants make "their encampment, it was the steadiness of one long accustomed to scenes of danger" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 24).It reflects that their coming will cause new problem for the Indians."It will be well to be ready for the worst, as the half-and-half that one meets in these distant districts are altogether more barbarous than the real savage" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 24).Half-and-half means "half breeds; men born of Indian women by white fathers.This race has much of the depravity of civilization without the virtues of the savage" (Cooper, The Prairie,1955: 24).The problem is that as long as the wife is red, while the father is white, the children will be the responsibility of the mother.
Formerly, the Indian tribes marry Indian tribes.It is the attitude of the squatters, Ishmael group initiates to have mixed marriage.Being the leader of the immigrants, Ishmael thinks that he can marry some women from different tribes.Moreover, he has a mixed marriage with red women for some purposes.First, by marrying the red women, he will inherit the land from the family of the red women, because there is patriarchal system.This system makes the wife difficult because the land will be the possession of the husband.Moreover, the children should stay with the mother.Mixed marriage can also be used to get the acknowledgment from the Indians proving that he is one of the families of the Indians.In addition, he has an ambition to increase the number of children to strengthen his group.It is stated in the Bible that having some children is God's instruction."God give them blessing and said: Have a lot of children!I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat" (Holy Bible, 1997: 3).These verses stimulate Ishmael to have a lot of children, in the hope that, their family finally will settle most of the land.Ishmael has more than ten children."He has seven sons and some daughters" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 346).
The old trapper and the Pawnee forbid the action of having mixed marriages.They consider that mixed marriages will "only tend to tarnish the beauty and to interrupt the harmony of nature.Moreover, it is a painful innovation on the order of all nomenclatures" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 256).It is rational that the Pawnees do not want to get married with Sioux women."Pawnee warrior will never come among such Sioux for a wife" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 390).It is predicted that, when the Pawnees marry with the Sioux women, they question about their coming baby's characteristics and status.
This action influences the Indians to do the same thing, especially the behavior of the Siouxes.Mahtore, the leader of the Siouxes also practices a mixed marriage."Mahtore become a chief, as his father has been.He could have chosen 'wives' from the Pawnee, the Omahaws, and the Konzas" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 338).Mixed marriages can cause problem for their next generation.Moreover, the children of a mixed marriage belong to the mother.Here, the risks are only on the mother or the wife.

Raping
Raping is also the direct impact of the coming of the immigrants.It is the crime of forcing someone to have sexual intercourse against the actor's will.Usually, it is committed by a man against a woman.Raping is not natural.It only stimulates the violence.Cooper states, "to marry a man against the movement of his will, is to do violence to human nature" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 256).Formerly, the Indians live naturally.They marry with the same tribe.After the existence of the immigrants, they rape the Indian women.Ishmael does it to his kidnapped girls in his camp.
In The Prairie, Ishmael as the leader of the squatters accumulates some 'women' ei-ther from the white, Pawnee, or Sioux women.Moreover, he kidnaps some woman orphans to send into his camp on the hill.In his camp, the woman orphans should be ready to serve what Ishmael wants, including having adultery.Here Inez said that Ishmael kidnapped her."… the great injustice, my captors did in separating me so forcibly from my friends…" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 192).Later, she complains that she was really "compelled to acquiesce, and to which they bound me as well as themselves, by oath.These villains are of no religion!"(Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 192).
These actions of the immigrants gradually influence the attitude of the Siouxes.The Siouxes then, will be brave enough to compel the Pawnee women to be their wives or to rape them.It is stated in the novel that, the Indian tribes consist of the Pawnee and the Siouxes.The Pawnee are regarded as good Indians, otherwise, the Siouxes are considered as bad Indians.In the daily life, the Siouxes support the actions of the immigrants.As a chief of the Siouxes, "Mahtore struck the warriors of all the nations, and could have chosen 'women' from the Pawnee, the Omahaws, and the Konzas" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 338).The action of kidnapping is proved through the lost of some women."The inquiries after the lost of Inez were now direct and open; but they proved equally fruitless.No one had seen her or heard of her, from the moment that she left the cottage" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 185).

Greediness
The greediness of the immigrants gradually stimulates the behavior of the Siouxes to steal, to rob, and to behave savagely.Ishmael initiates some actions of violence against the Indians such as considering the Indians rat, savage, poor, and uneducated.He exploits the Indians to be his workers, exploits the sources of nature, attacks against the old trapper, at-tacks the Pawnee, burns the prairie, shoots the beasts, kills Abiram and the officer of the state, practices mixed marriage, and kidnaps orphans.These actions gradually influence the behavior of the Indians.
When they have cut their path from the eastern to the western waters, and find that a hand, which can lay the 'arth bare at a blow, has been here and swept the country, in very mockery of their wickedness.They will turn on their tracks like a fox hat doubles, and then the tank smell of their own footsteps will show them the madness of their waste (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 81).
It is ironical that the Indians fight savagely against the Indians.What the Siouxes do is actually the influence of the action of the Ishmael group.The Siouxes act as if they were the whites."They rarely spoke, when they did, it was in some short and contemptuous remark which served to put the physical superiority of a white man" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 318).To Pawnee, Siouxes are recognized as savage, free, proud, ignorant, and the like.The Siouxes swear that "since water run and trees grew, the Sioux has found the Pawnee on his war path" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 351)."Where are the Siouxes who have stolen my cattle?"(Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 82).When the Siouxes have gathered in the beasts, they will be back like "hungry wolves to take the bait they have left" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 83).Because of their savage behavior, there are some people who do not feel safe to live near them."It is not safe to come nigh to the lodge of Sioux."The Sioux are the thieves, live among the snow" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 42).These actions are the result of their closed contacts with the immigrants.As long as the immigrants' living in the prairie is to have personal profit, they do everything as they like.Ishmael declares that "I 'm as rightful an owner of the land I stand on, as any governor of the state!" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 18).It reflects that, he wants to be free in the new land.He does not heed the condition of the Indians.The complete characteristics of the Ishmael are described below.Ishmael boasted that: (1) he had never dwelt where he might not safely feel, (2) his ears had never willingly admitted the sound of a church bell, (3) his exertion seldom exceeded his want, (4) he had no respect for any learning except that of the leech because he was ignorant of the application of any other intelligence than such as met the scene, (5) Ishmael often felicitating his wife on the possession of a companion, who would be so serviceable in their new abode, wherever it might chance to be, until the family were thoroughly "acclimated" (6) most men would have deemed themselves fortunate to have been absent on the perilous occasion of the Siouxes inroad, (7) Ishmael slept, however because he knew the hour he had allotted to that refreshment" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 70).

Clearing
Clearing for agriculture is the goal of the squatters in the prairie.Before the existence of the Ishmael group, the Indians (the Siouxes and the Pawnee) live through hunting, trapping and trading.Trading fur is the activity that the Indians often do.Fur for the Indians has very significant meaning.Beside for selling, fur is important for fashion.According to J.C. Cooper "wearing animal skins and fur reproduces the paradisal state of understanding between man and animal.It also means access to animal and instinctual wisdom " (1993: 12).The Indians later cannot maximize their trapping, and fur trading because the number of beasts is gradually decreased.

Law breaker or out-law
Law breaker or out-law is the example of the influence of the immigrants.The Ishmael family initiates this action.Ishmael is involved in the killing of his own brother-in law, Abiram white.He killed Abiram because he is involved in the duel between Abiram and Ishmael's first son, Asa.Because of this duel, Asa is accidentally dead.Consequently, Ishmael revenges the death of his beloved son.Ishmael kills Abiram inhumanly.He tortures Abiram before he finally hangs him to death.He pits Abiram's power struggle with a very great monster.It is done to weaken Abiram's strength.Even though Ishmael realizes that the monster is too big and the power between the monster and Abiram is not balanced, Ishmael has to do it to revenge for his son."You meet your end by the same weapon" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 420).Ishmael does not kill Abiram quickly.He enjoys torturing him to dead while saying "DIE! … ….. ….SO THOUGHT MY BOY!.This reflects the savagery and the cruelty of the Ishmael.The quotation in capital letters shows that the speaker is superior, absolutely angry and inhuman.
Ishmael tortures his own brother in-law so savagely because at that time he is in the position of the leader.He shows that he has the power, he has the authority to do everything freely.He thinks that there is no one who can stop his action.It is also used to show his superiority among the people.He is the lawmaker, the leader of the immigrants.All the people under his direction must obey him.Contradictorily, suppose the duel-victim is Abiram White, Ishmael does not intend to examine the murder, because the killer is his own son.
After Abiram is weak enough, Ishmael takes him to stand on the hill to be killed.He gives Abiram two choices of ending the life, whether to be shot quickly or to be hanged to death."Death is before you in two shapes.With this rifle can your misery be cut short, or by that court, sooner or later, must you meet your end" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 423).This action influences the behavior of the Siouxes.Siouxes are very savage to the Pawnee, even though they are the same Indians.
Another out-law of Ishmael Bush is when "Bush is guilty of having murderer an officer of the law back in Kentucky who tried to evict a group of squatters from lands they were unlawfully occupying" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: XVII).The action of out-law done by the squatters stimulates the Indians to do the same action.It is not surprising that "he (Weucha) was the first to forget the regulations he had himself imposed" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 56-57).
Most scholars believe that the name of Pawnee is from Siouan Pani (or Panyi), meaning 'red bird', and refers to use of brilliant plumage in Pawnee dress.Later it is stated that, the Pawnee call themselves "Chahiksichakihs, meaning 'men of men".Sioux is a name given to the "Dakota people of North America, a group embracing a number of tribes" (Encyclopedia Americana, 1978: 558).

The introduction of technology
The introduction of technology refers to the farming and hunting tools of the Indians.Before the coming of the immigrants, the Indians are not familiar with vehicles, riffles, tractors, powder, and some other farming tools.After the coming of the Immigrants, the Indian are familiar enough with those tools.This includes the positive impacts for the Indians.Furthermore, they are involved together in the use of the technology.Formerly, the Pawnees and the Siouxes live in the prairie by hunting, trapping, and trading traditionally.In hunting and trapping, the Indians later have some guns."I supposed the guns were fired for my benefit.I would have given a thousand dollars for a single shot from the rifle" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 73).It reflects that by having rifle, they can kill more beasts.
The immigrants make a contest of shooting the beasts.The contest participants are from the Indians who support their activities.It is an action to kill more beasts in order to have great profit.It is a tricky game held by the immigrants to get great profits.Ironically, the participants do not realize this game.The squatters use this trickiness to hunt a lot of beasts because they think that Indians have powerful body.Indirectly, the Indians are exploited and manipulated to work for their benefits.It is called massacre, means mass killing of beasts in a very great number under the leader of the squatters.
Through these events, the Indians can learn much the way of how to shoot using guns or rifles.The bad effect is that, the Indians are influenced to go along with the mass killing.After having the rifles, they tend to mis-use them.Formerly, the Indian live traditionally.They live by having traditional farming.After the coming of the squatters, they are influenced to have modern technology such as riffle, chain saw, axes, powder, and the method of new farming.These technological tools stimulate them to be more ambitious to destroy the nature.
Cannon is another example of technology product."… just out of cannon-shot from the encampment, discussing the merits of a savory bison's hump, …" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 106).Cannon is a large old-fashion gun mounted on wheel.It can kill a large number of beasts at the same time.Moreover, it can cause forest-fire.Through this event, the Indians have the ability to use the technology.Middleton for example, he lately can operate "rapid-fire cannon of antilleng" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 124).This is another good impact of modernization for the Indians.
The development of science is a good impact of the coming of the immigrants.In doing the research, the researcher uses modern technology.Through Dr Obed Bet, and Paul, there is a research on the characteristics of animals.From this research, they know the class of the animals, the characteristics of the animal, the age, the orders, etc.The carnivorous animals are known by their incisors (teeth for defend & tear the food)."Dr Obed, Paul, old man, and hunter, find the characteristics of animal: old, young, habits & belly orders" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 110).The method of research, the research result, and the tool research are very significant for the Indians for the following time.Later, the Indians are able to do the same research without asking help from the white.
The way of how to evacuate a murdered person is another good impact of the coming of the immigrants.The immigrants bring the development of science and technology.Asa, the first son of Ishmael is dead mysteriously.After being found, the dead body is evacuated through the bullet that is found in the corpse."The corpse itself should be examined in order to obtain a more accurate knowledge of its injures.On examination, it appeared that a rifle bullet had passed directly through the body" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 158).

Prairie-fire
Prairie-fire is the direct impact of the coming of the immigrants.In the prairie, the squatters use cannon-shot to kill all the beasts.A lot of beasts (small and big, young and old, poisonous and unpoisonous, wild and tamed) are dead because "the prairie is on fire at night" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 282-297).At night the squatters burn the prairie from the bottom, in the hope that all the beasts climb to the top where the squatters live.After all of the beasts climb to the top, they drive the beasts to a certain location they have prepared so that they can capture them easily.
The squatters take places to make camps on the top of the hill, while the Indians are at the bottom of the hill.They do it on purpose to see and attack the foes easily.The smoke of the fire is actually used to "move away or usurp the Indians" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 297).There are some bees that cannot turn into honey because of the smoke."The bees lie around the straw after the hive has been smoked for its honey" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 285).This fire totally brings about bad impacts for the Indians and the ecological balance.
Look ye here, return the trapper, pointing to the mutilated carcase of a horse, that lay more than half consumed in a little hollow of the ground; here may you see the power conflagration.The beast has been caught in his bed.The bone, the crackling and scorched hide, and the grinning teeth.A thousand winters could not wither an animal so thoroughly as the element has done it in a minute (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 293).
This event stimulates the Sioux to do the same action."There are Siouxes, too, hemming the fire with their arrows and knives on every side of us" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 284).The bad impact of the fire is that it causes another fire in the same prairie.The old man also burns the prairie because he, together with the Pawnees is trapped by the fire so that they cannot hide or escape from it.Finally, they have to burn the prairie from another part just to invite the attention of the Siouxes, then they move away.

Materialistic life
Materialistic life of Ishmael group influences the attitude of the Siouxes.They tend to join and cooperate with the Ishmael group.The Siouxes support the white group more than to the Pawnee.Later, the Siouxes attack the Pawnee because they do not support them.What happens is that the Siouxes have confrontation with the Pawnee.Here, the Ishmael group is successful in guiding the Siouxes.
There are contradictory purposes of settling in the prairie.The immigrants or the squatters come to the prairie to get a better life ma-terially.They endeavor to exploit and destroy the beauty of the nature.According to Erich Fromm, in a human being, there is a tendency to destroy the nature as the compensation of his weaknesses, passion, will, determinism, and love.It is used to show his existence (Fromm, 2001: xxvii).Contradictorily' the old trapper and the Pawnee endeavor to preserve the beauty of nature.The Siouxes think that they are the masters of the nature."Your beasts are stolen by them (Siouxes) who claim to be the master of all they find in the deserts" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 64).This is called cultural shift in appreciating the nature.
In the beginning, the Indians appreciate and exalt the beauty of the nature.They "value the life of creature" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 271); love animals, preserve the trees, and save the animals.It is the old man together with his followers who considers much about the way to protect the nature.The old man or the trapper in the story always shows his spirit to protect the nature."Reluctance of trapper to destroy beasts means to save its life" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 272).
The old man always suggests everyone to be careful in hunting.The hunter must hunt the beasts selectively and carefully.Not all beasts can be killed.Besides, they should hunt the beasts in moderation.According to the old man, "the vermin and reptiles, which you bear about you, were intended by the Lord for the prairies, and I see no good in sending them into regions that may not suit their natures" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 376).Reptiles are the creation of God, so people cannot kill them as they like.
The worst impact of modernization in The Prairie is actually on nature, which covers plants, animals, fish, water, air, fertile land and the Indians.After being exploited by the immigrants, most parts of the nature are extinct.Their coming really causes the imbalance of ecology.Since the prairie is free from the immigrants, the prairie is calm, cold, and fresh.
However the coming of the immigrants causes disorder of nature.The beasts will be extinct.The prairie is burned.The trees are cut down.The Indians are driven away from their own land.It is the Indians who save the prairie and what it contains.
Dependence is a bad impact of the coming of the immigrants.The immigrants always lead the Siouxes because they are inferior.This action refers to the Siouxes who later attack against the squatters.They struggle each other to obtain the land.The Siouxes later will depend on the squatters because they are inferior.Consequently, the Siouxes compete the Pawnee who try hard to save and preserve the beauty of nature.
The Pawnee who follow the old trapper tend to be independent.They get various advantages of preserving the nature, the way to live harmoniously, the way to make use of the nature, and the way to face the immigrants.After being left by the old trapper, they are independent.They heed everything as the old man suggested them to do.They will do what the old man bequeaths after his dying.All the Pawnee gathers around the old man to see his end of life.They listen carefully "the last words of the old man" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 452).In the last of his life, the old man likes staying together with the Pawnee.The following are the dying exhortation of the old trapper to the Pawnee.Indirectly, the old man wants the Pawnee to give a gravestone as his father.
The gravestone must be simple.Put no boastful words on the same, but just the name, the age, and time of the death, with something from the holly book.No more, no more.My name will then not be alto-gether lost on earth; I need no more.Buried under the oaks tree.Go, my children; remember the just chief of the pale faces, and clear your own tracks from briers (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 451-453).
As soon as the old man dies, Lebarafre arose to announce the termination of the scene to the tribe.The only liberty taken by Middleton is to add, "may no wanton hand ever disturb his remains" (Cooper, The Prairie, 1955: 453).These quotations reflect that the old man teaches some moral teaching to appreciate another man's right on his dying.

Conclusion
The immigrants' culture brings about great changes in society.The changes can include all aspects of life, but they primarily shape social aspects of traditional peoplethe Indians.It shapes the behavior of the people in the society.The immigrants' culture does not only cause positive impacts, but also negative ones, which are stronger.The negative impacts include discordance among the Indians, human and cultural conflict, imbalanced ecology, poverty, disharmony, usurpation, unsocial justice of mixed marriage, greediness, kidnapping, law breaking, and raping.The positive impacts include independence, adaptation, rationality, the introduction of new technology, and efficiency.The problems in the novel reflect the inner conflict of the author.Cooper himself questions the ideas of the coming of the immigrants on the Indian land.Ideally, the coming of The immigrants' culture should maximize the positive impacts and minimize the negative ones.