Cabeza de Vaca and "his" Indians

It is interesting to note that all throughout the reading we have been assigned there are several times C de V refers to the Indians as his own. He says, "my indian". I believe he uses this to further his defense and get the king on his side. In classs we mentioned that in his writing it is all about me me me and look what I did and how I managed. By writing about "his" Indians I think he feels that he is giving the king more of a reason to see how he so integrated himself into the conquest and deserves a chance to be sent again. To me it is almost as if he wants the king to know that he has a way with the Indians, that they respect him and for all the reason he is capable of handling anything that came their way in regards to the other and their culture and society. On page 84 of our reading there is an instance where C de V and the inspector he is with go to the Indians to exchange with them. I believe it is interesting to note how C de V says that THEY gave them beads and bells and then that in return they each gave HIM and arrow. Then he goes on to say " which is a sign of friendship." (84). So here one can clearly see how C de V feels apart of them and in a sense I feel is telling the king, "look I am favored among these men, they like me, I am have a way with them, I know how to interact with them, I am good". Then on page 86 in another encounter with the Indians he says, " I made them understand through gestures how a raft had sunk on us and three members of our company had drowned". Again he is giving the credit to himself. On page 116 he also writes, "I arrived at the bank of a river where I found my Indians, ". On page 100 he refers to "my Indians" again. He says, " I trusted them and decided to do it, because they had a language different from that of my Indians".
Looking at if from another perspective I believe this also shows the "mestizaje" that was happening between the Indians and Spanish. I believe C de V truly became like one of them and this is perfect evidence in his writings to show his true feelings and connection with the Indians he came into contact with.

Me

My name is Anna. I am married and have a baby on the way :) I am a in my senior year of school now and am majoring in spanish and minoring in English. Hopefully I will be able to finish with all my classes by the end of this summer. I am looking foward to this semester and our spanish class!