Hi Spencer.
There is no question that the coming of white/European traders brought about the end of Natives knowing how to live "sustainably."
Hatchets were better weapons than wooden warclubs…Metal utensils and objects replaces things previously made out of stone or bone. And, of course, Alcohol was what is was - but that is the subject of another post. What I'm trying to say here is that The European traders had things that made life easier for the Natives of the eastern seaboard. And so they let them in, which eventually led to their way of life being lost.