Culture can be described as a set of ideas along with a pattern of behaviors that are taught, learned and passed through generations of people. The culture of a society or group has its own non-genetic traits that govern how individuals interact with others and the environment. Just as genetic traits evolve so can a culture, a shift or change in the environment can prompt a transformation on many different levels (Park, p.33,406). For instance, when the Spanish introduced horses to Native Americans it set off a chain of cultural events that changed Native Americans culture drastically. Although Native American tribes language, customs, and traditions varied greatly they all shared very semitrailer hunting techniques, and the prized game during …show more content…
It is culture that defines who we are as people, and through anthropology cultural differences and similarities can be documented. Studying and documenting culture through anthropology gives scientist and researchers the ability to connect all people from the present to the past and analyze their differences. Culture is an important part of anthropology because unlike biology it does not follow any specific evolutionary cycle. Yet changes are influenced by the choices and behavior of the people, as an example the people of Philadelphia share typically the same climate as inhabitants of Beijing and still differences in their cultures range from language to family practices.To explain, culture is not solely effected by just the environment but by individuals belief and understanding of the world around them (Park, 2015, p.44-45). In order to observe cultural behaviors a researcher must first choose an appropriate methodological form; material observation, biological observation, behavioral observation, direct communication, and participant-observation. Using the behavioral observation method allows the researcher to observe individuals interact with their environment without influence.The following is the description of an ethnographic scene using the behavioral observation …show more content…
A major observation that took notice was any adult or parent at any given time was using their phone, whether they were actively engaged or not. These two key patterns stood out to me because in a room full of people a person sit by themselves and not interact or converse with another adult, and the reason could be as easy as unfamiliarity, because it was obvious who knew each other prior and who did not. It is also plausible that with the expansive array of ethnicity's that cross-cultural communication or miscommunication was a barrier. This barrier in communication can happens “person from one culture sends a message to a person from another culture. Cross-cultural miscommunication occurs when the person from the second culture does not receive the sender's intended message. The greater the differences between the sender's and the receiver's cultures, the greater the chance for cross-cultural miscommunication” (Adler, n.d., p.2). It is a flaw for society to group Americans into a single culture, nonetheless there are
This paper will discuss the Native American culture and briefly review their history, some beliefs and roles in society today. A short description into their culture with References will be used to show how Native Americans have been affected throughout hundreds of years. The trauma this culture endured has created many barriers, yet one often seen today is their extreme problem with the disease of Alcoholism. The Native American culture has gone through endless struggles, which has cost them to lose so much and still continues to impact them today. They are slowly moving back toward getting benefits that should have been available long ago, but in today’s world Native Americans still battle with many barriers not only in society, but in getting appropriate treatment for mental health or addiction issues.
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
The Native American Indians have faced so many adversities of which some have kept them from flourishing. For example placing them in reservations has greatly decreased their chance to progress in life. They always have had to evolve their lives due to the changes of the environment due to the settlers. This inhibited them from having a solid place where they could settle and setup a foundation for their lives. The concept of freedom had been carried on throughout the history of the United States, yet it has failed to be carried with treating the American Indians. Reservations have been seen as the United States showing their gratitude towards the American Indians, but Carlos Motezuma who wrote What Indians Must do sees it as a wall of progress for them and must be done away with.
Cultures on this planet are infinitely diverse and quite different from each other as well. Many of the customs and rituals that are practiced in the United States are diverse in nature as well, but are similar in more ways to each other than to cultures in other regions of the world. It seems that a great deal of a culture’s core stems from their surrounding environment, and the pressures that this puts on those trying to live there. A culture’s physical and social characteristics are interrelated, and play an important role in the development of a society and the personalities of the people.
Indigenous people around the world have been affected by colonization, Christianization, and the advancement of technologies and development more than any other group. This has caused untold harm as Native peoples have suffered staggering rates of poverty, violence, and suicide. The Native people have not given up. Many indigenous people from tribes around the world are standing up and saying “no more”. They are reclaiming their heritage, their language, traditions, and spirituality and sharing it with the world to encourage a healthier, more balanced way of being.
When Europeans first set foot upon the shores of what is now the United States they brought with them a social structure which was fundamentally based around their concept and understanding of Western European Christianity. That the indigenous peoples might already have a thriving civilization, including religious beliefs and practices, that closely paralleled the beliefs and practices of European civilization, was a concept not considered by these early explorers and settlers. This European lack of cultural understanding created tensions, between Native Americans and Europeans, and later between Native Americans and Euro-Americans, that eventually erupted into open warfare and resulted in great bloodshed between cultures. For the Lakota peoples of North America, cultural misunderstanding culminated with Euro-American misinterpretation of the purpose of the Native American Ghost Dance with its related religious beliefs and the massacre of peaceful Native American Lakota people as they were attempting to flee to the safety of the Agency at Pine Ridge Reservation near Wounded Knee Creek in what is now the state of South Dakota.
Have You ever thought about the people who inhabited this land before it was stolen from them? Do you know who they were besides the false name they are given, the things they’ve accomplished and how they have helped us today? in this paper you will learn about the life and hardship the original Americans have endured for over 300 years.
“Perhaps there is no other group in the world that has quite so diverse and rich culture as that of the Native Americans. With their gilded history that is rich in strife, struggle, and triumph, the Native American culture is indeed very colorful” (Bantwal). Native American culture is very diverse and it has a very colorful history. It is extremely diverse and in fact the term Native American is a broad term that is used to cover all Native tribes in America. Throughout history there has been conflict not only among the different tribes but also there was plenty of fighting against the white men. Much of the fighting between the Native Americans and the white men was due to misunderstandings, mistrust, and miscommunication. Many thousands of years ago “the nomadic ancestors of modern Native Americans who hiked over a “land bridge” from Asia to what is now Alaska” (History.com). Once they reached Alaska they slowly spread out across the continent of North America. They spread out and separated into different tribes who all have many of the same core ideas but the main thing that separates them is their location in the country. There are Indians from the plains, the pacific coast, the southwest, and the northeast and different locations also. One main idea that is pretty much the same for each tribe is the closeness and respect they show for the land they live on. The history of the Native Americans as a whole is pockmarked by conflict. The conflicts between the tribes were very common and happened because of land disputes or just because of the close proximity of the tribes. But when the white men entered the picture this is where miscommunication and mistrust came into play. The white men wanted the land that...
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
Culture often means an appreciation of the finer things in life; however, culture brings members of a society together. We have a sense of belonging because we share similar beliefs, values, and attitudes about what’s right and wrong. As a result, culture changes as people adapt to their surroundings. According to Bishop Donald, “let it begin with me and my children and grandchildren” (211). Among other things, culture influences what you eat; how you were raised and will raise your own children? If, when, and whom you will marry; how you make and spend money. Truth is culture is adaptive and always changing over time because
Clifford Geertz once said: “Cultural analysis is intrinsically incomplete. And, worse than that, the more deeply it goes the less complete it is.” I recently spent a short amount of time at a busy 5-way traffic circle near my residence. While sitting in one spot for about 25 minutes, I observed many people doing many different things (mainly driving). Observing the various people made me think of what their particular cultures may have been, and from there, I began thinking of culture in and of itself. What is culture? Culture is defined as: Ideas and behaviors that are learned and transmitted. Nongenetic means of adaptation (Park, 2008). Culture plays a vital role in anthropology. After all, anthropology is the holistic, scientific study of humankind (Park, 2008). One cannot study humans as a whole without studying and understanding their cultures as well.
Anthropologists define the term culture in a variety of ways, but there are certain shared features of the definition that virtually all anthropologists agree on. Culture is a shared, socially transmitted knowledge and behavior. The key features of this definition of culture are as follows. 1) Culture is shared among the members of that particular society or group. Thus, people share a common cultural identity, meaning that they recognize themselves and their culture's traditions as distinct from other people and other traditions. 2) Culture is socially transmitted from others while growing up in a certain environment, group, or society. The transmission of cultural knowledge to the next generation by means of social learning is referred to as enculturation or socialization. 3) Culture profoundly affects the knowledge, actions, and feelings of the people in that particular society or group. This concept is often referred to as cultural knowledge that leads to behavior that is meaningful to others and adaptive to the natural and social environment of that particular culture.
Culture is the totality of learned, socially transmitted customs, knowledge, material objects and behavior. It includes the ideas, value, customs and artifacts of a group of people (Schaefer, 2002). Culture is a pattern of human activities and the symbols that give these activities significance. It is what people eat, how they dress, beliefs they hold and activities they engage in. It is the totality of the way of life evolved by a people in their attempts to meet the challenges of living in their environment, which gives order and meaning to their social, political, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization thus distinguishing people from their neighbors.
The term “culture” refers to the complex accumulation of knowledge, folklore, language, rules, rituals, habits, lifestyles, attitudes, beliefs, and customs that link and provide a general identity to a group of people. Cultures take a long time to develop. There are many things that establish identity give meaning to life, define what one becomes, and how one should behave.
A unit of sociopolitical organization consisting of a number of families, clans, or other groups who share a common ancestry and culture and among whom leadership is typically neither formalized nor permanent is known as a tribe. The tribes in India form an important part of the total population. It represents an element in the Indian society which is integrated with the culture mosaic of our civilization. Tribal people continue to face discrimination, exclusion and acts of communal violence. Laws and policies adopted by the government provide a strong basis for protection but are not being faithfully implemented by local authorities.