Indian Cultural Revival In A Eurocentric World

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American Indians and European Americans have had a hostile and tumultuous history for many years, and this led to the decimation of American Indian culture and existence. European exploration had brought widespread disease that made American Indians a post-apocalyptic society by the time Europeans began settling in large numbers. Settlers exacerbated the demise of American Indian life by stripping them of their cultural identity through legislated discrimination, relocation and “civilization”. In the present day, many American Indians are searching for a way to reclaim their lost cultural identity. Through Monroe’s restoration projects, Thomas King proposes in his novel Truth & Bright Water that American Indians can reclaim and restore their history, culture and livelihoods by using European materials such as cast iron, colonial buildings and landscape painting. This is important because it shows us that American Indians can reclaim their identities while remaining valuable members of the modern world. One of Monroe’s most ambitious restoration projects is the herd of cast iron bison that he’s erecting on the prairie near the church. The metal buffalo are supposed to represent the once numerous creatures that roamed the American plains. These animals were the staple of the Plains American Indian economy, and they are of huge cultural importance to a plethora of plains tribes. Even though buffalo in North America have made a comeback from near extinction in the late 19th century, American Indians, who are now mostly confined to semi-sovereign reservations on land that’s poor in quality, have not experienced the benefits of buffalo repopulation. Therefore, this is why King has Monroe use a modern method to “bring back” the buffalo ... ... middle of paper ... ... here that history can be fixed by American Indians right over European attempts at dismissing their existence. Throughout the novel Truth & Bright Water, author Thomas King suggests that American Indians can reclaim and restore their history and cultural identity by using European tools such as cast iron, colonial buildings and European art. It’s important for the American Indian population today to be able to adapt to European surroundings while being able to use these influences to reinforce a unique cultural identity. This is because our world has undoubtedly been influenced by European colonization. Civilizations that do not exhibit European influence in their culture are increasingly rare and far between. By using tools and facets of European culture to craft a unique and distinct native identity, American Indians can remain a member of the contemporary world.

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