The Land Bridge Theory and the Problems of Mythic Symbolism In the Native American, religious community there is skepticism regarding the Land Bridge Theory , which hypothesizes that the native populace migrated into America via a land bridge in the Beringia region. Some of the skepticism, and rejection of the Land Bridge Theory, is a result of a strong claim that science has created a largely fictional scenario for Native Americans in prehistoric America. The Native Americans who reject the Land Bridge Theory have an alternative view of history as seen through the myths of their people. There are several Native American religious traditions whose myths of creation hold that they were born out of the earth in their traditional homeland. …show more content…
Tillich explains that the broken myth is “[a] myth which is understood as a myth, but not removed or replaced” (Tillich 388). Using this definition of a broken myth that Tillich provides, the argument is that the Native American understanding of being born out of the earth in their traditional homeland may be tacitly accepted as a myth however, it has not been substituted or eradicated from awareness. This is because broken myths are the symbolic “language of faith”, and science cannot substitute for faith (Tillich 388). As Tillich explains, when the myth is broken, so too is the feeling of certainty and security that comes with the belief in the myth. Introducing a scientific aspect that refutes the myth creates uncertainty and insecurity for the believer (Tillich 389). For some Native Americans the myth of being born out of the earth is broken, however, this recognition does not preclude the symbolic representation of the myth as pointing beyond itself to something more …show more content…
First, as a religious traditional myth, the Native American belief that they are born out of the earth in their homeland, has not been broken by “fact” in the form of scientific hypothesis. This is because there continues to be much disagreement in the scientific community about the exact period, difference in DNA, and the exact route taken for migration. Although much of this disagreement is really just “fine tuning” of the Land Bridge Theory, the zealous Native American can interpret this disagreement as a refutation thus, fulfilling Tillich’s explanation as a justifiable literal
Have you ever thought about driving over a suspension bridge held up by cables? That’s what the Mackinac Bridge is. With the building of the Mackinac Bridge there has been many positive effects that have come out of it.
In Native American literature, both creation myths and trickster tales were frequently told and passed down through generations upon generations orally, and then eventually written down. A creation myth is a tale that tells of how the world began or how people first came to live here, while a trickster tale is a short story that tells of a “trickster” with vacuous behavior, whose actions are meant to teach a lesson. Both types of literature are still relevant in modern society, whether it’s through pop-culture or re-told stories, and continue to guide individuals through their life, teach lessons about life on earth, morals, and human nature.
In the textbook “California: An Interpretive History” by James J. Rawls and Walton Bean introduces the way California Indians carried their everyday lives in chapter 2, The Original Californians. According to traditional Indian beliefs, Californian natives believe that they were created and have lived their entire existence in their ancestral homeland. However, anthropologists believe otherwise. They believe that they are decedents of people who made their way across from Asia to North America thousands of years ago when a now-vanished land bridge connected the two continents during the Pleistocene Era (11). These men and women along with their descendants settled into the North and South America continents, making possible the spread of various tribes throughout California along with their tradition.
The Native American’s way of living was different from the Europeans. They believed that man is ruled by respect and reverence for nature and that nature is an ancestor or relative. The Native American’s strongly belie...
The Native American tribes of the American Rocky Mountain States were long characterized as being homogenous with little difference between them. In reality they are as diverse as European states, but like Europeans the religions that shaped their actions held a common theme. “[A]ll their religions had important characteristics in common… the Indian visionaries felt the universe about them and dedicated themselves to keeping man’s world in balance with the cosmos... All of them sought to communicate with the powers of nature.” (Hurdy 14) The words of Hopi chiefs and elders, declared in 1951, are true for all tribes: “Our land, our religion, and our life are one.” (Martin 15)
The Native Americans and Europeans had many influences that affected their outlook when they first encountered one another. These influences have different stories and views that pertain to the origin of life and how the earth was created. For example the Native Americans had stories that were passed down from generations that would be reshaped in different tellings. On the contrary the European Christians obtained their stories from books that had been written in earlier years such as the bible and Aristotle’s work. Despite their differences all of their beliefs were affected by the accounts which then made their encounter with each other and the relationship with human beings.
Duane Champagne in Social Change and Cultural Continuity Among Native Nations explains that there has never been one definitive world view that comprises any one Native American culture, as there is no such thing as one “Native community” (2007:10). However, there are certain commonalities in the ways of seeing and experiencing the world that many Native communities and their religions seem to share.
We know the outcome of the story of Native Americans and the settling of North America. Can we delegitimize the spiritual aspects of the story from any objective point of view without doing the same to today’s popular religions? The only logical answer without doing so is a sort of suspension of disbelief. Major religions today generally tolerate each other, and if that is possible the stories of colonized people like the Native Americans are logically no different. The only difference is the effect of colonialism, which marginalized these stories to begin with by controlling, assimilating, and eliminating much of the population that held such beliefs. The battle of stories here is with the dominant (and dominating) culture that is the Western world today. Though the colonialist skew on history is tempting, I would argue that the contemporary world, with its popular tolerance of multiple religions, cannot discount the stories of Native Americans and maintain any claim of
The implementation of the NAGPRA has provoked a ranging conflict in interest between two groups, the scientists on one hand and the Native American tribes on the other. As expressed by Burt, scientists have held that the skeletal remains are a source of information that helps in relating the early and the new world (304). They argue that understanding the human evolution is beneficial to the modern communities as they are able to appreciate their history and origin. Conversely, the Native American tribes are of the views that preserving human remains prevents their spirits from resting. Unrest of the spirits may bring misfortune on the current and future generations. In terms of learning their history, the Native Americans bel...
Over the recent centuries, the definition of myth has decayed into a word synonymous with falsehoods and lies. This idea of myths being completely false and therefore useless is a fairly modern one. To combat the rise of empirical science in the 1900s, theologians brought the idea of wholly literal, fundamental religion into being to combat ideas that did not perfectly align with the tenants of the religion (May 24). This was the final death blow to the idea of the metaphysical myth that was already wounded from thousands of years of being denounced as pagan or barbaric. The rise of empirical science also lent to the decay of the meaning of myth. Science was able to explain the natural world far better than a myth ever could; however, it lacked the metaphysical aspect. Due to these rising ideologies, myths hav...
Such stories and their settings establish the Native American presence on this land from time immemorial by relating how the Creator placed the First Peoples in their traditional homelands. Homelands are stable and permanent cultural and physical landscapes where Native nations have lived, and in some cases, continue to live to the present day. (Handsman 13). Creation stories thus reflect the central place their relationship with the land occupies in the culture and hi...
Marcus Gravey stated that, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” With that being stated, are the people of the United States, Canada, and Mexico trees without roots? At a young age students learn that Christopher Columbus “sailed the ocean blue in 1492”, a simple song used to assist children remember that America was discovered in 1492. In addition, Thackeray and Findling describe how Columbus’s discovery presented an unimaginable amount of opportunity for Europeans, and therefore, Spanish, French, and later British explores and settlers began to flock to this new world.
In his essay, “The Indians’ Old World,” Neal Salisbury examined a recent shift in the telling of Native American history in North America. Until recently, much of American history, as it pertains to Native Americans; either focused on the decimation of their societies or excluded them completely from the discussion (Salisbury 25). Salisbury also contends that American history did not simply begin with the arrival of Europeans. This event was an episode of a long path towards America’s development (Salisbury 25). In pre-colonial America, Native Americans were not primitive savages, rather a developing people that possessed extraordinary skill in agriculture, hunting, and building and exhibited elaborate cultural and religious structures.
For at least fifteen thousand years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and Thomas Hariot, Native Americans had occupied the vastness of North America undisturbed by outside invaders (Shi 2015 pg. 9). Throughout the years leading up to Columbus’s voyage to the “New World” (the Americas) and Hariot’s journey across the sea, the Indians had encountered and adapted to many diverse continents; due to global warming, climatic and environmental diversity throughout the lands (2015). Making the Native Americans culture, religion, and use of tools and technology very strange to that of Columbus’s and Hariot’s more advanced culture and economy, when they first came into contact with the Native Americans.
Vine Deloria, author of The World We Used to Live In, not only introduces his readers to indigenous Native American spirituality and traditional practices including ceremonies but also brings several important ideas of native spirituality to the forefront. He discusses the importance of having and maintaining a relationship with mother earth and all living beings; an interconnectedness with nature in all forms that is crucial to the understanding and practice of Native American spirituality. Dreams and visions were discussed as an important form of communication in indigenous spirituality. The important relationships with animal and plant spirits are discussed. The concept of power and what is considered power in Native Spirituality. Deloria talks about the importance of place in indigenous spirituality. It is believed that power and wisdom rests in places. The landscape holds memories of all that has ever happened. Through all the aspects Deloria discusses in his book, readers get a clear view and better understanding of Native American spirituality through various accounts of different tribal activities and interviews from both emic and etic perspectives of culture. By using a wide range of research, Deloria does a fairly good job of remaining unbiased which is a difficult thing for anyone to do.