There are consistent patterns or themes regarding Native American world views and the differentiation of cultural elements and society. Native Americans retained control of institutional and cultural orders against the assimilation effort because all aspects of Native American societies are interrelated, guided by the broader cultural world views. Each cultural or institutional element is, in fact, overlapped with other elements, so change in one element inevitably affects the broader cultural and social complex. While adopting to a new environment and small changes was possible in the West, where social and cultural elements are separate from each other, Native Americans were faced with conflicts and a potential, large disruption of the existing social orders.
Johansen, Bruce E., Pritzker, Barrym. Ed. Encyclopedia of American Indian History. Vol I. Santa Barbara: ABC.CLIO Inc, 2005. Print.
Throughout the 1925-1975 period, the Native American population of the United States has faced many obstacles. Just a few years before, they had been suppressed by the federal government’s “Anti-Long Hair” policy for all Native American males. This would set the stage for future cultural restraint on the Indians. However, they continued to fight for equality. All through this time period, the experience of the Native American culture has been a struggle for equality in their homeland.
"Fundamental Principles of Tribal Sovereignty." Americanindianpolicycenter.org. American Indian Policy Center, 1 Nov. 2005. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. .
This paper addresses the results of interviews, observations, and research of life in the Ottawa tribe, how they see themselves and others in society and in the tribe. I mainly focused on The Little River Band of Ottawa Indian tribe. I researched their languages, pecking order, and interviewed to discover the rituals, and traditions that they believe in. In this essay I revealed how they see themselves in society. How they see other people, how they see each other, what their values were, what a typical day was etc. I initially suspected that I would have got different responses from these questions but in reality the results in the questions were almost completely the same. I studied this topic because mostly all the people that are close to me are associated in the Ottawa tribe. I additionally love the Native American culture, I feel it is beautiful and has a free concept.
As the subjugation of the American Indian population began, the driving need to collect information emerged as did the quandaries that people who study this field struggle with today. To understand why problems transpire in this field of study, it is imperative that scholars know why should this field be studied. This reason is as simple or as complex as anyone wishes to make it. The program is to “present information and interpretations that otherwise would be overlooked.” The challenge that emerges from this rather simplistic meaning spans time and the globe in its debates and encompasses scholars of Native American and non- Indian ancestry. The purpose of this paper is not to tell about the history of why Native American Studies ought to be taught but to describe problems and solutions that it faces in its execution in the discipline both in the academic and in fieldwork.
Historical trauma has brought psychological effects on the Native American community. Many suffer from alcohol and drug abuse, depression, and poverty. I wondered why they do not get help from the government and after watching the documentary California’s “Lost” Tribes I began to understand that in any reservation the tribe is the government, so they do not have the same rights as a city outside the reservation. Many of the the reservations were placed in areas where they could not do any form of agriculture, so they did not have a source of income. Many of this reservations have to find ways to get themselves out of poverty and many of the reservations within California have found a way to get out of their poverty by creating casinos
Although poverty rates on some reservations are getting better because of gambling enterprises and natural resources, most reservations have unusually high poverty rates. In 2000, the poverty rate of the entire United States was about 11.3%. Compare that to a 25.9% poverty rate for Native Americans living on reservations. The poverty rate of Native Americans in 2000 was higher than the peak of the poverty rate of the Great Depression, which was 21.7% (Native American Statistics”). This statistic alone shows that Native Americans are not doing well financially.
Of the over 55.7 million acres of reservation lands in the lower 48 states and 42 million acres of Alaska Native lands, the Indian Nation’s distinctly the foremost largest owner of private land in the U.S. with a collective land base fourth in size behind Alaska, Texas, and California (Adamson, 2003; Hettler, 2011; Pommersheim, 2013). The tribal lands account for “5 percent of the U.S. oil and 10 percent of the gas reserves, 30 percent of the low sulphur coal reserves and 40 percent of the privately held uranium deposits” (Adamson, 2003, p. 26). Although the Indian Nations are collectively the largest landowners in the U.S., the tribes are also the distinctly one of the poorest populations and recognized as being “land rich and dirt poor” (Adamson, 2003, p. 26).
While I am not sure if I truly am, or if I could actually trace my roots, the issue of Native Americans has always been a prominent one to me. It is especially important now that my son is confirmed Native American through his father, whose heritage traces back to the Chippewa tribe. However, I have always been interested in Native American culture, heritage, issues, and the like. In history, I have always found the story of Native Americans to be one of the most interesting. I also feel that through researching Native American problems in the past and present, I am contributing to the solution by becoming more educated, giving myself the ability to educate others because I am more understanding of the Native American concerns. Native American issues are very rarely touched upon, even in schools, where the story of Native American’s is often summarized into a page or two in history books, as well as being grossly misconstrued to reflect the “pilgrims and Indians” ideal held by America today. The way for Native Americans to move forward from the current issues of unemployment, poverty, and so much more, is to begin with educating the public on their history and bring light to these issues. Too often, people assume that Native Americans have the ultimate pardon from the government, going untaxed and rolling in riches because of the abundance of casinos they own. These
Native Americans in the nineteenth century were a very hardworking and dedicated group of people. The daily life of a tribe member consisted of hard chores including hunting, cooking, and taking care of a family. Indians were able to obtain and produce food in various ways such as hunting, gathering, and farming (native-languages).
Basso, Keith. 1979. Portraits of “The Whiteman:” Linguistic play and cultural symbols among the Western Apache. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. First half.
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.
Lippert, Dorothy Thompson, and Stephen J. Spignesi. Native American History for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Pub., 2008. Print.
America was once consumed by the myth of the “Vanishing Indians”. The myth has dominated so many individuals and has also perpetuated the Americans’ imagination of Indians. Noble or ignoble, Indians had little hope for success and were viewed as forlorn to the non-indians. The myth of the Indians “vanishing” occurred because of their evolutionary inferiority to the “White man”. In modern society, there are still people who believe there are no more “true” Indians, or that Indians have died off completely. Even though Indians are not being portrayed as how they used to be, they have certainly not died off; alternately, they have acclimated and adapted to the presence of European culture and have