Adriel Morel 7/18/15 It starts with a trip to Urban Outfitters According to the article “Native American Headdresses Facts for Kids”, 18th and 19th century Plain Indians (Native Americans who resided on the Great Plains and Canadian Prairies) introduced the world to the Feathered war bonnet as a way to place honor and respect among the men who demonstrated bravery and valor. The article explains that during the time, Plain Native American tribes sought to see the eagle as the greatest and best bird amongst all birds; symbolizing strength and fearlessness, which is why the feathered war bonnets were made from eagle feathers. The articles states …show more content…
Acts that would guarantee you a feather(s) were, bravery during war, political prosperity or gain, acts of valor, and other things that might’ve helped the tribe prosper or survive. Some warriors would only be awarded 3 to 4 feathers in their lifetime; hence the difficulty of obtaining a complete full headdress. Keeping in mind the fact that procuring a single feather means actually demonstrating honorable acts, it’s pretty evident as to why the headdress was an important custom of the Plain Native Americans. Likewise, the article “Native American Technology and Art: Dream Catchers” makes the statement that the dreamcatcher was a Native American custom that developed from the Ojibwe people and was later adopted by other surrounding and neighboring tribes. The legend holds that a spider women by the name of Asibikaashi took care of the people and the land of the Ojibwe people. Eventually the people from the tribe spread out all over North America and it became difficult for the spider women to reach and protect all her children. Eventually, grandmothers and mothers would weave a magical web for the children which would then form the dreamcatchers. The dreamcatcher was usually hung somewhere over the children and would filter out the bad dreams and only let positive thoughts and dreams in. When the sun rose, all negative energy would disappear as the sun light
Culture, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is stated as “The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behavior that dpends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. The customary beliefs, social forms and material traits of a racial, religious or social group. The set shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. The set of values, conventions or social practices associated with a particular field, activity or societal characteristic.” Of these four definitions, I shall be focusing on the second one to discuss what makes up the culture of American Indians.The culture of the various tribes that made up the Native Americans is one of close knit families, highlyspiritual peoples and living together as one with the land they lived on. They believed in spirits, worshiping and honoring them. Some settled into single locations while others were nomadic, but all had a focus on working with the land around them. Because there are so many varying tribes that make up Native
The American Psychological Association had found that using representation of the mascots “undermines the educational experiences of members of all communities- especially those who have had little or no contact with Indigenous peoples” (APA). When people view a culture being paraded as a mascot, it can become their singular view and knowledge on the ethnic group. There is nothing to stop the formulation of what students know about Native Americans when there are few natives around. With the allowance of mascots to represent Native American in a way as they do now, wearing headdresses or war paint and using “peace pipes” has become a trend and something “cool” to do. Headdresses are traditionally a part of the Plains tribes and are considered sacred. Only revered warriors or significant people could wear war bonnets or headdresses. Feathers, especially eagle feathers, are very sacred to Native Americans. These appropriations continue to be a negative and demeaning aspect of using Native Americans as
The native trees, plants and animals gave the Coastal Native Americans the advantage over the Plateau Native Americans with their clothing needs. It was harder for the Plateau Indians. Sherrow states, “…only a rare few might manage to acquire a highly valued buffalo robe” (Doc. D). Aderkas wrote, “Plateau wore shirts, capes and leggings made from shredded plant fibers…”
The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) was formed in 2006. This government agency, previously known as the Office of Indian Education Programs, controls the direction and curriculum for all Indian schools as well as managing the funding. Three legislative acts developed the roles of the BIE. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 and The Education Amendments Act of 1978. The only more recent legislation was The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. It is the mission of the BIE to provide quality education to all Native Americans by focusing on the spiritual, mental, physical, and cultural aspects of the individual within his or her family and tribal or village context (U.S. Dept.
Prior to looking at this section, if anyone were to ask me about my opinion on using a Native American logo or nickname for a sports team I would be indifferent. I wouldn’t feel right about having my own opinion because I have not been a part of a race or culture that has or is looked down upon. After reading Tim Wise’s article and going through the notes, I still feel like I do not have much say in whether or not these teams should be able to keep their logos and nicknames because I am not directly affected and it is hard to put myself into the position of the Native American people; although, I do understand where they are coming from. With that being said, teams should not have names and mascots that are going to offend other cultures.
Sports teams across the country are all represented by a mascot. A mascot is used in a variety of ways, but mainly to represent a team’s identity and motivate both players and fans alike to bring out the competitive spirit. Many teams are represented with normal names and themes, while some are more controversial such as the Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Blackhawks, Cleveland Indians, Florida State Seminoles, Atlanta Braves, and Washington Redskins (to name a few). A prickly topic for years, even decades the usage of Native American mascots continues to strike controversy in fans, players, alumni, as well as disinterested fans. Depending on who you talk to, it’s a stain on the organizations it affects or is it a way of honoring those who
One of the activities that the Shawnee tribe does is trapping animals, the men of the tribe complete this activity. They do this because they rely on the environment around them to survive, they trap to get food for the tribe. The women oversee making clothing out of the trapped animals fur, the type of clothing the women make depends on the season. The men would wear deerskin loincloth, the women would wear a skin apron in the summer. They also make moccasins out of the animal’s fur and decorate them with bead and feathers. During the winter they would make heavier clothing items to keep warm.
The first article is called Digging Out a Lost City’s Secret. It’s basically about Teotihuacan remains found by archaeologists. Many possessions resembling boxes filled with shells, jaguar remains, and rubber balls. The second article is called Skeleton Dating Back to the Ice Age Sheds Light on Native American Origins. Briefly, the previously mentioned article is about a young girl who died 12,000 to 13,000 years ago in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula by divers diving in the area. The last article is called Guatemala’s Finest Clothing Shops. It is pretty much about Guatemalan trends working ways into design studios to make shoes, night gowns, and purses. The one that states more informational facts, in my opinion, would be the second article, Skeleton Dating Back to the Ice Age Sheds Light on Native American Origins.
The start of the complications between white society and Native society began during the age of colonization when the English settlers viewed tribal people as uncivilized. They thought that hunting animals was barbaric and that the Natives should learn farming and Christianity. They misunderstood the Native Americans. Rather than pitiful, tribes viewed themselves as proud and strong communities with ancient roots and traditions. That wasn’t evident to Eleazar Wheelock, who had a grand vision for the Native Americans: educate them as he would English children, and train them to become missionaries who could spread the word of God to their Native brethren. Much like other colonists in his day, Wheelock thought the Natives would perish lest the
Ojibway Indian men usually wore breechcloths and leggings. The women wore dresses and kept their hair in neat braids. Their shoes were called moccasins. They were made out of deer or moose hide. Customarily, they wore leather headbands with feathers in the back. The Ojibway Indians made pictures, belts, purses, and other objects out of beads. They loved to use wampum beads in their artwork. Wampum beads are purple and white beads made from shells. The Ojibway Indians make beadart by sewing the beads onto leather so they can be placed individually or sewn into strips. They make the strips by stitching the beads into a string. This is usually done by hand or sometimes with a bowloom. Beadart takes years to master and is very time consuming for the Ojibway Indians. The Ojibway also made dream catchers out of sticks and feathers. They believed that the dream catchers would protect them from bad dreams.
They made the dreamcatchers by using a hoop of willow and decorating it with things like feather, arrow heads, and beads. It’s traditional to put a feather in the middle of the dreamcatcher.
In this image, Clifford is wearing a large headdress with lots of feathers. Feathers are a very common stereotype that Indigenous Peoples are portrayed with. Most people think that eagle/bird feathers are just for decoration but in reality, it has to be earned by doing a great deed like winning a battle or returning with great food. To the Indigenous, a feather is a symbol for honour and respect and is a great and a very meaningful symbol to them. We add lots of feathers on them in media like it doesn’t matter. A feather shouldn’t be just portrayed as a decoration and a cool head piece to them. The headdress has influenced many kids who have seen it at a young age. It gives most kids the impression of the Indigenous being more like an animal
They elaborately decorated prestige regalia, including headdress, neck ornament and other forms of personal adornment, to distinguish the kuba rulers, chiefs and other titled officials.Out of all the regalias that I have seen the piece that interested me the most was the Headdress.A specific headdress
Dreamcatchers are made the way they are to let the positive dreams slip through the holes, to glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. Negative dreams would get caught in the web, and got away when the first light from the sun hit the dreamcatcher. This is why you must have the dream catcher above your bed at night. The hoop of the dreamcatcher is a symbol for strength and unity from Native Americans of North America. Then other tribes think that the positive dreams get stuck in the web, and the negative dreams go through the holes in the web.
Since the ancient times, tribal masks play a huge role in the traditional ceremonies and dance regalia of Native American tribes. The Northwest Coast Indians are the most prominent native mask-makers who carve intricate ceremonial/dance masks. Believing that the world is led by supernatural beings or spirits, several cultures created masks worn ceremonially to connect and appease with these forces. Two of the prominent Native American masks are the Iroquois False Face masks and the Hopi Kachina masks.