Essay On California Indians

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will

Grains such as wheat, rye, barley, oats and rice were shared. Citrus fruits, grapes, onions, cabbage, turnips, cotton, coffee, sugarcane, as well as spices and herbs, were among the many other foods and plants introduced to Native American culture. Also introduced were European religion and culture, new tools for agriculture, and new weaponry such as knives and firearms.

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

The indigenous people of California had existed on the lands as hunters-gathers before the arrival of the Spanish who were the first Europeans to reach this part of the Americas. These settlers who began surveying the area since 1530, helped introduce the mission system around 1697 as part of an effort to set up permanent bases for new arrivals and as a bulwark against other European powers. This establishment caused the natives to transition from their original lifestyle into agrarian farmers to help bring in revenue for the Spanish crown which led to them being exploited economically in the process. To establish order in this new land, the Spaniards used harsh punishments for rooting out defiance within the Indian population. However, eventually the natives would begin to die off in such large quantities that it echoed what else was happening what was happening in the rest of the continent. Overall, the effect on the indigenous population was predominantly negative due to contributing towards loss of culture, experiencing callous treatment at the hands of the Spanish, and forced population decline.

In her book American Indian Stories, Zitkala-Sa's central role as both an activist and writer surfaces, which uniquely combines autobiography and fiction and represents an attempt to merge cultural critique with aesthetic form, especially surrounding such fundamental matters as religion. In the tradition of sentimental, autobiographical fiction, this work addresses keen issues for American Indians' dilemmas with assimilation. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," for example, she vividly describes a little girl's nightmares of paleface devils and delineates her bitterness when her classmate died with an open Bible on her bed. In this groundbreaking scene, she inverts the allegation of Indian religion as superstition by labeling

Turner, J.T. Arnason, R.J. Hebda, T. Johns, 2012). Before the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal peoples mastered the cultivation of food crops in a range of fertile areas. The “three sisters,” which was a phrase used to describe the three crops: corn, squash, and beans as they were planted together where each plant depended and supported the growth and nutrition of the others. The myriad of food supplies made it possible for the Iroquoian First Nations to find stable communities. As many Europeans started coming and settling into Canada, they brought many illnesses along with them from some being from the long journey and others due to lack of food. The Aboriginal people made an assortment of various ways to heal wounds, coughs, and rheumatism. Since many were nervous about taking the medicine from the Natives, they soon realized that these people had in them vast knowledge about the land and its many natural wonders they inhabited in. Barks of spruce and juniper trees were used to make tea which contained vitamin C and berries and plants were picked and used as remedies for many things. Many plants were also used for utility uses. Woods played as a prime importance for fuels and as major items for things such as buildings, totem poles, and weapons including spears, bows, and arrows. Dyes, abrasives, and recreation items were also made from plants. All these things

Corn crops were a staple life force in the early cultures of the natives. This caused the natives to cease their early practices of hunting, gathering and moving from place to place. It helped them transform into a more agricultural society. This crop was high in yield which could sustain a large population, therefore contributing to a growth and stability of their civilizations

The native americans also made diffrent houses depending on the weather, for instance the mojave and cahuilla made their houses out of brush if the weather was hot. If the weather was cold they would make there houses out of oak planks and have slanted roofs.fun fact: did you know the cahuilla also ate beans,corn and squash?anyway, the cahuilla and the mojave lived close together and probably traded lots of things with each other too.fun fact:all tribes sing or yell special ceremonies to honor there tribe or land or there people as well as food or crops.the cahuilla lived in the foot hills of the san bernadino mountains and lived there for hundreads

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

California Indian historians currently engage in proving that Genocide occurred on the California Frontier. When historians attempt to prove the existence of a larger, seemingly indefinable concept they often lose track of regional history in California, citing primary sources from different time periods, all around the State. In order to better understand white-native relations on the California Frontier, it is important to first understand these relationships in specific areas of California that can be properly researched. Rather than engaging in a semantic argument regarding Genocide’s many definitions or its existence in the State as a whole, this manuscript offers a focused study in white-native relations in Northern California’s Round Valley from 1848-1860. By studying a

Deborah Miranda’s Bad Indians utilizes a unique blend of writing styles to piece together a clearer and more distinct view on the Mission system, Gold Rush, and settlement of California. Through this revolutionary collection of writing, we receive a detailed account of the treatment that California Indians had to endure during the Missionization era and are able to draw our own conclusions in regard to whether the missions were a positive or negative aspect of California history. Although Miranda’s ancestors suffered and survived horrible conditions, she, in my opinion, does not villainize the Mission system, but rather displays the facts as they are, therein allowing us to reach our own conclusions in relations to this history. Because there

Before the Europeans arrived, most of the Native American tribes were hunters and gatherers. They grew the three sister beans, corn, and squash. They also grew tobacco, melons and peas. Some documents say they grew wild rice other say that they did not . The Potawatomi were farmers and with growing crops like tobacco you can quickly use all the nutrients in the soil. When the soil was depleted of nutrients the tribe moved to new locations . The Potawatomi tribe hunted Buffalo for food which used to live in the Great Lakes area.

This paper is going to look at the different aspects of medicine in Native American Tribes, such as the medicine used, herbs used to create the medicine, the technology created, the different beliefs they had that aided in the medical field, and how Native American medicine affects medicine

Anthropologist Lowell J. Bean has described the California Indians as “non-political, ethnic nationalities.” Tribes consisted of “triblets”, with each triblet including a group of neighboring villages ranging from hundreds to several thousands individuals. Social classes almost were non-existent, except in the northwest where personal wealth was a common practice.

The Natives of California distinguish plants and animals into diverse locations of botany and zoology . They learn to cultivate throughout the views of animals and by creating a food chain that benefited the tribe. Many native tribes observed the environmental system that either made other species survive and extinct. The natives were considered to be curious about the environment they lived that prepared them want to learn, observe, and practice rituals. The natives were uninformed that religious ritual such as coordinating the sun and moon movement was practical rituals of much groundwork for collecting food and building supplies. Like many other American native groups they established and discover valuable properties of plants. Using kernels, plant roots, tree barks and herbal leaves as curative purposes. As the native embarked a lot of nature resources there were many that are ineffective and some are used in today’s modern medicine.