Mandan's Innovative Cultures

Corn was a key food source for the Mandan people. While it was not the only food produced or obtained, it was a central crop in their diet. Corn was prepared

The Encounters at the Heart of the World by Elizabeth A. Fenn is a book that includes the history of Mandan people. Most of the people know this place because of Lewis and Clark, but in this book readers can also learn so many important things about Mandan and combination of important new discoveries. In this book, a reader can examine how an author can go far and beyond the expectation, the way she went into the Mandan’s history. The way author have written this book, makes easier for readers to read because she divides each chapter in many topics.

Imagine beautiful yellow and red leaves fluttering about, and men and women working together to collect wild rice from the lake, naming rituals, sowing, and honor. That is what the Sioux tribe did during the early 1800s when Lewis and Clark explored the region. This tribe lived along the minnesota- Wisconsin border, they believed in honored and spirits. Overall, they were skill at hand, and trad was probable fantastic for the Sioux. Most of the Sioux clothing was showered with beads, so they got a lot of pratus sewing and became vary skilled.

As anthropologist Bruce Knauft described, the Gebusi clan had words that described many different aspects, examples included oil the Gebusi word for tomorrow and yesterday and owa for grandparents and grandchildren, but the most defining one was kogwayay, a catchfall marker to describe all of their cultural distinction. Because of kogwayay’s branching terminology, kogwayay is also the Gebusi’s word for ethnicity, the identification with a cultural group because of shared values customs and beliefs, while inversely excluded from different groups. One aspect that contributes to the Gebusi’s sense of kogwayay is religion. Through Knauft’s book we see their religious ways introduced and watch them change and adapt with the dynamics of cultural change over time.

The diversity of culture is an incredible notion. It is unfathomable how the anatomy of the human race is so similar, yet so different in the behaviors and ideas that take place. The two primary cultures I am focusing on throughout this essay are the differentiation between popular culture, and indigenous culture. I will also make the point of folk culture, and how it has slowly transformed itself from its self sufficiency, to relying more on the ways of popular culture.

Two Mandan creation stories—one of migration led by Good Furred Robe, the other of Lone Man and First Creator making land—each convey the position of the Mandan at the center of the world. The Mandan sense of centrality coincides with a geographic fact: the Mandan homeland occupies an area about 100 miles south of the geographic center of North

Women wore long deerskin dresses, men wore breechcloths with leather leggings and buckskin shirts, while both sexes wore moccasins and, during cold weather, long robes (Source A). The language was not specific to the Mandans, but it was a Siouan language (Source C). Furthermore,the Mandan religion was also very unique. The religion included many rituals and ceremonies including the Okipa, which was a more elaborate version of the popular Sun Dance, and most ceremonies included “self-sacrifice through fasting, exertion, and piercing, and by the giving of gifts from supplicants to their spiritual mentors”(Source C). All in all, the Mandans had a unique culture that differentiated them from other Native

Thomas Jefferson has just expanded the United States territory immensely. This purchase is known as the Louisiana Purchase, which is arguably the best decision in US history. All the new land resulted in several unknown questions. Some of them were, “what does this land provide, what animals are out there, who can be found on this land?” To answer some of these mysterious questions Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the Louisiana Purchase. One of their stops on their journey was at what now is known as Fort Mandan, in Bismarck, North Dakota. Here is where Lewis and Clark’s relationship with the Mandan tribe was crucial because their next steps have never been explored by whites.

Hatred has been thriving in America since the United States built a home for the brave and for those who dare to be free.Everyone wants to be free and have the courage to be brave.But how many people of color and souls that were and still are, considered divergent for looking different than most average white men and women.They sacrifice their happiness and body to build a home and history and they didn’t and still don’t get to be free or have the nerve to be brave and stand up for their civil rights. How many of them saw the perceived of hatred that was thrown at them for looking different than most white men and women.

The author’s purpose in writing this article was not to show the “Nacirema” as an example of how extreme human behavior can become, but how an outside perspective can affect your perception of an alien culture. If one were to look at the “Nacirema’s” cultural behaviors regarding physical appearance and health without any insight or knowledge of the specific beliefs or values of that culture, they might seem bizarre and even incomprehensible. By showing behaviors and “rituals” performed by this unknown tribe, Miner allowed others to see that the way studies were representing distinctive cultures was narrowminded and defective. Without the proper comprehension of the basis of any society, huge cultural misunderstandings could occur. Of

Fenn’s ‘Encounters at the Heart of the World: A history of the Mandan People’ brings once-almost-extinct Native Americans, Mandan, back on the surface with unique narrative documentation style. Fenn constructed the book carefully so that it draws reader into the time-travel of Mandan’s point of view. The book covers wide and myriad topics including the origination of Mandan people with its two creation story, how Mandan people migrated around different regions under circumstances, spiritual/daily life, encounter with Europeans, and how smallpox decimated Mandan people. Fenn puts heart into Mandan people. She portrays history of Mandan people from Mandan’s perspective rather than usual ‘white man speaks the truth’ style of view. She writes in a way that gives privileges to Native American voices and places. Although this book is about Mandan and Mandan alone, she goes extra mile on providing glance of what was happening on around the world, which brings readers out from the closed world of Mandan and see the forest instead of a tree. By illustrating American history along with Mandan’s, Fenn attempts to broaden American history which used to be confined only within European

Recovering the Indigenous Past, Crafting a Native Narrative: The Mandan People Who Lived and Still Breathe at the “Heart of the World”

Elizabeth Fenn is the author of this book. She explained the relationship between the Mandan people and their hometown and the entire world. She also described how these were linked together in this book. As described in this book, the source of the

The Mursi are a people of the Omo Valley of Southwest Ethiopia between the Omo and mago rivers, they are transhumant pastoralist, who as a whole they consist of less than 10,000 people. Living in a remote and isolated place in the world they have a unique culture different from any other. This includes their customs, language, economics, food, ect. Perhaps the most well know practise of the Mursi is their use of lip plates worn by the women of the tribe. This is followed by their unique connection with the earth. And lastly the men 's practise of ceremonial duel fighting or stick battling. These practises have become emblematic of their culture, and allow the Mursi to identify with one another in these aspects, and differentiate themselves from other tribes.

The culture of Parbat district can be cataloged into ethnic culture and archaeological monuments. Ethnic groups such Magars, Newars and Gurungs inhabit Parbat district (Shrestha and Gautam, 2014). The indigenous groups in the district have custom religion, tradition, language and living style which are unique. There are archaeological monuments in the area such as Temple, Pati, Gumbas, Cave and religious pillar (Shrestha and Gautam, 2014). The ethnic groups homogeneity will affect the establishment of the project in the area. Therefore, the project should be developed in a manner that all the groups living in the area benefit specifically and fairly. This will avoid conflicts that can occur and