Native American Culture Summary

Andrea Smith’s book Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide read passionately about Native American Indians experiences relative to violence and related topics. Part of Smith’s goal is to aid understanding of Native women’s plight and spotlight how treating their sufferings separately was limiting the pain they lived through to this day. Smith pointed out that though other writers have keen interest in bringing native women’s plight mainstream, these writers fell short of taking an intersectional look at how sexual violence, race, and gender connected equally to the Native women’s history. She believed separating these issues was wrong. Smith cited theorist Kimberlee Crenshaw, (Smith 7) a woman of color, for pointing this issue out.

Have you ever wonder how the world was created from another culture’s perspective? Native Americans used creation myths to explained to their people how the world was developed overtime. Creation myths are a big part of the Native American culture. they have been passed down from generation to generation. In the creation myths, harmony with nature, rituals, and strong social values are shown in each myths. The purpose of having strong social value in these myths is to teach younger Native Americans valuable lesson if they ever do something bad. These myths reveals how the rituals were created and their intentions for doing it. Creation myths has harmony with nature in it to show a very close kinship between them

Native American culture originated in some parts North America. These countries are known as the United States of America and some parts of Canada. In the United States, there are 6.6 million Native Americans, which form about 2.0 percent of the population (Bureau, 2016). Europe had realized there were about 50 million people already living the “new world” and these people were called Native Americans. Native Americans were originally called Indians, but later through history they formed a new name. These people were called this because of them being native to the “new world” and the American part came after the colonist named the United States. Throughout history, Native Americans believed that using raw material in nature was the best way to provide for their people. Their culture thought no part of an animal should go to waste. They would eat the meat, use the skin for clothing, and make jewelry from the bones. Over the years a lot of their culture and customs were lost due to conforming with society. Their languages were referred to as “Indigenous Languages” because of them being extremely complicated and diverse. Some important factors that help understand the foundation of Native American culture are their rituals/practices, death ceremonies, holidays, family, and stereotypes.

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

In conclusion the oppression of Native Americans is an often overlooked subject. It's important to learn about this and be aware of it because many Native Americans still live on reservations. Their oppression has not yet dissipated completely and not until recently, as recently as 1962, were they allowed to vote in every state. So we must be well informed in order to continue to dissipate Native American oppression and try to correct the mistakes of the

Native Americans have experienced a “historical trauma” that is characterized by enduring a history of institutional racism and discrimination by the dominant culture in America (Hays & Erford, 2014). Even today, Native Americans are being forced to assimilate or abandon their rich cultural heritage through the policies of our nation. With these ongoing discriminatory actions, counselors have a unique opportunity to lessen the effects of racism and discrimination that impact Native Americans. According to the ACA Code of Ethics (2014), counselors have the ethical responsibility to advocate for people who are faced by systemic oppression and discrimination. In our text, Hays and Erford (2014) suggest facilitating opportunities to advocate for Native people by raising social awareness by educating the masses through writing articles, disseminating educational materials, and even facilitating cultural sensitivity training programs in the community. Counselors may even empower Native people to advocate for themselves, drawing from the strengths of the community.

I am writing you today as a young woman concerning the lack of attention towards the violence against women in retrospect to the Native American population. The fear of being a victim of assault as a young women is prominent within the society in which we live today. However, there is some relief in the fact that there are resources available at my disposal if I was to experience assault. Yet, there is a large portion of women that do not have that reassurance, and the likelihood of them experiencing assault is even greater than my own. This portion of the women population is Native American women. I will admit that the severity of the issue in concerns with the native population is something that I just recently became aware of. et I have

Native American, or American Indians, have a rich culture comprised of struggle, strife and success. For this paper, i will discuss the Native American Culture and it's history.

Our nation’s history has been deep rooted in the conflict involving Native Americans, ever since the beginning of America and it is one hard to get rid of even as the days go by. The impact of colonialism can be seen in Native American communities even today, and it can only be understood through a cultural perspective once you experience it. Aaron Huey, who is a photographer, went to Pine Ridge reservation and it led him to document the poverty and issues that the Sioux Indians go through as a result of the United States government’s long term actions and policies against them. One must question all sources regarding these topics because there is a lot of biased and misinformation about Native American struggles, and sometimes schools do not thoroughly teach the truth so students can get an insight. There are also different sociological perspectives in this conflict, along with many differing opinions on how to approach the problem and deal with it. This is where ideas clash because people believe their views are right regarding how to handle it.

Sitting through this event made me realize that many people fail to recognize Native Americans for who they really are. Native Americans tend to be overlooked

The Native Indian history of violence and debasement changed their views and self-image as well. This change later affects how they adapt to American culture and education after being dissuaded from embracing their own for so long. The violence and indifference shown towards the Native Americans during the “Trail of Tears” contributed greatly to this change. In this dreadful journey, Natives of all kinds were forced off

All Our Relations by Winona LaDuke describes the neglect and unfair hardships that Native American people have had to experience over time. LaDuke uses Aristotelian appeals such as logos and pathos to tell how the white man disparaged these people. She spoke of Gail Small, a Montana State University professor and a well-known advocate for Native peoples. The way LaDuke tells Small’s story is perhaps the most and persuasive of all.

A second historical tradition is whites refusing to give non-whites the rights they legally possess. Laws were passed that forced Indians to conform to white institutions, convincing Indians they were the world’s stupidest people. The history of Indians was manipulated to fit the needs of the intermediaries. Deloria hypothesizes that Indians are probably invisible because of the tremendous amount of misinformation about them. Understanding Indians means understanding Indian affairs. However, there exist many myths about Indian affairs. To address “Indian problems” task force reports are demanded. “The conclusion of every task force report is that Congress is not appropriating enough money to do an adequate job of helping Indians” (Deloria 1969). Paternalism is a favorite subject of task forces. However, government paternalism is not a serious problem, while private sector paternalism is. The problem is that since no one asked the churches, white interest organizations, and universities to come, it’s hard to ask them to leave. Over time tribes have discovered that they must band together to make themselves heard. Indians have two mainstream organizations; The National Congress of American Indians and The National Indian Youth Council. Tribes have also found that by handling problems amongst themselves they are more successful than when trying to adapt to the white value system. However,

I have always had a curiosity in the Native American culture, yet my previous studies led me away from any cultural academics over the years. I am pleased that I am now delving into these resources after attending a pow wow on the White Earth Reservation to increase my understanding of the Native American culture. There are four books in particular that have sparked my curiosity: American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty by George E. Tinker; Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928 by David Wallace Adams; Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940 by Brenda J. Child; and The White Earth Tragedy: Ethnicity and Dispossession at a Minnesota Anishinaabe Reservation, 1889-1920 by Melissa L. Meyer.

On Monday, 30. February, Mark Charles gave a presentation on equality and racism and how white land owning man use their power to rule all over the world. Students and faculty who were at presentation showed dissatisfaction to Mark’s anger, passion and direction of his speech. Mark Charles is a speaker, writer, and consultant who was born in the Navajo Reservation. He is the son of an American woman of Dutch heritage and a Navajo man. His life is dedicated to understanding American culture, faith and differences among races. Charles seeks to understand American history in order to help solve problems that are devastate America. He is a member of many organizations which help Native American communities in their development. Charles also