The Importance Of The Native American Culture

The Indigenous people of America are called Native Americans or often referred to as “Indians”. They make up about two percent of the population in the United States and some of them still live in reservations. They once lived freely in the wilderness without any sort of influence or exposure from the Europeans who later came in the year of 1492, and therefore their culture is very different from ours. The Iroquois are northeastern Native Americans who are historically important and powerful. In the following essay we will discover some differences between the religious beliefs of the Native American Iroquois and Christianity to see if culture and ways of living have an effect on the view of religion, but we will also get to know some similarities. I am going to be focusing on the Iroquois, which are the northeastern Native Americans in North America.

The diverse Indian societies of North America did share certain common characteristics. Their lives were steeped in religious ceremonies often directly related to farming and hunting. The world, they believed, was suffused with spiritual power and sacred spirits could be found in all kinds of living and inanimate things – animals, plants, trees, water, and wind. Religious ceremonies aimed to harness the aid of powerful supernatural forces to serve the interests of man. In some tribes, hunters performed rituals to placate the spirits of animals they had killed. Other religious ceremonies sought to engage the spiritual power of nature to secure abundant crops or fend off evil spirits. Indian villages also held elaborate religious rites,

Just as the Greeks, the Romans and any other great civilization, Native Americans had their own gods with certain values. These values are a sharp contrast to the current european expansionist mindset and give great insight into understanding Native American’s actions and behavior. These documents are about Native American culture and are written around the arrival of European settlers. These documents show the conflicts that many Native Americans had were due to many miscommunications and conflicts in values. The two Native American values that the Europeans most tread on were their very philosophy and honor, which leads to some of the most brutal acts of war and massacres.

When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Sexuality, and Power in New Mexico, 1500-1846 Megan Prue History 1700 American Civilization- Section 004 Dr. Roger C. Blomquist September 21, 2011 When Jesus Came, The Corn Mothers Went Away gives an in-depth history of the Pueblo Indians before and after the Spanish conquest. It describes the forced changes the Spanish brought to the Indians, and also the changes brought to the Spaniards who came to “civilize” the Indians. The author's thesis is that the Pueblo Indians and other Indians were treated cruelly by the Spanish, who justified their crime by claiming they were civilizing an

Native Americans hold a type of esoteric concept that comes from their philosophy of preserving their environment as well as their kinship that ties them together (Access Genealogy, 2009). They not only have social ties, they are politically and religiously organized through their rituals, government, and other institutions (Access Genealogy, 2009). They work together to reside in a territorial area, and speak a common language (Access Genealogy, 2009). They are not characterized by any one certain structure (Access Genealogy, 2009). However, the society agrees on fundamental principles that bond together a certain social fabric (Access Genealogy, 2009). Different Native American tribes throughout the years have had different ideas, opinions, philosophies, which are not always predetermined by their past ancestors.

Since 1492, the year in which Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, the “Native Americans”, or “American Indians”, the original inhabitants of these newfound lands, became a source of dispute and conflict. The terminology of the word ‘Indian’ suggests the cultural and racial unity of all indigenous people, but it was not an idea shared by them. On the contrary, a huge variety of languages, traditions, cultures, lifestyles, existed among the indigenous populations, and had done so for thousands of years. The unifying notion of ‘Indian’ gave a label to all natives, failed to recognise their differences, and became a tool of legitimisation of the Spanish colonisation of these people . After making a claim of these lands, the Spanish

Indian Cultures of North America (Modern USA) INTRODUCTION: The History of America has been stongly shaped by a collection of popular myths, stories and overall religious or cultural traditions, but not to the extent of the Native American History. We are all familiar with myths and legends about the past, namely the creation of our species and the mythological views of multiple godly figures. The majority of those mythological events have been created to suit Native American cultures. Because of these stories, Americans have misunderstood much about the Native American culture, For example, many assume that pre-Columbian North America was a land that was very wide spread and consisted of little inhabitants, when really, millions of Native Americans lived in the land. For example, Native American societies were full of wealth and held and heir of sophistication, contrary to popular beliefe that the Native Americans survived only through hunting, gathering, and fishing

Impact on Cultural Identity The cultural of indigenous and immigrant people have been greatly impacted by America’s historical events. The descendants of Spain and Mexico immigrants have since been subjected to many cultural struggles. Today, many Chicano Americans do not know their heritage, or do not identify with their ancestors. Traditions and customs are lost from one generation to the other. Many victories were won in the name of Religion. Religion has also played an important role in the history of America. The colonists came to America in order to have religious freedom, yet they imposed their religion on the indigenous peoples. The colonists had religion in common; they identified themselves as “Christians”. The indigenous peoples were viewed by colonists as savages, and to try to civilize them. Many were killed, chased from their land, or taken into slavery (Noriega, 2010).

The stand of the Church and sexual violence against Amerindian women. During the Spanish conquest and the early colonization and missionization of Alta California many problems arose from violence directed towards native women. Today we will discuss, how they were viewed and treated by many of Spanish men, and how the church viewed and reacted to the violence against these women.

On account of English colonists' arrogance, the significant differences in cultural morals between the earthy Native Americans and the Christian English brought a narrow perception of "entitlement" to colonists, who believed their spiritual practices were "sinful" and "needed to be educated on the 'true' God." The divergent practices of Native Americans, who understood their spiritual world was linked

Native Americans had a need to contemplate their origins and beliefs and use that as a basis for their lifestyle. According a Cherokee creation story that theorizes about the perils of the world, “The earth is a great island floating in a sea of water, and suspended at each of the four cardinal points by a cord hanging down from the sky vault, which is of solid rock. When the world grows old and worn out, the people will die and the cords will break and let the earth sink down into the ocean, and all will be water again. The Indians are afraid of this.” This negative outlook is why natives centered their architecture around their respect for nature. In fact, the natives in the southwest had fears that bound them together and resulted in them constructing cliff dwellings that “had 23 kivas and 150 rooms housing a population of

Before Columbus ever came to the Americas, the indigenous people that lived on the continent led simpler, more spiritual lives. The ‘Indians’ (as Christopher Columbus mistakenly nicknamed the people) that lived throughout North America had many similarities. Marc Shulman of History Central wrote an interesting article containing details about life amongst the natives. (1) He writes, “Each group or nation spoke the same language, and almost all were organized around an extended clan or family and they usually descended from one individual. The Native Americans traded extensively between the different tribes. This allowed different tribes to specialize in different products and trade with tribes that were located far away.” He continues, “Native Americans believed in the power of the spirits. The spirits were found in nature. Their religious leaders were called Shamans. Native Americans believed that people should live in harmony with nature. They did not believe that people should own land rather the land belonged to

While it would seem that settlers coming from different parts of the world would have contrasting beliefs, their interactions with the Native Americans were all characterized by their misconceptions of native rituals. As Europeans began to arrive in the New World, the Spanish were introduced to the Ohlone people on the West Coast. Spanish missionaries saw the Ohlone “as a ‘backward’ people, a people who never attained a rich material culture, never learned agriculture, never built cities, monuments, or even totem poles” (Milliken 87). Spanish settlers misinterpreted the Ohlone use of using temporary materials to mean that the Ohlone had no wealth or status system, a shortcoming in the eyes of the Europeans. In

The Pilgrims brushed their lips against the land of Cape Cod and thanked their Lord when the furious storm released them from its’ fury. The sea troubles left them far from home with no warm welcomes. After scrutinizing the bare land they had located barbarian-like aliens. They formed their judgments and ideas about their companions on Cape Cod. Seeking gold and silver the Spaniards explored unfamiliar territory. Although, they did not discover their hidden treasures they did stumble upon unfamiliar Native American cultures they did not understand. Their misunderstandings led to the formation of judgements towards the Native Americans.   Although both “Plymouth Plantation” by William Bradford and “La Relacion” by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca discuss early settlers and attitudes toward native peoples.  Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca’s attitude toward Native Americans reveals a sense of relief to discover friendship among an island. While, William Bradford displays a fearful and belittling tone.

Classifying one set of Native American religion is nearly impossible, since these religious beliefs and traditions passed from generation to generation by verbal communication only. With the spread of Christianity, some Native American religions were altered; however, they continued to follow a majority of their initial traditions (Ellwood & Alles, 1998). Focus will be placed on the general concepts that relate to the majority of Native American religions.