...Native American Culture 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 and nature. Native American explained how the world began with their myths. Various works of literature reveal the Native American tradition and beliefs of rituals, strong social value, and harmony with nature. Rituals plays an important role in Native American Culture. In the short story, “The Man to Send Rain Clouds”, the Laguna ritual was shown when Leon did the funeral rites on Teofilo. For example, “ Leon ties feathers to Teofilo’s hair, paint his face, and sprinkle holy water on his grave” (50). This quote is important because it is part of the Native American’s tradition that was past down from generation to generation, and the purpose of doing this funeral rites is to make him be part of nature. Another example of Native American ritual...
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...Spain, France, and England all tried to convert Native Americans in the New world. Spain sent Franciscan Priests who settled in New Mexico and Florida. These men would wear their finest garbs and displayed religious paintings and statues in order to impress the Indians. They would also use torture to scare people into converting but the the biggest reason for conversion was not intended: disease. Disease killed many native people but didn’t affect Spaniards because they were immune to European diseases. The natives took this as a sign that the Catholic God was more powerful than the gods they worshipped so they decided to be baptised. Many conversions were genuine but there were some that were done to avoid death. This meant that some converts...
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...CHAPTER TWO: NATIVE AMERICAN RELIGIONS Chapter Outline and Unit Summaries Introduction: The Challenges in Studying Native American Religions A. The Contemporary Revival of Interest in Native American Religions 1. Important Role in History of North America 2. Emphasis on Nature and Personal Religious Experience 3. Absence of Formal Organizational Structure B. A Wider Variety of Religious Types Under One Heading 1. A Fifteen to Twenty Thousand Year Legacy 2. Geographic Spread Across a Continent 3. Numerous Forms of Social and Economic Organization C. A Dearth of Reliable Sources on Native American Religions 4. Literary Sources from Only Past Four Hundred Years, with Best Sources from Past One Hundred Years 5. Difficulty of Identifying a Pure Type: Many Changes Fostered by Engagement with Europeans 6. Archaeology Provides Some Clues to Pre-European Era 7. The Necessity of Generalizing about the Entire Field The Spirit World A. A Mixture of Polytheism, Monotheism, and Monism B. Native American Religions Tend Toward Polytheism 1. The World Populated by Numerous Spirits 2. Mother Earth at Heart of Nature 3. Deities Represented by Natural Forces C. Native American Religions Tend Toward Monotheism and Monism1. The Supreme Being / High God Above Lesser Deities 2. High God Generally Uninvolved in World—Lower Deities Hold Sway over Nature and Everyday Life 3. High...
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...Native religions have similar characteristics for their religious beliefs than those that are not indigenous. Both have set worship sites, life goals and rites and rituals they partake in. However, just as Christianity and Hinduism are different in their beliefs, the beliefs of Native Americans also vary based on the tribe they are associated with. Native American tribes have a long, established relationship with nature and the animal population. Depending on the tribe they belong to, the Native Americans might believe in a number of different gods or spirits which are usually linked to nature and their dependence on it (Molloy, 2009). The Great Spirit is well known throughout many indigenous tribes, to be a collection of spiritual energies,...
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...April 2015 The Native American Indian with Respect to Healthcare and Religious Practices Carrie Johnson The American Native Indian culture has used alternative medicine and tribal rituals for many centuries. This culture has used natural remedies to treat and cure diseases and aliments within their tribe. The term “Medicine Man” is coined from the Native American Indian tribes. The person who held this title was generally an elder of the tribe. The inflicted person(s) would seek out the elder or “Medicine Man” to treat their sickness. The tribe will use natural substances and tribal rituals as their source for treating diseases and illnesses. A few examples of natural elements are plants and root extracts from their demographic region. Examples of customary rituals could include: chants, dances and prayers. Another unique custom of the tribe is the involvement of the tribe in rituals to treat the sickness of a tribal member. Cultures that exist outside of the tribe may have some difficulty understanding their cultural beliefs and alternative practices, but these practices have been around for centuries. The following are census facts and demographic statistics of the Native American Indian: “Total American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) alone population: 2.9 million or about 0.9 percent of the US population. About 32% of Natives are under the age of 18, compared to only 24% of the total population...
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...develop a research question that lends itself to further exploration and debate—a question you genuinely want to know the answer to. Try to pick a research question that is neither too broad (covering too much) or too narrow (covering too little). It should be broad enough to be discussed in a short research paper. Part 1: Complete the Research Plan |What is your general topic or area of interest? |My general topic area of interest is Native American Culture. | | | | | | | |What is it about your general topic that interests you? |The thing that interests me the most about native American culture is | | |their wedding rituals and newborn rituals. | |What questions do you have about the topic that you would like...
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...Alternate Gender Roles in Native American and Hindu Societies Sara Boater Anthropology 101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology Cal Overton January 09, 2014 While many cultures have defined societal gender roles that are specifically male or female, there are some cultures that also recognize that some individuals belong to an alternate gender role. Individuals that may participate in alternate gender roles are those that are born as male of female, but identify themselves as being the opposite of their biological sex. These individuals may also be only sexually attracted to members of the same sex as well. Some cultures recognize this alternate gender role, and even consider them to be holy, others may be more judgmental and may even harbor prejudice and hatred. While the reasons that people might identify themselves as a gender that is opposite of their own may be mostly the same from culture to culture, they way that they are viewed is usually quite different. It can also be said that many cultures choose not to even recognize alternate gender roles within their societies,which is usually because these individuals are highly misunderstood. Though many cultures end up fearing what they don't understand, there are two that have at one time embraced and celebrated the people that identified with the alternate gender roles. The Native Americans have their Two Spirits, and Indians have their Hijra. These two cultures may share many similar traits...
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...patients may practice in order to provide competent medical care. Providing medical care should include cultural, religious and spiritual beliefs and values of the patient, in order to provide holistic care for the patient. The belief systems of Buddhism, Native Americans and Jehovah’s witnesses will be reviewed to determine similarities and differences and compared to Christian beliefs as well as the views and beliefs of the author of this paper, and provision of health care and care providers. Spiritual Perspective on Healing Even though the definitions and expressions vary most Americans consider religion and spirituality a large part of who they are. (Klilewer, 2004, p. 4) In Jehovah’s Witnesses and Native American and Christianity there is belief in God as the creator of Heaven, Earth, and the universe, where as with Buddhists this speculation is rejected. ("What do Buddhists Believe?," 2013, p. 3) Buddhists and Native Americans do not believe in prolonging life by artificial means, death should be peaceful. (Bhikshu, 2010, para. 4) For Native Americans maintaining life by artificial means is not encouraged, end of life prayers are said and family is present. ("Guidelines for Health Care Providers Interacting with American Indians," 2010, p. 4) The Jehovah’s Witness believe that reasonable humane effort should be provided to maintain life, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not accept blood products as they believe it is forbidden by the bible in...
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...Native American Culture Native American Culture America has always been described as one of the richest cultural regions. If you look at the American culture now, you will find that it has a really huge variety and diversity. And so if you study the history of America, you will find the same thing. America passed through multicultural stages until it reached what it is now. In this essay I will talk about the indigenous people in North America, which called Native American, or sometimes American Indians. First of all, I’m going to talk a little about some facts in the history of Native American people. The Native people were first who lived in this land “America” “They had lived in the land many, many years before white man set foot on their soil”(1). As any other cultures there are prosperity periods and another tragic periods. The period from the 16th through the 19th centuries was a tragic period for Native American. The population of Native American people was declining considerably in that period because of many reasons. The most harmful cause of this decrease in population was the epidemic disease that brought from Europe. An interesting piece of information is that the Native Americans were named “Indian” mistakenly! You would ask how is that? That accidentally happened when Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed that he landed in India. One of the most important aspects in the Native American people culture is their rituals and beliefs. Native American...
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...The Aborigine Walkabout vs. The Native American Vision Quest Curtis Shane ANT101 Instructor Kathryn Cohan May 12, 2014 The Aborigine Walkabout vs. The Native American Vision Quest There are many different tribes all around the world that have their own individual types of rituals they perform for a rite of passage. This paper will discuss the differences and the similarities between an Austalian Aborigine walkabout versus a Native American vision quest, and how and why the differences may exist. The ancestors of today's Aboriginal people arrived in Australia about 50,000 years ago. Scientists believe that these first people came by boat from the Southeastern part of Asia which was the closest land that was inhabited by human beings at that time. This consisted from the tropical rain forests to the central deserts. There were probably from 500,000 to 1 million Aboriginal people living in Australia when European settlers first reached the island continent in 1788 (Rose, D 2014). So it’s safe to say these type practices have been around for a very long time. The aborigine were the first people of Australia. “The word aborigine comes from the Latin phrase ab origine, meaning from the beginning. When spelled with a small a, the word aborigines refers to any people whose ancestors were the first people to live in a country” (Rose, D, 2014). Also, the world was not evolved like it is today, so this type of scenario would seem more common and accepted because life was...
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...11/10/11 Foundations of HPE 8:00 Native American Influence on Sport Looking at today's sports it would be hard to guess that Native Americans had any type of influence on sports and recreation. The famous sports today make it hard to notice any type of culture mix other than a large debate about mascots. The larger and better known sports (football, baseball, basketball) all have hardly been influenced by Native Americans. Although, there are many ways the Native Americans have influenced recreaction we participate in and spectate today. The little effect has usually come from elite athletes with a strong Native American background. Jim Thorpe was naturally athletic and excelled in every sport he participated in. His credentials are a perfect example; he was a 2 time college football All American for Carlisle Pennsylvania. He also won many gold medals in the 1912 Olympics in the decathlon and pentathlon (Sports Experience, 1999)."Jim's contemporaries, including George Halas, give full credit to Jim Thorpe for the great success, the early success, in the formative years of the NFL." once said by Robert Wheeler. Another example is coach Phil Jackson (former Chicago Bulls head coach and present L.A. Lakers head coach), who used Native American superstition to improve the attitude of his players, including Michael Jordan (hall of famer), Kobe Bryant, and Shaq O’Neil. Coach Jackson used similar techniques used by the Lakota Sioux, such as burning sage because he believed...
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...be purely on an individual level, within a group, or an entire country and culture. Cultural dances are so precious to many civilizations, as they often contain pieces of their history and livelihood that would otherwise be lost. The American Indians are an example of this, as many tribes have looked to dance in the past as a way to convey joy, mourning, and even times of battle and war. The same is true at the roots of many people groups, as dance is a common language that unites us all on some level. The fact so much of the culture of the numerous tribes that once dominated this continent has been lost to history, makes the dances that still survive today so important, not only to continue the traditions of their ancestors, but to show the rest of the world what it means to be Native American. Like other cultural groups around the globe, Indians have their own unique style of dance that accompanies a range of rituals. Dance is the chosen mechanism of religious expression because of its potent expressive capabilities. Native American dance is a valued tradition among the first nation of North America. Because there are several different tribal groups living within the United States and Canada, each group has their own distinct Native American dance which sets them apart. To truly appreciate the amount of different tribes, someone would just have to look at the map shown below, which of course only shows major tribes, with countless minor ones each having their own distinct...
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...The Health Status of the American Indian Bonnie Watkins Grand Canyon University The Health Status of the American Indian The American Indian has long been without adequate healthcare. It was without choice that they were forced trade their land and resources for care and protection offered by the Anglo-Americans ("Barriers," 2016). In 1955 the Indian Health Service was created to provide healthcare to the American Indians. Although the intent was good, this service has lacked the necessary resources to provide proficient care to the American Indian. Unfortunately, little has changed, and the American Indian continues to lack the resources necessary to obtain adequate medical care. Studies show that since the early 1960’s disparity in health status exists between the American Indian and the Anglo American. It consistently documented poorer health, with an increase in diseases such as cardiovascular, diabetes, cancer, and depression. From the report: Invisible Tribes: Urban Indians and Their Health in a Changing World findings were: * 30 percent of American Indians/Alaska Natives adults suffer from depression ("American Indians Urban Needs," 2007). * American Indians/Alaska Natives have higher prevalence of diabetes ("American Indians Urban Needs," 2007). * Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among American Indians and Alaska Natives ("American Indians Urban Needs," 2007). One of the biggest challenges is the inability to access adequate...
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...Are Native American and African Religions best described as Monotheistic, Polytheistic, or Monistic? Provide examples, reasoning and appropriate evidence for your position. Monotheism is described as the belief in a single supreme god. Polytheism is described as the belief in more than one deity. And Monism is described as that reality is a unified whole and that all existing things can be ascribed to or described by a single concept or system. Religions of Native Americans are Polytheistic, where”all the nature is alive with spirits.” (Hopfe, Religions of the World pg. 30) Spirits of animals and plants appear in their visions. They have guardian spirits of a variety of different animals, spirits of their dead people, and those who live in the land of the dead. The center or heart of nature is called “Mother Earth”. (Hopfe, Religions of the World pg. 30) Native Americans believe in many different gods and spirits, believing that they exist everywhere. Native Americans protect themselves from the spirit world is by using Taboos. Taboos are “all actions, circumstances, persons, etc., which owing to their dangerousness fall outside the normal everyday categories of existence. (Hopfe, Religions of the World pg. 34) Taboo is more or less a religious way people avoid certain people, places or objects. For example, in order to avoid their dead, Native Americans had a specific person, someone other than a family member handles the dead and sometimes the dead person’s belongings...
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...for any sickness and healing that needs to be done. The modern Navajo has established the Indian Health Service as their standard medical facility and agency. I will go into more detail on all three areas of the tribe’s society of the Navajo people throughout this paper. The tribes of the Navajo Indians are located in Southwest region of the United States. They range from Southwestern Colorado, Northwestern New Mexico, and Northeastern Arizona. Most of the Navajo Indians live on reservations in northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico. The Navajo are the second largest of the Native American tribes and have a population of 7.2% of the Native Americans. They are second to Native Alaskans ((U.S. Census Bureau, 2008).. The marriage rate in the Navajo nation is forty five percent. Only seven percent have a college degree. They have the lowest income level out of all of the Native American tribes. They have a large poverty rate at thirty seven percent. The La Plata Mountain of Southwest Colorado are considered a sacred place for the Navajo. The Dine’ is the word Navajo use for their tribe. That is Navajo in their language. Navajo society is a holistic and collective society focusing around oneself, the good of the tribe, and the natural ecology around them. The Navajo try to maintain their traditional lifestyle and values, but there has been a strong influence from western culture, including the churches (John, 1998; Lamphere,...
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