The sacred way of living is a common phenomenon among most of the Native American religious groups. Their practices also involved searching for holy places or seeking the sacredness of the earth. According to Hartz (2009, p.8), a good example is the Lakota Nation of the western plains whose holy men had to choose sacred countryside locations to perform a four-day Lakota ceremony known as the ‘Sun Dance’. The holy men had to perform religious rituals on the chosen land and sanctify it to assure sacredness.
This is a clear indication that religious groups have a strong believe in the sacred way of living and sacredness of the earth. About Hartz’s writing (2009, p.8), Lakota religion had to alternate the sacred places every year. Native religions, therefore, had implicit relationships that outlaid them as part of a religious lifecycle for life. Religious ceremonies are a reminder of sacred origins and indicate the necessity of harmonious way of life and a balance of the universe.
Ideas that promote harmony between human existence and the planet
Moral parameters
About Buerki and Vottero (p.46), on the identification of moral parameters, it would be important to engage in a personal debate over the extent to which decision would have on one’s reputation for instance; to what extent would evil deeds affect segments of the sacred way of life. Involving moral parameters assist in formulating the process of problem analysis and identification. Sacredness should also involve analysis of the effects involving legal constrains in any given circumstance.
Relevant Sacred human values
The decision one makes ought to enhance the sacred relationship with others rather than conform to a fixed code of ethics or religious culture. Administrations design some earthly internal bureaucratic rules and regulations in such a way that they enhance the internal efficiency but on the other hand, compromise the holiness. Ethically these are third party constraints (Buerki and Vottero, p.46).
Native Vs Contemporary Religious Settings
Native American religions and Eastern/Western religions have a strong devotion to religious practices and strongly believe in the role played by God in shaping lives. Religious exercises depict God grace over life through the enhanced safety and wellbeing and also disappointment or disapproval in the form of the existing misfortunes as well as tragedy. Considering the insight into the seventeenth century, the role of England Kings and the political role show needs to demand leaders who do not meander in the illusion of entitlement (Rowlandson, p.21).
There is a thin line between civilization and savagery. This is a forced upon the journey to the civilization of the twenty-first century and an indication that contemporary leadership depicts civilization as a radical and permanent change of the sacred salvation as indicated by lack of connection to nature (Rowlandson, p.21).
Conclusion
The sacredness of the Native American religious groups shows a huge distinction between good and evil, or savagery and civilization. Although they have, a wide range of ambiguous practices and uncertainties, the religious groups shows faithfulness, grace, and providence to shaping the world and that everything occurs for a purpose. People believe in showing the importance of accepting religion and aim at making sense out of such religious believes or preparations.
Various quotes from the holy books act as strengthening points for believers. According to Rowlandson (p.19) quotes from the Bible, for example, “the Load still showed mercy to me, and helped me; and as he wounded me with one hand, so he healed me with the other” is a close reference to immediate situations. Sacredness assists people in making the best out of a situation for a better situation and having a strong believe regarding religious believes is evident in today’s setting.
Works Cited
Buerki, Robert and Louis Vottero. “Ethical Responsibility in Pharmacy Practice.” Chicago: Amer. Inst. History of Pharmacy Publisher, 2002. Print.
Hartz, Paula. “World Religious Native American Religions.” (Third Edition). New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishers. 2009. Print
Rowlandson, Mary. “The Sovereignty and Goodness of God.” Bedford/Saint Martin’s publishers, 2002
Belief systems can have dynamic impacts, causing profound transformations in personalities and civilizations, for better or worse (Fisher, 2017). Animism was practiced majorly by the Native Americans (Fisher, 2017). Fisher (2017) enumerates that the concept of natural objects such as rocks, stars, and trees among the Native Americans has sentient souls. Since earlier civilizations in Native America, there has been faith in a diverse range of demons, including a water-bug demon and a thorn demon (Fisher, 2017). The spirits of those who were not appropriately acknowledged following their deaths also fell among the range of demons (Fisher, 2017).
These demons were perceived to be wreaking so much havoc that numerous measures were made to prevent them, including gongs. Additionally, Fisher (2017) suggests that evil – deflecting charms, pleas through spirit mediums, firecrackers, exorcisms, spirit walls to keep them out of entrances, fasts, incense, and prayers were also used.
The Native Americans took part in coming-of-age and initiation rites (Fisher, 2017) that included spiritual dance and sun dances to persuade spirits to their side. In several native traditions, it was believed that the best way to connect with spirit is to leave it to people who have been particularly enlightened (Fisher, 2017). Experts’ tasks differ according to a group, but one typical function was that of the narrator, who had to recall lengthy and intricate narratives and melodies to preserve and teach the community’s religious customs. The other prized function was membership in a secret organization through either invitation or initiation, enabling the individual to connect with the spirit realm (Fisher, 2017).
Fisher (2017) itemizes that mystical performers also brought invisible energies to light and that in some religiously diverse communities, ceremonies are performed by priests and priestesses. The Native American religions revered creatures and were naturists, clinging to the belief that they possessed supernatural insight and foresight. Furthermore, they envisioned infiltrating the sky-world and underworld cosmos. To maintain harmony with the cosmological cycle, the ancient civilizations invented numerous ways of intuition (Fisher, 2017).
The federal character of invisible spirits’ powers was also a firmly held notion in the religion of the Native Americans. Based on external influences on culture, the manifestation of religion has changed. Conversely, African faiths acknowledge the existence of spirits but primarily believe in supernatural creatures. Several indigenous religions acknowledge a supreme deity, whereas others identify with a massive array of beings (Fisher, 2017). Communicating with spirits was very crucial to several religions, especially in Africa (Fisher, 2017). All components of the human realm were considered to be endowed with spirits and interrelated, and respect is consequently required for all species and the natural habitat.
Fisher (2017) further adds that cultivating a successful relationship with spirituality was also a significant issue in traditional ways of life. The strength of spirit was thought to be particularly condensed in some holy places and persons (Fisher, 2017). The basic concept was to coexist peacefully with both the supernatural and the environment or nature (Fisher, 2017). Fisher (2017) enumerates that the African religions made many sacrifices to entice, attract, and communicate with the spiritual world.
Additionally, in the African religions, the initiation and the rites of passage ceremonies were also used to bring mature individuals to the spiritual world. The African faiths believed in cosmic tales to describe and comprehend phenomena such as reproduction, love, and sexuality. The African religious practices were practiced in a great deal of dancing and shouting. Consequently, the African religions did not revere the environment and the creation as much as the Native Americans did, but they were highly adept at summoning spirits for good or evil. For instance, Fisher (2017) describes the practices as being voodoo and carried out by witch doctors. In conclusion, Fisher (2017) points out that the culture of the African religion changed when modern civilization and Christianity came to dominate such rituals.
Reference
Fisher, M. P. (2017). Living religions (10th ed.). Boston Pearson.
Protest literature refers to a form of literary work that has been written to create some awareness or initiate an awakening within a society or community that is being subjected to some form of injustice. Protest literature highlights the struggle of such communities to overcome various atrocities and abuses directed towards them by other societies by describing how the members of those particular societies overcame the adversities. Native American protest literature was mostly characterised by non-fictional stories written in the form of autobiographies, short stories and novels that were authored in response to the American society’s infringement of the Native American people’s rights where they tried to remove the Indians from their traditional homelands (Porter and Roemer 21).
According to Newman et al (1), Native American literature became a prominent part of American public life as well as the protest culture of Native Americans during the period of 1790 and 1860. Despite being denied a platform to air their grievances, native Indian writers produced a wide range of literature that would be used to relay their views, opinions and beliefs in the society that existed during that time. Native American literature written during the 19th century was mostly characterised as literature that was in transition since it provided a bridge between oral traditions and the emergence of contemporary fictional literature during the 1960s which brought about the Native American Renaissance (Wiget 141).
Native American literature was characterised to be text-based and mostly written in the English language which was mainly attributed to the many missionary schools that had been set up to teach native American Indians the English language so that they could easily adapt to the European and American society which was in existence during that time. As a result of this, most of their literary works were infused with Euro-American genres of writing especially in autobiographical works, short stories, novels and narratives.
Because of the heavy influence from the Euro-American literary genre, most of the Native American writers struggled to express their views properly within the context of American culture. Their writings clearly demonstrated a struggle when it came to depicting the type of stereotypical environment that existed in the American culture directed towards the native Indian Americans. However, the 19th century writers were aware of how much power they had when it came to changing the political environment that existed during that period of time (Wiget 141).
Protest Literature Writers
Many of the Native American protest literature writers focused their literary work on challenging the political climate that existed in the 1830s which mostly sought to isolate and remove the Indians from their ancestral land. One of the first major writers of protest literature was Elias Boudinot who was a Cherokee born in 1804. He gained his literary prowess after he was taken to a mission school which taught him on white societal values, religion, communication and general cultural values practised by the American society. Boudinot excelled in the missionary school and after his education he returned as a spokesperson for the Cherokees making various speeches on their behalf such as the famous “An Address to the Whites” which was basically an attempt to fundraise for a Cherokee newspaper and school (Gray 155).
Boudinot’s speech highlighted the fact that the Cherokee Nation had the capacity and willingness to be civilized without the white society imposing their cultural beliefs and values on them. He however noted that the improvements taking place in the Cherokee Nation were only possible as a result of American assistance. Boudinot in his literary work basically asserted that the conjectures and speculations that existed in the American society on how practical it was to civilise the Native Americans were meant to be stopped as they were seen as major infringements of their human rights. Boudinot further argued that the Native Indians were capable of adapting to American culture if only they were provided with the chance to improve their way of live (Wiget 141). Boudinot was eventually successful in raising money for a printing press which they used to produce the first edition of the Cherokee Phoenix, a bilingual newspaper that was produced on a weekly basis.
The newspaper marked the peak of Boudinot’s career which however came to an abrupt end with the controversial enactment of the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Boudinot advocated that the Cherokee Nation should voluntarily relocate to the Indian Territory based in the west which was basically considered to be outside the United States border. The Native Indians saw Boudinot as a traitor for advocating for their relocation from their ancestral land and he was later assassinated by rival Indian factions during the forceful eviction of Indian natives in Georgia which resulted in 4,000 deaths (Gray 156). Another Native American protest writer was William Apes who was described by many literary writers to be the most prolific and effective protest writer of the 1830s (Wiget 141).
Apes authored “An Indian’s Looking Glass for the White Man” where he depicted the prejudices that the Indians were subjected to by the American society during the 19th century. Apes talked about the forceful attacks that were committed against the Indians under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and how they were subjected to inhuman living conditions all in the name of removing them from their ancestral land. He mostly concentrated on the negative side of the white society where most of his writings focused on resisting the imposition of American culture and beliefs on the Native Indian Americans. Apes authored essay “An Indian’s Looking-Glass for the White Man” written in 1833 challenged white supremacy laws by arguing that the American and European society were darker than the Natives because of their sins. Apes rejected the notion that the Native Indians were inferior to the white society because of their colour, religious values and cultural beliefs (Peyer 75).
The protest writer also authored a speech known as the “Eulogy on King Philip” which mostly celebrated the life of the 17th century leader and his fight against the New England colonialists who had been known to mistreat the Puritans in England (Peyer 75). Apes held the Euro-Americans and the general white society responsible for the atrocities, abuses and destruction that had been directed towards the Native American society. He explosively castigated their use of weaponry such as guns on innocent civilians so as to gain their ancestral land (Peyer 76).
Apes also authored other protest writings in 1835 such as the “Indian Nullification of the Unconstitutional Laws of Massachusetts and “Relative to the Marshpee Tribe” where the latter protest literature focused on the famous Indian Native American Marshpee’s struggle to successfully recover their ancestral land from the Euro-Americans. Marshpee’s struggle for the self-determination of the Native Indian Americans proved to be the only victory for the Indians during the volatile political climate of the 1830s. Apes most effective and prolific protest literary work was his “Eulogy on King Philip” which he wrote in 1836 where he sought to contrast the Puritans inhumane treatment of the people from New England with how the American society was treating the Native American’s by basically abusing their hospitality (Wiget 142).
Conditions for the Disenfranchisement of the Native Americans
The political environment that existed during the 19th century was mostly volatile because of the way Americans and Europeans imposed their culture on the Indian natives. Their literature was therefore dominated by literary responses that were directed towards Euro-American writers who condoned and supported the deaths of the native Indians. The Indian writers utilised their literary prowess from acquired text-based writing skills to author their versions of literature that would challenge the existing stereotypical beliefs in the 19th century American society where they demanded for equality in both the political and social community. The native writers basically made use of protest literature to inform the rest of the societies in 19th century America that they were not going to be silent to the various atrocities that were being committed against their people (Wiget 141).
Before the beginning of the Civil War, the native Indian Americans faced the major threat of being forcefully removed from their ancestral land with the implementation of the Indian Removal Act which was drawn up in 1830. The act stipulated that any Native American tribes that inhabited the eastern parts of the Mississippi River would be removed and taken to parts of America that were identified as Indian territory such as Oklahoma. Many of the natives who protested this move faced death according to the act, a stipulation that was seen by many to be an infringement of basic human rights. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 as well as the volatile political climate of the 19th century brought about many Native American writers who authored several literary works that contained protest literature (Wiget 141).
Government Polices that allowed Indian American Abuses
During the second half of the 19th century, the Native American community faced a new threat apart from the growing settlement of Americans and Europeans which came in the form of gold discovery in California during 1849. The discovery of gold deposits saw an increase in the number of immigrants from European countries as well as England who encroached on Native American land so that they could be able to capitalise on the gold discovery.
The migration to the western territories continued to increase even during the end of the Civil War which brought with it additional problems such as the increased demand for land. This forced the US government to forcefully move the last of the Native American tribes to the reservations by employing atrocious techniques such as destroying their food and water supplies thereby forcing them to move. This was seen by the government as part of an assimilation strategy that was meant to ensure the natives adopted the American culture and way of life (Wiget 141).
The government in 1887 enacted the General Allotment Act to respond to the increasing land demands brought about by the Civil War and the gold discoveries in California. The act which was also named as the Dawes act after its enforcer, Henry L. Dawes provided provisions that allowed land grabbers, Americans, foreign immigrants and Indian Americans who had assimilated to the American authority the power to allocate themselves land that originally belonged to the Native American communities. This allocation according to the Dawes Act was done in an inhumane way where any Native American found to be occupying the land under question was forcefully removed or beaten to death. The aftermath of the act saw the Native American Indians loosing 60 percent of their land rendering them homeless in the ancestral land (Wiget 142).
Sarah Winnemucca’s protest literary writing “Life among the Piutes” which was written in 1883 chronicled the impact of the westward migration on the tribal life of the Native Americans during the volatile political climate of the 1880s. Winnemucca was the only Native American Indian woman writer during the 19th century who was able to clearly portray the political injustices that were being committed against her people. Winnemucca mostly focused on the plight of women after the Dawes Act was enacted by recounting her own personal experiences of running away from the white man during the Bannock War of 1876. The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was another common law developed by the US government to forcefully remove the Native Americans from their ancestral land (Wiget 141).
The act was met with a lot of resistance from the Native Americans and especially from the Cherokee tribe who lived in the state of Georgia. The Cherokees had successfully assimilated to the Euro-American cultural belief systems where they even created a constitution that was similar to that of the American Constitution and they also developed a bilingual newspaper that was relayed news in both the English and Native Indian language. However, all this changed once gold was discovered on their land leading to the enforcement of the Indian Removal Act of 1830 by the US government which wanted to remove from their land. The Cherokees fought back against the inhuman expulsion from their land in the form a lawsuit filed in the US Supreme Court in 1831 against the United States government (Konkle 42).
The initial decision of the Supreme Court with regards to the filed law suit was that the Cherokee Nation was a dependent domestic nation that existed outside the US federal law. They therefore did not have the power to contest the Indian Removal Act of 1830 which meant that they faced eviction from their ancestral land of Georgia. The Cherokees however contested the Supreme Court’s ruling in 1832 where the court ruled that they reserved the right to retain their ancestral land but this court ruling was however ignored by the federal government for the state of Georgia who enlisted the services of federal troops to forcefully evict the Cherokees from their land (Konkle 42). A total of 4,000 Native Indians died as a result of the forceful eviction in what has now come to be known as the Trail of Tears. The Cherokees were forced to relocate to the reservation where they felt the impact of the new reservation policies which were created to isolate them from the rest of the American society so as to support the expansion of their society (Konkle 43)
Political Structures that Allowed for Indian Abuse
President Andrew Jackson who was the seventh President of the United States put into law the Indian Removal Act of 1830 that was meant to remove all Native Americans from their ancestral land. The law enabled immigrants and other foreigners to obtain the Indians ancestral land through fraud, bribery and intimidation. Such actions were largely supported by the political structure that was in place and also the political climate which was against the Native Americans. President Jackson was both a politician and an army general who fought against the British and the Creek Indians in the years 1814 and 1815 respectively.
His tough demeanour and aggressiveness saw him dominating the Second Party System which was in existence during the 1820s and 1830s and he also spearheaded the campaign to remove all native Indian tribes to the western parts of America. In what came to be known as the Jacksonian democracy, President Jackson supported a limited federal government that would allow the president more powers thereby strengthening his authority in the whole of America (Wilentz 160).
Before his election into office, President Jackson negotiated for many years with the Indian tribal leaders with regards to their moving to the Western parts of the country which most accepted by relocating to the Arkansas and Mississippi Territories. Despite participating in negotiation and treaty agreements, President Jackson is up to now remembered as the President who advocated for the total extermination of the native Indian Americans. His support of the Indian Removal Act was mostly demonstrated during his presidential campaigns where he advocated for removal policies that would see the natives being evicted from their ancestral land. The Indian Removal Act gave authority to President Jackson to negotiate treaties and agreements that would see the white society from the east buying tribal lands from the natives in exchange for land that was in the western parts of the US (Wilentz 160).
Societal and Religious Forces that Allowed the Abuse
Many of the American Indian writers of the 19th century wrote to their readers about Native American culture and the history of the Indians before the Americans and Europeans decided to settle in America. These stories were usually told in the form of powerful commentaries which relayed what the Americans and Europeans had done to the Native Indian people. Ape authored “A Son of the Forest” in 1829 to depict the abuses that the Native American’s were going through in the hands of the American government. The protest writing used in depicting the struggles the Native Americans went through mostly incorporated literary traditions that focused on the spiritual confessions of European settlers based on their mistreatment of the Indians. Apes’ writing was published during the time the Indian Removal Act was being hotly debated in the US government in 1829 (Peyer 75).
Copway’s protest literature “The Life, History and Travels of Kah-ge-ga-gah-bowh” which was written in 1842 incorporated the religious traditions and beliefs of the Western European culture of confessing for their sins. Copway focused on the missionary reminiscence of the various atrocities committed against the Native Americans such as hangings and brutal beatings and how these affected the spiritual cognisance of the Indian Americans. Copway sought to combine the Western European traditional beliefs with those of the Indian Americans which mostly concentrated on Ojibwa myths, tribal ethno histories and personal experiences (Branch 353).
The autobiography generally provided the real life experience of Copway when he was growing up in Upper Canada which is now known as Ontario by focusing on how he converted to Christianity as well as his involvement with the Methodist missionary society. Copway offered a spiritual narrative of how his conversion was a transition from his Native Indian American roots to his Christian roots. Copway basically believed that for the Native Indians to survive in the white society, they had to convert to Christianity and accept to be educated by the Methodist missionary society. Because of this view, Copway found himself exiled from the Native Indian community as well as the American society which at one point had lauded his literary writings (Branch 353).
Works Cited
Branch, Michael. Reading the roots: American nature writing before walden. Georgia: University of Georgia Press, 2004. Print.
Gray, Richard J. A history of American literature. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Limited, 2004. Print.
Konkle, Maureen. Writing Indian nations: intellectuals and the politics of historiography, 1827-1863. North Carolina: The University of North Carolina Press, 2004. Print.
Newman, Richard, Patrick Rael and Phillip Lapsansky. Pamphlets of protest. New York, Routledge, 2001. Print.
Peyer, Bernd. American Indian nonfiction: an anthology of writings, 1760s to 1930s. Oklahoma, US: University of Oklahoma Press, 2007. Print.
Porter, Joy and Roemer, Kenneth. The Cambridge companion to Native American literature. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Print.
Wiget, Andrew. Dictionary of native American literature. Oxford, UK: Taylor and Francis, 2005. Print.
Wilentz, Sean. Andrew Jackson. New York: Macmillan Publishers, 2005. Print.
Although the Native American trickster narratives are short and uncomplicated, each tale exemplifies an entire way of life. When put in their literary context, the plainness of the stories actually carries deeper meanings. Although the Native American people do not share a unified body of mythology, all the different trickster tales convey life lessons of ethics and principles of behavior. On top of this, nearly all the trickster tales among the Native American people carry the same themes and plot elements.
This aspect makes the naughty but holy Trickster a key figure in the Native American oral tradition. Whether the character is the wizened old man Coyote of the Crow tribes, Raven in the Indian lore or even Wakdjunkaga of the Winnebago, the narratives seems to be written from the same script. This research paper examines some of the major themes and plot elements found in Native American trickster tales.
Introduction
Although the Native American trickster narratives are short and uncomplicated, each tale exemplifies an entire way of life. When put in their literary context, the plainness of the stories actually carries deeper meanings. Although the Native American people do not share a unified body of mythology, all the different trickster tales convey life lessons of ethics and principles of behavior. On top of this, nearly all the trickster tales among the Native American people carry the same themes and plot elements.
This aspect makes the naughty but holy Trickster a key figure in the Native American oral tradition. Whether the character is the wizened old man Coyote of the Crow tribes, Raven in the Indian lore or even Wakdjunkaga of the Winnebago, the narratives seems to be written from the same script. This research paper examines some of the major themes and plot elements found in Native American trickster tales. (Smith)
One theme that is almost dominant in all the American Trickster narratives is Sacrifice. This is brought out in the situation where different characters perform selfless acts meant for the benefit of the whole society. In almost all the stories, there are instances where a certain character embarks on a dangerous mission that is meant to benefit the whole community. The recurrence of this theme is meant to make people reflect on what they can do for the benefit of humanity. (Babcock-Abrahams 150)
In the tale of Coyote and the Monster that is taught among the Navajo, Coyote is distraught upon learning that the monster has eaten all his friends. Although the monster is unable to eat him, Coyote does not relax but instead he devises a way to free his friends. The monster decides to convince Coyote to stay at his house as a guest.
The ever-cunning Coyote tells the monster that he would be happy to be his guest but first seeks permission to visit his friends. Without thinking of the danger involved, Coyote goes inside the monster’s stomach where he cuts the monster’s heart and he is able to free his friends. Coyote’s action is a selfless act that everyone in the society should emulate if we are truly willing to help humanity. (Babcock-Abrahams 160)
Another tale that bears the theme of sacrifice is the one taught among the Karok tribe on how Coyote stole fire. In this tale, Coyote is a spirit being who is busy doing his usual chores when he notices how men who have just come into the world have problems during winter.
During this period, the children and aged people usually die because of the cold weather. Being a spirit being, Coyote does not need anything to warm himself during the winter season. One day, Coyote happens to be passing near a human village when he hears women mourning their children who have died during the winter.
Moved by compassion, Coyote decides to help the women acquire fire from the fiery Fire Beings. Disregarding the beings fiery nature, Coyote embarks on a dangerous mission to get the fire. He rallies the support of other animals and together they devise a way of stealing the fire from these beings. In the process, the involved animals end up suffering for their actions but they are able to achieve their mission.
Finally, man is able to have fire for warming himself during the winter season and his children and the aged stop dying from the cold. This is a complete act of sacrifice since the animals that help in getting the fire do not stand to benefit from the whole mission. (Babcock-Abrahams 166)
Another central theme in many Native American tales is culture heroes and transformers. In almost every story, a culture hero transforms the world into an ideal place and most importantly teaches people how to live. The role of such a character is to help people in distress and to teach them lessons on morality and even to create things out of nothingness.
The importance of this theme is perhaps to show how leaders can help in bringing transformation to the society. A classic example of this theme is the Wishram tale that explains how Eagle tried to stop people from dying forever. After the death of his children, Eagle and Coyote embark on a journey to reclaim their dead children and permanently stop the pangs of death.
By using his brains, Eagle succeeds in killing Moon and rescues the dead people. However, Coyote’s over enthusiastic nature destroys the plan and the result is that people end up dying forever. Although Eagle fails in his mission, the story is a classic example of cultural heroism and willingness to bring transformation in the world. This theme is also present in the Navajo version where Coyote uses his brains to terminate the monster that has killed his friends. (Babcock-Abrahams 170)
Another theme that is recurrent in all American Trickster tales is that of bravery. It takes bravery for Coyote in the Navajo narrative to kill the monster and free the people. This theme is repeated in the Karok tale where Coyote confronts the Fire Beings who guard their fire throughout to prevent it from being stolen by human beings.
Despite the apparent danger, Coyote knows that if he fails to get the fire, people will keep on dying during the cold seasons. This theme is also present among the Menomini people where the Hell-diver warns the other birds that Manabozho was killing their friends. The Hell-diver does this regardless of the threat of developing red eyes for breaking the rule. However, his bravery rescues the other birds from the evil Manabozho. (Radin 33)
Although Native America has diverse peoples and languages, many elements of mythology are shared across the different regions. A male normally plays the character of the Trickster and his main duty is to show people the way they should go. In most cases, the trickster loves to unsettle people and create disorder.
In most narratives, the trickster is presented as a hero and he pulls pranks that in the end help the whole community. An example is where Coyote steals fire to benefit human beings without himself benefiting in any way. Another story is where “Trickster” disguises himself as a woman to ensure that his friends do not go without a meal.
Another tale from the Northwest Coast region explains how a certain chief stole all the light, plunging the whole universe into darkness. Using trickery, a raven flew into the land disguised as a seed and later managed to steal the sun ensuring that people got back light. This shows a consistency in plot element representation in all the stories. (Radin 37)
Conclusion
Although there are different Native American Trickster narratives, majority of them carry the same themes. These trickster narratives have been taught orally through the generations and they have managed to maintain their original message. The themes that are most common in the narratives include the theme of bravery, selflessness and transformation.
These themes are altogether useful in creating a prosperous society. This perhaps explains why these tales have continued to be relevant even in our modern society. The uniformity of the themes in all the tales can be used to depict the togetherness of the American society.
Works Cited
Babcock-Abrahams, Barbara. A Tolerated Margin of Mess: The Trickster and His Tales Reconsidered. Journal of the Folklore Institute, vol. 11, 1975: 147-186. Print.
Radin, Paul. The Trickster: A Study in American Indian Mythology. New York: Greenwood Press, 1969, 30-40. Print.
Smith, Jennifer. Africa Native American Trickster Folktales, 2005. Web.
The article Native Reactions to the Invasion of America by James Axtell is about multiple perspectives and reactions towards the Europeans’ American invasion. Axtell begins by pointing out the difference in the Colombian observations in 1892 and 1992. The author notes that in 1892, the Native Americans’ presence was unfelt as Columbus’s popularity declined. According to the author, the Native Americans only reacted to the European encounter.
The author maintains that the confrontations between Europeans and Indians were not simple. Each of the European colonies had a different approach to handling the Native Americans. The Native Americans belonged to other tribes, and each tribe dealt with the European invasion in diverse ways. The Europeans took advantage of the disunity among the native tribes to grab their land and exploit them. Most Indians attempted to maintain their tribal status quo by not essentially trying to defeat the Europeans. The author refers to the Native Americans as barbarians that acted enlightened. Axtell points out that Native Americans treated Europeans like gods.
The author explains that the Native Americans designed a similar language to the Europeans to communicate with Indians. However, some Europeans, mainly the Spanish, never wanted to learn a different language. Instead, they kidnaped Indians and took them to Spain to teach them their local language and have translators. Translators were essential for the Europeans because they needed to communicate with the natives while conducting business.
The Indians who learned well and became good translators were willing to help. Therefore, they were well treated because of their essential role. Accordingly, they felt their importance and dedicated themselves to offering their translation services. Still, some were disrespected and poorly treated and consequently taught their native tribes how to purchase products at cheaper costs. The mistreatment of translators further pointed to the Europeans’ exploitation, even for natives that served them.
During the East Coast colonies’ establishment, the Indians knew what good and bad things the Europeans could do. When the British first encountered the Indians, they felt that some Indians were aggressive. As the British landed, they brought with them deadly diseases, for instance, measles and smallpox. These diseases spread very rapidly in several Native American tribes. The author argues that the Indian treatment approaches made these diseases spread faster and more challenging to treat. Before the Europeans showed the Indians how to treat these diseases, many Indians had already lost their lives.
As the population of some tribes began to decline, most of them attempted several ways of reviving their population. For instance, they took prisoners from other tribes and incorporated them into their tribes. Mostly, the prisoners took the jobs of the deceased members of the tribe they got assimilated into and blended accordingly. The tribes that adopted prisoners did not set any significant rules because they needed to expand their generations. As a result, the tribes readily welcomed the prisoners as their people. The final strategy for some native tribes involved relocating to a different tribe regardless of whether they were friendlies or rivals. The author also explains that some tribes opted to move nearer to selected Europeans, especially the French. For instance, the Quebec establishment in 1608 resulted in multiple Native Americans moving to town to trade.
The outcome was that the Indians depended on the European trade. The author explains various ways in which the Indians dealt with European traders. One strategy that the Native Americans used against Europeans was prompting competition among them. The Europeans could trade in two rival towns as Indians inoffensively reaped the profits of reduced commodity prices. The Native Americans wanted the Europeans goods and had to improvise a strategy of acquiring them. Therefore, the Native Americans sold their land to the Europeans to clear their debts and purchase products at the Europeans’ stores. However, when the natives sold their land, in most cases, there arose disputes among the Native Americans regarding who legitimately owned the land. For instance, Cherokees and Creeks often confronted each other concerning the land ownership issue.
The confrontation between Cherokees and Creeks further weakened the unity of the native tribes and made them more vulnerable to exploitation. However, the Delawares sold their land while they secured their homeland for long periods. Eventually, the Indians started joining the Europeans as they learned their customs. Some Indian families sent their children to European schools to learn mathematics to become better traders. Some Native American wives accompanied their partners to the Europeans’ businesses to earn money by selling baskets.
According to Axtell, the Indians committed cultural suicide when they decided to join the Europeans. The Europeans had committed atrocities in native America, and the local tribes were already suffering from their invasion. Therefore, it was illogical for Indians to join them even though they were business-oriented. Axtell gives various reasons to substantiate this claim, such as diseases that ravaged the Indian tribe, which prompted them to move in an attempt to remain in business. As a result, the Indians had to stay with their ancient community or trade with the Europeans. The Indians viewed joining the Europeans as a better option because they would acquire knowledge and power. Language and mathematical knowledge appealed to the Indians because they would empower themselves to trade and generate more profits.
The native tribes that did not relocate from their homeland were unorganized. Each tribe continued practicing its beliefs and lived according to its rules. However, after realizing that it was time for a change, they felt they needed to do something. Unfortunately, it was extremely challenging for these tribes to unite and assist each other. Nonetheless, the stronger and braver tribes attacked the Europeans to defend their land. However, the rising European power eventually took the land of these tribes. Most Indians faced severe challenges after losing their land as they turned homeless.
This poem describes the feeling of happiness and ease that summer rain presents the narrator with. “Summer rain” can be described as very simple in its structure; however, the simplicity of its structure does not set any significant difficulty in rendering all the incredible emotions which summer rain may present a person with. This poem is a lyric description and celebration of nature’s beauty, and the effect it produces on the narrator. The author chooses to personify the Sky addressing it as a mighty father. It is probably done to encourage the audience to think about the superiority and grandeur of the Universe and show humanity the importance of a respectful attitude toward it. The significance of the image of Father is also in encouraging people to think about their origin. In addition, the poem is probably aimed to show the way interaction with nature as our source of life is important in overcoming the daily hardships of life and forgetting about them. In the conclusion of the poem, we read that the narrator finds peace and is calmed down from one’s every anxiety due to the happiness to feel summer rain and watch its beauty. The poem applies a row of graceful wordings and refined language figures.
Rainbow
This poem tells about the excellence of nature and the Creator over human beings. It encourages thinking over the very essence of life. The poem raises philosophic issues related to the meaning of life. Its figurative language inspires me to feel impressed by the mightiness of God. It also shows God as a loving person who created the Earth in such a way that might be pleasant and interesting for people to explore. The poem is full of refined language means and figures which significantly add to the impact it has on the reader; its language can be described as exciting and touching as a result.
Compare and Contrast Analysis of the Two Poems
Comparing the poems “Summer rain” and “Rainbow”, a row of vivid similarities along with significant differences can be observed. First of all, discussing the poems’ style it should be said that it is rather similar. In both of them, the reader can observe the excellence of nature and its inspiring perfection. Both poems can be acclaimed as a vindication and celebration of nature and its Creator. However, the second poem is more religiously inspired.
As to the tone of the poems under consideration, it may be said that the tone of “Rainbow” is more enthusiastic and praising, whereas the tone of “Summer rain’ can be described as very calm, steady and relaxed. Both poems demonstrate a respectful attitude to nature and the Creator which can be well noticed in their tone.
Finally, addressing the themes of the poems is may be said that they both feature similar themes. The poems greatly focus on nature and its celebration along with the praise of the One behind nature.
In conclusion, the two poems under consideration can be acclaimed as dignified pieces from Native American poetry with its main features of a celebration of nature and the encouragement to value every natural manifestation around us including rain, rainbow, the sky, the earth and so on. Both poems suggest the idea that humans are children of God and encourage addressing him with praise and glory.
The life-course perspective shows that the patterns of crime vary as per individual life due to different attributing factors. Researchers have proved that both distant and persistent offending owe their history to this theory. Consequently, their behavior pattern normally results from some life-altering events in the course of their lives.
Juvenile patterns are linked majorly to the role of schools, family structure, peers group and siblings. At an adult stage, factors such as employment system, marriages, military works and residential areas give opportunities for explanation over adult crime patterns. Native Americans’ crime pattern has been traced to their family structure, positive female and male relationship, marginality, societal structure, employment system and poverty. This paper is focused a life course perspective that is sensitive to gender and age among the Native Americans.
The research follows both qualitative and quantitative measures to determine the theory among these groups. Life cause perspective gives unique opportunities for changes in social institutions to those of cultural and historical times based on the experience of individuals and families. Currently, challenges encountered in this perspective include refining and testing dynamics, the emergence of a fully conceptualize extending across paradigms of continuity and discontinuity knowledge (Sampson and Laub 45).
Life Course Theory
Life course perspective has three major paradigms, each slightly different from the other. The risk factor model focuses on the victims’ risk factors and vulnerabilities and prevention methods. The second approach is the development model, which centres on the offending development and its related risk factors. The third paradigm is the life perspective criminology with a focus on events in life, transitions and desistance methods from crime.
A number of offending statistics have been presented from the life course perspective in different communities. Among the Indian American, majority of juvenile offenders are of ages 8 to 14. Statistics also shows that criminal behaviours are constantly increasing in the community. High delinquencies indicate more crimes in adulthood, and among the Indians men is most crimes originate from drug abuse especially alcoholism. Drug abuse forms the root of criminal activities in most native minority groups.
The most highlighted crimes in courts and probation units include excess drinking, sexual related cases, recklessness driving, robberies and murders. Offenses committed vary with gender and age among the American races. Teenagers commit crimes under gang influence while adult Indians act alone (Sampson and Laub 45).
Studies have shown that there are differences in offending patterns based on age and gender. Native American women are mostly incarcerated over drug crimes such as alcohol and they normally victimise their close friends or relations but show little aggressiveness towards the use of weapons as compared to men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 45).
Most recorded offenses show that men commit crimes under the influences of drugs and to defend their status, while women offend for family financial requirements. Most women offenders report early childhood harassment and abuse as compared to men. Youth victims among Indians have shown consistency to come from family disruption, trauma from learning institutions and poverty (Clausen, 840).
Literature Review
Researchers have applied life course perspective in many areas across the world. In North America, the theory has been used in the investigation of several social aspects including house work among men (Coltrane and Ishii-Kuntz 51). Military and marriage times have also been determined through the approach (Call and Teachman 221).
Sampson and Laub applied it while investigating crime, delinquency and families’ structures (Sampson and Laub 211). Consequently, some researches based on substantive fields have been studied through this perspective method (Coltrane and Ishii-Kuntz 53).
In Canada, studies have been applied using the perspective over grandmotherhood transition (Akiko 117) and transition of youth into adulthood (Bengtson 111) Several researches have also adopted the perspective in studies such as social inequality, aging families and social inequality (Bureau of Justice Statistics 4). In United States and Germany, several cross country studies have been carried out in determining life patterns (Sampson and Laub 76)
Countries such as Great Britain, Italy, Japan and most Asian countries have applied life cause perspective in different areas (Akiko 67). Srilanka and Thailand have applied the life cause theory in illustration of family support and relations in different relations (Clausen 830). Britain has applied the theory to show (Lewis).
In Germany, the life history study was carried out using the model (Brüchner and Mayer 46). In Netherlands, the study was successfully applied over young adults (Clausen 827). Bengtson carried out a study in Europe over work retirements and changes in the age pattern (Bengtson 89) Also in Europe and India, household formation patterns and preindustrial period inheritance Northern India and Europe (Burea of Justice Statistics 13)
Life cause theory has adopted both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. Among the most commonly applied quantitative methods include: Cross-sectional studies, life even analysis, cohort studies and longitudinal designs. On the other hand, qualitative and descriptive methodologies included: biographical approaches, archival studies, stories and narratives. The studies are consistent with several perspectives of life course theory and with the need to narrow micro and macro analysis and theory (Clausen 837).
Research Method
This paper is based on Samson and Laub 1996 life Course model. The method is developed to examine the correlation of social context, social control process and childhood family environment. The paper starts with the general sample data test then analyses the delinquencies based on gender divisions. The data contain 362 American Indian, 340 Hispanic, 320 whites, 16 Black Americans and 10 Asian American. Recording was done in dummy with 0 as an indicator of Native Americans and 1 non-Native Americans (Sampson and Laub 97).
Studies conducted among the Native Americans indicate that juvenile offenders are less as compared to adults. Native American Juvenile delinquency is rampant among boys as compared to girls. Indian boys’ crime pattern is rooted on drug abuse, majorly alcoholism. The most common crimes among the group include sexual harassment, robbery, participation in riots and murder cases.
Although slight differences occur among Native American communities, historical backgrounds significantly contributes to offending among the group. Family problems topped among the major causes of juvenile delinquencies among the group. Family issues cause traumatizing events in the Indian youth who opt to drinking and abuse of other drugs.
Most girls normally move into early marriages and promiscuity. Racial family disunity is common in the America toppled by the Black American. Among the Hispanics, several juvenile offending results from early family separations leaving the children under trauma in most part of their early lives (National Congress of American Indians 9).
Residential mobility has also contributed to offending among the Native Americans. Indians were among the most affected races in America during World War II. Many Indian men were sent to participate in the war more than any race in America. As a result, most of the single mothers during this time constantly in such of jobs and better living conditions. Studies conducted during the time showed high delinquencies among Indians than any other ethnic group.
Parental arrests also affect the youths and later determine their crime pattern. Researches indicate that, most of juvenile offers had records of their mothers being victims to arrest. However, the effect of fathers’ arrests played lesser influences over juvenile crimes. In American, courts and police records have indicated that most crimes carried out among the youth emanates from peer influences. Crimes such as robbery, drug abuse and rape cases data significantly shows constant peer influence.
Boys do record higher peer influence in crimes than girls. However, among the Native Americans, alcohol consumption among Indian boys is very high, while girls illustrate moderate consumption of alcohol according to the studies conducted (National Congress of American Indians 11). Incidences of alcohol abuse are traced to historical family strains and the influence of their surroundings. Indian youth also has demonstrated usage of drugs such as cocaine, bhang and heroine.
Consequently, police data shows that there is a correlation between drug abuse and other crimes. The Hispanics youth recorded higher sexual abuse as compared to Indians. Finally, studies have shown a relationship between incidences of offending and number of siblings in Native Indian families. Consequently, most delinquent youth were from low income families as compared to high income Native Indians.
The table below is a sample statistical data collected by the researchers(Call and Teachman 229).
Fig 3 shows regression analysis data from the cohort Study Population (Laub & Samson)
From the table, it can be seen that four variables are statistically significant among the Indian community. The size of the family is shown to have a positive juvenile deliquency. In every added Native Indian child, deliquency index rises by 2.31 units at 0.01 significant. Studies show that growth in the number of children, parental attention becomes limited as a result, some turn deviant.
On the other hand, household resources become depleted fast when the population is high. The result is that the children in the family faces a lot of unmet needs that they strive to satisfy on their own. Finally, the attenuation on discipline caused by large families loosens the child parent bond making the children especially teenagers to make their own decision. The parents hence fails to impact valuable norms to the children through socialization(Samson and Laub 147).
Employment of mothers outside their homes also indicates high significance among the Native American communities. It can be demonstrated that when a mother is employed outside home, child delinquency drops by about 7 units. Social life course theory explains that mothers have a lot of influence over the life of their children.
However, mothers can only be mentors of the children under stable socioeconomic forces. Native Indian mothers languishing in poverty have shown negative significances to their childrens rather than moral aptness. This is because some of such mothers frequent arrests under several offenses. Care under such mothers will exhibit harsh and erratic discipline that leads to child runways and other unexpected delinquencies (Samson and Laub 212).
Native American delinquencies have a lot of gender influences. This is indicated by the significant level of p<0.001. Girls delinquency is 10.47 units lower than boys. This can be supported by the fact that, boys show higher crime rate than girls Race as well is also significant non Native American having 5.5 units higher deliquency rates than Native Americans.
This is because most non Native American groups such as African American do experience very low socioeconomic indexes than the Native American families groups. From research findings, criminology is positively linked to economic deprivation and structural system. Life course perspective puts emphasis on socioeconomic controls.
Children in low socioeconomic classes are normally victims of delinquent behaviours as they are likely to form association with delinquent peers. From the data socioeconomic index almost hit the significance index at 0.5 with P=0.06. It believed that currently, life course theory has not exhaustively covered socioeconomic impacts and furthers researches are still being conducted (Burea of Justice Statistics 11).
While the study could be used to explain several life course perspectives among the Native Indians, juvenile delinquency has not been properly explained. This can be shown by the R-squared of 0.06, illustrating that the identified factors only gives explanation to 6% variance in delinquencies outcome. For better demonstration, the data were run separately based on gender. The result is shown in fig3 and 4 below.
From the table, it can be seen that mothers’ employment among Native American women hit more significant level than the prior method. While the first table showed 7.12, the second data shows 8.48 units. The second data as well tries to draw the effect of employment delinquencies based on part time and fulltime over the children. The part time significance was recorded at <0.073 while the full time was at p<0.001. Both showed a negative correlation to delinquency levels. However, mothers under full time employment showed more delinquency compared to par-time mothers. The drop of offending index is 9.12 and 6.2 among full time and part-time employed mothers respectively (Bureau of Justice Statistics 23).
Females have lower delinquency units by more than 10 units (b=10.26; p=0.001). This shows that girls have lower delinquencies than boys in this community. Based on race, non-Native Indians shows more delinquencies than the natives. The units are shown to be high with 7.78 units (p=0.001). The units are 5.5 units stronger than the first data. Socioeconomic reached significance of p=0.035. This gives an interpretation that with an increase in the index, delinquencies lowers in the population. The trend has also been shown in the use of alcohol (Bureau of Justice Statistics 23)
While the perspective explains what the Native Indian society, the society itself does not accept the virtues. As compared to most American societies that view drug taking as a mode of socializing, Indians do not support drug abuse such as alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption is the most rampart substance abuse in Indian society. In the Native American Indian society, alcohol abuse has negative impacts such as resources misuse and financial loses.
Many people have lost their jobs through heavy drinking pushing them to crime vulnerability. At the same time, a number of families have been broken up as a result of heavy drinking in the family. Peer influences are common with alcohol use even among those in their early teenagers. Alcohol use varies as per the ages, gender and race in this society. Apart from Alcohol, Indian society has shown abuse cases of cocaine, marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine (National Drug Intelligence Centre 10).
American Indian have recorded the greatest number in domestic violence, they treble African American cases and are said to be the highest in the whole of America. Studies also show that above 34 % Native Americans women, experiences assault in their life time. In the Indian reservations, this is shown to be one in every three women. Research shows that, these mostly occur to the young women below twelve years. Consequently, their behaviour pattern normally results from some life altering events in the course of their lives. Juvenile patterns are linked majorly to the role of schools, family structure, peers group and siblings.
At an adult stage, factors such as employment system, marriages, military works and residential areas give opportunities for explanation over adult crime pattern. The result is that the children in the family faces a lot of unmet needs that they strive to satisfy on their own. Finally, the attenuation on discipline caused by large families loosens the child parent bond making the children especially teenagers to make their own decision. However, these are only based on recorded information as several cases go unnoticed. Estimation shows that these figures can be low by at least 5% (National Congress of American Indians 19).
Child abuse and maltreatment have been recorded to be a major problem among the Native Americans. Most of child abuses have been recorded to occur among single parents and other broken families. Most of these families have socioeconomic problems too. Child trauma, depression and alcoholism, are among the most common resultants of such treatments among teenagers. Child work, molestation abuse and extrajudicial punishments are among the most common nature of child abuse among this community (National Congress of American Indians 23).
An Indian reservation harbours the most numbers of gangs. Gang are caused by poor socioeconomic structure, drug abuse and alcohol consumption in this society. The gangs robes, kills, rapes and trade most narcotic drugs. Law enforces have found it very complex to deal with these organized groups since the drugs well supports them financially. The growth among these groups dates back to the world war periods (National Drug Intelligence Centre 7).
Conclusion
From the study, it can be proved that both distant and persistence offending owe their history to this life course theory among Indian community. Consequently, their behaviour pattern normally results from some life altering events in the course of their lives. Among Native Americans, crime pattern has been traced to their family structure, positive female and male relationship, marginality, societal structure, employment system and poverty.
Indians do not support drug abuse such as alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption is the most rampart substance abuse in Indian society. In the Native American Indian society, alcohol abuse has negative impacts such as resources misuse and financial loses. Many people have lost their jobs through heavy drinking pushing them to crime vulnerability. At the same time, a number of families have been broken up as a result of heavy drinking in the family.
These have been demonstrated both by qualitative and quantitative data. Several researchers have also carried different studies among different communities. Life course perspective as well shows that there different crime patterns depending on race, ethnic community, age, gender and socioeconomic factors.
Works Cited
Akiko, Fuse. “Status of Family Theory and Research in Japan.” Marriage and Family, Review 22 (1999):73–99.
Bengtson, Vern, and A. Lowenstei. “The Life Course Perspective Applied to Families over Time.” In Sourcebook of Family Theories and Methods: A Contextual Approach, New York: Plenum, 2003. Print.
Brücher, Daniel, and K. Mayer. “Collecting Life History Data: Experiences from the German Life History Study.” In Methods of Life Course Research: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1998. Print.
Burea of Justice Statistics. Protection Probe in the United States, (2004(NCJ) 210676). U.S.A Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs.
Call, Vaughn, and D. Teachman. “Life-course Timing and Sequencing of Marriage and Military Service and Their Effects on Marital Stability.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 58 (1996):219–226.
Clausen, John. “Adolescent Competence and the Shaping of the Life Course.” American Journal of Sociology 96 (2009):805–842.
Coltrane, Scott, and M. Ishii-Kuntz. “Men’s Housework: A Life Course Perspective.” Journal of Marriage and the Family 54 (2001):43–58.
National Drug Intelligence Centre. Indian Country Drug Threat Assessment. Washington, D.C.: Department of Justice.
National Congress of American Indians, Law enforcement and Tribal Courts. Web.
Sampson, Robert, and J. Laub. Crime in the Making: Pathways and Turning Points through Life, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993. Print.
Land is a vital factor of production since it offers the foundation for all other activities. This essay explores the moral and legal arguments about the removal of Native-Americans from the Mississippi strip.
Background
Red Indians were the initial land owners in this region and only welcome white Americans to settle close to them due to their generosity. The visitors were welcome and given land to settle and later started their families and became part of the local population. To date, the local population occupies most of Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Alabama and Virginia.
Moral and Legal Arguments
Opponents
It is morally wrong to abuse ancestral land and relocating these people is not a wise move. All world communities have their ancestral lands that harbor their traditional and sacred places like shrines. Secondly, this community has lived here for many years and has known this place to be its home. Therefore, nobody should willingly or forcefully relocate them. Moreover, the people interested in relocating them have not exploited all other idle lands. These people have been guided by their policies and are not ready to change them. Lastly, land ownership is a legal process that must undergo scrutiny and investigations to identify land owners. Therefore, the Georgia state should respect the Indian communities’ right to land ownership.
Proponents
On the other hand, the attempts to relocate the Indian communities from this strip of land are an important undertaking. First, this community is largely pastoralists and only a handful practice peasant farming. These activities are unproductive since they have poor yields. Secondly, this community lacks a civilized way of life since they use traditional methods to keep animals and produce crops. They use crude tools like buffalo shoulder plates to plough their lands. In addition, they are largely pastoral and this means they keep moving from place to place. Therefore, relocating them will help in making them live civilized lives where modern technology is used in various activities.
Thirdly, this community occupies a large track of land covered by forests. They indulge in activities that interfere with natural wildlife. This should be avoided to ensure natural forests are protected against exploitation by human beings. Tourism can thrive in this region since there are wild animals and indigenous vegetation.
Lastly, all human beings are entitled to proper health, access to education, proper diet and protection against criminals and wild animals. This community subjects young children to harsh conditions (extreme cold, rain and night insects) making them susceptible to infections. The government has a responsibility of protecting the lives of its citizens and should do all that is within its powers to safeguard human life.
Opinion
The attempt to relocate the Indian communities from the Mississippi strip is a welcome undertaking if only the concerned parties observe the following issues. First, the attempts should benefit the victims as well as other people to qualify to be productive undertakings. Secondly, the process should be carried out in a civilized manner that will not interfere with their social, economic and political affairs.
Conclusion
The relocation of the Indian communities will without doubt face stiff reactions from the victims and other concerned parties. However, the Georgia state should consult the local communities and counsel them on the need to convert their land to productive use.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) is a federal law that requires federal agencies to return cultural items excavated from Native American burial sites to appropriate tribes. “Cultural items” in this context include human remains as well as various material objects that can be found in graves. The law was adopted in 1990. Within past 26 years, various activities were conducted associated with the process of protection and repatriation. NAGPRA is part of the extensive debate in the United States between the Native American community and the archaeological community. On the one hand, Native Americans insist that the bodies of their ancestors should not be disinterred or displayed in museums. On the other hand, archaeologists insist on the scientific importance of studying burial sites. Despite the complexity of the debate, its analysis and examining relevant examples can help achieve a compromise.
The debate of the Salina Indian burial pit is an illustrative example of the Native American grave protection issues. Exploring the Salina burial pit was important because it provided valuable material evidence of cultural and anthropological importance. But excavation of human remains provoked a strong emotional response from the Native American community. Walter Echo-Hawk, who acted as the community’s spokesperson for this case, said, “The time has come for the people to decide, are we Indians part of this country’s living culture, or are we just here to supply museums with dead bodies?” The attempts of the Native American tribes to return the remains from the Salina burial pit to the graves were presented as a battle for human dignity because exhibiting dead bodies was regarded as degrading and offensive according to the Native Americans’ beliefs. I think that it is very important that both sides, archaeologists and native people, had an opportunity to participate in the Salina burial pit discussion, which laid the foundation for NAGPRA.
The Kennewick Man case revealed interesting aspects of the graves protection and repatriation issues. With NAGPRA already effective, the remains of a prehistoric man were claimed by several Indian tribes. Particularly, the Umatilla people believed that the remains belonged to a man of their culture and wanted to bury them according to their traditions. Researchers, however, did not want to give up Kennewick Man because his remains were one of the most valuable ancient skeletons ever found. The complication was that the remains were about 9,000 years old, which made it practically impossible to establish their relation to present-day inhabitants of the area. On this basis, the court refused the local tribes’ claims because no evidence of kinship was presented. Attempts to introduce changes to NAGPRA that would allow repatriation of Kennewick Man were not successful. The claims of Native American tribes to rebury Kennewick Man are still effective. I think it should not be done because the remains are scientifically valuable and also because they are too old to be considered part of any present-day culture.
Addressing difficult NAGPRA-related issues requires two major considerations. First, we need to understand what the rights of native people are and how they should be recognized and fulfilled. Second, we need to define the role and interests of archaeologists and other researchers, whose activities may violate the rights of Native Americans. Failure to consider these two issues will significantly obstruct any discussion on Native American grave protection and repatriation.
NAGRPA is based on the recognition of the right of Native Americans to receive back cultural items, including human remains, excavated from burial sites. It is based on the beliefs shared by many Native American tribes that interred bodies should not be disturbed. Otherwise, spirits will not rest in peace. Exhumation and putting dead bodies on display, e.g. in museums, is considered by Native Americans to be sacrilege and a major offense towards their ancestors. Thus, the concept of scientific value of such cultural items is disregarded. I think it is important to respect the rights of Native Americans to treat the graves of their ancestors according to their religious beliefs. If this right is neglected, it will create social tension between the Native American community and the rest of the United States population.
However, it does not mean that any archaeological studies related to Native American burial sites should be shut down altogether. The conflict between archaeology and native beliefs, in this case, is much like any dispute between science and religion. The religious worldview is based on faith and longstanding traditions. Science explores the world through observation and analysis. When the two collide, there is hardly ever a way to decide which one is right because they are essentially different. However, since we recognize the rights of Native Americans to practice their religion, we should similarly recognize the right of science for advancement and development for the sake of better understanding of the world we live in. Archaeological studies produce valuable knowledge of the past and contribute to our understanding of history, culture, and the development of human society. We need this knowledge in order to secure a better future. For example, present-day medicine is partially based on studying exhumed bodies. Medieval physicians in Europe were not able to study dead bodies because of prohibitions imposed by the church, so they had to disinter corpses illegally and secretly, risking their lives. Later on, their discoveries about the human organism helped to treat various diseases. Therefore, we should acknowledge the importance of archaeology in general and studies of burial sites in particular.
Within recent decades, much effort was dedicated to finding a compromise. NAGPRA is an attempt to establish a framework where the rights of both archaeologists and Native Americans are fulfilled. The main achievement is that a platform for dialogue was created. Although there are still debates, we can say that NAGPRA is beneficial to both sides. It acknowledges the rights of Native Americans for federal agencies-owned items that belong to their cultures, but also provides conditions for scientific advancements. For example, NAGPRA allowed many osteology laboratories to receive grants for studying thousands of remains of Native Americans that had not been studied before due to the lack of funds. These studies significantly contributed to the development of osteology in the US. After the completion of studies, the remains were returned to lineal descendants. This example shows that a compromise where both sides benefit is possible.
NAGPRA deals with a very complex conflict between science and religion. Although the two sides will not achieve full agreement, there are things that can be done, like graves protection and repatriation activities. What makes these activities important is that the rights of both Native Americans and archaeologist are recognized.
There were two key groups of Native American in the 1930s. They were Algonquian and the Iroquois of New York State. The members of these groups spoke different languages. The Iroquois inhabited the central and the Northern areas of New York State. The Iroquois were also referred to as the people of the Longhouse. A single term that was used to describe the Iroquois is Haudenosaunee. Five groups made up the Iroquois. One of them was called the Mohawk and they inhabited the east. The other four groups, Seneca, Onondaga, Oneida, and Cayuga occupied the western areas of the New York State. On the other hand, the Algonquians occupied the southern areas of the New York State. These areas are the Hunson River Valley and Long Island. The Algonquian group was made up of the Shinnecock, Mahicans, and Lenni (Aguirre & Turner, 2005).
In the beginning of the twentieth century, the number of the Native Americans in the United States was approximately 25,000. This accounted for only 0.3% of the population of the Americans during that time. The Native Americans did not have the freedom to establish their own way of life. They were subjected to subjugation because of their race. In the course of the 19th century, the Native Americans were denied much of their ancestral land. They were forced to relocate to the west, following a series of treaties. The white authority did not honor the treaties that they signed. Before 1924, the Native Americans had no citizenship rights in America. After the territories were distinguished in the United States, the Native Americans were deprived of their civil rights and were regarded as wards of the State.
The things that troubled the Native Americans were keeping the legal status of the society, preservation of the elements of culture, and possessing the tribal lands in common. These elements of culture were contaminated because of the civilization of the Americans. The political problem that the Native Americans faced was the issue of land. To them, the land was particularly valuable, and they sought to retain it. The native Americans did not seem to give up on their right to own the native land that belonged to them because it was taken from them unlawfully. As a society, land is a significant economic resource of the Native American. According to Aguirre & Turner (2005), they ensured that their right to their tribal land was maintained by making it the source of their livelihood.
Legislation was enacted to constrain the Native Americans to their prejudicial boundaries; The Indian Removal Act in 1830. The Natives and the White Authorities signed treaties, such as Fort Stansix of 1784, to push the Native Americans further west. The move of this law increased racial discrimination since the Native Americans were not considered as a part of the other citizens. The Native Americans had to shelter themselves from the effects. The coping strategies that they used were effective in ensuring the overall well-being of individuals in the community. These strategies include problem solving, support seeking, and cognitive restructuring. They did this as they perceived high orders of racial discrimination. For instance, the problem solving measures that were related to confronting the issues of racial discrimination were made by making formal complaints. These solutions made the members feel more empowered and achieved control over the issues of discrimination. The detrimental effects that were caused by racial discrimination were minimized when the Native Americans got help from acquaintances. They received emotional comfort. In cognitive structuring helped the individual to internalize the effects of discrimination rather that placing the blame on others.
The Native Americans regained some of their land in the beginning of the 1940s. Up to date, the Native Americans are still in their reservations. This law that was enacted was meant to remove boundaries that were known to the Native Americans before the White authority regime. Even though not all the land that was taken from the Native Americans that was given back to them, in can be argued that the legislature made some efforts in alleviating the suffering that the Native Americans received. The people who invaded America pushed the Native Americans away from their land (Aguirre & Turner, 2005).
In conclusion, the Native Americans were the first group of people to inhabit America. Throughout their history, they were faced with political issues. Land denial was the most crucial of all. The other issue was racial discrimination. Retaining the ownership of land, reduction of the damage that was done to the land because of mining and retaining the elements of their culture were their political, social, and cultural issues and concerns. The legislators have some plans to constrain the Native Americans to their prejudicial boundaries. In addition, the same legislature made efforts to alleviate the situation.
Reference
Aguirre, A., & Turner, J. H. (2005). American ethnicity: The dynamics and consequences of discrimination. Washington, DC: McGraw-Hill.