He describes that Native American population as having incredible adaptability and perseverance (Edmunds, p. 728). I fear that this conclusion is an attempt at trying to avoid sounding disparaging about a minority group that ignores some of the harsher realties of modern life for the vast majority of Native Americans in the modern United States. Yes, his conclusion that the numbers of Native Americans in the United States have increased dramatically from their all-time low is true. However, judging the robustness of a civilization based only on its population numbers seems to be a very reductionist approach. Moreover, it lumps Native American populations together in a way that seems inaccurate. Modern Native American populations are "in all stages of development, from the most primitive to the most sophisticated. In the United States, they still speak more than 100 different languages" (American Indian Council). Moreover, the reality is that many of these different populations are in such distressed conditions that it would be irresponsible to suggest that they are somehow prospering in any way. While some Native Americans are doing well, "many thousands live at near-starvation levels. Some are educated and completely assimilated in white society; many live in nearly complete isolation from non-Indian-Americans. Relocation programs have taken hundreds of Indians to work in cities; thousands of others cling to the security of their reservations, hoping to gain education and assistance necessary to develop the resources of their lands and become self-sustaining"...
Moreover, since Native Americans have been self-determining populations since 1975, these results simply do not support the idea of a resilient community as described by Edmunds (Oberg, p.324). My concern with this optimistic description of Native American populations is that it is a way to minimize damage to Native American populations and may actually work against them ever getting the necessary resilience to ever thrive again.
Native Americans Transition From Freedom to Isolation America's history since 1865 to date is a remarkable record of various accounts of despair, hope, triumph, and tragedy. The country's history consists of some compelling transformations with one of these significant accounts being the battle between Americans and Americans in the final period of the Civil War. In its initial years, the United States was politically isolated from the rest of the world
Native Americans Dakota and Lakota people The word 'Dakota' is derived from the seven council fires (Oceti Sakowin) - or in other words, the main political units for the people of Dakota. The word means "ally" also referred to as "Sioux" at times. Historically, the Sisseton, Wahpekute, Wahpeton, and Mdewakanton constituted of western Yankton and Yanktonai who were together referred to as Nakota and the Teton and Eastern Dakota. The Santee Dakota
Black Elk utilizes his visions to create understanding of nearly all things he is later exposed to. The discussion in closing will further illuminate his utilization of vision, to ask for help for his people in a time of crisis. To discuss the vertical model of artistic communication it is difficult to narrow the filed to just one example, as Native American literature, and to a lesser degree film have
He uses her head for the sun and other body parts for the moon and other heavenly bodies (Cusick, n.p.). Tapahonso's poem connects the newborn female infant with an August sunset, steam, and hot rocks. That Tapahonso chooses to describe the birth of a female infant is significant. Through this choice, in addition to her references to both mother and daughter in terms of natural occurrences, Tapahonoso establishes that
Such a confrontational strategy represents a subversion of the Modernist paradigm that supposedly views the work of art as being separate from the viewing experience. When dealing with a live human being presented as an "object," however, one is forced to question that stance of critical distance, as it dissolves in front of our very eyes. Of course, a history of Native Americans' engagement with Modernism would require a much
Most Native Americans would demonstrate exceptional tolerance to other religions but their own religious beliefs are based on nature. Even though years of assimilation had initially damaged the cultural roots of Native Americans, there is now a new kind of cultural and social change that we notice in this group. People are working hard to reclaim their cultural identity, which has triggered a gradual process of cultural renewal. This cultural
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