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Compare and contrast european and american indian culture
Native American culture
Indian and american culture
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Cultural Affiliations Indian Americans refer to themselves as Indian Americans, East Indians, or Indo-Americans in the United States. They originate from the East and South India, where traditions and cultural practices are passed down from generation to generation. According to Dupree, Bhakta, and Patel (2013), most Indians move to the United States for better education, lifestyle, and job opportunities (pg. 314). After arriving in the United States, some Indian Americans start to abandon their cultural beliefs regarding dating, dress, and dietary habits and begin accepting American cultural practices. This is disappointing to the older generations of an Indian American family, who still believe in abiding by their own cultural beliefs (Dupree, …show more content…
Religion has a strong influence on Indian life and actions performed. Marriage for instance “has a spiritual sanction for a number of faiths. For many Hindus, it is an important step on the path of selfless action, or Karma yoga, which leads to ultimate spiritual liberation. Thus the significance of marriage as linked to religion has been highlighted by the scriptures” (DuPree, Bhakta & Patel, 2013). Religious actions are also taken when a person of the Hinduism beliefs are in a vegetative state or has passed away. In any event that a patient of the Indian American culture is placed on life support “involuntary euthanasia is against the tenets of Hinduism, withdrawing life support from a terminally ill patient is acceptable to avoid terminal pain and suffering’ (Gupta, 2010). When the patient passes, rituals are performed by a Hindu priests in honor of the patient and his or her family. Religion is what keeps the Indian American culture …show more content…
They originated from the East and South of India in Asia and immigrated to the United States for better opportunities in life. Today, Indian Americans are known to still be practicing their Hindi values and tradition while speaking their native tongue. They have a diet rich in saturated fat foods that lead to severe health problems like coronary artery disease, diabetes, and obesity. Indian Americans also do not follow modern medicinal practices. Most Indian Americans do not believe in being physically assessed by a person of the opposite sex and object most of the time to any mental health examinations. Mental issues are not tolerated in their culture because mental issues signify weakness and shame. Indian Americans like to treat themselves for medical issues by practicing alternative medicine. Their view on health is mind, body, and spirit. These beliefs are passed down from generation to generation in each family. Family is highly valued by Indian Americans. Indian Americans try to raise their children on traditional beliefs, so that they can continue to provide for the family. Most Indian American children are encouraged to get a high- quality education. It is important that the child can provide for his or her parents along with the elders of the family. In Indian American cultures, births and deaths are always celebrated with special ceremonies or
Native Americans have had a long history of resistance to the social and cultural assimilation into white culture. By employing various creative strategies, Native Americans have attempted to cope with the changes stemming from the European colonial movement into the Americas. There are fundamental differences in world views and cultural and social orders between Indians and Europeans, which contributed to conservatism in Native American cultures. In this paper, two aspects of such cultural and institutional differences of Native American societies will be examined: holistic Native American beliefs versus dualistic world views and harmony versus domination. These two aspects are important in terms of explaining changes (or lack thereof) in Native American societies because they suggest that the Native American world view is more cyclical and its components are interlinked, while Western societies have a clear demarcation between cultural elements, such as religion, kinship, and morality. However, there are certain limitations to the theoretical frameworks that explain conservatism in Indian cultures because these theories are oriented around the Western world view and were developed based on the Western terms; therefore, indigenous population was not taken into account when these theories were developed.
Texas Indians were very unique in their culture and way of life. The Texas Indians had a unique social order; physical appearance, acquired subsistence in many different ways, and had many unique cultural practice. As a result, many historians study the native Indians in Texas with awe and amazement. With a deep and interesting analysis of the Texas Indians, historians can understand the people; and their way of life. Based on the text, “La Relacion” which was written by Alvar Nunez de Vaca, an analysis of said subject can be conducted.
Considering historical evidence, the notion: Native –Americans was not the first inhabitant of America is a complete false. For centuries, history kept accurate and vivid accounts of the first set of people who domiciled the western hemisphere. Judging by those records, below are the first set of Native-American people who inhabited America before the arrival of another human race; the Iroquois: The Iroquois of Native Americans was one of the tribes that lived in America before other people came. Based on historical evidence, it is believed that the Native Americans came from Asia way back during the Ice Age through a land bridge of the Bering Strait. When the Europeans first set foot in America, there were about 10 million Native Americans
For the past 50 years, the United States Government has been conducting disinformation campaigns against minority groups such as the Black Panther Party, Black Liberation Army and the Palestine Solidarity Committee. The American Indian Movement (AIM) was not an exception. Propaganda was only one of the many tactics adopted by the government that AIM encountered. Others include assassinations, unprovoked armed confrontations and "fabrication of evidence in criminal cases" (Churchill 219). I will be evaluating Ward Churchill's article "Renegades, Terrorists, And Revolutionaries" on the government's propaganda war against AIM and will also be analyzing his claims as well as some of his rhetorical strategies within his writing. Were the U.S. government and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) really guilty of oppressing AIM as Churchill claims?
Through showing the different definitions of health, the authors explain how those different understandings affect patterns of behavior on health depend on different cultures. In addition, an analysis of the models of health demonstrates even western medical approaches to health have different cognitions, same as the Indigenous health beliefs. The most remarkable aspect is a balance, a corresponding core element in most cultures which is an important consideration in Indigenous health as well. From an Indigenous perspective, health is considered as being linked, and keeping the connection is a priority to preserve their health. Consequently, health is a very much culturally determined. Health practitioners should anticipate and respect the cultural differences when they encounter a patient from various cultures. In particular, this article is good to understand why the Indigenous health beliefs are not that different than western medicine views using appropriate examples and comparative composition, even though the implementation the authors indicated is a bit abstract, not
American Indians once lived a prosperous and full life, relying on the bounty of land and nature. Colonization by white settlers disrupted this peaceful existence, uprooting tribes from their land and forcing them to assimilate to new cultural and religion views. Years of mistreatment and abuse led to the organization of the American Indian Movement to fight for their rights and liberty. Through the AIM, Indians attempted to gain recognition and spread knowledge of their culture and heritage to American citizens in order to attain a place in society. Leaders of the AIM created a manifesto of change in 1972 which listed goals they wanted to meet under three broad categories: economic, social and political. While the AIM was organized in response to the lack of basic rights and oppressive nature of the US government, their goals have yet to be met with any long term success.
Native American Relations During the numerous years of colonization, the relationship between the English settlers and the Native Americans of the area was usually the same. Native Americans would initially consider the settlers to be allies, then as time passed, they would be engaged in wars with them in a struggle for control of the land. This process of friendship to enemies seemed to be the basic pattern in the majority of the colonies. When the English landed in Jamestown in 1607, the dominant tribe of the area was the Powhatan (which the English settlers named after the leader of the tribe, Powhatan).
Pages one to sixty- nine in Indian From The Inside: Native American Philosophy and Cultural Renewal by Dennis McPherson and J. Douglas Rabb, provides the beginning of an in-depth analysis of Native American cultural philosophy. It also states the ways in which western perspective has played a role in our understanding of Native American culture and similarities between Western culture and Native American culture. The section of reading can be divided into three lenses. The first section focus is on the theoretical understanding of self in respect to the space around us. The second section provides a historical background into the relationship between Native Americans and British colonial power. The last section focus is on the affiliation of otherworldliness that exist between
Sharma, Arvind (ND) The Hindu Tradition Religious Beliefs and Healthcare Decisions. Retrieved on January 17, 2013 from http://www.academia.edu/1774717/Religious_Beliefs_and_Healthcare_Decisions_The_Hindu_Tradition
Before the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed, Congress discovered a startling statistic. 25-30% of all American-Indian children were taken from their families custody and placed with non-Indian families (Fletcher). It is impractical to believe that that many American-Indian families were inadequate to have children in their care. Even after they were taken away, the government took no interest in the child’s cultural identity and placed them with families outside the tribe, where they were never exposed to their native culture. After the ICWA was passed and Indian families were kept together, many long-term benefits appeared: Security, pride in heritage, and participation in the use of cultural norms (Cross). When the Indian children were being placed within their tribes instead of with people of other ethnic backgrounds, the children grew up immersed in their families culture and grew up to practice it themselves. They learned where their
“Rituals and Traditions; It Takes a Tribe,” written by David Berreby and “Indians: Textualism, Morality, and the Problem of History” written by Jane Tompkins, both exemplify a typical controversial topic in the United States of America today. The US prides there self on the basis of freedom, and how Americans are made up of individuals with backgrounds from all around the world. Many consider the US to be a “melting pot”, a society where cultures are just blended together and not recognized fully on their own, where as others consider the US to be a “salad bowl”, where people of international cultures hold fast to their traditions and practices and coexist with the cultures around them. Both authors of the readings propose that generally speaking,
Cultural competence is a skill essential to acquire for healthcare providers, especially nurses. Cooperating effectively and understanding individuals with different backgrounds and traditions enhances the quality of health care provided by hospitals and other medical facilities. One of the many cultures that nurses and other health care providers encounter is the American Indian or Native American culture. There are hundreds of different American Indian Tribes, but their beliefs and values only differ slightly. The culture itself embodies nature. To American Indians, “The Earth is considered to be a living organism- the body of a higher individual, with a will and desire to be well. The Earth is periodically healthy and less healthy, just as human beings are” (Spector, 2009, p. 208). This is why their way of healing and symbolic items are holistic and from nature.
... wealthy or being in the middle class. Nate explained that the majority of Indians that were allowed to immigrate, especially in earlier years, had to be well off. This made me think more about various stereotypes and what we associate with different ethnicities and how these may come from historical or social events. If Indians were allowed to immigrate with different skill levels or without needing to be well off would the perception of Indian’s in the United States be different? How many other stereotypes of various ethnicities were created by similar happenstances? These questions, though hypothetical, help situate my thoughts about Indians in the United States as well as different ethnic communities. It is interesting to think about what might have been and how much of my perception of the world has been affected by things that have never even crossed my mind.
Why do Indian college students have high dropout rates? Why do Indian college students have hard times in college, and university atmospheres? Why do Indian college students have difficult times when it comes to making good grades? Maybe it’s because they have no role models in the home. Maybe they can’t relate to individuals with different cultures and backgrounds? Perhaps it is something simple as having poor study habits. The answers could Possibly be that Indian college students are just uncomfortable in a college environment, and don’t have an Indian studies program to go to, as in Reyhner’s essay. Whatever the reason may be Indian college students are scarce within the college scene, just as Indian people are in the United States of America.
People have been living in America for countless years, even before Europeans had discovered and populated it. These people, named Native Americans or American Indians, have a unique and singular culture and lifestyle unlike any other. Native Americans were divided into several groups or tribes. Each one tribe developed an own language, housing, clothing, and other cultural aspects. As we take a look into their society’s customs we can learn additional information about the lives of these indigenous people of the United States.