Comparing The Cree And The Haida

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Throughout a prolonged period of time, most people have thought most indigenous people have had the same culture, but that could not have been further from the truth. The truth is that Canada has various different indigenous groups and cultures within its borders, from the Cree people living in the deep forest to the Haida people who roamed the oceans. While they might have some similarities like clothing or their past traumas, the differences are much more vast compared to similarities like who they worshiped or their spiritual and cultural traditions. By comparing, analyzing or looking at traditions, practices both physical and spiritual, or interconnecting relations can help people to understand the similarities and differences between various …show more content…

For example, both the Cree and the Haida people used the moccasin as a form of footwear and dancing was a huge part of their cultural identity. The similarities and differences also extend into their spiritual beliefs. Cree and Haida both believe that everything in life contributes to something. This is significant because it indicates that even though the Cree and Haida are two almost completely different cultures from two different places, they can still share some similarities with one another. The other thing that both of these cultures have in common is they are doing all they can to preserve their language in the modern world. This applies even more to the Haida since right now there are only about 4500 Haida people left (Coastal Funds) and only about 400 to 445 people speaking the language (Canadian Encyclopedia). This shows that even in the modern era, both of the tribes are still trying their best to preserve their old languages. Even though the Cree and Haida are two completely different tribes from different parts of the world, they still manage to have some cultural and spiritual similarities between the two …show more content…

Both expression of culture and spiritual practices do not define the similarity and differences between the two tribes as well as interconnective relations. By using interconnective relationships, people can best understand both the Cree and Haida’s views on the world. Cree culture holds that having everything and everyone being equal, together with a deep connection to the natural world, the nation, the family, and the spirit world, will lead to a good existence and harmony in the cosmos. Spring is the ideal metaphor for encapsulating the Cree worldview. Because there is no spot on a spring that is more important than the other, they are all equal and they all contribute equally to one goal in mind and that is to keep the spring working like how everyone including the spirit and natural world all contribute to the world to make it work(Researched Gate). The Haida’s worldviews are also very similar to the Cree in that they highly value interconnectedness, balance, respect but they also include responsibility, giving and receiving (COUNCIL OF THE HAIDA NATION). This is reflected in their culture through things like burying their dead or celebrations. However, interconnective relations also extend to the effects of colonization. This is so people can also understand what happened to both the Cree and Haida because of European

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