It can therefore be concluded from the analysis above that though there are many similar aspects between the two plains Indian cultures, there are also just as many unique differences between them. The differences are often subtle and hidden deep in their worldview. On the whole, both cultures seem to have a similar perception of gender, but the narratives and traditions that led to the existent perception is different. For e.g. Lakota creation story, if taken individually, seems to ostracize women, whereas the Cree creation story doesn’t. Other stories in Cree culture seems to exclude women as protagonists, whereas one of the most important stories for Lakota has a woman as their protagonist. In terms of ceremonies, the Cree had a more even split as to which gender conducted the ceremonies by indicating certain elements for each gender. In the Lakota, as mentioned above, men were in charge of most ceremonies. When it comes to the differences in culture, there were sure differences in the types of ceremonies they do, but that was not focused upon as it was outside the scope was focused solely upon gender.
As mentioned in the introduction, the aim of this essay is not to create false differences but is a humble attempt to educate the wider world about the unique
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The Syzygy was useful as a parameter to judge how the genders were portrayed in the cultures, especially when it came to stories. It helped the author with better organization and visualization of the subject. Compared to other archetypes, its versatility let us apply it in three different levels of society; Stories, traditions and daily roles. A possible detriment for this archetype would include the fact that it added another level of complexity in the essay, often making quite abstract connections that might confuse some audiences, especially those not well versed in
In “Tecumseh and the Quest for Indian Leadership”, Tecumseh and the many Indian tribes in west America spent years fighting for their land and trying to keep their culture alive. The story illustrates cultural aspects of the period through elucidating the important figure The Shawnees were a patrilineal tribe meaning they are traced through the males of the family. Although men were a main part of the culture, each village had an informal group of women who governed certain tribal rituals and set dates for many activities. Women were also allowed to save captives and prisoners.
In the text “Seeing Red: American Indian Women Speaking about their Religious and Cultural Perspectives” by Inés Talamantez, the author discusses the role of ceremonies and ancestral spirituality in various Native American cultures, and elaborates on the injustices native women face because of their oppressors.
The French offered protection from neighboring enemies while the Indigenous people offered resources such as fur trade, and education of European settlers on how to use the land. In creating this mutual alliance, the differences between the two cultures of people led to a natural formation of gender and power relationships. To better understand the meaning of these gender and power relationships, we can look at Joan Scott’s definition. Scotts states that “Gender is a constitutive element of social relationships based on perceived differences between the sexes and gender is a primary way of signifying relationships of power (SCOTT, 1067).” By incorporating these two ideas from Scott, we can better understand the different perceptions of social relationships between the French and the Indigenous people and how the misunderstood conflicts created a hierarchy and struggle for
Significantly, Welch deconstructs the myth that Plains Indian women were just slaves and beasts of burden and presents them as fully rounded women, women who were crucial to the survival of the tribal community. In fact, it is the women who perform the day-to-day duties and rituals that enable cultural survival for the tribes of...
McNickle, D'Arcy. "A Different World." Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology. Ed. Vizenor, Gerald. United States of America: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1995, 111-119.
For the Native Americans to explain their existence, they created stories that described how things came to be. These stories are much like the ones that you would find in the Bible, and are very insightful in getting a better understanding of the Native Americans religious viewings. The Native Americans strongly believed in spirits and beings of another world. In the Iroquois Creation Story, these believes are strongly represented by telling the story of two brothers. This story is a representation of how the world was created. There is a good minded brother and a bad minded brother, which are not just brothers but twins. These unborn brothers and their mother were sent to the back of a turtle that in order to secure them from the dangers of the dark world she fell to. In a hurry to be born, the bad minded brother murders
The Plains region extends from south Canada into modern-day Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. The relatively large area hosts many Native American tribes, which includes the Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee just to name a few. One of the biggest events and aspects of Plains region culture is what is known as the Powwow. This event is what makes this region unique and will be the main focus of this part of the essay.
The Apache and Cherokee Indians, at face value, may seem as different as Native American tribes can be. They both had radically different methods of dealing with colonists and settlers in their territories, were located on opposite sides of the continent, and had vastly different ways of running their societies. Despite their differences, they were also alike in many ways, and among these likenesses was the idea of reciprocity, a chief similarity that the two groups shared.
By analyzing the Kawaiisu, a Great Basin Native tribe, I want to explore cultural wonders and observe their society as I compare an aspect of interest with that of another culture in the world, the Chuuk. Comparing different societies of the world will allow me to successfully learn about the Kawaiisu people in a more detailed and open minded manner. Populations all around the world throughout time have had different views and traditions of beliefs. Through this project, I hope to unravel and gain an understanding of different perspectives and ways of life.
Lakota Woman Essay In Lakota Woman, Mary Crow Dog argues that in the 1970’s, the American Indian Movement used protests and militancy to improve their visibility in mainstream Anglo American society in an effort to secure sovereignty for all "full blood" American Indians in spite of generational gender, power, and financial conflicts on the reservations. When reading this book, one can see that this is indeed the case. The struggles these people underwent in their daily lives on the reservation eventually became too much, and the American Indian Movement was born. AIM, as we will see through several examples, made their case known to the people of the United States, and militancy ultimately became necessary in order to do so.
This paper addresses the results of interviews, observations, and research of life in the Ottawa tribe, how they see themselves and others in society and in the tribe. I mainly focused on The Little River Band of Ottawa Indian tribe. I researched their languages, pecking order, and interviewed to discover the rituals, and traditions that they believe in. In this essay I revealed how they see themselves in society. How they see other people, how they see each other, what their values were, what a typical day was etc. I initially suspected that I would have got different responses from these questions but in reality the results in the questions were almost completely the same. I studied this topic because mostly all the people that are close to me are associated in the Ottawa tribe. I additionally love the Native American culture, I feel it is beautiful and has a free concept.
There are consistent patterns or themes regarding Native American world views and the differentiation of cultural elements and society. Native Americans retained control of institutional and cultural orders against the assimilation effort because all aspects of Native American societies are interrelated, guided by the broader cultural world views. Each cultural or institutional element is, in fact, overlapped with other elements, so change in one element inevitably affects the broader cultural and social complex. While adopting to a new environment and small changes was possible in the West, where social and cultural elements are separate from each other, Native Americans were faced with conflicts and a potential, large disruption of the existing social orders.
The Cree people have a rich and diverse history. Through methods of written and oral teachings, a greater understanding of the Cree people and their history has become apparent. In the following, I will highlight portions of Cree history to establish an understanding of such a rich culture. As a guide, I will use ideas highlighted in Jim Kanepetew’s (n.d) teachings of “The Ten Treaty Sticks”. Underlying concepts from “The Ten Treaty Sticks” have implications on both past and current practices of the Cree people. Since a large portion of the final exam is a chronological list of happenings, I will examine and extend the teachings of “The Ten Treaty Sticks” and how these align with teachings throughout the course. Using “The Ten Treaty Sticks” as a guide, I
The Cheyenne Indians had quite an interesting life and many different customs that even live on today. The daily life of a Cheyenne always began before the sun rose. Women and men each had their own separate duties for the day. The women would prepare the meals while the men and boys would herd up the horses back to their camp. Each day, also, there were daily activities announced to everyone in the tribe. These activities included the children to go out and play for most of the day, the women would clean and have their time to converse with the other women, and the men would go out and play w...
Prior to 15th century colonization, indigenous peoples of North America enjoyed a gender system that included not only women and men, but also a third gender known as Two-Spirit. In Native American culture, individuals who identified as Two-Spirit were revered by society and held important roles among tribes. In their article “The Way of the Two-Spirited Pe...