Language has the ability to shape the way people think and interact with one another. Although not the sole determining factor in the organization of the world, it is a socially constructive tool that is fundamental to generating culture. As Kenneth M. Morrison writes in Beyond the Supernatural: Language and Religious Action, “language has a generative effect on all human activity, no matter whether language holds reality as representative or generative” (202). This is important in thinking about the power dynamics between Anglo-Europeans and Native Americans throughout history. Whites have used language to mold the dominant societal image of the Indian under a Western gaze; however, indigenous people have also harnessed the power of Western …show more content…
In We Have Religion, Tisa Wenger discusses how European ideals based upon the Enlightenment have shaped the Western definition of “religion” as an individual manner that is separable from other aspects of life (5, 11). However, the idea of “religion” is in direct opposition to the communal-based nature of Native American ceremonies that are intertwined with all spheres of life (Wenger 245-246). When people use terms like “religion” and “sacred” to talk about Native American cultural practices and traditions, they impose a blueprint of Western thought upon the lifeways of Indigenous people that warps societal understandings. Many scholarly attempts to unpack Indigenous cultural traditions and ceremonies have further reflected and perpetuated the Western understanding of “religion.” As discussed by Morrison, the view of Native American ways of life as supernaturalistic is limiting and warping in how it applies hierarchical Western ideas of religion to Indigenous peoples’ worldviews (202). Literature and scholarly work with discourse that frames Native American practices as part of a “religion” that is “supernaturalistic” continues the spread of these distorted ideas. Something as seemingly simple as word choice has the power to warp societal understandings in a limiting …show more content…
Whites using the Western understanding of the term “religion” cannot holistically realize the nuances of Native American ways of life, and often perpetuate stereotypes shaped by the dominant Western ideal. Moreover, Native Americans using Western language to define their practices can be shaped by the dominant standard much in a way that reflects and embodies the roots of colonization. For instance, Wenger discusses how whites in the twentieth century perceived the Pueblo’s summer ceremonies at Blue Lake, held in a secretive manner, to be immoral and sexual promiscuous to the point of needing to be stopped (2-3). Under the concept of religious freedom, the Pueblo were ultimately allowed to legally practice their ceremonies without interference “as long as Pueblo leaders agreed that they would not force anyone to dance” (Wenger 6). This is clearly in line with the Western idea of “religion” as individualistic. Just as Wenger clarifies, “the redefinition of the ceremonies as ‘religion’ subtly undermined the communal and holistic ideals of that tradition” (6). This is not to say that Pueblos were totally at the will of Western power and language. They exercised agency in defining their practices as “religion,” making a political choice in order to protect their traditions. However, this choice had complex consequences. Language in this case not only further shaped white understandings of Native
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
In George E. Tinker’s book, American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty, the atrocities endured by many of the first peoples, Native American tribes, come into full view. Tinker argues that the colonization of these groups had and continues to have lasting effects on their culture and thus their theology. There is a delicate balance to their culture and their spiritual selves within their tightly knit communities prior to contact from the first European explorers. In fact, their culture and spiritual aspects are so intertwined that it is conceptually impossible to separate the two, as so many Euro-American analysts attempted. Tinker points to the differences between the European and the Native American cultures and mind sets as ultimately
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.
In The White Man’s Indian, Robert Berkhoffer analyzes how Native Americans have maintained a negative stereotype because of Whites. As a matter of fact, this book examines the evolution of Native Americans throughout American history by explaining the origin of the Indian stereotype, the change from religious justification to scientific racism to a modern anthropological viewpoint of Native Americans, the White portrayal of Native Americans through art, and the policies enacted to keep Native Americans as Whites perceive them to be. In the hope that Native Americans will be able to overcome how Whites have portrayed them, Berkhoffer is presenting
The English took their land and disrupted their traditional systems of trade and agriculture. As a result, the power of native religious leaders was corrupted. The Indians we...
Professor and poet Deborah A. Miranda, pieces together the past and uncovers and presents us with a story--a Californian story--in her memoir, “Bad Indians.” Her use of the Christian Novena, “Novena to Bad Indians,” illustrates the irony of using the form of her oppressors as a call out for help, not to God, but to her past ancestors. We tend to think of religion as a form of salvation and redemption of our lives here on Earth, in which we bare down and ask for forgiveness. But by challenging this common discourse using theological allegories and satirical terminology, Miranda turns her attention away from a Deity to call the reader out for help. It is crucial to recognize the struggles that the Native community currently face. Californian Indians are often not given recognition for their identity and their heritage, and are also repeatedly stereotyped as abusive, alcoholic, uncivilized, and “freeloaders” of the United States government. Such generalizations root back from European colonization, nevertheless still linger in our contemporary society. Miranda has taken the first step forward in characterizing few of these stereotypes in her Novena, but she’s given her story. Now what are we going to do with ours? It’s up to us to create our
The depiction of Native Americans to the current day youth in the United States is a colorful fantasy used to cover up an unwarranted past. Native people are dressed from head to toe in feathers and paint while dancing around fires. They attempt to make good relations with European settlers but were then taken advantage of their “hippie” ways. However, this dramatized view is particularly portrayed through media and mainstream culture. It is also the one perspective every person remembers because they grew up being taught these views. Yet, Colin Calloway the author of First Peoples: A Documentary Survey of American Indian History, wishes to bring forth contradicting ideas. He doesn’t wish to disprove history; he only wishes to rewrite it.
Nevertheless, in the author’s note, Dunbar-Ortiz promises to provide a unique perspective that she did not gain from secondary texts, sources, or even her own formal education but rather from outside the academy. Furthermore, in her introduction, she claims her work to “be a history of the United States from an Indigenous peoples’ perspective but there is no such thing as a collective Indigenous peoples’ perspective (13).” She states in the next paragraph that her focus is to discuss the colonist settler state, but the previous statement raises flags for how and why she attempts to write it through an Indigenous perspective. Dunbar-Ortiz appears to anchor herself in this Indian identity but at the same time raises question about Indigenous perspective. Dunbar-Ortiz must be careful not to assume that just because her mother was “most likely Cherokee,” her voice automatically resonates and serves as an Indigenous perspective. These confusing and contradictory statements do raise interesting questions about Indigenous identity that Dunbar-Ortiz should have further examined. Are
In his essay, “The Indians’ Old World,” Neal Salisbury examined a recent shift in the telling of Native American history in North America. Until recently, much of American history, as it pertains to Native Americans; either focused on the decimation of their societies or excluded them completely from the discussion (Salisbury 25). Salisbury also contends that American history did not simply begin with the arrival of Europeans. This event was an episode of a long path towards America’s development (Salisbury 25). In pre-colonial America, Native Americans were not primitive savages, rather a developing people that possessed extraordinary skill in agriculture, hunting, and building and exhibited elaborate cultural and religious structures.
The American version of history blames the Native people for their ‘savage ' nature, for their failure to adhere to the ‘civilized norms ' of property ownership and individual rights that Christian people hold, and for their ‘brutality ' in defending themselves against the onslaught of non-Indian settlers. The message to Native people is simple: "If only you had been more like us, things might have been different for you.”
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 Native Americans who occupied America before any white settlers ever reached the shores “covered the land as the waves of a wind-ruffled sea cover its shell paved floor” (1). These Native people were one with nature and the Great Spirit was all around them. They were accustom to their way of life and lived peacefully. All they wish was to live on their land and continue the traditions of their people. When the white settler came upon their land the values of the Native people were challenged, for the white settlers had nothing in common and believe that it was their duty to assimilate the Native Americans to the white way of life.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare revolves around the love affair of Romeo and Juliet, whose families are sworn enemies. They fall in love early in the play in spite of their backgrounds, and pursue their love relentlessly, eventually leading to their tragic deaths. The main themes that Shakespeare addresses in this romantic tragedy are love and romance. This is conveyed through Shakespeare’s use of celestial, sun and moon and nature imagery, which captures the purity of the love felt and expressed by the lovers. Shakespeare also talks about the strength of the love between Romeo and Juliet and he refers to heavenly beings to propel Romeo’s burning desire for Juliet’s love.
Ed Christopher Vecsey. NewYork: Syracuse University Press, 1981. - - - . Native Religions of North America: The Power of Visions and Fertility. New York: Harper & Row, 1987.
Over the history of our country Native Americas have long since been oppressed in trying to practice their Native Religions freely, and openly. It wasn’t until the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA) of 1978, which “acknowledged the unique nature of Native spirituality” (Limb & Hodge, 2008, p. 618). This law stated that the policy of the United States would be to protect and preserve the right of Native Americans to believe and practice their traditional religions. This was the first major step in the United States history that sought to protect Native Americans and their rights to self-expression of spirituality.