Motherhood and the Politics of Native Americans

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Recommended: After reading horace miner’s body ritual among the nacirema, describe at least one of the nacirema cultural rituals or beliefs

Motherhood and the Politics of Native Americans

Community, rituals, magical beliefs and practices are very important things to Native American people. Native American people live by these rituals and beliefs, they live around their community; their community isn’t just that, but their family as well. Parents don’t just raise their children but the whole community has a hand in raising all of the children. Family is a very important part of Native American people’s lives, they keep traditions going with their families, parents raise their children the same way that they were raised by their parents.

“Reclaiming Culture and the Land: Motherhood and the Politics of Sustaining Community” is about a mother who is a Native American activist who has two children, she wants them to be raised and go to school in an Indian community. “I put my children in that school because I wanted them to be in the Indian community.” She explains that she is not sure if her children know what she is doing is common, but they know that what she is doing is right. “My children do have the sense that what I do is not necessarily common. Recently my daughter started asking me if I’m famous.” She has fought for her children to have a good life, full of community, ritual, and an understanding of who they are and where they come from.

“Body Ritual Among the Nacirema” explains that magical beliefs and practices is a big part of being Native American. They feel that they must practice their rituals daily to get a sense of belonging in the community. Nacirema Indians have a shrine which they keep charms and magical potions. They believe without them, no member can live. They perform rituals with these potions to make the ill healthy again, once the potion has been used it is put in the shrine box to be kept; normally these boxes are full or overflowing with potions. There are so many that the Narcirema Indians normally don’t know what all of them are and what they do, so they don’t use them again. One of the most common rituals performed is the mouth-rite; this includes inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with magical powders, and then moving the bundle around in the mouth in a highly formalized series of gestures.

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