Civilized, a word that has so many definitions, but so little meaning. In the case of Native Americans versus the European settlers and White America, “Civilized” was always the word in question. In the white’s eyes civilization was directly linked to farming, Christianity, and could only be obtained through assimilation into the white culture. Many Native Americans chose to assimilate out of necessity, seeking refuge from the white man, through the white man, while others chose to hold strong to their roots. We see the Native Americans assimilating in Sally M Reece’s Letter to Reverend Daniel Campbell when Reece talks about the “improvements” the Cherokees are making. Reece references how the missionaries have helped spread the word of …show more content…
Zitkala Sa refused assimilation, and often spoke out against it, saying her people, the Sioux, had been forced to leave behind their traditions to fit into the life of the Christian people to become ‘civilized’. Zitkala Sa defended her Sioux way of life, embracing her pagan title as she said, “I prefer to their dogma my excursions into the natural garden where the voice of the Great Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers. If this is Paganism, then, at present, at least, I am Pagan.” (Talking Back to Civilization 73) Zitkala Sa openly refusing Christianity is the biggest step away from assimilation, because one must be Christian to be civilized (Talking Back to Civilization …show more content…
The craze of Wild West shows, like Buffalo Bill’s “Wild West Show” made the white American public crave to know more about Indians and the wild west. These shows became so popular over the thirty years the shows ran; America welcomed the Native Americans as an exciting form of entertainment. Reenacting battles in a circus-like arena drew in crowds and thought the American public about the Indians culture. The once outcast group became a part of American culture through reliving old Indian versus cowboy tales (Talking Back to Civilization
Not only has religion been a leading factor in judging American Indians but has played a role in justifying racial discrimination throughout history. Through Christianity, Native Americans were viewed as having lost their faith, therefore this is why they are uncivilized or savages. Since religion is not enough of an explanation, the idea of environmentalism comes into play with why American Indians were a different color and why they moved like that did. In procession, Carolus Linnaeus created the classification system of four divisions of people, along with “…feral and monstrous people…” (40). Sadly, these terrible names connote that Native American are untamable animals. Due to “monogenetic interpretation,” environmentalism became the best approach to how there can be so many dissimilarities out of one variation as opposed to there being different origins of humans (42). Which leads to progress being a trending subject matter in studying because it helped give a more rational meaning to why there are so many different races of people. As a result, Adam Ferguson explained that Indians are at the basic level of savagery, thus American’s civilization has evolved from savagery to barbarity to civilization. Then Charles Darwin introduced evolution in the nineteenth century. This in turn caused many to use this new
The governmental leaders of the United States of America began implementing Indian policies from its inception. As Euro-Americans they expected all non-whites in the U.S. to assimilate into a Euro-American (Christian) lifestyle, without reciprocation or sympathy to the traditions and history of our native people. Our founding fathers and subsequent leaders of the United States at varying times have used suppression, segregation, aggression, and assimilation to manage what they perceived as an Indian problem, and civilize them. The native peoples of North America have responded to these actions by, at times, complying with the U.S. government and allowing themselves to be relocated to other areas of the country leaving behind their ancestral
Tan includes a direct quote from her mother in paragraph six of the reading, and she does not shorten it for an important reason. Tan decides to keep the entire quote instead of paraphrasing to add an effect that a reader can only understand with the full quote. It shows that even though some people speak the language of English it is hard for others to understand based on the person’s full understanding and comprehension of the language. In Tan’s case she is used to the way her mother speaks and uses the language, but to others it is almost impossible to understand. If it were not for Tan summarizing what the quote meant before putting it in the text, few readers would have understood what the mother was trying to convey with her use of the language. Tan’s strategy in including this direct quotation is to show that language differs from person to person even if they all speak the same language. She is implying that the whole world could speak English; however, it would not be the same type of English because of how everyone learns and how others around
to bring out of a savage, uneducated, or rude state; make civil; elevate social and private life; enlighten; refine: Rome civilized the barbarians. Dictionary.com - "The 'Dictionary'" The Europeans had this common belief that Africa needed to be civilized. As I read through these books, I felt that the Europeans thought they were helping the Africans become civilized through Christianity. Ones definition of civilization depends on their point of view. Joseph Conrad shows how the white man viewed the natives in his word choice, he states in his book.
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.
Have you ever felt stuck? Wherever you are, it’s the absolute last place you want to be. In the book Into the Wild, Chris McCandless feels stuck just like the average everyday person may feel. Chris finds his escape plan to the situation and feels he will free himself by going off to the wild. I agree with the author that Chris McCandless wasn’t a crazy person, a sociopath, or an outcast because he got along with many people very well, but he did seem somewhat incompetent, even though he survived for quite some time.
Americans carried out several assimilation techniques that forced Native Americans to change their entire belief system, culture, and customs. Assimilation, is ...
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.
The development of the Western genre originally had its beginnings in biographies of frontiersmen and novels written about the western frontier in the late 1800’s based on myth and Manifest Destiny. When the film industry decided to turn its lenses onto the cowboy in 1903 with The Great Train Robbery there was a plethora of literature on the subject both in non-fiction and fiction. The Western also found roots in the ‘Wild West’ stage productions and rodeos of the time. Within the early areas of American literature and stage productions the legend and fear of the west being a savage untamed wilderness was set in the minds of the American people. The productions and rodeos added action and frivolity to the Western film genre.
Another interesting element in relation to the content of the show is that, as Ann Fabian describes, ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West’ “presented audiences with imaginative solutions to real problems” (The West 131). Because the show opened before the official closing of the frontier, the audience could relate to or had at least heard of similar problems as those presented by Buffalo Bill. The majority of show’s solutions drew on the rhetoric of ‘American Exceptionalism’ and ‘Manifest Destiny’ and illustrated the superior Americans’ triumph over the inferior Native Americans. But not only did the show address those concerns and fears the closing of the frontier had caused, it also offered a cure: for a few hours, the audience could participate in
Impressively, the Native Americans “survived the catastrophe caused by the outsiders” with a disease that “killed millions, did not wipe out Native American nations altogether” (Martin, 2000). This is in part because of their religious “creativity and spiritual resiliency” that adapted to the new world while holding onto some of their own traditions and beliefs. It is certain that issues of the time reflected in their religion and “introduced major disruptions” but this upset “did not destroy them” (Martin, 2000). The stories and traditions were still carried along from generations to current day practice. It was possible as “ a shaman died, but a hunter remembered the songs of his father” and “a priest perished, but a seed-planter remembered the chants of her mother” (Martin, 2000). Certainly efforts were made in sharing the main concepts of their religion to the children as to continue its presence. The environment is persistently fluctuating, and the components that remain are those resilient enough to survive the journey. The Native American religion verified its place in the world as the result of the “long process of adapting to life in the new world created by unprecedented diseases and the novel presence of diverse European” (Martin,
”Yes, it’s only Reservation Blues but I like it:” On the Connection between Christian and Native Religions
The death of John Wright, to some, might seem tragic and unacceptable, but for one person in particular, Minnie Wright, it was beautiful and freeing. When you are oppressed and treated poorly your entire life, and your husband takes away everything that you hold dear, then something has to give. Can justice has been served in an unusual way? With the help of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, Minnie just might get away with serving up her slice of justice.
What makes a good person good? According to WikiHow, "We should learn to define our own morals ourselves. One of the simplest ways to do so is to love others, and treat them as you would like to be treated. Try to think of others before yourself. Even doing small things daily will greatly enrich and improve your life, and the lives of others around you." This quote shows us what we need to do in order to be what society thinks as, “good". In order to be a good person, you have to do good and moral things in your society consistently. However people might think that by doing one good thing once in a while will automatically make you a “good person”, but in reality it doesn’t.