The Kwakiutl Indian tribe existed before the discovery of North America by the European culture and inhabited the coast of the Pacific Northwest of the United States and British Columbia in Canada. The tribe is rich in tradition and culture and has remained steadfast in their beliefs, history, teachings and artisan skills which have been passed down generation to generation. The artisans in the Kwakiutl tribe mastered the art of creating special ceremonial masks that are not only beautiful and aesthetically
The three Halls that I visited at the American Museum of Natural History were: Halls of the Pacific Peoples, Northwest Coast Indians and Asian peoples. All of these Halls were distinctly different from each other, although I enjoyed viewing all three, my favorite Hall was that of Asian Peoples. Of special interest was the Hall of Northwest Coast Indians, since I was able to witness and play in my head, a reel of the transformations it has gone through since the time of Franz Boas, as described
For the Kwakiutl People of the northern part of Vancouver Island, Canada, and the adjacent mainland, recorded history starts approximately in the year of 1792 when Capitan George Vancouver first made contact. As with many first encounters with Europeans, disease developed and drastically reduced the population of the Kwakiutl by an estimated 75% from the time of 1830 to 1880. In 1990, the Kwakiutl was around 1500 and pre-contact estimates are in the range of ten times that (Native Languages of the
American Indian provide information on Native American cultures that were deprived of their right to express and enjoy their cultural traditions through dance. Box of Treasures voice is described by Narrator Vo ,and Gloria Synch, a member of the Kwakiutl culture who actively tries to save her culture. Synch describes the loss of her cultures traditions by "white men" as a moment of sadness in the history of her people. Synch's culture is saved through preservation of their lost artifacts, organization
the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States, such as the Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Tsimshain, Coast Salish, and Kwakiutl (New World Encyclopedia 2008.). Even though there are variant names between each of the practicing tribes, the ceremony is uniformly practiced. In comparison to others, the practice of potlatch is a highly regarded tradition within the Kwakiutl and Tlingit Pacific Northwest tribes (Rosman, 1972.). Like all types of exchanges, potlatch defines relationships both within
The elders of the ancient Kwakiutl tribe in the book, I Heard The Owl Call My Name, by Margaret Craven, were naturally insecure with the ways of the white man, yet the tribal youth seemed eager to welcome the change in lifestyle. Mark, an Anglican minister, was sent by the Bishop to spread the ideas of the faith among the people of the Kwakiutl tribe in Kingcome. While performing his duties, he worked with the villagers on a day-to-day basis. He brought his way of life to the tribe and taught some
Should I help this old lady who’s struggling to cross the street? Our lives are the embodiment of the phrase “to be or not to be.” We are constantly faced with decisions at every turn and these choices shape our life and our lifestyles. At this level of thinking, there can be a notion of right and wrong. The “right” thing to do in the question I provided, as many have voiced in their heads, is to help the lady cross the street. But could it be that in a different culture, the right thing to do would
Should I help this old woman who’s struggling to cross the street? Our lives are the embodiment of the phrase “to be or not to be.” We are constantly faced with decisions at every turn and these choices shape our lives and our lifestyles. At this level of thinking, there can be a notion of right and wrong. The “right” thing to do in the question I provided, as many have voiced in their heads, is to help the woman cross the street. But could it be that in a different culture, the right thing to do
Kwakwaka’wakw Whale Transformation Mask The Kwakwaka’wakw whale transformation mask (portrayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art) was created in the 19th century within the Alert Bay region, located in Vancouver Island, Canada. Since they generally portray a specific family’s genealogy through the display of intricate crest symbols, finding the specific artists of these masks are very hard to accomplish, as there tends to be very minimal amounts of indicators regarding their production. Therefore
How Morality is Culturally Relative Abstract Within this world that we live in, there is an enormous amount of people. Each of these people belongs to different cultures and societies. Every society has traits and customs that make it unique. These societies follow different moral codes. This means that they will may have different answers to the moral questions asked by our own society. What I am trying to say is that every society has a different way of analyzing and dealing with life's events
These cultures are the Zuñi Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, the Dobu tribe of New Guinea, and the Kwakiutl Indians of the Pacific Northwest. All three of these societies have different cultural fabrics. Benedict produces the assumption that the structures within these cultures represent a “cultural context” and a large amount of what is considered “human
Northwest Coast Tribal Masks This paper describes the Sea Bear Transformation Mask, created by Don Svanvik in 2000, and how it reflects Northwest Coast Indian art and culture, specific to the Kwakiutl tribe. A transformation mask is a large mask with hinged shutters that, when open, reveal another mask. Audrey and Alan Bleviss gave this mask to the Montclair Art Museum in 2005. The medium consists of red cedar, cedar bark, copper, pigment, and string. In the Montclair Art Museum, the mask is displayed
relativism could not be widely accepted as a form of ethics while based on the idea that anything could be right or wrong. Another hole in this theory is when she references a group of natives called the “Kwakiutl”(Benedict 1). In Benedict’s defense of relativism, she states, “Among the Kwakiutl it did not matter whether a relative had died in a bed of disease, or by the hand of an enemy, in either case death was an affront to he wiped out by the death of another person.” These people sought revenge
Can we assume an action is moral just because it is normal and accepted by the majority of people? According to moral relativism, the answer is yes! Relativism is the belief that says moral principles are valid, but are different by individuals (subjectivism) or by culture (conventionalism). Conventionalists like Ruth Benedict claim that cultures cannot judge one another, since they have different principles (Pojman, 514). On the other hand, Pojman argues that there are some serious issues with relativism
Masks For hundreds of years masks have played an important role in the lives of the Native Americans of the Northwest Coast. They signify ancient traditions dating from antiquity to present day. The dramatic, colorful masks of the Northwest Coast are some of the most fascinating artifacts produced by Native Americans. Mask Making Although the different tribes throughout the Northwest Coast have different traditions and cultures, there are many techniques and styles which are common to
In Steven Pinker’s short informative article, “Crazy Love,” he defines the special effects love has on us as human beings, and the technique people use to look for certain spouses. Pinker claims that ever since the beginning of time love has driven humans to make verdicts they would not generally make. Love induces feelings not only of happiness, but of distress and irritation as well. Pinker begins to clarify how humans find a companion, and what they browse for in the opposite sex. He says that
Is it all relative? Moral relativism is a widespread theory that can be used to explain the differences among cultures and their ethics and morals. Ruth Benedict describes relative morality as a concept based specifically on the ethics of a culture and how they are related to those of other cultures. He argues that many cultures are so contrasting when it comes to specific areas of culture and lifestyle that they cannot be unified under one universal moral code that governs all of humanity. Conversely
comparative religion and folklore -- the study of creation myths, legends, and folktales told by Indian peoples; medicine -- tracing such biological factors as human bloodtypes to show how different peoples (the Aztec, the Comanche, the Seminole, the Kwakiutl) may well share a common ancestry, or studying the differing responses of Indian and European peoples to diseases to illustrate how contact between the cultures occasionally proved fatal to the indigenous culture; geology, climatology, and ecology
mentioned. To explain the complete meaning and symbolism behind this Bladder Ceremony in its entirety, is very difficult because every act that goes into this ceremony is meaningful and of concepts not easily understood. In the Eskimo society, the Kwakiutl men go hunting. To go and kill an animal is to kill the fleshed body of an ancestor's soul that is temporarily occupying it. So it is clear that this source of food (hunting of animals) connect the people to the ancestors or spirits of their pray
The turn of the 19th century brought upon a number of theorists both inside and outside the realms of anthropology to think critically about the discourses of powers that exist between colonialism and museum exhibitions. In the late 19th century and into the early 20th century, World’s Fair Exhibitions captivated the world with their grandiose architectural structures such as the London Crystal Palace and beyond. These exhibitions showcased not only the intellectual property of the West, but it also