European Influence On Native American Culture

To gain a true understanding of Native Americans and their culture, historians must not only examine the trials and tribulations Indians endured in the past, but also the contemporary issues the group faces. Currently, physical illnesses, psychological disorders, economic instability, and negative stereotypes continue to plague Native American communities. Popular sayings, like “Indians will be Indians” and “noble savages,” continue to haunt the culture. The use of the stereotypical Indian or “uncivilized savage” in toys, books, cars, foods, and sports teams, demonstrates how the American society is unfortunately accustomed to the prevalent stereotypes against Native Americans. The

Europeans and Native Americans have historically been separated from each other for over 10,000 years. The first major encounter they had was when Christopher Columbus arrived on the shores of Bahamas in 1492. What kept the Americas and The Europeans separated for so long? And what did the encounter lead too?

I must start off by saying I found these two chapters very interesting and I feel as if I learned a lot. That being said, issues that are raised with me was that I had no idea that Europeans had such a big impact on the Native American religion. Native Americans arrived on North American continent 15,000 to 20,0000 years ago. Since that time they have lived in nearly every section of America. With the changing of the continents came the different lifestyles and drastic climate changes. Native Americans today live in towns and cities and follow the non-native economic and social systems. Also, there are some who live on reservations protected by treaties with the U.S government. As believed by many Native Americans there was not just

In this chapter of the book James W. Loewen talks about how the Native American's history has been misunderstood because of the how the textbook company has either disregarded it or it just went off of popular myths. Loewen's major concern is how their civilization, how syncretism played in Native peoples, and how the Europeans culturally imperialized them into European culture.

Upon the first colonial establishments, the Europeans viewed Native Americans as uncultured, unintelligent, and uncivilized. The first colonizers found themselves ultimately superior to the perceived rudimentary cultural and societal customs that were observed. Native Americans viewed Europeans as a strictly one sided cultural mass enforcement foreign establishment, stopping at nothing to enforce their perceived superiority in all forms of cultural and societal aspects. Differences in land use, gender roles, and societal history added to the wedging and hostility between the Native Americans and European people.

The indigenous people have a long and proud history, including the rich cultural and spiritual traditions. However, many of these traditions have been changed or even disappeared after the arrival of the European settlers. Forced introduction of European culture and values, Aboriginal community, indigenous land being deprived, and the imposition of a period of governance outside the pattern of the beginning of a cycle of social, physical and spiritual destruction. You can see the effects of today. Some of the effects include poverty, poor health, and drug abuse. The basis of these problems is a loss of identity and a sense of knowing that their values are oppressed, and their rights are ignored. Likewise, non-indigenous Canadians have become increasingly aware of the unfairness of the richness of indigenous and aboriginal cultures that are taking place.

Before the Spanish ship that changed it all, which arrived in the “New World” in 1492, thriving organized communities of native people had centuries of history on the land. That ship, skippered by Christopher Columbus, altered the course of both Native American and European history. 1492 sparked the fire of cultural diffusion in the New World which profoundly impacted the Native American peoples and the European settlers.

Native Americans were greatly affected by the expansion of the United States during the 1800s. As the U.S. moved west, they stole large amounts of Native American land by settling the land and killing the Natives who once lived there. Also during this time, their culture was being taken from them due to assimilation. While United States citizens were expanding into the west, many Native American lives were lost. They were also responsible for destroying a major food and supply source for Native Americans.

Native Americans flourished in North America, but over time white settlers came and started invading their territory. Native Americans were constantly being thrown and pushed off their land. Sorrowfully this continued as the Americans looked for new opportunities and land in the West. When the whites came to the west, it changed the Native American’s lives forever. The Native Americans had to adapt to the whites, which was difficult for them. Also, the extinction of buffalo affected them negatively and the domination of the whites disrupted their surroundings. The Westward Expansion impacted the Native Americans land and culture.

The Native Americans were the original owners of the United States of America. However, due to the population increase in Europe, the European migrated to America in seek of land for farming, settlement, and spread their religion (Desai, n.p). The two communities lived together and interacted with each other. Nevertheless, the Native American also known to as the Red Indians and the Settlers had differences in many aspects of their economy, religion, and culture. In some situation, it is hard to identify their disparities. On the other hand, the dissimilarities are easily identified. Additionally, there are similarities between these two nations. Culture is the outline of human

Native Americans have a really diverse culture and one report is not enough to talk about all of their cultures. They have fourteen tribes so it is obvious that they will have a lot of different cultures and traditions between all fourteen tribes. It is impossible to have fourteen tribes with different people and expect them to all believe in the same things so some of them have different beliefs and different traditions. They worshipped a lot of gods and even some of the gods had dolls made for them. Some tribes worshipped the sun or fire or some serpents. Buckle your seatbelts boys and girls because today the topic is going to be about those three things.

The Environments shape had a part in forming Native American cultures and civilizations. Native Americans would used the surrounding land around them and the environment to suit their needs, they believed in respecting nature and any changes in it would result in a change for them to. The season determined how crops would grow, they were able to adjust their diets and food gathering skills to survive those changing seasons. Native Americans eventually developed an agriculture system based on: corn, beans, and squash, more commonly known as “three-sister” farming. This diet provided by the clever farming technique resulted in high population densities.

The word hero may bring to mind images of spiderman or batman, but it doesn’t take a talented illustrator to create a hero. A heroic action is a sacrifice made in order to reach a higher level of society. In this sense, the age of exploration that began in the fifteen hundreds is classified as a heroic event. The explorers who paved the way to modern civilization opened opportunities for technology, increased diversity, and a stronger economy. The effect their voyages have had on the world today outweigh the mistakes they made along the way.

Americas. In Central and South America, the Maya, Aztec, and Inca had a huge domain that included large cities with the complex framework of roads, irrigation systems, and controlled government structures. The European explorers and America’s original occupants had both positive and negative impact upon each other. Therefore, it is essential to raise the question on how European exploration and colonization influenced cultural collisions and interactions between Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans.

Summary: Prior to the arrival of the European settlers, the indigenous people of the Americas were varied in culture and tradition and their population was around fifty million. However, once the Europeans arrived in 1492 with Christopher Columbus, the lives of the indigenous people were changed remarkably. The Europeans took advantage of the indigenous and used them as laborers to work cattle ranches, sugar plantations, and silver mines. The physical condition of the indigenous peoples worsened as they were fatigued from the labor and had little resistance to the diseases brought by the Europeans. As a result, they experienced a drastic decrease in population and prompted several Europeans to criticize the abusive encomienda system.