Life of Arctic American Indians - Coursework Example

Self-Reflection Paper on the Arctic American Indians There is so much that I and the rest of the human race can learn from the way of life of the Arctic Indians. The Arctic Indians have a way of life that shows how strong they are and how resilient their race is, and these are the ways that I wish I could follow and I wish the human community would also emulate. The Arctic Indians live in the cold tundra regions (Oswalt, 2002). This region is extremely cold and is home only to a few species that could survive in it. The Arctic Indians must be a community of people who know how to survive even in the worst of climates. They have not migrated to other lands because of such changes in climate and they built their lives in an area where they have to suffer from such a very low temperature. While other human communities could not even survive in little cold and would normally complain about extreme changes in temperature, the Arctic Indians remained strong and resisted the cold. Other people and other races cannot live in such a cold and would not be able to imagine themselves living in a place where there are only few people and no malls, buildings and entertainment centers. Inuits, on the other hand, can live in such places and can endure not being in a place with such facilities. They may have the desire to have these things but they do not crave for these. Therefore, from the Arctic Indians, I want to learn how to control my own desires and I want to learn how not to desire luxuries in life and an extravagant lifestyle. The Arctic Indians are so simple in their ways but they are able to live happily and peacefully. The Arctic Indians are animistic, which means that they believe that all living and non-living things have a spirit (Oswalt, 2002). This practice is perhaps the basis of their respect for other things and for their environment that is why they do not pollute the environment and they care for the animals and plants that live in their community. Moreover, this may also be the reason why they respect even the smallest non-living thing and this is the reason why they do not destroy anything that they have that does not need to be destroyed. They respect each other’s property and they respect one another because of this. They also honor the house, the animals, the air, the land and the water, and they have the same attitude towards everything else around them. I wish all the rest of the human race will adopt the same attitude towards their environment and towards their fellow human beings. I wish they would have respect for each other’s property and I wish they would have respect for each other. Instead, the non-Arctic Indian communities would usually prefer violence towards each other and would normally just hurt each other or destroy each other’s property. They have a lot to learn from the Arctic Indians. Moreover, non-Arctic Indians usually have no concern for the environment in which they live. This is detrimental to their survival and to the survival of other people. From the Arctic Indians, I want to learn more how to respect my fellow human beings and to take care of the environment. I want to be animistic like the Arctic Indians because if I were animistic, I would be able to naturally have respect for everyone and everything around me because I would believe they have a spirit or soul and that if I destroyed them, I would harm their spirit and I would harm nature itself. I wish I could learn more about the philosophy of the Arctic Indians so that I would know what to do in order to respect more everything else around me. The Arctic Indians also believe that in order to have a good catch, the community has to offer gifts to the spirits through the shaman (Oswalt, 2002). The gifts show the fact that whatever is taken away from nature must be asked for first. The Arctic Indians have this habit of asking permission before they can use certain things in their community especially if these are owned by someone else and even if it is something that is available to anyone. Moreover, this practice of offering gifts also reminds us that whatever is taken away from nature must be replaced. If what is taken away is not replaced, then someday nothing will be left and there is nothing to be used anymore. Also, this practice of offering gifts also mean that we have to express thanks for whatever we take away from nature. If one is not thankful for what he asks for and what he uses, then there is a possibility that he will abuse it and will not be responsible for replacing it. Thus, the result will be the same – these things and resources will eventually be gone. On the other hand, human beings who are not Arctic Indians have the habit of not asking permission before they use some natural resources, not being thankful for whatever they use in nature and not replacing it after they use it. These habits lead to the destruction of nature in the long run. If human beings only had the same attitude as the Arctic Indians, then they would learn how to appreciate nature more and they would not be as destructive as they are now. From the example of the Arctic Indians, I want to learn and develop the same attitude and the same degree of appreciation for nature. I also want to learn the same kind of respect that I want to give others and I want to develop the habit of asking permission for whatever I use from nature such as fruits, vegetables, firewood and even flowers. I also want to develop the attitude of planting trees and other plants in order to replace whatever I have taken from nature before. If all people only had this attitude, things will be better for us in this world. The Arctic Indians have simplicity of life, and this simplicity is something that people should imitate. In the Arctic, only trees and crops provide food, shelter, clothing, and decorations (Oswalt, 2002). Moreover, they do not have modern forms of entertainment as well as places like malls and parks and other recreation areas. Yet these people live well and happily. The Arctic Indians are models of simplicity and should therefore be emulated in this aspect. If only the rest of the human race were like the Arctic Indians when it comes to simplicity, then we can only imagine how much money can be saved, how much stress can be removed from our lives, how much conflict can be avoided, and how much time can be spent for more useful things in our lives like love, peace and physical recreation. Just the mere presence of the malls in the modern human society has taught us how to spend so much and just the celebration of holidays like Valentines Day has taught us to spend too much and to cling to too much materialism when in fact love should be given freely and for free. Therefore, from the example of the Arctic Indians, I want to learn the virtue of simplicity. If I fully develop this virtue, I believe that there is nothing much to spend on, nothing that I have to really be stressed about, and nothing that I really must have in order to live except food, clothing, shelter and education. If only others could learn from the example of the Arctic Indians, then they would realize how much waste and clutter they have in their lives that they can actually do away with and still live just as comfortably. Another striking piece of information about the Arctic Indians that I would like to emulate is their cultural homogeneity, since one extremely large area is made up of people who share the same culture. Perhaps, the reason for this is that the Arctic Indians practice partnership or extending their ties to people in their community and thus create a circle of kin and friendships (Oswalt, 2002). Their sense of unity is one of a kind because there is no conflict in territory despite the fact that theirs is even larger than those of other countries where people kill each other for a relatively small piece of land. The Arctic Indians’ inherent respect for each other and for nature somehow helps them to keep their people together and to develop amicable relations with one another. If only other human beings were to do the same thing, this world would be able to avoid all sorts of wars and battles as well as disputes over territory. Therefore, from the example of the Arctic Indians, I want to learn how to develop a sense of unity with people around me and how to communicate well with them especially at the emotional level. I also want to develop greater respect for my fellow human beings and greater understanding and a more open mind for other people’s opinions. I believe that this is where lies the success of the Arctic Indians I maintaining the peace and unity they have over such a wide territory. Also, perhaps, because of their practice of partnerships, then they must have developed the idea of joint ownership when it comes to their land. This is actually something extremely different from the selfishness displayed by other countries. In short, the Arctic Indians are one of the best teachers of unity and therefore I want to learn much from them. I have also learned that the Arctic Indians also experience hardships in life especially long and severe winters yet they have stayed where they are now (Oswalt, 2002). To me, this is patience and resilience, much like what I have previously explained. As if the harsh cold climate of the tundra was not enough, there are also severe winters and snowstorms and so the Arctic Indians may sometimes have to deal with the harshness of nature in their own way. Moreover, the fact that they have not migrated away from the Arctic tundra region is that they accept everything that nature brings to them. The Arctic Indians are animistic and so they believe that nature and natural objects possess a spirit, and so perhaps they also think that whatever nature does is for their own good anyhow. Therefore, they accept whatever nature brings to them – good or bad – that is why they have remained in the Arctic until now despite the occasional harsh weather conditions. I am sure that some Arctic Indians have also complained about their situation but the fact that they have remained in the Arctic region as a community speaks of their resilience and their ability to learn to accept things as they are. Unlike the Arctic Indians who may be more accepting of their own circumstances no matter how bad these are, the rest of the human race may not have the same attitude in life. Most of us would usually complain about small things and petty discomforts that are not even worth our attention. Nevertheless, somehow we, non-Arctic Indians, somehow carry this gene in us that complains about everything that we see and loves wasting our time on useless complaints and endless whining that will not amount to anything anyway. This is the reason why I want to learn calmness and strength of character from the Arctic Indians and so I will not live a life where I have wasted a total of around 5 to 10 years complaining and whining about things and people that I cannot change anyway. Moreover, I want to focus on living my life, just like what the Arctic Indians do. They seem to be oblivious of what is going on around them and they seem to ignore the negative circumstances. If only the whole world were like this, then there would not be so much time, energy and money wasted. In addition, there would also be so much more love, peace, quiet and happiness in people’s lives. The Arctic Indians are an example of a people who not only ignore their negative circumstances but also accept whatever life gives them and keeps on living their lives. Their focus seems to be unbelievable and I want to develop the same thing for me regardless of the fact that the majority of people do not want to stop complaining. The colonial period in the Arctic region has also taught me some valuable insights. During the colonial period, Europeans invaded the Arctic and experienced brief skirmishes. However, it was the Russians who really invaded Arctic villages, especially those of the Aleut Indians. They seized, hurt and abused women and children and sent held them hostage for several months. There was ransom to be paid to the abductors, and so husbands, brothers and fathers were forced by the circumstances to hunt and sell whatever they had in order to drive away all the European invaders in order to come up with ransom money for their kidnapped loved ones. The native people eventually fought back and drove away the invaders (Oswalt, 2002). Still, despite the most horrible of circumstances, the Arctic Indians never wavered from their incredible focus and resilience. They may have grieved, but instead of protesting and demonstrating against the Europeans, which they might have believed they would not be able to gain anything from, they simply decided to go practical and just went on hunting and selling what they had hunted in order to come up with ransom money. Any non-Arctic Indian, including me, could have already protested against the European invaders or could have plotted a clever strategy in order to get even with them. In fact, this act of kidnapping one’s loved ones seems very much unjust in the perspective of the modern human society, but the Arctic Indians seemed to have considered it a normal part of an unfair life, and that the unfairness of life seems to be the rule to them. This act of unfairness would naturally be met with so much opposition and rage in the modern human society. Protests would be staged, the media would get involved, criminal cases would be filed in court, or wars would be waged. However, the Arctic Indians never even thought of these options. Violence was simply not a choice for Arctic Indians then and even now. Besides, they seem to have better control of their emotions than us in the modern human society, and they seem to have the ability not to let their emotions interfere with their lives and with their decisions. Therefore, I want to learn this habit of controlling one’s emotions and desires from the Arctic Indians. From them, I also want to learn from them their attitude of not considering violence when reacting even to the most negative of situations. Truly, it takes an emotionally strong and mature person to be able to do this, and if the Arctic Indians can do this, then I must be able to do this too. Besides, I could only think that if everyone in this world could do this, there is basically so much stress and regrets and efforts we could spare. We would not even be able to imagine the so many advantages we could gain from this. Because of their ways, the Arctic Indians are a group of Native Americans that I want to learn so much from. The Arctic Indians have a certain type of endurance which they use for enduring the coldness of the tundra. Through their animism, I have somehow concluded that they respect all life and all of nature. Their practice of making offerings for their catch makes me think that they want to replace what they have used in their environment and that they respect their natural resources as well as possessions of other people. They also have simplicity of life, and thus, they live a life that is free from so much unnecessary stress and clutter. They also have a tendency towards friendliness, which explains their cultural homogeneity. They also have the resilience and patience to endure whatever comes their way, and they have shown these qualities best when they were invaded by the Russians and other groups of Europeans in the colonial period. Instead of resorting to violence when their friends and family have been held hostage, they have simply chosen to come up with the ransom money through peaceful means. As a future electrical engineer and as a foreigner in this country, I am faced with so many challenges everyday but with my desire to imitate the Arctic Indians in their philosophy and way of life, I can only think that I will be able to reduce my stress and difficulties, and live my life to the fullest without having to be unkind to others. References Oswalt, W. H. (2002). This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native Americans. McGraw-Hill. Read More