The Indian-Americans Culture: Fishing and Hunting - Essay Example

?Hunting and Fishing The Indian-Americans’ culture: fishing and hunting as a cohesion issue to Indian-Americans Introduction Culture is a multidimensional concept having multiple conceptions from a wide range of scholars. Some scholars interpret it as the appreciation of literature, food, art and music while others, view it as a range of acquired behavioral patterns exhibited by Man. Edward Tyler, in his book Primitive Cultures (1871) was one of the pioneer proponents of the concept noting that culture was a complex institution that encompassed beliefs, law, art, morals and customs.1 It is hypothesized that; Hunting and fishing are fundamental cultural practices by the Indian-Americans which has over the years brought division through struggle for hunts, and cohesion in equal measure though exchange of hunting ideas which is guarded in all aspects by tribes. Although fundamental for man’s survival, Culture is equally fragile as it keeps changing hence across generations, certain cultural aspects have been lost in all societies. Perhaps there are no other groups of people that have rich and much told culture like the Native Indian-Americans. They possess a great history of struggle and success and many of today’s life practices of the Americans like; teepee, peace pipe and moccasins, are borrowed from the Indian-Americans2. As noted above, Food is a fundamental aspect of every culture, hence a comprehensive study into the Indian American food related practices gives sufficient information of their cultural background. The research paper will therefore focus on one aspect of culture, hunting and fishing as a source of food and the role the two practices played within the indigenous culture of the Indian-Americans. It is imperative to note that there were variations in between various groups with some being agricultural hence living a more settled lives while others were nomadic, moving from place to place as they hunted and gathered food3. Hunting and fishing culture before the arrival of Europeans To Native Indians, both fishing and hunting were important and success in them meant success in the man’s household. Society members had to study different habits of several animals and fish as they captured and killed them. Boys had to learn the hunting and fishing skills early in life. A story is told of a boy 8 years of age who in his first hunt he killed a goose, took it to his father who showed it to the whole community and at 10 years of age he killed his first Buffalo and the whole community rejoiced with the family, to Indians, successes in hunting were happiness to the whole family and community at large4. The hunting tribes’ important wild animal for hunt was the Buffalo which they hunted in twice yearly; during winter and summer. During the hunting periods, particular communities the whole village could go for hunting for fear of attack from hostile tribes, carrying all they needed for the journey in ponies putting women in charge while the rest of the luggage was buried and dug up upon return. They made camps at night and in the morning again break the camp and continue with the journey. They moved in single way and young boys kept watching for the Buffalo herds which they approached with great care done under the leader when spotted at a distance.5 The disparities and unity brought by hunting and fishing There were a number of ways that Native Americans obtained food key among them of which included, farming and domesticating animals, hunting, fishing in lakes and rivers and gathering wild fruits6. Majority of Native American tribes took part in fishing and hunting, the Eskimos who live far North depended on fish and hunted animals to survive, the Blackfoot & Sioux were the big game hunters who were on frequent migration to follow bison and the Chippewa who also took part in hunting to obtain food. Tlingit and Salish obtained their food from fishing in rivers and lakes.7In these earlier times there were no conventional equipments or tools, hence many of the tribes resorted to available materials and used high level ingenuity in devising ways for fish catching and game killing. They used net-like obstructions which they put across streams similar to the modern pound-netters. The wires were made if woven reeds and placed on poles with tops on the water surface8. Some used sharpened poles which they were used to practically shoot fish in the water with their boats besides at certain times, the spears were fitted with sharp Halloween tayle of a particular fish. The Indians of the Albemarle and Pamlico Sound depended on bows and arrows in their hunting for wild animals, the Blackfoot and Sioux worked together and could chase large animals into ambush or in pits, cliffs or at times making controlled fire or creating fences to prevent them from escaping9. Among the Chippewa, individuals stalked dears or rabbits and set traps for them. It is imperative to note that Indian tribes often borrowed fishing and hunting techniques and tools hence often depended on each other for defense against hostile tribes since borrowing of equipments lead to friendship among the involved tribes. Issues in hunting and fishing culture in the early 20th century After the coming of the Europeans, Indians were forced to leave their lands and were confined in small lands (reservations). This has been a fundamental feature in the Indian-American history through two centuries, for some Indians, it is a reminder of Euro-American colonialism where indigenous Americans were subjected to small camps and their lands taken away. The guiding principle for the reservation of indigenous people was that the American white felt that they possessed the original right to that land and that indigenous people were to obtain it either through purchase or negotiations to form treaties and agreements. They used military force, conquest and discovery concept in order to incorporate indigenous groups into camps and therefore into the national fold.10 Reservations were recognized by the laws and in the 1775 Indian affairs department was formed to deal with issues of Indians while in the reserves. In the period of 1828-1838 over 90,000 Native Americans were forced to move to west of Mississippi river and gave the abandoned land to its white citizens. The Indian-Americans suffered population decrease, cultural practices such as hunting and fishing were also lost since the federal government used force to relocate them, the small tribal governments they had were disrupted and as they tried to form tribal government in places where they settled, they were weakened.11 The Chippewa were given Rocky boy Indian reservation, a large military reservation and a portion of the Fort Assiniboine. In the early twentieth century Indian Americans resorted to trade with army officers rather than hunting and fishing due to unavailability of land for they had been displaced by the white Americans. Addressing cultural issues (hunting and fishing rights in treaties) Through the reservation system, cultural practices such as hunting were viewed to be capable of diminishing among the Indians, thus they sought to address the issue through signed treaties that gave them hunting and fishing rights. These rights are the most special to the Native Indian-Americans because they form the basis of the cultural and spiritual lives besides, for long periods of time, they formed their primary source of food and commodities for trade. In United States v. Winans (1905), the court stated that access to fish and wild animals were as important as the existence of the Indians-Americans. Prior to being moved from their lands, the Natives had signed treaties with government in which the Chippewa for example reserved the right to hunt and fish hence it was their fundamental rights to continue with the practices. They viewed that in this manner their economy and culture would be preserved. In a lot of cases the treaties guarantied Indians continued freedom of fishing and hunting in the ceded lands, in some treaties the rights were not mentioned but the reserved-right principle dictates that a particular tribe would retain the right to hunt and fish in addition to other practices. There have however been multiple controversies around these rights where the government and non-hunters have strived to make opposing legislations to regulate these practices. Additionally, a number of questions have been asked on the justifications of the rights of these tribes to fish and hunt without states’ interference in their reservations. It is noteworthy to state that the State lack authority to regulate activities in Indians’ reservations. Other individuals also question the validity of fishing and hunting outside the reservations. Such rights of Natives are obtained through congress or the treaties they had made with the state which gave them authority to practice their culture of fishing and hunting in the ceded lands.12 In 1990 the Chippewa sued the state of Minnesota indicating that 1837 treaty gave them the right for their cultural practices on the ceded land. Nonetheless, the Minnesota department of natural resources and the Mille Lacs Band reached a settlement outside the court that among other things, allowed their traditional fishing ways. The agreement was however turned down by Minnesota parliament citing that such practices decreased fish population although proponents contended that the practices were integral to Indian culture.13 In view of the treaties and different tribes including these rights in those treaties then it crystal clear to conclude that they were united in their quest to maintain their cultures even though facing exclusion from the USA mainstream14. The fact that one tribe was granted that right in its treaty with the state, the other tribes felt the audacity to include that provision and state had no otherwise but to grant them, hence were united in the fight of their rights to cultural identity.15 Conclusion In summary, the Indians had different economic cultural practices although the fundamental ones were hunting, gathering and fishing. It is through their culture that they had unity; through exchange of ideas of hunting and tools making and differences; fighting for the same resources such as animals.16 With the coming of the white-Americans and their greed for land, they lost their lands but united in the fight to maintain their cultures, though the maintenance of hunting and fishing rights and issues surrounding the culture of hunting and fishing such as the right to hunt in and outside the reservations have been dealt with in courts, and via several legislations and treaties. References Dictionary of American History. Indian Reservations. Encyclopedia.com, 2003. Retrieved July 24, 2012 http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Native_American_reservations.aspx#1 Johansen, Bruce E., and Barry Pritzker. Encyclopedia of American Indian History. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Kappler, Charles. J. Kappler’s Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Oklahoma State University, 2011. http://digital.library.okstate.edu/kappler/ (accessed July 24, 2012). Loew, Patty, and James Thannum. After the Storm: Ojibwe Treaty Rights Twenty-Five Years after the Voigt Decision. Project MUSE, 2011. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/aiq/summary/v035/35.2.loew.html (accessed July 24, 2012). Norrgard, Chantal. From Berries to Orchards: Tracing the History of Berrying and Economic Transformation among Lake Superior Ojibwe." Project MUSE, 2009. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/aiq/summary/v033/33.1.norrgard.html (accessed July 24, 2012). O’Neil, Dennis. What is Culture? anthro.palomar.edu, 2012. http://anthro.palomar.edu/culture/culture_1.htm (accessed July 24, 2012). Pritzker, Barry. A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples. Oxford [u.a.]: Oxford Univ. Press, 2000. Stick, David. Indian Fishing and Hunting - Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. U.S. National Park Service - Experience Your America, 2012. http://www.nps.gov/fora/forteachers/indian-fishing-and-hunting.htm (accessed July 24, 2012). Sue, Derald Wing, and David Sue. Counseling the Culturally Diverse: Theory and Practice. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley, 2007. WisconsinHistory. Turning Points InWisconsinHistory. Wisconsinhistory.org, 1929. http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/tp&CISOPTR=26591&CI (accessed July 24, 2012). Wilkins, D. E. Fish in the Lakes, Wild Rice, and Game in Abundance: Testimony on Behalf of Mille Lacs Ojibwe Hunting and Fishing Rights. (review)." Project MUSE, 2000. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/aiq/summary/v024/24.4wilkins.html (accessed July 24, 2012). Read More