Paiute Native Americans and Mexican Americans in Nevada - Research Paper Example

 Paiute Native Americans and Mexican Americans in Nevada Introduction The purpose of this study is to find similarities between the Paiute Native American tribe and the Mexican American heritage within Nevada. The cultural landscape in Nevada is made up of a ethnic mix of many nations, just like most of the United States. However, the proximity to Mexico and the varied number of Native American tribes allows for a comparison of the histories and similarities that can be found between these two groups. To an extent, it can be said that the differentiation between someone of Mexican nationality and Native American membership was originally defined by Western concepts of border. The ethnic heritage of Mexican nationals is primarily defined by a mix of European and Native American (as in native to the American continent) origins, thus providing a tie between those of Mexican descent and those of Native American descent (Gutierrez, 1999, p. 7). In an examination of Mexican Americans and Paiute Native Americans in Nevada, an interesting comparison can be made between cultures and heritage. Mexican Americans The Mexican American population comprised 73% of the Latino population in the year 2000, and by 2006 increased to 78% (Timko, 2007). The Mexican American population makes up 14.3% of the total population of Nevada and in 1998 over 1 million businesses in Nevada were owned by Mexican Americans (Stacy, 2003, p. 583). According to Miranda (1997), the Mexican American population in Nevada is not oppressed by the same kind of discrimination that other border states tend to assert over their Mexican American populations (Nevada is not directly on the border, but within very close proximity). While this may have shifted a bit since the rise in the last ten years of immigration buzz word politics, the cultural acceptance of the Mexican American populations most likely has remained at the core of the way in which Nevada determines its position. There is an economic connection that is very strong between Nevada and Mexico. In 2001 Mexico imported the second largest number of goods produced in Nevada, thus tying the success of the state to the economic stability of Mexico. Nevada exports electrical equipment, lime, salt, plaster, and cement to Mexico as a result of the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) from 1994 (Stacy, 2003, p. 583). In the 1990’s there was a significant increase, however, of immigrants from Mexico into Nevada due to the economic downturn of 1991, thus creating a trend of an increasing population that has continued into the 21st century (Miranda, 1997, p. 209). Paiute Native Americans There was a time when as many as 27 Native American tribes lived within the now designated borders of Nevada. The Northern Paiute Native Americans were also found in California, Oregan, and Idaho (Green, 2005, p. 36). There is a general acceptance that the meaning of the name is derived from ute, which means water, and pai, which means true, thus giving the name true water (Paiute, 2010). Paiute tribes were often named for what they ate (Green, 2005, p. 36) The Walker River Paiute Tribe, an federally recognized tribe is named the trout eaters, because of their proximity to the river and their eating of the fish (The Walker River Paiute Tribe, 2010). The Walker River Paiute Tribe resides on the Pyramid Lake Reservation where all Paiutes were places. The Paiutes fought to remain together on their home lands, thus finally being placed on this reservation after fighting for that right by going to Washington and seeking out an understanding with the government (The Walker River Paiute Tribe, 2010). According to the Corporate Charter of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake Reservation, the Paiute tribes worked with the federal government in order to define their existence and then encourage their economic development so that they could have borders, have the right to work as a nation within the nation, and to improve their circumstances (. While the U.S. government defined them by borders much they way they defined descendents of the Spaniard occupation through political decisions. However, the Paiute Tribes had the opportunity through circumstances and wisdom to have some freedom as an ethnic and cultural group in order to further the needs of the people, despite exiting prejudices and oppression. (Williams, Sampson, & Bowler, 1834, p.1). Cultural Connections The creation of the border initially determined the most significant difference between being a Mexican and being a Native American. Spaniard occupation of the Mexican geographic territories had begun in 1598 with Sante Fe being founded in 1610, well before the pilgrims landed in Plymouth Rock ten years later. The Mexican people became a mixture of European and Native American descent, being forced to adopt the Spanish language as their formal tongue. With the Gadsden purchase of 1854 which formalized the border in Arizona and Texas, 50,000 Mexicans became instant resident of the United States comprised of both Native American and Spaniard descent ethnicities (Hattery, Embrick, & Smith, 2008, p. 114). Therefore, the ethnic heritage of the Mexican Americans and the Native Americans is connected through a history that is primarily defined by issues of border. The another connecting factor between the Mexican Americans and the Native Americans is a heritage of desert dwelling. The Paiute tribes and the Native American tribes would have similar ancestry and ethnic connections, dependant upon the infusion of the Spanish upon them through occupation. Therefore, many of the cultural traditions would be similar (Paiute Wovoka ghost dancers, 2010). Basket weaving is traditional in both cultures, with intricate designs being found in both that are similar in nature (Green, 2005, p. 51). Paiute woman weaving baskets As well, architecture has been influenced by the Spanish esthetic influences as it has been reinvented through Native American techniques and influences as the origins of both cultures can be seen in homes and businesses. The horizontal structure and the way in which the rooms are designed through a rectangular apartment style is specific to the structures that can be found left behind by the Native American tribes of Nevada. The use of adobe as a building material is also reminiscent of the techniques of Native Americans. The ornamentation, however, has Spanish influences that define the melding of the European aesthetics with the construction and practical techniques that were defined regionally by the resources of the desert (Waldman, 2006, p. 341). A convenience store in Nevada Conclusion The evidence supports the precept that the Native American Tribe of the Paiute and the Mexican Americans of Nevada can be successfully compared for associations due to regional native heritages. The ways in which the cultures were defined was imposed by governmental oppressions by both the Spanish and the U.S governments through defining the people in the way that was politically convenient. The aesthetics and cultural habits, however, are similar as the people of both cultures are closely linked. References A convenience store in Nevada. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.google .com/imgres?imgurl=http://photos.igougo.com/images/p33977- San_Miguel_de_Allende_Mexico-casa_de_sierra_nevada.jpg&img refurl=http://www.weblo.com/property/real_estate/directory/Newark/Convenience_Store/ 25994/221/&usg=__9tHMKTTOsL4MDeyvABg4l6olt6w=&h=356&w=474&sz=45&hl= en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=bqfF2UqsI5bDRM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=200&prev=/image s%3Fq%3Dmexican%2Bnevada%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D617%26gbv %3D2%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C171&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=364&ei=wNrATKWNL4eMn Qf4uqT9CQ&oei=gNrATJa2AsKB8gal78nYBg&esq=16&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:42 9,r:10,s:0&tx=174&ty=75&biw=1280&bih=617 Green, M. S., & Myers, S. A. (2005). Nevada: A journey of discovery. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith. Gutierrez, C. N. (1999). Nationalist myths and ethnic identities: Indigenous intellectuals and the Mexican state. Lincoln [u.a.: Univ. of Nebraska Press. Hattery, A., Embrick, D. G., & Smith, E. (2008). Globalization and America: Race, human rights, and inequality. Perspectives on a multiracial America series. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield. Miranda, M. L. (1997). A history of Hispanics in southern Nevada. Reno, Nev: Univ. of Nevada Press. Paiute Indian Tribe History. (2010). Access Genology. Retrieved from http://www.accessge nealogy.com/native/tribes/paiute/paiutehistory.htm Paiute woman weaving baskets. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?im gurl=http://www.powwows.com/galleries/data/522/medium/Lucy_Telles_Paiute.jpg&img refurl=http://www.powwows.com/galleries/showphoto.php%3Fphoto%3D10625%26ppu ser%3D16819&usg=__okpgJrzcxM1J7sy98ygubYn8JQY=&h=344&w=500&sz=151&hl =en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=nRHDjue7asvS7M:&tbnh=141&tbnw=220&prev=/image s%3Fq%3Dpaiute%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D617%26gbv%3D2%26tbs %3Disch:10%2C57&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=143&vpy=222&dur=3433&hovh=186&hov w=271&tx=120&ty=80&ei=xdnATLPrBsH88Aa3vf3ZBg&oei=xdnATLPrBsH88Aa3vf3 ZBg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&biw=1280&bih=617 Paiute Wovoka ghost dancers. (2010). Retrieved from http://www.crystalinks.com/paiute.html Stacy, L. (2003). Mexico and the United States. New York: Marshall Cavendish. The Walker River Paiute Tribe. (2010). The Walker River Paiute Tribe Official Website. Retrieved from http://www.wrpt.us/index.htm Timko, S. (7 October 2007). Nevada’s Hispanics gaining in economic strength. Hispanic Trending. Retrieved from http://juantornoe.blogs.com/hispanictrending/2007/10/nevadas- hispani.html Waldman, C. (2006). Encyclopedia of Native American tribes. New York: Checkmark Books. Williams, L., Sampson, D. E, and Bowler, A. C. (18 June 1834). Corporate Charter of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe of the Pyramid Lake Reservation. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=VPb4Dx8JupMC&pg=PP4&dq=The+Pyramid+Lake+ Reservation&hl=en&ei=HPTATP2rHMG88gaTiOi1BQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=resu lt&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Read More