American Indian Music History - Essay Example

American Indian culture music Introduction Living in a community is an important aspect of understanding the community’s traditions and ways of life. Culture has a profound implication for the community as it determines the interrelationship between community members as well as the relationship of community members with other people outside the community. Understanding culture in this paper will be done through exploration of the American Indians’ culture. This will be through inference to the Wild West show and the Ghost Dance as portrayed in an article by Warren (2007, pp.

358 - 389).Wild West show With the coming of Europeans and the whites to “the new land” (America), assimilation became a primary tool used by the whites to streamline cultures and create harmony in the white’s quest for expansion and trade in the country. Assimilation policy that was equally developed by the government of the United States has resulted in the erosion of most cultures of the indigenous communities in America. American Indians are among the people who were greatly affected with assimilation relegating their culture almost to extinction.

Participation of the American Indians in the west wild show was a crucial step in the preservation of culture through showcasing to the young generation the significance of the culture and association of one to his/her culture. According to Warren, L. S. (pp. 369), paragraph 37 of the article indicates the significance of Wild West dance in preservation of Indian culture where, “the wild west show was most of all a new genre of Indian performance wherein dozens of Indians, some of them renowned war leaders, simulated life before conquest.

”Ghost Dance Ghost dance appeared as a form of religion that combined the traditional religious practices and some aspects of Christianity. The indicators of the order believed that through the performance of the dance, one could reach a state where communication with the spirit of the dead could be possible. This was thus meant to bring peace and prosperity to the community. According to the whites, Ghost dance was seen as a challenge to their influence in America and religion. The notion that the form of dance was to bring emancipation to the community came at loggerheads with the whites’ interest in America.

According to Warren, L. S. (pp. 377) paragraph 66, “When the department of the interior finally requested the help of the army late in 1890, Milles’s response was to surround areas where Ghost Dancers had large following, and requested that all Indians cone to the agency.”Work citedWarren, L. S. (2007). Buffalo Bills America: William Cody and the Wild West Show. New York: Knopf.