Social and Cultural Change of the Native American - Essay Example

American Indian: Social and cultural change Most Native American tribes have maintained their dual identities across generations. These tribes have kept their unique cultural histories alive. Their ability to maintain and sustain their cultural identities reflected remarkable human agency in resisting and opposing both the dominant society and the minority or subordinate society’s effort to problematize their history and culture. However, this trend is changing gradually. These societies are changing both socially and culturally. Currently, these tribes have been strongly influenced by their colonial relations, and they have taken a direction that they could not have taken if they were living on their own (Champagne 10). One Native American tribe that has differentiated the change is the American Indian tribe. Like other Native American tribes, American Indians have sacred truths of creation that establish their claims to a specific place on Mother Earth. For example, the Creation Story is used to show the spiritual connection that Oneida people have with the land. They still view themselves as the keepers, the guardians, of Mother Earth (Demus and Atone 27-96). American Indians have not changed in terms of social fabric and culture. The white American society has had an impact on American Indians in terms of economic and political order. However, much of their cultural values have not been affected. American Indians still maintain their cultural values. Most studies have directed their focus on the initial effects of the destruction of Native American societies, and the emergence of complicated new patterns of culture. In comparison, the societies of India offer a much different situation from that of the white Americans. The Indian societies have maintained their culture for a long time. Earlier British domination prior to the nineteenth century had little effect on Indian social, economic, and cultural life. Life in India is characterized by villages and agriculture is the main occupation of many Indians. These villages help Indians strengthen their social bonds and bring stability to their homes. These villages also help them preserve their culture. The rural Indian structure consists five units. The units are the family system, the caste system, internal organization, religion, and economic system. Indians appear to have maintained this social fabric in the United States. American Indians have maintained this culture through living in reservations. The Indians believe their land is sacred and that they should maintain it for future generations. Social institutions, social groups, social norms and values play a functional purpose in maintaining the survival of the society. For example, in U.S. society, family, legal, political, religious, and educational structures are shaped by the needs of the capitalist economic system (Huffman 66). American Indian have maintained their cultural values but at the same time engage in economic and political activities. Such a social order is important among Indian tribes, and it is highly upheld. Demus and Atone reveal the importance of this duality through the Creation Story (27-96). Twinship is a central theme of the story. Twinship implies two sides in need of each other in order to bring harmony and balance of life, including the nation. The twins represent the importance of complementary roles, as they have different things to perform on Turtle Island, being responsible for creating different things on earth. United States society influence twisted the type of relationship that existed between the Twins and in doing so altered the concept of equal partnership in dual roles. Champagne argues that political competition, as well as internal pressures and conflicts, can greatly contribute to the collapse of regimes (257). The greatest factor that can lead to widespread loss of legitimacy in sociopolitical institutions is the world market relations. However, many American Indian societies have been resilient. For example, American Indian societies such as Houma, Narragansett, and Mohican have never been federally recognized, yet they have maintained their distinctive cultural identities. However, these societies have been under pressure to change due to widespread opposition from non-Indians (Lawson 440). Many Native American societies are recognized thus receiving services and funding availed by the government to recognized native tribes. This recognition has influenced many native societies to abandon their culture and social bonds. Lawson extensively explored the historical events of the American Indian societies’ recognition by the federal government (441). The 1961 American Indian Chicago Conference called for the recognition of all American Indian tribes that demonstrated that they had “maintained their identity and tribal organization over time (Lawson 441). The push to have tribes recognized intensified in the 1970s with many groups pushing for recognition so that they can benefit from the federal government. Indian Americans realized the first breakthrough in 1978 with the introduction of the Federal Acknowledgement Process. However, the Department of the Interior issued guidelines for the Acknowledgement Process (441). Many American Indians believed that the guidelines were meant to limit the expansion of the number of federally recognized tribes. Currently, American Indians continue to push for recognition. The government of United States has reservations for American Indians. Lawson states that reservations are considered to be “places of despair” (444). However, American Indians consider them to be important because they help to maintain Indian tradition and culture. Federal laws, however, permit activities such as casinos that attract tourists in the reservations. Such economic activities have not eroded the traditional values of American Indians. However, some early relations between American Indians and the Western societies were not positive. Their relations threatened the cultural fabric of American Indians. The first interaction between the European settlers and American Indians brought diseases that wiped more than half of the American Indian population. Many tribal leaders and elders died thus cutting off the tribal leadership, as well as the oral sources of knowledge and tradition central to Indian native culture (Fletcher-Janzen, Stickland and Reynolds 107). Other factors that have contributed to disturbance of American Indian cultural fabric is forced relocation and forced education. Historically, many American Indians suffered mental illnesses due to these relocations and many others died. American Indians were forced to depend on the U.S. government, and this has affected their tribes for centuries. Forced education also contributed to the destruction of structures and functions of their tribal societies as well as to their mental health. Forced education was meant to “remove children from the influence of their savage parents” (Fletcher-Janzen, Stickland and Reynolds 107). Champagne argued that these pressures and conflicts can lead to loss of legitimacy (257). In addition to the above historical conditions, there are other current conditions that can lead to loss of legitimacy. Champagne argues that the current world market relations can also lead to loss of legitimacy in existing sociopolitical institutions (275). Even in the face of changing world market relations many American Indians have not assimilated. They have not adopted the values of the dominant U.S. culture. From 1900, most Indian American men began being absorbed into the U.S. economy. Champagne stated that Tlingit men began working in "gold mines, fished for canneries, cut timber, hunted and trapped" (266). In addition, women also engaged in economic activities such as laundry, making baskets and beadwork, and working in canneries. Even if there are no statistics available, Tlingit were absorbed into the commercial economy of the U.S. One of the reasons given for engaging in economic activities was to accumulate money to support their traditional institutions. Through the years, the American Indians have devised ways of coping with the Western impact. American Indians have been fighting to have Indian reservations recognized because they are the ones helping them to maintain their cultural and political values. They have also fought for the legitimacy of Indian education. For example, in 1959, the Center for Indian Education was founded at Arizona State University (Huffman 1). In 1961, the Center established the Journal of American Indian Education and currently, the journal continues to publish educational issues affecting American Indigenous communities. Currently, the journal is recognized and has become a significant area of educational studies. Huffman observes that for the past five decades American Indian studies have matured and attracted numerous scholars from many academic disciplines (1). It is evident that there is continued vitality in American Indian studies. The reason behind this is that each year, “hundreds of researchers and educational practitioners attend the National American Indian Education Conference” (Huffman 1). Non-Indian district schools sued reservation Indians arguing that they do not have the right to public schools. However, the court disagreed and ordered the district to build a new high school to serve the Indian community (Lawson 451). The above evidence shows that despite the changes in the social situation, American Indians cultural rights continue to be upheld and recognized. American Indians have coped with the changes in the social, economic and political environment to retain their cultural values. American Indians rights to fish and hunt have also come under attack. When American Indian societies were forced to move to reservations, the federal government gave them rights to hunt and fish on their reservations. Even if these reservations are characterized by unemployment and poverty, “Indians in these reservations feel at home, feel a strong sense of community, and feel secure” (Lawson 452). The author observes that despite economic and social problems, reservations such as Leech Lake Reservation in Minnesota still maintain a sense of the value of the Indian experience (Lawson 452). In addition, Indians are members of tribal nations who have a special relationship and a dual citizenship. They retain their rights as members of sovereign entities and as American citizens. They resemble the twins in the Creation Story (Demus and Atone 27-96). Twinship implies two sides in need of each other in order to bring harmony and balance of life. One of the twins represents the American Indian society while the other one represents the U.S. society. The Indian American role is to maintain the cultural values of the Indian society while the American society’s role is to complement the American Indian in terms of economic contribution. Despite the economic and political change, American Indians have maintained their cultural identities, and this reflects a remarkable human agency in resisting and opposing the dominant society. Works Cited Champagne, Duane. Social Change and Cultural Continuity among Native Nations. Lanham: AltaMiraPress, 2007. Print. Demus, Elm and Atone, Harvey and translators. The Oneida Creation Story. Omaha: University of Nebraska Press. 2000. Print.  Fletcher-Janzen, Elaine, Strickland, Tony and Reynolds, Cecil. (eds). Handbook of Cross-Cultural Neuropsychology. New York: Plenum Publishers, 2000. Print. Huffman, Terry. Theoretical Perspectives on American Indian Education: Taking a New Look at Academic Success and the Achievement GAP. Plymouth: Rowman Altamira. 2010. Print. Lawson, Russell. Encyclopedia of American Indian Issues Today [2 Volumes]. New York: ABC-CLIO, 2013. Print. Read More