Native Cultures, Essay Example

When settlers first began to arrive in what is now the United States of America, they encountered a land already populated with indigenous people. To these first early settlers, and for many of the settlers that followed, these indigenous people all seemed alike. They spoke languages the settlers could not understand, wore feathers and necklaces made of animal teeth, lived in simple settlements, and carried crude looking weapons. As time wore on, the European settlers moved away from the coast, spreading throughout the country and interaction between the settlers and native populations grew more frequent and involved. With this increased interaction, settlers realized that great diversity existed between the native cultures of the United States, especially in the areas of religion, subsistence strategy, social organization, and material culture. As an example, consider the Hopi of the Southwest, the Seminole of the Southeast, and the Lakota of the plains region.

The Hopi Indians originally inhabited the region that is now the state of Arizona. In their own language, Hopi means “peaceful person” or “civilized person” (Native Languages of the Americas, 2009). Hopi Indians are the westernmost branch of the Pueblo Peoples, a group of different peoples in the Southwest labeled as such by the Spanish because of their stone masonry in contrast to brush and mud building. There is evidence of Hopi occupation of the Arizona area since around A.D. 500-700 (Native Languages of the Americas, 2009).

Hopi religion considers the universe to consist of 3 worlds: earth, the upper world, and the underworld, where Hopis came from and where their spirits will return after death. They believe that there are three classes of the supernatural and that the world is balanced by a feminine and a masculine principle (Native Languages of the Americas, 2009). Chief priests or priestesses lead clan members in ceremonies based on a calendar determined by solar and stellar positions. The concept of witches who torment people with sickness and bad luck is paramount in Hopi belief. They believe that the dead are friendly to the living.

Hopi Indians were agriculturalists. They grew crops of corns, beans, and squash and raised turkeys for meat (Native Languages of the Americas, 2009). Crops of cotton and tobacco were also grown for personal use and for trade with surrounding Pueblo Peoples. In addition to farming, the Hopi also practiced hunting and gathering. In accordance with their agricultural lifestyle, the Hopi built permanent dwellings organized into towns. For houses, the Hopi built multi-story housing complexes made of adobe and stone that resembled modern apartments. Often a complete extended clan would live in one complex, each nuclear family in their own unit (Native Languages of the Americas, 2009). Hopi clans were matrilineal and women were in charge of caring for the family and home. Hopi men traditionally were in charge of politics and war. Storytelling, music, artwork, and medicine were shared by both genders. For clothing, cotton and deerskin were used. The Hopis traded for shells, coral, and turquoise and produced carved kachina dolls, pottery, baskets, and blankets (Native Languages of the Americas, 2009).

The Seminoles were also farming people who lived in towns. Like the Hopi, they grew crops of corn, beans, and squash (Native Languages of the Americas , 2009). However, the Seminole hunted and fished for all of their meat instead of raising animals. They lived in large villages of houses, called chickees arranged around a town square. Chickees were made from wood and plaster with roofs of palmetto fiber (Native Languages of the Americas , 2009). Seminole peoples were traditionally matrilineal and ownership of the home was commonly held by women. The Seminoles are known for their intricate beadwork and creative patchwork designs. Pants, skirts, and shoes were fashioned from cotton, palmetto, and leather, with neither sex required to wear shirts. The Seminole people converted to Christianity very early during the European settlement of the U.S. Many beliefs and ceremonies were not recorded and so are not practiced today (Native Languages of the Americas , 2009). The ancestral religion of the Seminoles was animalistic, with natural forces considered much more powerful than human forces. Religious ceremonies and medical treatment were led and administered by a recognized Shaman (Native Languages of the Americas , 2009).

The Lakota, or Dakota, plains people are also known by the Sioux name. The Lakota believe that everything, humans, animals and plants, have their own spirit, and that all spirits are part of the essence of Wakan Tanka, the combined powers that brought all things into being (OWR, Unknown). Whereas the Hopi religion emphasizes the number three, the Lakota believe the structure of the universe, and everything in it reflects a four-fold division. Ceremonies were conducted by tribal elders and medicine administered by shamans (OWR, Unknown). Women could fill the role of shamans, though the chiefs were traditionally male. In Lakota culture, the house was built, physically moved, cleaned, and owned by women. Both genders participated in storytelling, music and art. Men were responsible for protecting and feeding their families (OWR, Unknown). The Lakota were a nomadic people, moving often with the buffalo herds that were a large part of their subsistence strategy. Houses were made from buffalo-hide tents called teepees that could be set up and taken down quickly. Lakota clothing was made mostly of leather, including long dresses for women, breechcloths, leggings and shirts for men, moccasins and buffalo-hide robes (OWR, Unknown). Since they moved so frequently, the Lakota were almost exclusively hunters and gatherers. Their diet consisted largely of meat and gathered fruit and potatoes. Quillwork, buffalo-hide paintings, and ceremonial carved pipes are a few of the material crafts that the Lakota are known for (OWR, Unknown).

The diversity of religion, subsistence strategy, social organization and material culture of just these four native cultures is great. In 1998, there were 544 federally recognized tribes in the United States (Lewis, 2009). There were countless more during the time of early European settlement. Diversity among these three tribes are easily understood, in large part because of the geographical distance between them. However, diversity existed between neighboring tribes of the same regions, such as the Hopi and the Navajo, both which inhabited the same southwest region. The political turmoil of relocation of native tribes to reservations pushed diverse cultures together. Today, it is a challenge for native peoples to preserve their unique cultures. A visit to a Hopi or Lakota community can yield discovery of many different types of specific kachina dolls or traditional quillwork patterns.

References

Lewis, O. a. (2009). Native American Facts for Kids: American Indian Tribes. Retrieved January 10, 2010,  from Native Languages of the Americas : http://www.native-languages.org/kids.htm

Native Languages of the Americas . (2009). Native American Facts for Kids: Seminole Tribe. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from Native Languages of the Americas: http://www.bigorrin.org/seminole_kids.htm

Native Languages of the Americas. (2009). Native American Facts for Kids. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from Native Languages of the Americas: http://www.bigorrin.org/hopi_kids.htm

OWR. (Unknown). Sioux Religion. Retrieved January 10, 2010, from OWR: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/nam/sioux.html