prasad1
Active member
Early contact with non-Indians caused American Indian cultures to flourish in some ways and to atrophy in others. Non-Indians supplied steel chisels and paint to Northwestern tribes for totem pole art, the loom and colored threads to Southwestern tribes for weaving, and the horse to Great Plains tribes for buffalo hunting. Non-Indians also brought new diseases, warfare, and brutal subjugation that disrupted tribal life. After the conquests of the 18th and 19th centuries, flourishing and atrophying continued in the 20th century when many tribes acquired the English language, governments, schools, western medicine, Bibles, rock and roll, rodeos, jails, cut-rate stores, tractors, big-screen televisions, and desk jobs. At the same time, many tribes also lost their original language, prayers, dances, ceremonies, herbal medicines, religious beliefs, arts, clans, and methods of farming and hunting. By both force and allure, American culture crowded out many forms of traditional culture.
Culture is often described as social rather than individual, local rather than universal, learned rather than instinctive, historical rather than biological, evolved rather than planned, distributed rather than centralized, and cultivated rather than coarse. Scholars distinguish between cultural expressions and their foundations. Expressions include activities such as singing, dancing, dressing, and artistry—the usual media representations of Indians. The foundations include marrying, child-rearing, socializing, worshipping, governing, and working.
In American Indian communities, culture often distinguishes insiders from outsiders. People vigorously debate what is really “Hopi” or what is “Indian” and what is “white.” Besides affecting pride and human relationships, the debate can affect subsidies, grants, school curricula, and jobs.
Culture is an indispensable concept like “society,” but it is also vague and contested. Loose criteria control the word in speech and the concept in thought. Any scholarly attempt to find culture’s “essence” or “true meaning” is inevitably too narrow. Rather than trying to define culture, we are exploring causes connecting tribal culture and economic development.
- See more at: http://www.perc.org/articles/tribal-culture-and-economic-growth#sthash.vaufg8wr.dpuf
Culture is often described as social rather than individual, local rather than universal, learned rather than instinctive, historical rather than biological, evolved rather than planned, distributed rather than centralized, and cultivated rather than coarse. Scholars distinguish between cultural expressions and their foundations. Expressions include activities such as singing, dancing, dressing, and artistry—the usual media representations of Indians. The foundations include marrying, child-rearing, socializing, worshipping, governing, and working.
In American Indian communities, culture often distinguishes insiders from outsiders. People vigorously debate what is really “Hopi” or what is “Indian” and what is “white.” Besides affecting pride and human relationships, the debate can affect subsidies, grants, school curricula, and jobs.
Culture is an indispensable concept like “society,” but it is also vague and contested. Loose criteria control the word in speech and the concept in thought. Any scholarly attempt to find culture’s “essence” or “true meaning” is inevitably too narrow. Rather than trying to define culture, we are exploring causes connecting tribal culture and economic development.
- See more at: http://www.perc.org/articles/tribal-culture-and-economic-growth#sthash.vaufg8wr.dpuf
