Native American Culture
Stereotypes of all varieties have plagued Native Americans ever since their first encounters with the white man. Unfortunately, people have been more content to rely on ignorance rather than to look into the true complexities and compassion of Native American life before and during the time Europeans graced the continent with their presence. Perhaps the most impressive examples of such complexity would lie in structure of governments, role of women in every day and political life, and respect for the earth, as well as respect for human life. One would also find a total contrast in European behavior, when compared to that of the “savages.”These “savages” managed to construct governments that were inclusive and sensitive to the needs of everyone. The Iroquois, for example, were considered to be some of the most ferocious of the indigenous peoples, and yet had one of the most articulate governments of the time. Made up of their five different nations, the Iroquois formed a constitution of laws, and a confederation that based its work upon that constitution. Two main principals guided the federation and were outlined in the constitution; individual freedom and government by consent of the governed. How shocked these w
It’s difficult to find a conclusion here. There is great difficulty in writing an essay on something one feels so strongly about. Stereotypes are created at the smallest whims and differences, but hate and hateful acts are hard to explain. For as long as one may remember, these white male explorers and settlers were hoisted upon golden pedestals of schoolbooks and ideas of Caucasian superiority. People want to look at the nice stories of how this land was conquered, but that’s exactly what happened; this county and its people were conquered, and it wasn’t very nice. In fact, the Europeans were the savages, and the Native Americans were just horribly misunderstood, with a wonderful civilization of their own, and in the end, ignorance engulfed it all. Which is a great lead into this paragraph. One of the most personally impressive characteristics of Native American society was their constant… respect. Respect for each other, respect for the earth, and respect for themselves. There are some nifty anecdotes to go along with this: When the pilgrims supposedly landed on Plymouth Rock, there were natives waiting there for them. Interested as they were, they stayed away from those pilgrims. Why?- Because they smelled bad. These civilized Europeans never washed themselves, whereas the natives would go down to the beach, and despite freezing water, these “savages” bathed themselves. Had the Europeans not brought their diseases, the natives wou
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Approximate Word count = 989
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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