1. “Every Citizen of the planet Earth can gain value from the words and insights of the Native Americans. Shakti Gawain Concepts in Native American Culture By Linda Kaniasty
2. Table of Contents Introduction Definition of Culture……………………………………………….3 Background………………………………………………………4-5 Thesis………………………………………………………………..6 Concepts……………………………………………………………………7-21 Closing…………………………………………………………………….22-23 Acknowledgements…………………………………………………………24
3. Culture is all of these things: Language Tradition SocialActivity ValueSystem Perception Spirituality art Thoughts Expression
4. Who are the Native American People ? Many tribes had inhabited the North American continent for centuries before Christopher Columbus mistakenly called them “Indians” Columbus: “This must be the East Indies!!”
7. DressBut they shared one common belief, contrary to the Western Europeans who settled North America, that… The Earth was a spiritual presence to be honored, not mastered.
16. Students of natureTheir worldview of absolute harmony with nature is completely contrary to the American European view of dominance over nature. “I want no blood upon my land to stain the grass. I wish that all who come through among my people may find it peaceful when they come, and leave peacefully when they go.” Ten Bears YamparikaComanchi
17. Perception Silence = Strength Silence = Reverence Silence = Truth People outside of the Native American culture may erroneously perceive them as dumb, stoic, or uncaring due to the importance they place on the serenity of silence.
18. Values: The important things in life. TREATY OF LANCASTER “Several of our young people were brought up in your colleges. They were instructed in all your sciences, but when they came back to us, they were bad runners, ignorant of every means of living in the woods, unable to bear either cold or hunger. They didn’t know how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy. They spoke language imperfectly. They were unfit to be hunters, warriors or counselors. They were good for nothing. We are, however, not the less obliged for your kind offer, though we decline accepting it. To show our gratefulness, if the gentlemen of Virginia shall send us a dozen of their sons, we will take great care with their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them.” Canassatego
19. Values Friendship is valued as the highest test of character. It is easy to be loyal to family, whom you are bound by blood. It is easy to be loyal to a mate, whom you are bound by love. But a friend who remains a friend through any and all trials is the mark of true character. Generosity is highly valued. The love of possessions is a weakness to overcome. “It is an honor to be selected for service. To ask for any reward would be shameful. Let the person I serve express his thanks according to his own bringing up and his sense of honor.” Ohiyesa Santee Sioux
20. Beliefs Subjective ideas that influence behavior. The Great Spirit sees and hears everything. The Great Spirit never forgets. There exists a great unifying life force flowing in and through all things – flowers, plants, wind, rock, animals. The same force breathes through man. Thus all things are kindred and were brought together by the same Great Mystery. Plains Indian praying to the Sun
21. Beliefs These truths, as believed by the Native American people, influence everything they do in their lives. Kachina dolls used in dance & prayer for rain, crops, or health.
22. Attitudes Beliefs and values create our attitudes or feelings about things. All the creatures of the Earth are our brothers. Many stories found in Native American folklore include talking animals who assist humans.
23. Attitudes The Earth’s resources are to be reverently used, not wasted. Animal skins and feathers are seen here being used for clothes, adornment, and shelter. “My reason teaches me that land cannot be sold. The Great Spirit gave it to his children to live upon and cultivate as far as necessary for their sustenance“ Blackhawk Sioux
24. Gender RolesAttitudes and tradition based on gender. Although adult gender roles are different, the Apache tribe traditionally trained both boys and girls to cook, track, skin, sew, ride horses and use weapons, because they realized that unforeseen circumstances might require gender roles to change over time. The Dene tribe are patriarchal and patrillineal, while the Puebloan tribes of Tanaons and Hopi are matrillineal, with property inherited through the maternal lines. Many tribes including the Navajo, Sioux and Puebloan , identify and acknowledge a third gender called “Two Spirit” which defines or limits homosexuality.
25. Recreation How leisure time is spent. Even widely separated tribes played a game of “Hidden Ball” which consisted of 2 teams of 8, a ball of stone, and a bundle of 36 counting straws. Typically, the whole tribe became involved, incorporating dance and betting into the mix.
26. Recreation Dances are performed for many reasons... …including ceremonial, prayer, celebratory, fitness, and entertainment.
27. JusticeThe quality of being just or fair, as it pertains to the law. The justice system of the Native American Culture may not resemble the formality of the American court system, but it serves their needs just as well. “We have no prisons, we have no written laws, no pompous parade of courts and yet, our judges are as highly revered as they are among you, and their decisions are as much regarded.” “We have no exulted villains above the control of the laws. Daring wickedness is here never allowed to triumph over helpless innocence.” Thayendaneya Mohawk
28. Justice Attitudes of ownership, completely different from the American mindset, render some laws unnecessary in the Native American culture. You can’t lose something that was never yours to begin with. “No tribe has the right to sell, even to each other. We might as well try to sell the air or the great sea! Didn’t The Great Spirit make them all for the use of his children?” Tecumseh Shawnee
29. CommunicationThe basic exchange of information. The long shared history of the Native American people and collectivistic society lends itself to its High Context communication style, in which very little message content is required. An example is the smoke signals or drum signals used between the tribes, which generally convey a warning.
30. Communication Native American language employs a circular or non-linear style of communication. A speaker must take his time, providing information indirectly through story-telling, example, and metaphor, in order to gain the listener’s trust. The Navajo people believe that thoughts and language have the power to shape reality and control events. A Navajo man once refused surgery after he was told he might not wake up. If the doctor had followed the Navajo Healer’s tradition of communicating the risks by referring to a hypothetical third party, they might have had more success in treating the patient.
31. Closing Many of the Native American teachings seem to be an antidote for today’s problems. Modern Day Stress - Emphasis on spiritual wellness / harmony Global Warming - Emphasis to renew, reuse and be at one with nature Bad Economy - Less emphasis on material goods, more on family and spiritual needs
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33. that I share many of my ancestral beliefs without ever realizing where those ingrained feelings were coming from. *
34. and most importantly, that I want to learn more about it.*An example: Despite the importance our American culture places on eye contact, I have always felt uncomfortable with this. I feel direct eye contact is too intimate a gesture to engage in with anyone but close friends or family. When I confessed this quirk to a co-worker, it was pointed out to me that that was a Native American trait.
35. Acknowledgements “Definition of Culture” Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Cultural Understanding through Education and Communication. Web. 15 April 2011 “Native American Myths.” Living MythsHomepage. Web. 15 April 2011 http://www.livingmyths.com/Native.htm. “Journal of Language and Social Psychology” Js.sagepub.com. Web. 15 April 2011 Garrett, J.T. Meditations with the Cherokee: Prayers, Songs, and Stories of Healing and Harmony. Rochester, VT: Bear & C2001. Print Nerburn, Kent, and Louise Mengelkoch. Native American Wisdom. San Rafael, CA: New World Library, 1991. Print. Samovar, Larry A., Richard E. Porter, and Edwin R. McDaniel. Intercultural Communication: a Reader, Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2006. Print.
