Essay about Ancient Native American Traditions - 1474 Words

Ancient Native American Traditions The novel Reservation Blues does not describe or deal with real Indians. The real Native Americans were forever destroyed by the government the second that they set foot upon the makeshift reservation. That very second saw the perish of all the age-long values and traditions that, before that moment, defined, raised, and watched over every Indian boy and girl, every Indian husband and wife, and every Indian father and mother. The U.S. government easily and nonviolently accomplished what the army has been struggling to do for many years, it wiped out a whole race of people, turning them into a mindless horde that was of concern to no one. The result were people who were hardly more Indian than you†¦show more content†¦Members of the tribe were perfectly happy to finally be rid of their own kind, of the same people who they grew up with, and listened to in awe during the first few practices in the abandoned grocery store. The whole concept of unity on the Spokane reservation c an be summed up in the following quote. Now, I know some of you arent happy with how all this turned out, Big Mom said, but think of poor Joseph Polatkin. Think of how hard these kids worked. Think of your tribal responsibilities. Think of getting them off the goddamn reservation, shouted a voice in the back.(304) Native Americans always had pride. They knew about the ways of the world and about the ways of other cultures, and yet they chose to follow their own rules and customs since the very beginning no matter the interference from others, intentional or unintentional. A real Indian looked upon his tribe with admiration, having pride in belonging to it. The Spokane reservation was the complete opposite. Welcome to Wellpinit, Population: Variable.(3) People left that reservation regularly for the promise of a better life, the life of white people. They no longer were content with their Indian existence, and wanted everything the white man had. Possessions were no longer for the benefit of the tribe, but trophies of the persons prosperity. Dreams of money had taken hold of the whole tribe. The tribe had installed aShow MoreRelatedAncient Burial Grounds of Hawaii800 Words   |  4 PagesAncient Burial Grounds of Hawaii In recent years, ancient burial grounds have been frequently disturbed due to increasing surveillance by anthropologists and constructed on by state-of-the-art technology and are more critically protected than ever before. Understanding the importance of burial grounds gives an insight on the rich history of ancient Hawaii. They have influenced the burials performed, ancestors and their modern inhabitants, and how they have impacted modern Hawaii. 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