Abstract This paper examines the controversy behind the Nobel Prize winning book," I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala". The author uses a comparison and contrast format to explore the issue.
Abstract This paper addresses the theme of how Native Americans are cast as heroes in the American lexicon but are typically not perceived as being truly part of the United States in Ian Frazier's book "On the Rez".
Abstract When examining this phenomenon, it is vital to emphasize that written literature and scholarship, in the way it is known in the Western world, does not exist in North American languages. This fact serves as the foundation to how and why Native American communication exists in the form of symbolism and visualized images.
Abstract This paper will discuss how Louis Owens, in his essay "The American Indian Wilderness", evokes the usage of the essay format to describe the ways of the Native Americans in their habitats and the natural environment that they survived in. By revealing a thesis of Native Americans being here first, he states a thesis that can be readily agreed with. We can see how Owens argues for their ownership of the land before the great Manifest Destiny that eventually wiped them out.
Abstract This short three-page essay discusses general Native American death rituals, includes Walt Whitman's poem addressing this, a Native American prayer, and elements of the ideas of afterlife, heaven, God, nature and the nature of death.
Abstract This paper looks at the implications of the Indian Removal Act of 1840, and its consistency with the United States Constitution. It explores the critical effect of the act and whether it was in line with the Bill of Rights.
Abstract This paper is an anthropological review of Nasdijj's book, "The Blood Runs Like a River Through My Dreams". It observes that the book stands as a cultural treasure which clearly delineates the historical context of the present day state of the Native American. It concludes that the effectiveness of the book lies in the powerful reality that is conveyed by the author and first-person narrator.
Abstract This paper contends that members of the native culture themselves benefit most from their assimilation into the mainstream, and the mainstream society also benefits. The author bases his argument on his first-hand experience with the assimilation of a Navajo family living on a New Mexico Reservation. The paper points out that, for the Caucasian cultures in America, true and complete assimilation takes at least several generations and may not even be entirely possible.
From the Paper "What constitutes a benefit? Admittedly, there is some room for subjectivity here, but something obtained by an individual or group that advances its progress toward whatever goals it has or the removal of an obstruction to those goals could be considered benefits. Some of these benefits could be characterized as availability of food, healthcare, education, wealth, influence, status, artistic achievement, freedom from prejudice, etc. How these things endure from one generation to the next could also be considered a benefit. Benefits can also be prioritized according to a scale of needs and wants, i.e., acquisition of food and shelter are higher priority than say acquiring a country club membership or a famous set of Kachina dolls."
Abstract This paper focuses on disease as a catalyst, paying special attention to the role of smallpox in subjugating the Native American nations. The first part is an overview of how various diseases have affected North American Indians from the arrival of the first Europeans in the 1500s to the Spanish missionaries who first came to Mexico and California in the 18th century. The body of the paper focuses on the use of disease, particularly smallpox, as a biological weapon against the Native Americans during the Seven Year's War. Finally, the paper assesses the short-term and long-term effects that disease has had on both the Old and the New Worlds, which include the decimation of the Native American population as a whole.
Outline
The Columbian Exchange
Smallpox and Warfare
Effects of Smallpox on Native American Populations
Conclusion
From the Paper "The most immediate effect of the Columbian exchange, however, was seen in the massive decline of the Native American population. The European explorers were unwitting carriers of diseases such as smallpox and cholera, illnesses which were unknown in the New World. Because they lacked natural resistance, Native Americans quickly succumbed to the disease. They also transmitted the virus to other populations. In South America and the Caribbean, an estimated 8 to 20 million people died, many without even encountering a white man."
Abstract Discusses the role of treaties in implementing American Indian policy, their nature and purpose, and why the USG breached most of these treaties. Provides an overview and considers treaties, Policy of Separation, and the Supreme Court.
From the Paper "This research paper discusses the reasons why the United States Government (USG) entered into treaties with various Native American Indian tribes and ultimately breached most, if not all, of those treaties."
Abstract Describes shamans as holy men with ties to the spirit world and as masters of the trance-journey technique. Examines various North American Indian tribes that believe in shamans, how certain people attain that position, and the role of shamans.
From the Paper "A Shaman is the name given by anthropologists to holy men who appear to have a closer tie to the spirit world than others, and who have become endowed with exceptional powers to deal with the supernatural (Zimmerman and Molyneaux, 1996). The word "shaman..."
Abstract This paper explores and negates many of the myths associated with the Spanish conquest of America. The paper points out that the allegations of Cortez's military genius and technological superiority over the Native Americans are unfounded, and, contrary to popular legend, the actual conquest of the native Indians was a long and arduous process and not a rapid and simple achievement; the concept of Spanish superiority over native Indians directly challenges what is known to be true about the native Indians' advanced and sophisticated societies.
From the Paper "The suggestion that the Conquest was achieved rapidly by defeating the native Indian armies with a small group of Spaniards acting alone is also a myth. Such tales of the Conquest, according to the Spaniards, completely disguises the incomplete nature of this event and throws a dark shadow over the roles played by the Native Indians and the free and enslaved West Africans. It is also a myth and a widespread misconception that the Conquest reduced the Native Indians of the "New World" to the point of extinction. In truth, these peoples, via diverse and profound means, displayed enormous resilience, adaptability, and vitality and even turned the impact of the Conquest into opportunity instead of disaster."
