Abstract
This paper delves into Native American history through the work of John Westly Powell, the Head of the Smithsonian's Bureau of Ethnology, to better understand how the current classification of Native American Tribes into cultural families evolved. Ethnology is defined in the paper as one of the four subdivisions of anthropology, which embraces the study of cultures in their traditional forms, as well as their adaptations to changing conditions in the contemporary world. The paper discusses Powell's belief that "race" evolved as a worldview, a collage of prejudgments that distort a person's perceptions about human differences, and group behavior. The researcher asserts that the work of John Wesley Powell, who, contrary to some citizens of the West, saw the Native Americans not as savages, but as people, should be heeded and taken to heart today. This paper contains illustrative photos and figures.

Outline:
Introduction
Native American Considerations
Ethnology Defined
John Wesley Powell
Life Synopsis
Native American Race
The Bureau of American Ethnology
Major Powell and Lewis Henry Morgan
Influence of Morgan's Book
Mutual Nurtured Interests
The Interior Department's Instructions
Conviction to Capture Changes
The Theory of Cultural Evolution
Stevenson's Quest towards a Holistic Positivism
Controversy over Builders of Mounds
Cyrus Thomas and Powell's Perceptions
Monk's Mound at Cahokia, Illinois
Poverty Point, Louisiana
The Moundville Site
Works Cited

From the Paper
" Whitney asserted that rather than stigmatizing the Indians, those who considered themselves civilized should learn everything they could from the Indians. Whitney's words "foreshadowed the theoretical perspective that Powell would pursue later by means of the method of testing mutual intelligibility statements with lexical data". To better understand how the current classification of Native American Tribes into cultural families evolved, this paper explores John Wesley Powell's work as the Head of the Smithsonian's Bureau of Ethnology.
"Prior to the establishment of the Bureau of American Ethnology (BAE), Secretary Joseph Henry, from the start of his tenure, encouraged/supported systematic efforts by the Smithsonian Institution to develop a linguistic classification. For Henry, language merited a vital status in constructing human history. Along with Henry R. Schoolcraft, who in 1855 wrote "A letter on the affinities of dialects in New Mexico" (In Vol. 5 of Information respecting the history, condition, and prospects of the Indian tribes of the United States), Henry perceived comparative philology to be the key to unravel the origins of native groups. Languages, according to Henry's understanding, evolved from instinctive, mental, physical, and environmental factors, and consequently were able to proffer clues to universal, as well as these groups' particular characteristics."

Tags:Moundville, Indian, tribal

Abstract
This paper explores Native American tribes in the New World and how they conducted trade. According to the paper, there were hundreds of different tribes joined together in larger groupings, with their own political and social systems already in place when the first settlers arrived. Trade with the Indians developed into an important economic factor, especially as a survival mechanism in the earliest period, but thereafter both for certain goods the colonists needed and also as a factor in cementing relations and avoiding war, at least for a time.

From the Paper
"The Native American tribes in the New World did not constitute a single population but were often treated as if they did because they were so alien to the European settlers and their set world view. There were hundreds of different tribes joined together in larger groupings, with their own political and social systems already in place when the first settlers arrived. The settlers often saw the Indian tribes as a threat, but they also saw them as potential trading partners. Trade with the Indians developed into an important economic factor, especially as a survival mechanism in the earliest period, but thereafter both for certain goods the colonists needed and also as a factor in cementing relations and..."

Tags:native, american, trade

Abstract
The paper discusses how the Native-American population is one of the most marginalized groups in American society. The paper relates that the government has treated the Native-American population as a separate and sovereign nation within the borders of the United States, while at the same time reducing their power and preventing it from thriving even in limited circumstances. The paper points out that any discussion of Native-Americans must recognize the variety of tribes in different parts of the country and the social and cultural elements that link them in opposition to the white society that pushed the Native-American out of one region after another. The paper concludes that the plight of the Native-American remains precarious as their culture is undermined and altered even today.

Outline:
Introduction
Early Period
Pre-Civil War
Twentieth Century
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The Europeans were surprised at the mode of life of the Native Americans even as they saw that lifestyle to be antithetical to their own. For one thing, as shown in writings by the Europeans, they were consistent in their amazement at the personal liberty of the Indians and especially their freedom from rules and social classes based on the ownership of property, forces which governed the lives of the Europeans. This fact points to one difference between Europeans and Native Americans--Europeans "owned" property and saw the land as something to be possessed, while the Native Americans lived with nature and did not try to own it. The Indians used their resources for survival, while the Europeans sought more than this and developed a broad-based trade that depended on exploiting resources, including exploiting them for products they could sell to their home countries. Much of the history of the New World involved a clash between these values, with Europeans pushing the Indians off their land in order to exploit the resources and to assert ownership, as if God had given them the right to do this."

Tags:culture, society, government, Indian, tribe

Abstract
This paper presents a comparison and contrast of the Native American culture with the Chinese culture. The paper claims that there are several similarities. "Native American" and "Chinese" are all-encompassing descriptive terms of the many different tribes and dynasties of each culture. Both cultures have rich, meaningful customs that are still passed on today, unlike many ethnic groups that have lost some of their culture due to the changing times. The paper contends that Chinese and Native Americans still believe in their own form of mythology. The paper discusses the social, political, and economical aspects of these two cultures.

Outline
I. Introduction
a. Two Richly Historic Societies
II. Social
a. Native-American Creation
b. Birth of Chinese Culture
c. Compare and Contrast
III. Political
a. Native-American Politics
b. Chinese Political Systems
c. Compare and Contrast
IV. Economic
a. Early Native-American Economy
b. The Start of Chinese Economics
c. Compare and Contrast
V. Conclusion

From the Paper
"Throughout their history, Native-Americans have been historic people of change. Food discovered and domesticated by Native-Americans would transform the diet of the incoming settlers and not just the offering that has been made famous as the "First Thanksgiving." Native-Americans also made many important contributions to modern medicine, art, architecture, and ecology. It is not widely taught but during the thousands of years preceding European contact, the Native-American people developed ingenious and creative cultures. They harvested plants for food, dyes, medicines, and textiles. They hunted and domesticated animals. They also established extensive patterns of trade which helped them build cities, "produce monumental architecture, developed intricate systems of religious beliefs; and constructed a wide variety of systems of social and political organization ranging from kin-based bands and tribes to city-states and confederations" (Mintz, 2003)."

Tags:cherokee, indians, shang, dynasty

Abstract
This paper briefly explores the cultural differences between the Cherokee and the Blackfoot in relation to sex and gender. It looks at their attitudes towards a woman's role in the family, education, the duty of the husband and wife to reproduce, and discusses how their cultures were also affected by exterior forces.

From the Paper
"Many Native American Indians maintained a gender division of labor and social roles "long before the arrival of Europeans on the North American continent (Hill, 1995)." These tribes varied in how they viewed the importance of women. Most tribes, such as the Cherokee, kept a division of labor and social roles, while encouraging "each person to value the opposite gender as an integral part of the whole-the family, clan and tribe (Hill, 1995)." Most women were valued for their ability to reproduce and their ritualistic knowledge. As the woman aged, her status in the tribe increased. The elders of the tribe, both men and women, were mainly responsible for educating the youth. Women were held in high regard by the Cherokee and tribal law stated "the penalty for killing a woman was double that for killing a man because of the children she might have borne (unknown, 1998)." "

Tags:indian, elder, woman

Abstract
This paper looks at the vast differences between the cultures of Native and European Americans and explains why, without significant compromise by both peoples, these cultural differences made peaceful co-existence between the groups untenable.

From the Paper
"Given the proper circumstances, the traditional Native American cultures could not have co-existed alongside European American cultures, with both remaining relatively intact and viable because of basic fundamental differences regarding land and life. Each culture respected their own heritage and felt no desire to change their ways for the other. The Native Americans might have made a fatal mistake by believing that they could co-exist with the Europeans while the Europeans, as demonstrated in Andrew Jackson's message, had no such intentions. Examining how each culture viewed these issues reveals how, without compromise, any attempts to co-exist were futile."

Tags:structure, opposing, iroquois, village, tribe, power, authority, removal, act, land, agriculture

Abstract
The paper examines Chapter 5 of Hugh Dempsey's work "The Vengeful Wife and Other Blackfoot Stories" and how changes our perception of homosexuality in Native American tribes. The paper relates that this chapter, entitled "They Acted Like Women", dispels many myths and stereotypes and gives the reader a better understanding of the underlying causes of the various gender roles in Native American society. The paper concludes that Dempsey makes the Westernized reader step out of their world and out of their own biases. He allows the reader to explore gender differences from a much different perspective than other western authors

Outline:
Gender and Gender Roles
Towards an Egalitarian Society
Biology or Sociology?

From the Paper
"Native American culture is much more flexible in its interpretation of lifestyle variations. The focus of Native American society was on the roles that a person played within he tribe and daily activities, than on sexual behavior. Dempsey explores some of the various roles and examples of men and women that deviated from the norm. Native American society allowed for a definition of gender that was neither male nor female, yet encompassed the roles of both at the same time.
"Dempsey examines the variations of gender roles that existed within Native American society. His exploration makes us realize that there are many more ways to define gender roles than our limited Western vocabulary allows. "Berdache" is the word used to describe individuals of a definitive physiological sex who take on the status and role of the opposite sex (Dempsey, 2003). There are a number of sexual preferences out of the norm that fall into this category. This category encompasses homosexuals, transvestites, or simply one who shows strong characteristics of the opposite sex."

Tags:berdache, gender, homosexuality

Abstract
The paper reveals that studying the Nez Perce tragedy and the tragedies of different Native Americans will show that a lack of unity of Native Americans allowed the Europeans to manipulate them. The paper explains that their subordinate social and political standing was affected by their self-destructive ways including slave trade, the desire to have riches of the Europeans, and their willingness to attack other Native American tribes.

From the Paper
""During the 1670s and 1680s, slaves constituted about a quarter of the Carolina population" (American Colonies). While many people may think that the first slaves brought to Northern American were African Americans, this actually is not true. The first slaves in Northern America were Native Americans (Seybert). Studying the Nez Perce Tragedy and the tragedies of different Native Americans will show that a lack of unity of Native Americans allowed the Europeans to manipulate them. Research on the topic of Native Americans will show that their subordinate social and political standing was affected by their self-destructive ways including slave..."

Tags:culture, slave, trade

Abstract
This paper introduces, discusses, and analyzes the books "A Life in the Everglades" by Buffalo Tiger and "The Seminole Indians of Florida" by Clay MacCauley. Specifically it compares and contrasts the two authors' views on Miccosukee culture. These books, written over 100 years apart, show two very different views of the Seminole/Miccosukee culture. Although these two works are centuries apart, they paint a compelling portrait of the Seminoles of Florida. Reading them together gives one a good foundation of knowledge about these Native Americans, and it helps indicate how strong these tribes are, and how compelled they are to continue their culture and lifestyle at just about any cost.

From the Paper
"Interestingly, author MacCauley names the Tiger clan, family of Buffalo Tiger, in his 1881 study. He notes, "The Tigers are dark, copper-colored fellows, over six feet in height, with limbs in good proportion; their hands and feet well shaped and not very large; their stature erect; their bearing a sign of self-confident power; their movements deliberate, persistent, strong" (MacCauley 481). Thus, the Tiger clan has been part of Seminole culture for centuries, and it is fitting a member of this clan should lead the Miccosukee into a new century of Native American development and growth. It is also interesting to note that MacCauley's conjecture about the tribe surviving and multiplying seems to be the case."

Tags:Seminoles, Miccosukees, tribal extinction

Abstract
This paper examines the role of the culture that existed before the French arrival in the Michigan region of the United States and provides a detailed account of the actual modifications of Indian life after the French arrived. The paper considers the way in which disputes and misunderstandings were solved through law and shows how the issue of the Native-Indians and the French influence over the history of the tribes in the Great Lakes is a matter that is representative for the history of the US. The paper also shows how the Native-American experience pointed out the way in which a local issue such as the conflicts between different tribes in the region could be exploited for economic, gains but at the same time could set the basis for a cultural relation between the Algonquin tribes and the French.

From the Paper
"The history of the American people is the result of numerous influences that have put their mark on what is today the American culture and heritage. The entire array of factors that have determined the unique yet troubled history of the United States belong to numerous cultures and civilization that have remained to this day important landmarks for the definition of the cultural framework of this country. In this sense, the Indians have had a considerable contribution to the establishment of the cultural background as well as of the environment in which later settlers, such as the Europeans would place their mark and in which they would develop a distinctive cultural identity."

Tags:Native-Americans, British, culture, fur, trade, Acadia, Pontiac, Revolution