Ethnocentrism In Native American Culture

People often wonder why certain people get treated certain way. The reason why this is even thought about in our world is because of Ethnocentrism. People can easily say that they are not ethnocentric, but unfortunately, ethnocentrism is unavoidable and found in our everyday lives without us ever knowing. Even though some may argue that ethnocentrism is the way of connection to one’s heritage and culture, ethnocentrism had and still continues to have a negative effect on today’s world. Instead of bringing people together, ethnocentrism tears us apart. Many people from other cultures don’t try to understand a new culture, violence becomes a byproduct and barriers are formed amongst members of the community. Do we have a limited knowledge

Aren’t we being ethnocentric when we expect other people to follow our lead? Indeed we are. A paradigm that exemplifies how one culture didn’t even bother to understand or acknowledge another culture is seen during the European colonization of the Americas. The European colonists enforced European practices and cultures onto the Native Americans. The Indians used to dress to accommodate for the seasons. However, once the Europeans colonized, they deemed the Indian as naked savages and forced them to cover themselves up. The founder of the Native American Journalist Association, Tim Giago, makes a point on why the European acted this way. Perhaps because “it was an act of white supremacy that caused the settlers to totally block out and begin to destroy the faith and ideologies of the indigenous people. There was never an effort made to understand their beliefs. It was automatically assumed that they were inferior and therefore their spirituality and traditions were worthless”(Giago par. 13). Sometimes we get too comfortable in our own culture that we don’t bother to understand or learn someone else's culture. Ethnocentrism causes negligence when we stop trying to understand another culture. It is important to be exposed to new cultures and to try to understand new practices and

To claim no ethnocentricity, would mean that one would detach from its own culture. It’s only human nature to have a sense of belonging and safety. Neel Burton, a psychiatrist, and philosopher say that “Abraham Maslow proposed that healthy human beings have a certain number of needs and that these needs are arranged in a hierarchy, with some needs (such as physiological and safety needs) being more primitive or basic than others”(Burton par.1). According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, safety is the second most important basic need that needs to be fulfilled for initial human happiness. It is completely normal to be grounded and reflective of the culture we’ve been born into. It is normal to be comfortable in the culture we’ve been born and raised