Examples Of Dualism In The Amerindians

I personally do not believe that syncretism is not a good description of the situation of the native people in North America. The Amerindians had a very different culture, some of which involved sacred rituals, sacrifices, worshiping the earth etc. Although there were many religious similarities between the Christian and native cultures, however the Europeans, which included the Spanish, English and French came and took over the land, gaining control. For example, in Mexico, the priests won the trust of the Amerindians, and took control of educating their children. However, instead of teaching them both Indian and European languages and arts, they only taught them Europeans. In Canada, the Aboriginals were highly mistreated, and still are today. Amerindian children were forced to leave their homes to go to schools, where they were not allowed to speak their native languages, and had to learn the European culture. The two cultures may seem alike in a few aspects, however they are very different, thus leading them to not bend together, as syncretism suggests.

The Europeans taught their ways of life to the Native Indians, and tried to get them to assimilate into the European culture. The French and the Spanish both had the Natives settle in villages along side them. The Natives, if they were not forced to convert to Christianity , would learn the European ways, as well as continuing to practise their own rituals, rather than combining the two religions together. The Natives understood Christianity, but looked at it from a Native point of view, and thought of it as foreign. However, many Natives were eventually coerced into converting, thus leading to the rise of the