ipl-logo

Preserving Cultural Identity: 'Gitxsan And Witsuwit'

1699 Words7 Pages

Harshkumar Patel
Anthro 270
Assignment #3

1. Cultural identity is very important for us humans to evolve as a community. Preserving of this cultural identity can prove to be a very complex process and many factors have to be kept in mind while discussing this topic. One way of preserving cultural identity is by potlatching. Pot latching is when groups of people feast as a part ceremony and also exchange gifts. The Gitxsan and the Witsuwit’en are two tribes who have lived as neighbors since a very long time ago. Like good neighbors they have had good relations with each other as they intermarry and trade goods. Considering their involvement with each other, they both speak different languages which are not related to each other. The Gitxsan …show more content…

For both the head and the wing chiefs take care of the fishing sites and resource sites, both of the tribes are matrilineal which means that one has to marry outside of the clan and so the father and spouse play very important roles in one’s life. For both the tribes the territories are discussed over potlatches. Hence, making potlatches the very structure of their politics. During these potlatches they can have dispute resolution, empowerment of a certain house or clan, announcements of titles and much more. Also, when a chief dies these potlatches are held to announce the successor. The Gitxsan have many more clans with in it and the Witsuwit’en can make a link by …show more content…

They both fish for salmon. Their partnership is very traditional in which they share and trade the resources that they harvest. Their economy also includes, fur trade and hunting and gathering from the animals in their lands. They make certain wearables like clothes and rings and other accessories which they trade with each other. As time passed their economy became more commercial as they expanded into commercial fur trade and fishing. Although they moved to more of a commercial trade, their subsistence is still provided by resources found on their territories and harvesting for salmon. Religiously, both the Gitxsan and the Witsuwit’en, were based on the idea that all forms of life possess spirit and that spirit must be celebrated. Their ceremonies involve respecting all life-forms and honoring them. In Bill Fee’s article “Gitxsan Wet’suwet’en education society holds graduation in Hazelton” we can see how far the tribe has come after all the suppression. These two tribes are still in continuance of their potlatch and are moving forward with their ways of life while trying to hybridize to a completely new way of

Show More
Related

Comparison Of Powhatan And Navajo Tribe

167 Words | 1 Pages

I compare the two tribe is Powhatan and Navajo. Powhatan formed powerful tribes of eastern North American and they worship animal spirits , especially the great hare. Powhatan was an American Indian leader who built the Powhatan confederacy of tribes what is now Virginia. Powhatan Indians dressed in deer skin for hunting. A Famous chief named wahunsonacok known as Powhatan.

Read More

How Did The Confederation Of Siletz Indians Preserve Their Culture

1136 Words | 5 Pages

Languages are an important part of any culture, especially dying cultures that need to be preserved. This true for the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, a group of Native American tribes who originally spoke many different languages. They were all forced onto a small reservation, completely wiping out their lifestyle and almost completely wiping out their language. Their story needs to be told, both how they almost lost their language forever, and how they are rebounding today. To preserve the culture of the Confederation of Siletz Indians, the story of their languages needs to be told because their culture has been lost, but a language offers a way to save part of the culture, and their story can provide to hope to many Native peoples

Read More

Act 31 Rough Draft

1273 Words | 6 Pages

All of the tribes are important in their own ways, but for this paper, I will be focusing on these two tribes. “In their own language, the word Potawatomi means "Keepers of the Sacred Fire," but they call themselves "Neshnabek," which means "the True People" (Potawatomi History, 2017). The Forest County Potawatomi tribe is presently

Read More

Overview Of The Seven Council Fires

1573 Words | 7 Pages

Of all the articles and videos available on the culture and history of the Native American people and specifically of the Oceti Sakowin, the PBS documentary, Oceti Sakowin - The People of the Seven Council Fires that aired on September 8, 2007 was the most enlightening. This documentary was a collection of stories about The Lakota, Dakota and Nakota people, presented by the elders of these tribes, just as was their tradition. ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDING 5: History told from the Oceti Sakowin perspective, through oral tradition and written accounts, frequently conflicts with the stories mainstream historians tell and becomes subjective information. Currently historical perspective is being revisited to be more inclusive (Whirlwind Soldier et.

Read More

Comparison Of Chief Powhatan, And Iroquois

3063 Words | 13 Pages

However, they inherit many similarities from each other. These tribes are very vital to the cultures we have today in America. These tribes are hundreds of people with different

Read More

Northwestern Coast Tribe Essay

422 Words | 2 Pages

The Northwestern Coast tribes became a thriving society using materials, religion and art, and their way of living to their advantage. They became known as one of the richest tribes in North America, due to their vast supply of resources. The tribe’s material usage was so efficient, allowing them to advance quickly. Religion was encouraged through art, stories, and ceremonies. Every person living here was placed onto the social ladder which was very laidback, but very important to the Northwest Coast.

Read More

The Meherrin Indians

1114 Words | 5 Pages

In the mid-seventeenth century the Meherrin Indians were living in North Carolina on the north side of the Meherrin River. The Meherrin Indians were affiliated with the Iroquois Indian Tribe. They spoke Iroquoian and were related to the Tuscarora and Nottoway. They also shared a government, language, and culture with the Tuscarora.

Read More

How Did The Navajos Live In The Great Plains Region

429 Words | 2 Pages

The sun rises in the east and light shines over America and it's vast nine regions that include the Navajos in the southwest, the Comanches in the great plains and the Cherokees in the southeast. The first tribe I will be talking about is the Navajo tribe. The Navajos are a native American tribe located in the Southwest region. They are one of the tribes that mastered the skill and art of farming.

Read More

Noongar Tribe

1683 Words | 7 Pages

It is important to understand that Noongar people are the traditional

Read More

Lakota Tribe Vs Aztec Research Paper

1766 Words | 8 Pages

We will also look at the history of the tribes, how they thought the world was created, religious beliefs and rituals, their culture, and what they thought of animal life. [Title Here, up

Read More

Compare And Contrast Navajo And Cherokee

1406 Words | 6 Pages

While they may have many modern commonalities, they haven’t always had so much in common. The two tribes however do have many common beliefs in social,

Read More

Women's Roles In The Choctaw Tribe

449 Words | 2 Pages

The Choctaw Indian Tribe is very different in terms of the roles of the men and the women. Women assume the position of leader in most cases. However, they all have to work together. Men, women, and children have to come together to help the tribe to function. Men in the Choctaw tribe, had the basic jobs of any Native American tribe.

Read More

My Cultural Identity Essay

753 Words | 4 Pages

The background of my cultural identity I am an African American female but that isn’t all there is to know me for. I am an African American girl who is very interactive with my religion and also my culture. Cultural identity can be hard to explain because some people don’t know what’s really in their culture and they fail to see , and understand it. I know what my cultural identity is because of my ethiopian flag, the baked macaroni, and the movie the lion king.

Read More

Cultural Identity Reflection Paper

1883 Words | 8 Pages

Throughout my experiences in this course so far, I have had many opportunities to reflect on my own past and have begun to better understand my own cultural identity. It has been much more difficult to wrap my head around than I would have predicted it to be because so many things play into the construction of an identity that it can be hard to look at all of those separate pieces together. My cultural identity, like all others, is more complicated than it first appears. I identify as a white person, a woman, an American, a gay person, and a feminist, just to name a few. While all of these labels carry with them stereotypes and expectations, they also interplay with the cultural influences I was subject to throughout my childhood.

Read More

The Importance Of Collective Memory And Cultural Identity

963 Words | 4 Pages

There are other movements, beside physical body movement, allowed by our brain of which individuals are not conscious, or at least not fully conscious; namely, the action of remembering and forgetting. According to Pierre Nora memory “remains in permanent evolution, open to the dialectic of remembering and forgetting” (8) process which he claims to be “unconscious”. It is given to this dialectic, as Jan Assmann mentions in his essay Collective Memory and Cultural Identity that ““the survival of the type” in the sense of a cultural pseudo-species is a function of the cultural memory…” (126), which means: first, that the identity of a place is not inherited through genes; and second, that it depends on individuals’ conscious effort to maintain it. Individual memory or communicative memory as Assmann calls it “does not extent more than eighty to (at the very most) hundred years…”

Read More

More about Preserving Cultural Identity: 'Gitxsan And Witsuwit'

Related Topics

Open Document