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The Soul Of An Indian Sparknotes

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Karlie Bishop HIST 2055 February 14, 2023 Soul of an Indian: What is an Indian? Since the arrival of Europeans on the American continent, there has been a cultural collision between Native American and European American belief systems. The stark contrast of values, beliefs, and practices between these two groups has had an enduring impact on American society. Charles Eastman's "The Soul of the Indian" provides a unique and profound insight into Native American spirituality and cultural practices. Eastman grew up in a traditional Native American setting before being educated in European-American schools. In his book, he shares his personal experiences and provides a glimpse into the spiritual essence of being an Indian. By examining Eastman's perspectives on notions of property ownership, gender roles, spiritual/religious beliefs, food, medicine, and warfare, this essay will explore the fundamental …show more content…

In contrast, European American perspectives on gender roles were influenced by patriarchal notions, where women were relegated to subordinate positions. Native American cultures celebrated the complementary roles of men and women in their societies, with women having important roles in decision-making processes and being responsible for the well-being of their families. The quote "From the Sun, as the universal father, proceeds the quickening principle in nature, and in the patient and fruitful womb of our mother, the Earth, are hidden embryos of plants and men" reflects the vital role of women in bringing forth life. The quote "It has been said that the position of woman is the test of civilization, and that of our women was secure" highlights the high esteem in which Native American women were held, and the quote "Modesty was her chief adornment" speaks to the values of humility and sincerity that were valued in

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Sadly, Eileen Kane discovers the man who once drew thousands was now becoming more of a historic versus religious leader, a myth as opposed to a prophet. While at one time the role of his reformative religion united the Native Americans and provided hope for those used to prejudice and being treated as inferior by the whites (Kane, p. 210), his practices had mostly died out. However, the memoir still highlights the importance of his religious movement in shaping the current religious and cultural path of the Paiute

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Wolfe discusses the evolution of the methods used by European colonists to eliminate the Native Americans and take control and settle in their lands. He plots the shifting course of the strategies used to incorporate Indians into US society, going in chronological order. He starts by discussing Indian Removal becoming obsolete. He then describes the system of allotment, where Indians were given individuals plots of land to farm and manage. Finally, Wolfe discusses Blood Quantum, the method of evaluating one’s “Indian-ness.”

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Theda Perdue`s Cherokee Women: Gender and Culture Change, 1700-1835, is a book that greatly depicts what life had been like for many Native Americans as they were under European Conquering. This book was published in 1998, Perdue was influenced by a Cherokee Stomp Dance in northeastern Oklahoma. She had admired the Cherokee society construction of gender which she used as the subject of this book. Though the title Cherokee Women infers that the book focuses on the lives of only Cherokee women, Perdue actually shines light upon the way women 's roles affected the Native cultures and Cherokee-American relations. In the book, there is a focus on the way that gender roles affected the way different tribes were run in the 1700 and 1800`s.

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Throughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity.

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In many Native American tribes, the men were the providers and made sure their families survive, also the protected them from any danger. The women were in charge of their children and the lifestyle which, include preparing meals, cleaning and the keeper of their homes. They also were responsible for building their homes, and

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The Lakota Sioux, facing pressure to conform to “civilized” norms, adopted a new belief consisting of a central creed, code, and cultus. This

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As the Europeans settled, they focused on entitling the land to themselves. The Indians began to shift their view as the Europeans started to do whatever with “their” land plots. Animals began to be seen as property as well. They used to, “pray for the spirits of the animals they hunted,” and had close relations to the spirits that embodied them. These relations rapidly changed native culture and soon enough, “they had forgotten most of their traditions because ‘their Old Men are

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The Native Americans’ idea of freedom centered on “preserving autonomy and control of ancestral lands…” (Foner, 624). The white Americans didn’t like the Native American culture and religion, and the dances of Native American religion made them seem even more uncivilized in the eyes of the “civilized” Americans. To become American citizens,

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Merrell’s article proves the point that the lives of the Native Americans drastically changed just as the Europeans had. In order to survive, the Native Americans and Europeans had to work for the greater good. Throughout the article, these ideas are explained in more detail and uncover that the Indians were put into a new world just as the Europeans were, whether they wanted change or

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“Life for the American Indians grew more and more miserable. ”(3) The American Indians needed more hope for what has happened to their lifestyles. The American Indians had their own religion, the Ghost Dance. “The Americans had laws to protect their own freedom of religion, but the Ghost Dance frightened them. “The religious frenzy seemed more a portent of rebellion than a broken culture’s desperate attempt to make sense of it’s collapsing world.

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Ohiyesa’s The Soul of the Indian gives a nostalgic critique on the encroachment of white civilization on the Native American culture, citing the parallelisms the two societies share and explaining the reasoning behind Native American rituals. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass gives a glimpse into the life of a slave, comparing the life of the free and the enslaved, and giving reason to the actions of the slave and slave master. Throughout each book, it becomes apparent that each has a common trait: the white population’s use of religion as a means for their cruelty. To clarify, religion is used as a justification for their respective instances of oppression, both the purge of Native Americans and Native American culture for Ohiyesa, and slavery for Douglass. Although they experience different systems of oppression, Douglass and Ohiyesa see how the corruption of religion can be used by the white majority to assert themselves as masters to their respective peoples.

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Although Native Americans are characterized as both civilized and uncivilized in module one readings, their lifestyles and culture are observed to be civilized more often than not. The separate and distinct duties of men and women (Sigard, 1632) reveal a society that has defined roles and expectations based on gender. There are customs related to courtship (Le Clercq, 1691) that are similar to European cultures. Marriage was a recognized union amongst Native Americans, although not necessarily viewed as a serious, lifelong commitment like the Europeans (Heckewelder, 1819). Related to gender roles in Native American culture, Sigard writes of the Huron people that “Just as the men have their special occupation and understand wherein a man’s duty consists, so also the women and girls keep their place and perform quietly their little tasks and functions of service”.

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In Native American cultures women play a vital role, because of their ability to have, raise, and instruct children on how to survive in the world. Women are often associated with the earth because they both produce life and that is why many Native American cultures say “Mother Earth.” Motherhood in Native American cultures isn’t the sole responsibility for an individual. Rather all women within the community, not just the biological mother, care and raise the children so that they survive long enough to reproduce and sustain the life of the culture. Native women, due to a violent history of rape and prostitution have learned to accept all children they create into their culture and raise them in the same aspect of children not born through assault.

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They are often labeled as uncivilized barbarians, which is a solely false accusation against them. This paper aims to address the similarities between Native American beliefs and the beliefs of other cultures based on The Iroquois Creation Story in order to defeat the stereotype that Natives are regularly defined by. Native Americans are commonly considered uncivilized, savage, and barbarian. Nevertheless, in reality the Natives are not characterized by any of those negative traits, but rather they inhabit positive characteristics such as being wise, polite, tolerant, civilized, harmonious with nature, etc. They have had a prodigious impact on the Puritans

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In each generation except the eldest, assimilation was observed. Males tended to have more choice on which form of integration they chose, and that freedom of choice increased with age and financial status. In summation, age and gender impacted the level to which each individual had the choice to live a multicultural or assimilative life at the field site and in society. Gender roles at the field site mirrored gender roles in society.

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