Joey Greene

Minority Groups

11/23/04

Native Americans

In this paper, I plan to talk about Native Americans, the struggles they have had, their beliefs and customs, and some problems they are still facing today. Native American’s have always had it rough.  When Whites started to come over to America, they didn’t think twice about taking over the Native American’s land.  As it says in Strangers to These Shores, “Columbus’s first impressions of the Arakawa Tribe in the Caribbean reflected ethnocentrism… His words were…“I knew they were a people who would better be freed and converted to our Holy Faith by love than by force… they are all generally of good height, of pleasing appearance and well built…They must be good servants and intelligent…and I believe that they would easily become Christians, as it appeared to me that they had no sect.”

Whites were the minority for several years, yet they still tried to sell the idea that there way was better.  Whites were viewed by the Native Americans as liars, cheaters, and hostile people.  These two groups had a hard time trying to mix cultures.  The Native Americans couldn’t understand the Whites way of treating the land, animals, and each other.  The Whites couldn’t understand why the Native Americans didn’t want to be Christian, and why they didn’t want to join their “enlightened” way of life.  A bit later, violent wars between each group became common, and the ending result is that the Whites won.  Whites gave the Native Americans small areas of land to live on, which initially already belonged to them in the first place.

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Native American’s have always viewed their environment as sacred. Their belief is that they are just a small part of the great continuous circle.  Everything is apart of this circle and if one part is effected it will ultimately effect the other parts.  Native Americans don’t see the land as something to take advantage of.  Everything they take from the land they perceive as a gift.  It is traditional to give a prayer of Thanks as well as leaving a gift.  Some prayers are to help the animal’s spirit to complete its journey to the afterlife, and also thanking the ...

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