Essay on native Americans

Submitted By reedkern
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Native American Culture and Modern Society In the novel Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, Morrie talks about the importance of creating your own culture. Morrie says, "The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn't work, don't buy it" (Albom 42). Throughout Morrie’s life he was constantly observing the differences and similarities between different races, cultures, and societies. Many times during the book Morrie mentions the differing practices of ancient civilizations and compares them to the modern culture. Two cultures that we could compare and learn from, are the Native American people and today’s modern society. The first major difference between these two societies is their view of religion. The main similarity between the two cultures is that they both believe in a creation myth. However, Native American culture was not monotheistic like today’s religion. Many Native Americans worship several deities sometimes referred to as “spirits.” A significant difference between modern religion and Native American religion is the use of many ceremonial dances in their worship. These dances are very different from today’s worship where most people only stand and sing during church. An important part of Native American religion was the vision quest. “The vision quest, or “dream seeking,” is an essential part of Plains Indian conceptual and linguistic worldview, which is very much focused on dreaming and dream experiences” (Powers and Martin 6696). Another difference between these two societies is their music. Both cultures use instruments and sing in their music, however, Native American music is very different from modern music. “Vocals are the backbone of the music made in Native American cultures. Unusual, irregular rhythms and a somewhat off-key style of singing is used. No harmony is ever incorporated, although sometimes many people sing at once, and other times the vocals are solo” (Indian.org). Music played an integral role in the life of Native Americans. It was used for ceremonial purposes, recreation, expression, and healing.
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