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Essay on Survival of Native American Cultures
Native American Culture, just what is Native American Culture? The answer to this is vast and varied. There is no one Culture. Even before the Native nations of this continent were scattered and forced on to reservations, the traditions varied from nation to nation. The stationary agricultural civilization of the Cherokee Peoples was very different from that of the nomadic Culture of the Dakotas & Lakotas and other plains Nations. The Pueblo Indians of what is now New Mexico developed an urban life in harmony with the environment as described by the Pueblo Cultural Center.
Even today there are many Native American Cultures. The Native Peoples living on reservations have a very different way of life than those living off reservations. And the culture is different on this reservation than on that reservation, depending on what group or groups were originally assigned to that particular one. Originally, at least two or three different nations were put on a given reservation. Over the years the traditions of these original peoples have become intermingled, evolving yet another "culture". Even I am amazed at the number of Nations who have Tribal identities after so many years of suppression and in some cases persecution.
Native Americans and those of mixed heritage living off reservations in mainstream society have yet another set of cultures. Some are almost completely absorbed into the mainstream, following only a few remnants of a once rich tradition. There is another group, and I use that term very loosely, that has developed a somewhat uniform Native American Culture. This group has no formal organization or identity, and spans the entire country. These are the people who are involved in Pow Wows and Gatherings: leaders, traders, and attendees. The leaders, traders, and dummer/singers travel the country, sharing information. The Pow Wows are organized affairs, inviting the public; hoping to educate them, and also to finance these and other projects.....
