Important Cultural Elements of the Native American Indians

The term "culture" refers to a variety of interconnected concepts that describe a group of people who share common patterns of thought, behavior, and practice (Hall, 2015). As a Native American Indian, I have up to this point followed certain patterns of thinking and acting, which have had an impact on how I carry myself in class or in public, with my peers my own age or older, and on how I see the world in general. My culture's underlying history has led me to believe that I must overcome obstacles in order to achieve my goals in life. It is through such discovery and determination that I have strived to be a better person every day, working hard in school, at home and every other duty assigned to me. I have also learned to be self-reliant, something that helps me get out of any challenge I find myself in. Thus, I have become a troubleshooter. Through, my culture and its religious beliefs, I have become a true believer in the existence of God.

Important Cultural Elements of the Native American Indians

Many cultural elements define Native American Indians Culture. These include customs, dances, traditions, culture, habits, social institutions, behavior, values, religion, Indian nation lifestyles, characteristic achievements, and people and tribes such as Cherokee, Apache, Cheyenne, Sioux, and Comanche. Native American Indians practiced semi-nomadism before civilization. They believed that there exist spirits and souls of all natural objects and thus worshipped inanimate gods. Many Native Indians believe that The Great Spirit is a supreme being that created the world. The traditions, religion, and beliefs were founded on shamanism that referred to a religious leader, Shaman/Medicine Man who was a mediator between the visible and the spiritual world. Thus, everything was about Animism, Fetishism, Totemism, and Shamanism. Religious Festivals comprised of chanting, feasting, singing, dancing, and music. Some of the dances include Pipe Dance, Rain Dance Culture, Basket Dance, Green Corn Dance, etc.

Conflict Theory: How Culture Can Create Inequality in Society

Conflict Theory can be defined as a model that offers a view a pervasive inequality that is based on race, social class, gender amongst other factors (University of Minnesota, 2017). The basic elements of this theory are that the society is organized such that it benefits the minority at the expense of the majority. Factors such as social class, sex, and age are associated with social inequality. Conflict theorists perceive that social structures have an inherent tendency to cause inequality based on power disparities linked to issues such as gender, class, age, and race. In a conflict theorist’s perspective, culture reinforces and perpetuates those inequalities.

To understand how culture creates inequality using conflict theory, MacDonald (2009) emphasizes the use conflicting interests between producers and consumers of culture. According to him, advertisers attempt to entice consumers to buy inferior products or pay more than necessary. On the other hand, consumers lobby regulatory institutions to establish laws to control consumer products and protect consumers. Therefore, each side has their conflicting interest. The same case applies when it comes to conflicting interests in culture. Concerning the construction of culture, conflicting interests cover the entire human race and culture. According to Marxist, there arise conflicting interests between different social classes, with rich people having distinct interests compared to people with no or little property. Due to these conflicting interests, some ethnic groups enforce their culture on others resulting to the exertion of significant levels of social control. This makes other cultures exploit, oppress, or destroy other cultural groups leading to inequality.



References

Hall, S. (2015, November 24). Native American Cultural Revitalization Today. Library of Congress. Retrieved from https://blogs.loc.gov/folklife/2015/11/native-american-cultural-revitalization/

MacDonald, K. (2009). Evolution, Psychology, and a Conflict Theory of Culture. Evolutionary Psychology Journal, 7(2), 208-233.

University of Minnesota. (2017, October 31). 1.2 Sociological Perspectives on Social Problems. University of Minnesota. Retrieved from http://open.lib.umn.edu/socialproblems/chapter/1-2-sociological-perspectives-on-social-problems/