A society's culture is made up of the knowledge and traits of a particular set of people. Usually, everything about it, including the arts, music, cuisine, customs, secular faith, and language, is well defined. It is a collection of behavioral patterns, cognitive ideas, comprehension, and social encounters that are typically learned through socialization. People also regard cultural heritage as the means of a community's living expression, such as the Native Americans or the African Americans. Typically, this culture is passed down from one family to the next. It consists of beliefs, artistic expressions, things, locations, traditions, and practices. Either physical or intangible cultural heritage is expressed in it. The Cultural heritage of a given community such as the minority group within the United States society can be distinguished regarding Artefacts (such as pictures, objects, documents and books). As Natural Environment (such as Agricultural heritage or Rural Landscapes) and finally as Built Environment (such as Archaeological Remains, Townscapes or buildings). This paper will focus on the cultural Heritage of the minority groups in the contemporary United States society such as the Native Americans and the African Americans.
How much are Native Americans expected to shed their cultural heritage to become part of the contemporary society?
Due to the angered and frustration of the officials, they created many laws and demand that the tribal groups of American Indians should shed most of their cultural heritage and everything about their lives so as to become “real” Americans. Hence, the question is therefore how they should drop so as to become part of the contemporary society and not stay away so that they can protect their culture, heritage and history from being destroyed of forgotten (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). A real myth of the Indian is that the only way they will be able to become successful is only the time they ultimately secure their cultural ties and then join “American Melting Pot”.
Moreover, in American society, a successful Indian person is one who has dropped his or her Indian part and became an American. For example, the case of the internet battle. It is where a Non-Native person posted a sacred song to the Navajos but when the Navajos saw that they demanded that the song should be banned. The incident made the Non-Native not to understand why a song that was sacred to them was to become a secret (Nichols, 2014). The White people wanted the Native Americans to shade everything to become part of the society. They wanted to keep them from speaking their native language, for doing their dances and also regulated their dressing code. They have done almost everything, but the society still needs from them. I believe they kept on demanding they shed their culture until, they have to drive them out of the society or change them altogether to become part of the community, not people who are distributed between “Real American” and American Indians.
How American Indians resist Assimilation and the reason why?
Assimilation means the process in which the separate group and the formerly distinct groups would come together to share a common culture and also amalgamate together socially. It can also be called as the process in which the principal members of the society enforces the minority, or subordinate society and makes them lose their culture and customs and adopt their customs and culture of the bigger society (Grande, 2015). Therefore the Native Americans did resist assimilation at all cost. It is because the American assimilation process was biased and become one sided where the dominant in the state wanted to have and influence on the American society and culture. They wanted the Native Americans to give up their culture and heritage, for example, the way they talked or dressed and wanted them to adopt the American or larger society culture, which the Native Americans did not agree.
Hence it created resentment, demoralisation, anxiety and conflict. The Native Americans resisted because Indians did not want the white Americans to change their image, ban their language, to ensure their kids were not placed in brutal boarding schools much (Grande, 2015). In general, they did not want their culture to be change, and they needed to be left alone and be free. They needed to preserve their culture. Therefore they resisted by fighting the Americans, killing the “invaders” who tries to foster changes on them. They also resisted by hiding from the attackers. They also formed secret societies that will assist them to preserve their culture. They also did that by running away from the killing schools and the death camps, finally by also refusing to deal with, interface and contact with the Europeans.
Also, they developed the Red owner Movement, where the Activism become a way where the identity was defined as the oppressive practices of assimilation like the once that occurred in boarding schools (Grande, 2015). The protest by the American Indian Movement (AIM), conflict at the Wounded Knee and the Trail of the Broken Treaties were most prominent in fighting assimilation. The Red Power Movement assisted in the American Civil Rights in increasing the federal urbanisation and the adaptation strategies to prevent and stop the social unrest that existed. Also, their ancestors signed treaties with the American people. It is because they never wanted to be part of “American Melting Pot”. They just wanted the American to leave them alone (Nichols, 2014).
The knowledge of the Black Power Movement and the Black Civil Rights Movement assisted in creating a pan-tribal, new motion for the Indian identity that broadened the latitude for the political powers and also caused the resurgence of the Indian identity in the 1970s and also 1980s (Vargas, et al. 2016). The FBI laws were to carry out the counterintelligence programs that will repress the political diversity and assure that assimilation does not continue unless a meeting with the resistance stemming from the clash of the cultures. Therefore, the Native American continued to find new ways of asserting their identity which made the policies of assimilation n to succeed.
How the Latinos/Hispanics viewed themselves in the past, present and future
The Latinos see themselves as the Americans who descendant from the people of the Portugal or Spain countries of the Latin Americans. Most d the Latinos Americans are the Cuban, Colombian, Mexican, Chicanos and also the Venezuelans. They are the second oldest ethnic group that inhabited the United States. They also view themselves as a racial group that share a common language, heritage and also culture. In the present days, they still want to be identified with their notion of origin. For example, they prefer to name or call themselves Cuban American, Mexican Americans, etc. they also see themselves in the future as to not fit in the standard racial of the categories that are used by United States Census Bureau. It is because 51% of the Hispanics identify their race as being “some other race” or even volunteer “Latino” (Vargas, et al. 2016). Some of the Latinos also viewed themselves as not being typical Americans and t is about 47%. They also see themselves as being successful just like any other ethnic and racial minority group within the United States. Some of the Latinos such as the Mexicans see themselves as migrating more in United because of economic reasons and others due to family reasons (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001).
How the Latinos/Hispanics are viewed by others
Hispanic/Latinos are considered differently by the American people. Some see the Hispanics as people who have already been self-identified as “white”. Some see them as people who will make an excellent United States, and they will increase the cultural mosaic of the “mixed” nation. Some are concerned about the future. In that they raise the problem of Spanish Language growing within the United States, they are afraid that it will dominate the English language in some areas due to the high concentration of the Latinos (Arellano-Morales et al. 2015). Also other believe that the Latinos migrate in the United States illegally and breeding which increases the number of Latinos in the country. Due to this, it can also contribute to illegal firearms to be transported into the country. They are also seen as amazing people who make a significant contribution to the American society. They have contributed substantially to science, economy, business, sports, philosophy, literature, music, military and also politics especially during elections period with their votes. Also, the Mexicans are also viewed as people who are associated with experiences of discrimination due to the socially assigned race that is a valuable element to the self-identified ethnicity/race (Vargas, et al. 2016).
How the demographic change affect the Hispanic/Latino alliance with whites and other minorities
Since the Hispanic are increasingly growing within the United States, and they have many tribes of about 21 they may overpower the whites in the future if it continues. It will affect their alliance with the white and other minorities in a positive or negative way (Arellano-Morales et al. 2015). The white and the minorities may rebel to the immigration of the Latinos in the United States, because of the fear of being dominated and for them to refuse to assimilate to the ways of the Americans. This will, in turn, bring cultural conflict within the Nation. It will also affect their alliance in a positive way since they will continue to benefit them in various ways such in entrepreneurship and innovation. Therefore, it will help the whites, other minorities and the Latinos in general (Arellano, et al. 2015).
Conclusion
The native autonomy and identification are seen as central to the indigenous progress also how the Natives have been able to re-contextualize in modernism. Hence, the text assists in one understanding the term assimilation which means rediscovering and retaining of empowerment, culture and identity. It also develops unique strategies of living mainstream and modernity culture while one remains a separate and distinct culture. Hence it is seen to accommodate and affirms the cultural difference that existed in the United States.
References
Arellano-Morales, L., Roesch, S. C., Gallo, L. C., Emory, K. T., Molina, K. M., Gonzalez, P., ... & Isasi, C. R. (2015). Prevalence and Correlates of Perceived Ethnic Discrimination in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 3(3), 160.
Grande, S. (2015). Red Pedagogy: Native American social and political thought. Rowman & Littlefield.
Nichols, R. L. (Ed.). (2014). The American Indian: Past and Present. University of Oklahoma Press.
Portes, Alejandro, & Rumbaut, Rubén. (2001). Legacies: The Story of the Immigrant Second Generation. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Vargas, E. D., Winston, N. C., Garcia, J. A., & Sanchez, G. R. (2016). Latina/o or Mexicana/o? The Association between Socially Assigned Race and Experiences with Discrimination. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2(4), 498-515.
