Definition

Native American and Alaskan Native refer to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment.

First Americans

The origins of Native American/Alaskan Native people have been greatly debated.

Jose de Acosta a Jesuit missionary theorized that North America had been settled before the birth of Christ by a group of hunters and their families who in following animal herds passed overland from Asia to the Americas.

Anthropologists agree with de Acosta’s theory however the debate rages over timing issues as to whether the first people arrived in the Americas more than or less than 15000 years ago.

DNA studies comparing Native Americans with other population groups found 3 distinct genetic mutations in Mongolia and Siberia suggesting a separation as early as 30000 years ago.

European Contact

Upon his arrival to the new world in 149 Christopher Columbus thought he had landed in India and thus referred to the Native people as “Indios” “Indien” or “Indianer.”

According to a genetic study that used samples of ancient and modern mitochondrial DNA passed down only from mothers to daughters the number of Native Americans quickly shrank by roughly half following European contact more than 500 years ago.

There were 1 million inhabitants in the New World when Christopher Columbus arrived

Within 400 years after the Europeans’ arrival the Native population was decimated by wars starvation ethnic cleansing slavery genocide and disease with typhus small pox and measles being the greatest killers.

Trail of Tears

Federal policies with the goal of displacing Indian people started around 1790.

The goal of the 1830 Indian Removal Act was to relocate Indians to Indian country west of the Mississippi.

Jackson considered the act to be benevolent because the government was funding the relocation.

For Native people it was considered their “trail of tears” and refers to the westward herding of the Cherokees Chickasaws Choctaws Creeks and Seminoles or the “Five Civilized Tribes:” to Oklahoma.

During the brutal winter Native Americans travelled by foot horseback wagon and steam-boat.

Hundreds died from starvation exhaustion disease exposure and accidents.

Federal Acts

In 1934 the Indian Reorganization Act was passed with the goal of ending restrictions against Native religions

During the 1970s many Indians found themselves arrested for possessing sacred objects such as eagle feathers.

The American Indian Religious Freedom Act was passed in 1978.

Largest Native American Tribes of 100000+

Cherokee
Navajo
Choctaw
Mexican American Indian
Chippewa
Sioux
Apache
Blackfoot

Contributions to the Western World

American Indian people have been overlooked for their contribution to the Western world and invented:

The hammock
Snowshoes
The bulb syringe
Kayaks
Blowguns
Rubber boots

Population and Demography

In 2014 Census reported there were 6.5 million Americans who identify as American Indian Alaskan Native either alone or in combination with one or more other races.

California, Oklahoma, and Arizona had the highest percentages of American Indian and Alaska Native population.

Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are a heterogeneous group:

There are 252 tribal languages
There are 566 federally recognized Indian tribes in the U.S.

The majority of Native people have mixed backgrounds as biracial multiracial people.

Various phenotypes exist among Native people.

Acculturation

Most Native adults whose ancestry is both Native and non-Native retain their traditional values but also seek to live in the dominant culture.

Garrett and Pichette identify five levels of acculturation among Native people:

Traditional

May or may not speak English and will hold traditional Native values including tribal customs

Marginal

Identifies with neither mainstream nor traditional values

Bicultural

Knows and practices both mainstream and traditional values

Assimilated

Holds mainstream American values in high esteem to the exclusion of those native.

Pantraditional

Describes the traditional person who consciously seeks to return to the “old ways.”

Acculturation may take place at the expense of one’s original cultural values as one internalizes values and traditions.

Assimilation is an aspect of acculturation where individuals do not desire to maintain their cultural identities.

There is a desire to seek sustained interactions with cultures outside one’s own.

Christianization is an example of assimilation (and colonization) among Native Americans.

Cultural Philosophies and Values

Collectivism is valued:

Personal accomplishments are honored and supported if they serve to benefit the entire group.
Concept of self is fluid
Concept of self includes the individual as well as the tribe.

There is a belief in a supreme creator that is both male and female and is in command of all the elements of existence.

Honoring the creator is sacred Females are highly valued and respected.

Honoring the elders, the tribe, and Supreme Creator

Respect for and coexistence with animal spirits

Reverence for gifts of the earth: plants, agriculture, animals.

The earth is respected as natural medicine.

All things have spiritual energy.

Being human means being part of the sacred.

There is a belief in unseen powers.

Many Native Americans view wellness not only in the body but also the spirit and the mind.