Museum of the Native Americans

Résumé du document

As opposed to most other exhibitions on Native Americans, the one held within the Native Americans National Museum puts the emphasis on the present life of Indian Americans. They are not classified as a memory of the past anymore but as part of the current American society. However, their past is obviously heavily responsible for their present situation and therefore the museum retraces Native Americans history and cultures as well as their migration patterns. From the visit of the museum and the field of study covered in class, this paper will try to show how history impacted the lives of Native Americans and made them who and what they are today. First, this paper will examine their migration patterns throughout the last two centuries.
Secondly, their religious beliefs will be brought into focus with regards to their roots in history. Thirdly, their present conditions of living will be examined in order to assess the amount of change that occurred and the remaining efforts that have to be made.

Extraits

[...] The main attraction of the museum is probably the exhibition focusing on the present lives of the Indians. Indians are often referred to as a former population of the Americas which has been either destroyed or absorbed. The remaining Indians are seen as decadent and as enclosed in reserves where the government wants them to be so that any tourists can have fun looking at Indians. These conceptions are obviously biased and the museum manages to open visitors' eyes. Once again, the museum made the decision to emphasize the lives of 8 different Indian communities to show that even nowadays there is no one “Indian issue” but many different groups living their own life with more or less success. [...]

[...] Bibliography Pritzker, B., (1998) Native Americans : an encyclopedia of history, culture, and peoples, Santa Barbara: Clif. Whittaker, D., (1996) United States government policies toward Native Americans, 1787-1990, London: British Library. Leigh Heyrman, C., (2000) “Native American religion in Early America”, Retrieved March 10th Website: http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/tserve/eighteen/ekeyinfo/natrel.htm Untitled, Retrieved March, 10th Website: http://www.lincoln.dubuque.k12.ia.us/images/School- Wide/internet_resources/Expeditions/5thgrade/native_americans/migration_rout e1.jpg Pritzker, B. (1998) Native Americans : an encyclopedia of history, culture, and peoples, Santa Barbara: Clif. [...]

[...] However, huge differences existed too and the museum tries to show how complicated and sophisticated Indian cultures are. The encounter with European cultures and religions did not result in a mere extinction of Indian religions but gave birth to a subtle merge between Christian beliefs and Indian traditions. Both cultures possess a “creation myth (as set forth in Genesis), venerated a Creator God, dreaded a malicious subordinate deity (Lucifer), and looked forward to the individual soul's immortality in an afterlife superior in every respect to the here and now. [...]

[...] They are not classified as a memory of the past anymore but as part of the current American society. However, their past is obviously heavily responsible for their present situation and therefore the museum retraces Native Americans history and cultures as well as their migration patterns. From the visit of the museum and the field of study covered in class, this paper will try to show how history impacted the lives of Native Americans and made them who and what they are today. [...]

[...] Therefore I feel my visit to the Museum of the Native Americans provided me with inside knowledge about the Indians. I am willing to make a last but decisive point as to the ways Indians are pictured in this museum. I highly regret that they are still thought of as victims more than people who are actually part of the American society as a whole. They obviously suffered a lot from the European colonialism in the Americas and denying this is pointless. [...]