Chapter 8American Indians

Symbol – American Indian Woman

Symbol – American Indian Man

SAA 8.2 What do you know about American Indians?1. Sports team mascots and logos pay

tribute to their place in history2. All who enroll get a monthly check from

the government3. Population is decreasing rapidly4. Have been on continent nearly 5,000

years5. Were great mathematicians &

architects

What do you know (cont)?6. U.S. always accorded Indian

nations the rights of independent nations

7. Tribal system was run by warrior-chiefs

8. Basic worldview: all things in natural world are connected

9. Planning tends to be short-range and in-the-moment

10. Key value: maintaining lifelong relationships

Myths & StereotypesMyth #1. Vanishing relics of the past—

redskin savages, warriors, squaws Expanding population. Younger, faster-growing than total American

population terms offensive to most American Indians perpetuate media stereotypes

Myth #2. Sports-team mascots & logos honor American Indians’ place in history

Mock and trivialize American Indian culture. Not accurate representations of American Indians

Myths & Stereotypes

Myth #3. Indian theme programs pay homage to American Indian traditions

Who controls how a culture is displayed and perceived?

Distilling a complex culture into superficial images

Encouraging stereotypes

Myth #4: Lazy and won’t work

Myth #5: An expert on Indian lore

American Indian Demographics

Mainland population - almost 1 percent Mainland and Alaskan - 1.5 percent

One of youngest ethnic groups

Household income= $32,100 All Americans = $42,200 Poverty rate = 26% All Americans = 10%

Number of Tribes = 558 Largest tribes: Cherokee and Navajo

States where they live: all states

Most populous: California Oklahoma Arizona

% of Population 15% (628,000) 10% (392,000) 7% (293,000)

American Indian Worldview Nature: Live in harmony, preserve human-nature balance

Who We Are: A stable people, build homes, identify with land

Role of Tradition: Conservative, remember the past

Knowledge is holistic: Focus on the whole first, parts secondweb of life means all is connected, related

Truth is relative: Many possible truths, grounded in experience, which evolves, is multi-dimensional

Holistic Worldview - Experience and relate to a living universeweb of life where humans must participate

Time: Multi-focus, nature’s cycles

American Indian Values Education: For wisdom in the “why” of things

Planning: Consider decision’s impact on 7th generation Future, present equally important & greater than past

Expressing Self: Doing first, then becoming, then being

Relationships: Collectivist sharing, helping relatives comes firstlifelong relationships are common

Use of Space - People more important than privacy Borrow and lend things often and easily

American Indian Contributions

Architecture unexcelled Astronomy - calendar extremely accurate Math - used the zero before Arabs, Europeans Languages 500 to 1,000 spoken in No. America

more than in all of “Old World” Agriculture – world’s greatest farmers, pharmacists

Their plants now feed much of world, allowed population expansion

Medical system - far superior to European systemsNatural pharmaceuticals, sanitation, surgery, otherMade possible many modern medicines, drugs

Political system - primary model for the U.S. democratic political system in turn influenced U.N. and the world

30,000 years of living in the Americas

Skill Builder Cases8.1. To Cut or Not to Cut8.2 Matt, a Chippewa Clerk

Teams Select a reporter (rotate this

over time) Report: write names of team

members Take notes Report highlights to class Turn in notes to professor –

don’t put in stack of homework