The Nacirema Tribe

It was during the time period that Christ was born that the Anasazi Indians appeared in the Four Corners area which is the area where the boundaries of Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado meet. For the over a thousand years the Anasazi thrived and built their homes into the side of cliffs. These cliff dwellings could only be reached by climbing and made for a great defense system against enemies; some dwellings reached five stories in height and contained hundreds of rooms. Many of the elaborate cliff dwellings and terraced apartment houses built of stone, mud, and wood that dot the Four Corners region still stand today and date back to about 9,000 CE., but the people who comprised this desert culture did not begin to settle into an agricultural lifestyle until around A.D. 400. The Anasazi, which is a Navajo word meaning “the ancient ones”, likely received corn, squash and beans, which are a prime source of protein, added to their diet and the knowledge to raise them from their southern neighbors in Mexico. Vegetable crops provided a reliable food source that made an increase in population possible and also allowed time for other interests such as religion, art, ritual, public works and handicrafts. This allowed the Anasazi society continued to evolve and progress. The ancient ones also possessed beans, a prime source of protein and new varieties of corn. Other innovations included the bow and arrow which eventually replaced spears and at least two varieties of dogs

Culture has a paramount influence in everyday day life from the way people dress to way people gather food to how someone greets others. It united group of people based on their share ideas, perceptions, and knowledge (Blanco). Although some cultures share similar aspect, some can vary differently in their customs and norms. An example would a clan known as Nacirema whose culture would be described by outsiders as extreme and sadistic. Their culture consists of unique ritual, strong believe in magical essences, but how different does it vary from the American Culture?

The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana is a part of the southeast Native American tribes. This tribe has been known to be farmers, hunters and gatherers (Southeast American). The extent of this paper will explore the rich tribal history and lifestyles of the Chitimacha tribe. The word Chitimacha is the people’s word for “those living on Grand River”, according to the scholarly article The Historic Indian Tribes of Louisiana: from 1542 to the Present Louisiana by Fred B. Kniffen. This is relevant information because it helps us to better understand the people of this tribe. The Chitimacha tribe is the only to still live in the same place they lived in 1700 (Kniffen). Additionally, the Chitimacha

The Cherokee tribe is known as one of the earliest and largest Indian tribe in North America. They are federally recognized even today among several states(museum). While they slowly became Americanized by the Europeans who came over to America, some still practice their typical Indian rituals publicly today. Most converted to Christianity and their government in Oklahoma is based off the American government with three branches. One would believe that the Trail of Tears could have completely vanquished these Indians but many made it through the horrendous trial and kept the Indian bloodline going even present day (Conley).

The northern tribes used bones and deer antlers to make knives, scrapers, awls, fishing tools, whistles, and pendants. The first tribes denpended on agriculture were those that lived on the Atlantic Costal Plain. They learned how to make pottery and cloth. The cloth was woven with thread made from soft layers of splint baskets. They made musical instruments like pipers, rattles, drums, nd they were played during ruitals and ceremonies dances. They built two types of houses, long houses, and wigwams. The first type was formed by bending poles into a cone or dome shape and by tying the poles together with vines. The frame was covered with woven mats, bark, or hide . These people grew corn, squash, beans, pumpkins, and tobacco.

The Wampanoag' is a Native American individuals in North America. They were a free alliance comprised of a few tribes. Numerous Wampanoag individuals today are selected in two governmentally perceived tribes, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head, or four state-perceived tribes in Massachusetts. In the start of the seventeenth century, at the season of first contact with the English, the Wampanoag lived in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a domain that incorporated present-day Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket islands. Their populace numbered in the thousands because of the extravagance of nature and their development of corn, beans and squash. Three thousand Wampanoag lived on Martha's Vineyard alone.

The tribe that I am researching for my curriculum module is the Kootenai Tribe. In this project I would like to learn the history of this tribe; from their first encounter with western settlers to the present times. I would also like to know the political history, and the impacts that this tribe has had on treaties and other government documents. This tribe has peaked my interest in the last few years because, after living in Montana all my life I have heard a lot about the Salish Tribe, but not the Kootenai. I want to know why that is, and why if the Salish and Kootenai joined together on the Flathead Reservation and created the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, why is the Kootenai history ignored?

According to Miner, Nacirema is a little-known tribe living in the North America territory between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui and Terahumare of Mexico, and the Carib and Arawak of the Antilles.

The Hualapai people are a tribe of Native Americans that are currently living in northwestern Arizona. The name Hualapai means “People of the Tall Pines”(“About Hualapai”). These people have a rich history that is passed on by oral tradition. These people have influences in hunting (“About Hualapai”). Through history, these people have not lost their culture and traditions.

American Indian tribes have flourished in America before the Europeans made the initial discovery of this free land. The Cherokees were one of the first Indian tribes recognized in the new world. They began their foundations around 8000 B.C. in North Carolina. Consisting of nearly 300,000 tribe members, this tribe is still flourishing all around the world today.

The early Native American tribes had a huge influence on the United States of America. They saved the early European settlers from death and starvation by teaching them their knowledge of the New World. One of these influential tribes were the Cherokee Indians. The Cherokee Indians had a fascinating culture and language that formed an important part of American history.

In the tradition of Native American culture, there is no custom of written records of personal life or tribal history. Even though they have written language, the major way to record history is by oral storytelling. Those stories focus more about creation time, tribal and family history rather than individual life. Recording autobiography from different Native American tribes is a convention way for anthropologists to preserve the Indian traditions, which gradually decline and lost after Native American contact with Western culture. Moreover, the autobiographies of Native American individuals also fulfill the public curiosity about their culture. Nevertheless, the culture differences create the confusion and misunderstand in the written records. For the people does not familiar, and understand the Indian cosmology, the autobiography provides us as a tool to reveal the secret veil of Native American. In the same time, it leads a certain degree of deduction about the narrator original meaning.

Although the Nacirema tribe has very unique methods and focus on the human body and appearence, they are similar to our society. I feel like this tribe's beliefs are particularly similar to ours because they try to achieve "beauty" just like we try to be "prettier" or "perfect". The Nacirema can be described as a weird/unique tribe because they use torture to achieve their beliefs. One thing that striked me as particularly odd was the "mouth-rite" and "latispo" rituals because the people knew that they might die if they went through them and they still do it. They do this because they want to fit in and it is also something that has been tought all their lives. In a way, we also go through a type of torture when we decide on changing the way

The people dwelt in "towns" located in scattered autonomous tribal areas related by kinship throughout the southern Appalachian region.

Alberic’s figure, at the other side of the flames, perturbed Theo. He did not seem to be the traitor who had deceived the ethnic groups. His image was one of the benevolent mentor who opened his house to welcome Theo the first time he visited Arazi.