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Lee Cronk Indian Gift Giving Analysis

Decent Essays

Jesse Paner
Anthropology through Film
2/25/17

In his article, Reciprocity and the Power of Giving, Lee Cronk discusses the different cultural meanings placed upon the act of gift giving. The act of exchanging of gifts has many unique implications, which are based on the culture of the giver and the recipient. Cronk discusses the idea of reciprocity, which is the expectance of exchange associated with gift giving. Cronk brings up the example of “Indian Gifts” which was a term that white settlers connected to the Native American people’s expectation of receiving an equivalent gift after being given one. This expectation is rooted into the culture of the Native American people, which was misunderstood by the settlers. The real implication of …show more content…

Rather than observing the action, it is important to observe the motives behind the act. By understanding the emotions of the actor, we are then able to gain a greater understanding of the act and the culture that influenced the actor. While reading this article I couldn’t help but reflect on my own experiences in gift giving. I love giving gifts, for a long time I tried so hard to give my closest friends the best gifts possible. Not only would I try to give them an object or trinket that they wanted, I would also try to make the experience of opening the gift as memorable as possible. I would make gift boxes that were filled with balloons or boxes that would shoot confetti once opened. I did all this because I thought I was doing it for my friends but after reelecting about it, I realized that I did it for my own benefit. I did all of these elaborate gifts with the intention of making myself seem artistic and amazing in my friends eyes. This correlates to what Cronk wrote about in this article because it shows that no act is done without an expectance of reciprocity. I initially believed that I was doing something out of kindness but it seems as though I was also doing it receive gratitude and

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