Use Heritage Month to gain deeper understanding of native cultures

The aim of American Indian Heritage Month (November) is to showcase the rich culture of U.S. Natives.

This is a noble notion but the awareness should be pushed beyond making head bands and looking at pictures of buffalo.

In 2009 the Bureau of Indian Affairs published a list of federally recognized tribes in the U.S. that included 564 separate nations.
With only 50 states, that leaves an average of a little over 11 tribes per state. It wouldn’t be practical for all tribes of each state to be taught about during November, but educators could choose the largest tribes or the most local tribe to focus on.

Each tribe across the country has its own culture, set of values, and languages. The tendency of educators is to lump together Natives as one entity and teach students, often elementary and middle school classes, in generalized terms and customs.

Focusing on a local tribe allows the subject to be more relevant. The other problem with generalized teaching on the history of Natives is that many don’t take the time to learn about the modern Native communities still active in most metropolitan and rural areas.

Romanticized pictures are painted about Indians and Pilgrims so often that the general population loses touch with the fact that Natives aren’t mythical creatures that dwelled on ancient land. The other side of stereotypes about Natives is that one-day all they were shooed off to reservations and there they remained to open casinos and drink themselves to death.

While neither of these depictions is entirely inaccurate, neither gives the culture justice. It is true that many tribes in the U. S. operate casinos, all nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon operate a casino, and alcoholism and drug abuse remain prevalent struggles faced by Native communities but there is rich heritage that still plays an important role in day to day life of many tribal members and Native descendents. The struggles should be realistically reviewed but not the entire focus of learning about tribes.

There are so many facets of modern Native life that have gone completely unseen by the general population. A study of the sovereign government systems that exist on reservations alone would prove to be an interesting learning experience.

The contrast between different reservations could also be very interesting, some have complex government systems, health clinics, K-12 schools, and brand new housing projects while others have no internal source of income and a poverty ridden population that, currently, has no hope of self sustainability. It would be interesting to know how where local reservations stack up.

After taking a look at the history of a tribe it’s interesting to consider the battle of young Natives and how they have to find a balance between the modern world and the culture they are responsible for passing onto their children. Many tribes are in crisis concerning their language, less than half of those under 30 fluently speak the language of their ancestors.

A study on the “Urban Indian” and the prejudice that exists within Native communities is also a compelling topic. Common battles within the community include the perception that those living off the reservation in metropolitan areas, especially those receiving education, look down upon those living on their designated reservation. This notion is reversible; those who live on the reservation are often accused of not recognizing so-called urban Indians as real Natives.

A project taking a closer look at the “pow wow trail” is another option. Pow wows are gatherings focused on drumming, singing and dancing in the tradition passed on after centuries. This is a huge cultural movement; many competition dancers and drummers will follow the pow wow trail, most active in summer, for hundreds of miles. The prizes for first through third place are often in the $500 to $1000 range. This is one event where hundreds of tribes mingle in one place. There is a direct division between pow wow’s held within cities, such as Portland’s Delta Park Pow Wow held in June, and pow wows held on the reservation. City pow wows are often scrutinized for being less traditional.

There are so many complex differences within the infrastructure of Native communities that the possible focus on exploring the diversity of tribes is nearly endless.

Things like pow wows and government are good for a national focus but these are small aspects, the best way to get the most from American Indian Heritage Month is to dig a little deeper and deviate from the mediocre lessons largely focused on century old practices and the five or six major figures normally
studied.