Native American Essay Examples and Topics

How we wear our hair has come to be seen as a way to express ourselves in a society where we must constantly try to differentiate ourselves from the masses, and identify as individuals. Hair is one of the most powerful symbols of individuality, both…

Okeke sums up his categorization by pointing out the fact that man is at the lowest level of the hierarchical structure. As a result of that, for man to survive, he must do everything possible not to annoy any of spirits. In a situation whereby…

In literature, sometimes depending upon what you read will make you think about what is good literature and what is bad literature. My definition of ‘good literature’ is literature that helps you learn and understand as to what happened and why did it happen. ‘Remarks…

Michel De Montaigne’s book The Essays: A Selection is captivating and bold, especially considering the time that is was written in when hardly anyone would write about oneself due to sounding conceived with oneself, boring, biased, or uneducated. However, Montaigne’s book is neither of those…

Montaigne describes the barbarous people in his essay, `Des cannibales` as noble savages, who live in harmony with nature, share everything, lead a simple but honourable life and practice an uncorrupted religion without being tainted by Western societies. They hold two characteristic in high esteem,…

Rene Descartes’s, Discourse on Method, helps with the understanding of both Michel de Montaigne’s Essay, Catalina de Erauso’s autobiography, as well as Peter Paul Rubens painting, Descent from the Cross. Their ideas added to the ways in which Europe helped conceptualized the New World. Each…

Bacon’s Rebellion within the early fall of 1676, armed horsemen cantered on the Middlesex road. Tumult, riot, and rebellion had come back to Virginia. The troubles had begun aloof from the Indians and English were still in touch (as they weren’t in Middlesex), and also…

The Virginians grow tobacco, in 1617 and need labor, at first, they the Indians and African blacks had begun but was not yet the primary source of Labor in Virginia. So, to get the labor need to run their plantations, another source is the European…

Dark Snake Killaz is a full-length narrative film about the protection from the Dakota Access Pipeline. This film investigates moves made by water defenders to stop the development of the oil pipeline and features moves made by law implementation, military, and corporate soldiers of fortune…

Introduction When an infrastructural project such as the Dakota Access Pipeline is going to be built on native land, the native community would heavily oppose its construction by starting a protest. The protest by the Sioux Tribe would attract a lot of attention throughout the…

The Syracuse University mascot used to be a very controversial topic back when the mascot was the Saltine Warrior. This racist mascot divided the community and now Otto is bringing the community one step closer to healing that divide. While the controversy and pain of…

Money talks. This phrase is more prevailing in the current world economy than it ever has been. It was only a matter of time before an innocent human life got a valuation placed on it and in 2017 some Americans did just that. The Dakota…

Over 90% of indigenous women have experienced violence in their lifetime. 86% of those women were sexually assaulted by a non-tribal member. Although Native Americans make up a mere 1% of the total population (United States Cong. Savanna’s Act), the US Department of Justice estimates…

Have you ever wondered which document is more compelling for Americans? The Declaration of Independence or the Preamble to the Constitution? It’s actually The Preamble to The Constitution. Nowadays Americans live their daily lives based on the fact that their rights are protected by the…

Imagine being in a sold-out stadium for your favorite sports team in a crucial game and your team is down late with little time left, just when everyone thinks all hope is lost the crowd slowly starts to get louder and louder. You look around…

The problem It is unethical as a designer to taking aspects of a culture that is not their own and utilize its works, be it art, lettering, patterns or any aspect, without doing the proper amount of research to suport your deisgn and at the…

Imagine your race depicted as a cartoonish mascot, with fans cheering and waving foam crucifixes whenever their favourite sports team scores a goal. This is exactly what Native Americans experience when they see fans of teams such as the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians. Furthermore,…

Indigenous peoples all over the world have sustained their lives reconstructed in the blink of an eye by colonization, and our ever-growing need to economically prosper at the expense of others. To get to appreciate a certain culture you must try to acknowledge every aspect…

Washington Redskins, K.A.A. Gent, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Blackhawks, Exeter Chiefs, and HC Plzen. These are just a handful of the many professional sports teams still using stereotypical Native American team branding all around the world. It is predominantly North America and Europe who are continuing…

Settler colonialism was an unmitigated disaster for Native Americans. Prior to the arrival of our fore fathers, the indigenous people were free. They had a vibrant culture with an established values and belief system. They hunted and fished for food. They had communities with leaders,…

For millennia, Native Americans throughout North America and primarily in what would become the United States survived on their own with little interaction on the global scale, being self sufficient and forming tribes amongst their vast homelands. With the introduction of European colonialism in the…

“This land is mine, God gave it to me and if I wanted to sell it I would have put it up for sale” (Standing Bear, PBS 2012). Standing Bear, one of the most notable god fearing Indians in the Ponca tribe was a strong…

Andrew Jackson’s address to Congress on the text called “On Indian Removal” and Michael Rutledge text titled “Samuel’s Memory” both talk about the same subject which was the removal of Indians from their native lands for white settlers to take over. These texts, however, differentiate…

Westward expansion during the nineteenth century played a vital role in American history. The west provided more economic chances for America. Unfortunately this expansion came with consequences, especially to the lives of Native Americans. Although moving westward provided more opportunities to Americans, Natives were devasted…

Smoke Signals goes into the lives of a group of Indians, getting by on a Native American Reservation. Contrary to most films about this group of people, the director chooses to personify the natives in an nonbiased state. Most Native Americans are depicted as barbaric,…

Disney movies are well-known for their adorable creatures, sappy romance stories, and happy endings. Disney’s first film based on a Native American heroine was churned out just like any other: it overlooks as much of the bad stuff as possible to create a happy, romantic,…

Migration is a concept that is known all over the world. People move from one area to another in search for a better life, to escape prosecution, environmental issues, and many other reasons. However, not all migration is good. One of these types of migration…

While most people believe that the idea of Manifest Destiny was primarily beneficial for American citizens, it ultimately did more harm than good, as many conflicts with the land, people, and animals arose with Native Americans. White settlers moving west found that the Native Americans…

Introduction In the nineteenth century, America was arranging itself into socially acceptable categories by those who were in charge. These layers and classes of people created divisions in society and how people should interact. Social norms and roles were created and interactions came down to…

Introduction As far back as Columbus arrived at a small island in the Caribbean, the Native American population was pulverized by Europeans. Regardless of whether it was intentional or not, when white individuals were around the Natives, demise soon took place after for a substantial…

The Significance of the Topic of the Book in the Telling of US History The significance of “Bury My Heart at Wounded knee” is to explain the relationships the natives and white americans. Dee Brown details how horrifying the Genocide against the Natives was. As…

The Life of Dee Brown The book I read, and am reviewing, is Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee written by Dee Brown. Brown was born February 29, 1908 in Alberta, Louisiana. He was raised in Ouachita County, Arkansas until he was 13 when his…

About the Native American Culture The culture of the Native American people in the United States are known for their wide range and organically diversified lifestyles, beliefs, mannerisms, art forms as well as regalia. The culture of the original inhabitants of North America typically is…

Native America Before Columbus In the video Native American Before Columbus, Christopher Columbus left his home in Italy to go and fight for his vision. His vision was to go to Asia, and the era at that time was filled with discovery and with expansion….

The Europeans greatly shaped the Americas with their slaves brought from africa, their crops and livestock, their caste system, their diseases, and most importantly their trading options. When Europeans first came over they brought lots of new crops that the Natives could use and grow…

For centuries, Native Americans have cultivated White Sage, a member of the four sacred plants including: tobacco, red cedar, and sweet grass, and traditionally used it medicinally. The name Salvia is derived from the Latin salvus (safe) or, in terms of health, salvus (well-being). In…

The Washington Post cites “a toxic collection of pathologies—poverty, unemployment, domestic violence, sexual assault, alcoholism, and drug addiction” as some of the many issues that afflict high percentages of the Native American community (Horwitz 2014). Statistically, minority groups in America have higher rates of poverty;…

Native Americans have made traditions that remain strong after millenniums of them living in North America. Natives have a rich culture and history, much that we do not know of, as they lived on a separate continent completely unknown to us before the 17th century….

Prejudice and discrimination amongst european explorers against the American Indians is an issue found in Christopher Columbus’ two letters concerning his voyages to America. To explain how prejudice attitude arises, Tajfel proposed the social identity theory. According to this theory, belonging to a group is…

In the beginning, the sea was the earth and the sea turtle was Mother Earth. A turtle can live up to 150 years. It is the symbol of good health and a long life. The hard shell of the sea turtle represents protection and perseverance….

The sand creek massacre was an extremely sad event that will not be forgotten. It took place in the late fall of 1864, in southeast Colorado near Sand creek, hence the name. The leading factor of this event was that the settlers wanted the land…

Introduction Native American refers to a member of any of indigenous groups and races were living in North and South America before the invasion of other communities. The terms Native American, Indian American and Alaska Native refer to one of the smallest racial minority groups…

The Mexica, or as we know them, the Aztecs, were a thriving, dominant civilization that were located in modern-day Mexico City during the 14th-16th centuries. However, before this group of Native Americans achieved their high status (in 16th century standards), they had to work their…

Sacagawea was the interpreter for Lewis and Clarks adventure, declared by Thomas Jefferson in 1803 to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. America could possibly not be what it is today without the help of Sacagawea. Sacagawea was an native american girl who…

Smoke Signals In Sherman Alexie and Chris Eyre’s film Smoke Signals, the authors examine the impact of alcohol on the Native American community. Victor and Thomas journey to Arizona from their small reservation to find the remains of Arnold, Victor’s father. Throughout the entire movie…

The Only Traffic Signal on the Reservation Doesn’t Matter Anymore Sherman Alexie’s work has given many readers a glimpse at a life they are comfortably ignorant towards: Native Americans. The history, tragedy, culture– all of it escapes the minds of 21st century Americans entirely, spare…

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven The book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven is not so much a novel, but a collection of short stories. The stories in the book focus mainly around two boys growing up on…

In current society, people are always telling others to improve upon themselves and to contribute to society. This happens to everyone, regardless of their status in society. In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie, Alexie wrote about Native Americans living…

The regionalization of the Native Americans also helped to create the hunting industry, both on land and in the sea. The Indians in the Plains region became excellent hunter-gatherers because of their lack of resources but wild animals. The Mandans, a tribe located in present-day…

The Invisibility of Native-Americans in Silko’s Ceremony In Silko’s ceremony, many Indians felt that they were equal to the white people when they were given the opportunity to be part of the military that took part in the World War II. The Indian sliders acquired…

As children, we naively flipped through picture books detailing Columbus’s triumphant journey to the New World, where he was greeted by quaint, native people whose submission granted him access to the lands we now call home. We were told about their simple mannerisms, their elaborate…

Subaltern Counter publics When looking at subaltern counter publics, specifically those involving Native Americans within the United States, we can see a plethora of goals that they would like to achieve in government, economics and society from an Indigenous Person’s standpoint. Since Native Americans are…

Native American Conflicts By the second half of the 19th Century, many Americans wanted to expand westward and viewed Native Americans as an obstacle to the expansion of white society. The traditional policy of the United States government regarded Native American tribes as independent nations…

Kathleen DuVal’s The Native Ground focuses on the relationships between Native American Indians and Europeans in the Arkansas River Valley. By shifting our perceptions from a European based view to a Native American Indians centered view, history as we know in the seventeenth and eighteenth…

The Trail of Tears: Exile The connotation of the word “exile” is interpreted and expressed negatively in history. Exile is when the individual is forced and threatened by authoritative imposition to leave his or her homeland. Edward Said once expressed in his essay Reflections on…

History is a testament to the unjust and unequal distribution of power among cultural groups. What we have seen play out in the history of our country is the justification for violence against, and the oppression of, numerous cultural presences in the white man’s way….

The Battle of Little Bighorn was a war in 1876 between the Native Americans and the Americans over the Black Hills. Gold was discovered in the Black Hills, leading to an attempt by the Americans to negotiate with the Indians for their lands. The Indians…

Ever since the First Fleet landed on the shores of Port Jackson in 1788, the relationship between the Indigenous people and the settlers has been difficult. The Aboriginal people were subjected to relentless levels of racism and on most cases inhumane conduct from the British….

Through the Images: European Americans’ Attitudes toward Native Americans in the late 19th Century In the 19th century, the European Americans’ attitudes towards racial differences were mainly negative. They often viewed their own skin color as superior to others’ and thus, their way of living…