Ancient Native American Traditions Essay -- History culture Indians Es

Ancient Native American Traditions The novel "Reservation Blues" does not describe or deal with real Indians. The real Native Americans were forever destroyed by the government the second that they set foot upon the makeshift reservation. That very second saw the perish of all the age-long values and traditions that, before that moment, defined, raised, and watched over every Indian boy and girl, every Indian husband and wife, and every Indian father and mother. The U.S. government easily and nonviolently accomplished what the army has been struggling to do for many years, it wiped out a whole race of people, turning them into a mindless horde that was of concern to no one. The result were people who were hardly more Indian than you or me, people without culture, morals, or traditions; these people were lost. The only thing they had in common was the color of their skin and nothing else. This paper takes a look at ancient Native American traditions such as: unity, storytelling, communication with nature, and pride in their culture and shows how they were all but absent from this particular reservation and the mindsets of its inhabitants.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The greatest thing that Indians shared is unity. Their culture viewed the tribe as a living and breathing thing, needing every member's cooperation and participation in order to survive. Throughout the years, Indians have always relied on each other for help and support, whether hunting, raising children, or defending their territory. In addition, possessions were shared equally between the members, and everything was done for the benefit of the tribe. On the Spokane reservation there is no such concept as unity. People live for their own good, barely tolerating their own kind. Defying their ancestor's traditions, characters such as Victor and Joseph bully others into submission in order to get what they want or just for fun. Michael White Hawk attacks the band members out of jealousy. After the band starts their public performances, the whole town splits into two groups, one supporting the musicians, the other detesting them. There is no unity to be found anywher e. Same thing goes for support. Not many souls believed in them. "Tribal Chairman David WalksAlong was even more pessimistic about the future of Coyote Springs. "Listen, those Skins ain't got a chance in New York City...Coyote Springs is done for. I'm... ... and courageous animal, looked up to by the children, but in the real world it was simply a mean of amusement. The Spokane tribe had hastily forgot one of the most important concepts of Indian heritage, the concept that should have defined them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The only thing on the Spokane reservation that still contained Indian culture and heritage was Big Mom, or the nature. However, no Indian ever remembered, or wished to remember his or her own roots. They knew about Big Mom’s existence, yet they refused to believe in her. It was simpler to live life as they did, without any real purpose or direction. â€Å"There were a million stories about Big Mom. But no matter how many stories were told, Indians still refused to believe in her. Even though she lived on the reservation, some Spokanes still doubted her.†(199) She watched the Indians deny and defy everything that was in their culture, all the traditions and all of the morals, powerless to stop it. The-man-who-was-probably-Lakota saw and understood what was happening, and repeated the same line over and over again, â€Å"The end of the world is near, the end of the world is near.† However, for these Indians the end had already came and gone.