Intro.

Honestly, before this semester, I didn't know much about Native American Culture.  I don't have any Native American history in my family and I wasn't brought up around this sort of thing.  So going into this assignment, I didn't know what to think and honestly, I thought it would be boring.  

I'm so happy that I was pushed to do this.  I learned so much about the Native American people and their traditions.  It's definitely an important part of the United States history.  Everyone should have to do this assignment before they graduate.  

The videos were my favorite to soak up information.  There are so many great ones online as well as fabulous articles to read from all sorts of different views.

The following posts are just a few intersting things I found online that helped me discover and understand Native America and it's culture.

Enjoy.

Native American Assimilation

Assimilation definition:

[uh-sim-uh-ley-shuh n]

noun

 

1. the act or process of assimilating, or of absorbing information, experiences, etc.:

the need for quick assimilation of the facts.

2. the state or condition of being assimilated, or of being absorbed into something.

 

3. the process of adapting or adjusting to the culture of a group or nation, or the state of being so adapted:

assimilation of immigrants into American life.

4. Physiology. the conversion of absorbed food into the substance of the body.

 

5. Botany. the total process of plant nutrition, including photosynthesis and the absorption of raw materials.

 

6. Sociology. the merging of cultural traits from previously distinct cultural groups, not involving biological amalgamation.

 

Types of Native American Instruments

May 29, 2014 by SarabethAsaff

When taking a look at the types of music that have shaped both cultures and the way we view music today, be sure not to overlook Native American instruments and the way that they were used. Many Native instruments are variations of those used by other cultures, but the way that they have been applied to song and storytelling makes them unique as a cultural representation. While not every tribe or nation used the same instruments, or used them in the same way, it’s worth looking at Native American instruments as a whole to see their impact on music today.

Native American Instruments Defined

A Native American instrument can be defined as any device created for the use of making music by the people of a Native nation or tribe. While a few instruments definitely have their roots in exposure to other cultures, most instruments defined as Native have been used in specific ways that are integral to the culture of indigenous peoples. Meaning that these instruments were created, and have been in use, by a nation or tribe since their beginnings. This is important to note, because many nations and tribes today make use of many modern instruments such as guitars, which are not originally part of their culture, and did not influence the forming of their cultures, songs, or stories in any way. If you’ve been taking a course in music history, you’ve probably discovered the ways that music can impact a society; Native American instruments have impacted their society in much the same way.

Types of Native American Instruments

There are many different types of Native American instruments. Keep in mind that there are many different Native American nations and tribes, and even within specific peoples, there may be variations based on location. Therefore, these instruments are listed only as a generality, not to be seen as instruments used by all Native peoples. Keep in mind that if you want to take drum lessons, for example, and want to use a Native drum, that the way the drum was used may have been influenced by a specific tribe, and not by the way you may intend to learn or use it.

Skin Drum

The most simple of Native American instruments is the skin drum. Very different than the drums most people picture when they think of the word, the skin drum is basically a piece of animal skin stretched very tightly onto four poles. The poles are then hammered into the ground to hold it in place while the drummer beats on it. Alternatively, sometimes the skin drum was held in place by four people stretching it taut, rather than the four poles. Skin drums were found primarily in the Rocky Mountain region, and in the Northern Plains.

Frame Drums

While the skin drum needed to be set up and stretched before every use, the frame drum was a similar mechanism, but portable. It consisted of a wooden frame about 4-inches deep by as much as 30-inches long, and an animal skin that was tightly stretched and sewn into place on it. It frequently had a handle for carrying as well so it could be easily transported.

Log Drum

Like the frame drum, the log drum is meant to be used over and over, while being portable without dismantling. Instead of a frame that was built for the purpose, however, the log drum consists of a skin that was tightly stretched and stitched onto a hollow log. The logs may have been of nearly any size or dimension to vary the sounds produced.

Water Drum

Water drums are a very unique type of instrument that can be constructed of several different things. A container such as a kettle is filled with water before an animal skin is stretched tightly across the top. The water inside the drum varies its sound; filling the drum with more or less water is a good way of producing different sounds. Unlike other drums, water drums are usually beat with a thin drumstick, rather than with the hands.

Square Drum

The square drum is another portable, permanent drum made by stretching an animal skin onto a frame, or – in this case, a wooden box. Square drums were made primarily by peoples that lived on the Pacific coast, and were frequently made from cedar. Some square drums were large enough that several men could be seated inside, while others were smaller, handheld versions.

Drum Characteristics and Use

Many drums were used for ceremonial purposes, rather than to simply produce music. Drums may have been used to gather the tribe together, to send signals to people further away, for dancing, or for effect. Most drums were brightly painted and decorated so they were as much works of art as they were instruments. Many drumming rhythms produced by Native people were very different than the song or story that accompany them.
Some tribes or nations, such as the Santo Domingo tribes of the Southwest often named their drums and treated them like people. This is similar to the ways that musicians around the world bond with their musical instruments, often attributing them names and personalities.

Container Rattles

Rattles were used primarily for two reasons within a tribe; for dancing or by shamans, known as dance rattles and shaman rattle respectively. Container rattles were often used for both purposes. They were made of any type of follow container filled with beads, seeds, or pebbles with a handle inserted into one end. A container rattle may have been made of:

• Hollow gourds
• Turtle shells
• Shaped and dried rawhide
• Buffalo horn

The rattles may have been painted, colored, or decorated in a variety of ways depending upon what purpose they were used for within the tribe.

Deer Hoof Rattles

Like container rattles, deer hoof rattles may have been used for one of two purposes, depending upon who created it, and how it was decorated. A deer hoof rattle was made of a stick with numerous holes drilled along its sides. The hooves were attached to the holes so that when the stick was shaken, the hooves would rattle against the stick.

Courting Flutes

Many different tribes used a recorder-style flute for courting. The flutes could be made out of a number of different materials such as:

• Sticks
• Bones
• Hollow reeds
• Clay
• Bamboo

The flutes may be decorated with paints, pictures, feathers, and beads. Nearly all were end-blown; the number and placement of the holes differed by tribe and by maker.

Rasps

Rasps are notched sticks that are rubbed with another stick or bone. They are often used in conjunction with drums to help keep a rhythm or produce a more complex sound. Sometimes a rasp may be held against a drum to produce a deeper sound.

Whistles

Like flutes, whistles were popular amongst many tribes. The whistles were almost all end-blown and may be made of clay, wood, or bone.

Eagle Bone Whistles

While a regular whistle may be used for a variety occasions, the eagle bone whistle is considered sacred. These whistles are made from the long bones of Bald and Golden eagles, which have been boiled and cleaned to remove the fat and marrow which renders the bones hollow and ready for use. They were used primarily in religious ceremonies, such as those that summon spirits, but some tribes such as the Ute also used the bones in ceremonies such as the Sun Dance. The noise produced by an eagle bone whistle was said to be reminiscent of the cry of an eagle. By varying the amount of pressure on the whistle, as well as the amount of air flow, a variety of different pitches and sounds could be produced from the bone. The whistles were often worn around the neck when brought out for use; when not in use the whistles were often carried in buffalo skin pouches made just for this purpose.
The marrow saved from the production of eagle bone whistles was often used as a salve for eyes. The chemicals found in eagle marrow is stimulating to the retinas of the eye, which is why Native Americans have used it to help heal a variety of vision issues for many hundreds of years.

Fiddles

Two distinct tribes – the Inuit and the Apache – created a type of fiddle or stringed instrument. This was probably the influence of contact with Europeans and early settlers. The flutes were often made of hollowed stalks, such as agave, and contained holes to help produce different sounds. They often had only one or two strings made of horse hair and secured at both ends. The string can be touched with the fingers in varying positions in the stalk to vary the fiddle’s tone. In some tribes, the fiddles were known by the name “wood singing”.

Clappers

Another percussion style instrument was the clapper. The clapper is made of a thick stick that has one end partially split. This end is beaten against another object such as a rock, drum, or another stick to produce various sounds.

Rhythm Sticks

Some people, such as the Lummi, produced sound from Lummi sticks or rhythm sticks. They can often be used to teach percussive rhythms to beginners, or they can be used in the place of a drum if one is not readily available. They consist of a piece of cylindrical wood between 7 and 12-inches in length. This stick is beat against a separate stick of varying diameters to produce noise. The rhythm sticks that many elementary school children learn to keep time with are derived from Native Lummi sticks.

Musical Bow

While fiddles and other types of string instruments were adopted by Native people after their introduction by settlers, there was one string instrument that was indigenous to Native people; the musical bow. The musical bow was made of a curved stick with hair or sinew stretched between the ends. Music and sound could be produced by plucking, rubbing, or striking the strings. Interestingly, the musical bow fell far out of favor with many tribes and is rarely used today.

Appreciate All Types of Music

Music appreciation can stretch across many different cultures and traditions. Learning about different types of Native American instruments can help you get a better appreciation for Native tribes and their music. You may be inspired after learning more to take some drumming classes, or to learn how to become a DIY musician by using materials around you like many Native people did. Once you have an understanding of the types of instruments used, you can gain a better appreciation for the music they produce and the instruments used today. Learn more about all types of music you encounter to make the most out of the music you create.



Website reference:
https://blog.udemy.com/native-american-instruments/

The video below is FANTASTIC.  He gives a lot of wonderful solid information about Native Americans in North America. I suggest to watch the whole thing. He makes this subject extremely interesting and adds some dad humor which makes it easier to understand.

A few differences between each tribe

                                                  
Plains Indians, 1800

Kiowa, 1890

Iroquois, 1890

  Crow-Elk tooth dress, 1890

Plains Indian ghost dance dress, 1890

History Special: Native America before European Colonization

Diversity Essay: Native American Culture and Fundraising:
http://www.afpnet.org/ResourceCenter/ArticleDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=3334

By Prudence S. Precourt, Ph.D., CFRE
AFP WI, Northeast Chapter

The Resource Paper that follows looks at the general history and culture of Native Americans in the United States. It examines how these factors relate to standard current fundraising practices. While there are a number of general commonalities between Native American cultures, there is also great diversity. To work successfully among any of these groups, fundraising practitioners would be well advised to seek the help of a well-respected person from the same community with which they wish to work. This is particularly important as not all those labeled Native American share the same culture nor do they share it to the same degree. To understand the present day, it is helpful to examine the historic and cultural setting briefly.

Before significant, long-term contact with European cultures, the people we refer to today as Native Americans were distributed from Alaska to the tip of South America. When we refer to them as "native," we are using terminology that expresses a belief that these people were the original inhabitants of what is now territory occupied by the United States of America. Most archeologists believe that, while they may be the first human inhabitants, their original homelands were not in the New World. However, not all Native Americans would agree with this interpretation.

Most archeologists think that all or most of the first human inhabitants of the New World came to what is today the United States by traveling across the Bering Straits, which at this time in prehistory formed a solid landmass between what are now referred to as Asia and Alaska. These peoples arrived earlier than the Europeans who eventually made contact with them. So, to these later arrivals they seemed "native." The terms "Native" and "American" both express a primarily European perspective. Columbus "discovered" Native Americans who already had been living in the Americas for thousands of years before his arrival. These groups referred to themselves by various names derived from their own languages. In many cases, these names translate as "the People." The term "American" would have had no meaning to them.

While there are some common themes shared by many traditional Native American cultures, there is also considerable diversity. There are estimates that thousands of mutually unintelligible languages were spoken in the Americas at the time of Columbus' first contact. There is no strong evidence that these languages were derived from any of those spoken in the Old World. Some of these people lived in large and complex societies. Others lived in small, relatively simple groups. Some lived settled lives in environments that provided reliable food and water sources all year long. Still others were more migratory following seasonally available resources within a geographic territory. There was no single integrated society in which all Native Americans participated. Rather, there were many different societies each with its own culture or shared beliefs, customs and behaviors. These New World societies shared more in common with each other than they did with European societies.

After Columbus, more Europeans arrived in larger numbers and with more sustained contact with the local peoples. Native societies had to find ways to deal with this often dramatic change. In response to European contact, some fled, others coexisted or mixed while still others took recourse in violent resistance. Some groups had different responses at different times. Uncontrollable factors, like disease, affected both the new arrivals as well as resident populations. As the new settlers spread into wider areas, the effects on native societies were often pronounced. Those native peoples living in areas thought less desirable by the new settlers were generally able to maintain their cultural integrity longer than those living near resources that were prized by the more recent arrivals. Some native peoples, particularly those living along the east coast, were forcibly removed to far less desirable lands. The effect of outside contact on different native groups varied as the new settlers also came from different cultures.

While the Native American societies that were in contact with the Europeans were altered by this contact, the society and culture of those making contact were also changed. Over time, a Native American cultural identity became more identifiable as more Native Americans began to work together to address their mutual needs as they were confronted by an overwhelming European based American society.

Today, Native Americans in general have different degrees of assimilation into the dominant American culture. There are those who have maintained close, daily participation in traditional society while others live completely removed from their historic roots. Other Native Americans live in both "worlds." The experience of being born and raised on a reservation with frequent contact with traditional culture is different from being raised in a cosmopolitan urban setting without contact with traditional culture. While individuals from both of these environments may be called "Native American," they may differ markedly in the degree of identity they may or may not have with this term and with traditional culture.

While being mindful of these important differences, there are some generalizations that can be made in describing more traditional aspects of Native American culture. While not all traditional Native American societies are male-centered, the majority is. Spirituality is generally a part of daily life, not something reserved for only one day of the week. The concept of individual ownership is not embraced. Cooperation and sharing among group members is highly prized. Older members of the group are respected and cared for as part of the family. "Family" generally includes more than mother, father and children. The traditional Native American family is "extended" in that it could include grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as well.

Humility is respected. The expression of ones' thoughts in an indirect way is considered proper behavior. Traditionally, a high priority is placed on the maintenance of orderliness and balance within the social group as well as between the group and others. All elements of the natural world are also part of this balance. In this way, individuals within the group see themselves and others as part of the earth along with all the animals and certain natural phenomena like rain, stars, the moon and the sun, etc.

These values often stand in marked contrast to those of contemporary American culture. For example, rather than seeing animals as equal and important partners, American culture sees them as creatures that need to be dominated, exterminated or treated as pets. Elders are not always respected or cared for by the family. They are not sought out as sources of wise advice. They may be confined in a facility away from the family and cared for by strangers.

Unlike the American value for directness and decisions made by a single person, traditional Native American society seeks the wisdom of the group and avoids positions that could lead to confrontation or disagreement. These last behaviors could lead to disharmony between individuals or groups. The resulting lack of balance endangers everyone. Any behavior that could upset the desired balance should be avoided. To develop sensitivity to local expectations, it is very helpful to work with a volunteer from the community whom his or her peers respect and who can help you to understand how to "fit" into the culture.

Similarly, claiming public recognition for a major gift might be seen as not properly humble. It could upset the balance between individuals or groups. Sharing information about the net worth of prospects in a screening session, for example, could be seen as highly improper for both the person asking for this information as well as for the person offering it. This, too, would upset the harmony of relationships.

These are highly generalized characteristics of traditional Native American society. Not everyone who identifies himself or herself as Native American behaves this way or shares these values. This also does not mean that Native American people are uncharitable. On the contrary, sharing, cooperating and providing for others are highly desirable behaviors in traditional society. These are not always thought of as acts that are separately labeled "philanthropy." They are the norm for daily behavior.

There is no single way to describe all Native American behavior. If you were to ask a person who identifies as Native American what their religion is, they might answer Catholic. If you ask what music Native Americans like, the answer might be Garth Brooks, Leontyne Price or Kevin Locke. If you ask what times to avoid soliciting Native Americans, the answer might be April 15, income tax time. If you want to know what important dates are on the typical Native American calendar, the answer probably includes birthdays, wedding anniversaries, Christmas and New Year. It may or may not include Thanksgiving and Columbus Day. It might also include the appearance of the new moon. A successful fundraiser would want to be sensitive to the values of the people and communities in which they practice. Seeking the advice of individuals who are respected members of that community is an important key to learning how to work respectfully and successfully there.

For most Native Americans, they believe that life and time is circular instead of linear.  Because of this, they don’t want any sort of healthcare or anything that can interfere with that natural cycle.  Wills are frowned upon because they bring upon negative thinking and if negative words or thoughts are spoken, they can become a reality.  If someone in the tribe is injured or in pain, they usually don’t say much about it to people around them. Medicine is more about healing the person rather than curing a disease. 
                                                         

Most of the medical care is focused around holistic practices.  However, a number of contemporary Native Americans today use "white mans medicine" to treat illnesses.

                                                                                                                      



According to the 2010 Census Population and Housing Tables, the three largest tribal groups among American Indians and Alaska Natives are:

1. Cherokee: 819,705
2. Navajo: 332,129
3. Choctaw: 195,764





Below, is a map of where the different major Native American tribes resided around the year 1400:
                                                                  


The Great plains seemed to be home to most of the larger tribes.

Today, Native Americans make up over 500 groups of federally recognized in the United States.  Each group is culturally diverse in their health care practices as well as their traditions.