While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
Civilization. To the aboriginal inhabitant of this
continent civilization entails the overturning of his ancient form of
government, the abolition of many of his social usages, the readjustment of his
ideas of property and personal rights, and change of occupation. No community of
natives was devoid of a social organization and a form of government. These
varied, some tribes being much more highly organized than others (see Clan and
Gens), but all possessed rules of con duct which must be obeyed, else punishment
would follow. Native organization was based on kinship, which carried with it
the obligation of mutual protection. The tribe, wherever it chanced to be,
whether resting at home in the village, wandering on the plains in pursuit of
game, or scattered in quest of fish on the rivers or sea, always preserved its
organization and authority intact, whereas the organization which civilization
imposes on the native is based on locality, those living within certain limits
being, regard less of relationship, subject to common laws and having equal
responsibilities; mere kinship warrants no claim, and the family is differently
constituted. In the tribal family husband and wife very often must belong to
different units. According to the custom of the particular tribe the children
trace descent through their father and belong to his gens, or through their
mother and are members of her clan. Modern civilization demands the abrogation
of the clan or gens, and children must inherit from both parents and be subject
to their authority, not that of a clan or gens.
Most of the common occupations of tribal life are wiped out by civilization.
Intertribal wars have ceased, and war honors are no longer possible; the herds
of buffalo and other animals are gone, and with them the hunter, and the makers
of bows, arrows, spears, and other implements of the chase. The results of
generations of training are of little avail to the civilized male Indian.
Under tribal conditions woman held, in many cases, a place in the management of
tribal affairs. Upon her devolved partly the cultivation of the fields, the
dressing of skins, the making of clothing, the production of pottery and
baskets, the preparing of food, and all that went to conserve the home.
Civilization puts an end to her outdoor work and consigns her to the kitchen and
the washtub, while the white man s factories supply cloth, clothing, pots, pans,
and baskets, for none of the native industries can survive in competition with
machinery. Woman, moreover, loses her importance in public affairs and the
independent ownership of property that was her right by tribal law. No group of
peoples on the continent were destitute of religious beliefs or of rites and
ceremonies expressive of them.. These beliefs were based on the idea that man,
in common with all created things, was endowed with life by some power that
pervaded the universe. The methods of appealing to this power varied with the
environment of the peoples, but the incentive was the desire for food, health,
and long life, while the rites and ceremonies inculcated certain ethical
relations between man and man. As among all races, priest craft overlaid many of
the higher thoughts and teachings of native religion and led to unworthy
practices. Nevertheless the breaking down of the ancient forms of worship
through the many changes and restrictions incident to the settlement of the
country has caused the natives much distress and mental confusion. It is not
surprising that it has been a slow and difficult process for the aborigines to
accept and conform to such radical changes of organization, customs, and beliefs
as are required by civilization. Yet many have done so, showing a grasp of mind,
a power to apprehend the value of new ideals, and a willingness to accept the
inevitable, and evincing a degree of courage, self-restraint, and strength of
character that can not fail to win the admiration of thinking men. The younger
generation, born under the new conditions, are spared the abrupt change through
which their fathers had to struggle. Wherever the environment permits, the
employments of the white race are now those of the Indian. In one branch of the
Eskimo change has come through the introduction of the reindeer. Already the
Indian is to be found tilling his farm, plying the trades, employed on the
railroads, working in mines and logging camps, and holding positions of trust in
banks and mercantile houses. Indians, of pure race or of mixed blood, are
practicing as lawyers, physicians, and clergymen; they have made their way in
literature and art, and are serving the public in national and state offices,
from that of road master to that of legislator. The school, the missionary, and
the altered conditions of life are slowly but surely changing the Indian s mode
of thought as well as his mode of living, and the old life of his tribe and race
is becoming more and more a memory and a tradition. See Agency system,
Education, Government policy, Missions. (A. C. F.)
This site
includes some historical materials that may imply negative stereotypes
reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. These
items are presented as part of the historical record and should not be
interpreted to mean that the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes
implied .
Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, Frederick Webb Hodge, 1906
