Each group, of Native Americans had its own laws, language, and a different way of living. Still, all of the Native Americans lived close to nature. For them nature was a very important aspect in their lives. Most of them it was their way of survival, some hunted big animals, some fished in the …show more content…
Mary’s grandfather replied saying that “Wounded knee was a part of her Latoka soul, it’s who she is, if we don’t tell her these things how will she remember; how will she talk to her generation about it?” Mary’s family knew that she was a strong girl who would be able to grow up and be someone very powerful within her tribe. It did happen, as Mary grew up she left the reservation and that’s when she became more aware about the injustice ways that were treating her culture. Mary became one of the leaders of her tribe, as she would gather the Native Americans and express “We could surrender or die or find our salvation deep inside ourselves….reach back into our ancestors and ask for strength” they would have gatherings and prayed to their ancestors to guide them in their fighting towards their rights. It worked, around the 1970’s Mary became an activist for the American Indian movement. She was that role model her grandparents knew she would be able to become. Even though she had many challenges throughout her journey, Mary kept a positive mindset. The devotion and pride that she had for her Native American culture and people molded her into a warrior like image; an image of bravery and inspiration for …show more content…
The Europeans were known to have ethnocentric values towards Native American culture. Throughout the film Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee the government system did not agree on how the natives lived. They were being criticized on the rituals and the traditions they practiced. They felt as if there culture was the right one to follow, that there was no other better culture. The Europeans created one-way assimilation within the Native Americans. According to the article by George M. Frederickson Models of American Ethnic Relations: A Historical Perspective, One way Assimilation is defined as the belief of minor groups to join into large dominant cultures, adapting to the large cultures belief and casting aside their own. Pretty much saying that people are forced to abandon their group, and join others this destroys uniqueness, which creates a homogeneous society. The Native Americans all had heterogeneous rituals and traditions the Europeans did not understand how that worked they didn 't want to embrace the uniqueness that they were