Nacirema Culture A Review of the Literature Abstract Various anthropologists and sociologists have used the term Nacirema to examine aspects of the behavior and society of citizens of the United States of America. Nacirema offers a form of word play by spelling “American” backwards.…
In the start of the book, researcher John Ralston Saul uncovers 3 setting up myths. Saul fights that the notable "peace, demand, and incredible government" that to the extent anybody knows describes Canada is a contorting of the country's genuine nature. Every last document before the BNA Act, he points out, used the articulation "peace, welfare, and incredible government," demonstrating that the flourishing of its citizenry was focal. He moreover fights that Canada is a Métis nation, overwhelmingly influenced and shaped by local considerations: libertarianism, a honest to goodness congruity among individual and gathering, and a penchant for exchange over fierceness are in general local regards that Canada expended. Another impediment to propel,…
Throughout the course so far, I have been able to gain a greater understanding of the First Nations peoples culture. As the course progresses it is noticed that as we keep going further into the past of the First nation's people, it keeps building on itself, due to the fact that there has been so much history covered up. Through the pieces of the literature studied in class, such as the novel Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese and the poem seven matches by Gord Downie and Jeff Lemire, I have been able to determine how the four major themes within the course, identity, sovereignty, relationships, and challenges are a part of the First Nations culture's past. The First Nations people are struggling with these themes, but are in a pace now where they are working to fix their broken past.…
“The first reason is the presence of Cahokian settlers, colonist and migrants between about A.D 1050 and 1200”(Timothy R. Pauketat. Cahokia. 155). Secondly, it appears that there are ear ornaments, pots, material objects and smoking pipes in places as far as the Spiro Mounds in Oklahoma (see map). Before it was believed that Cahokians might have given smoking pipes and ear ornaments to their political affiliations as gifts. My third reason is that there is evidence of violence in Midwestern places more so than in domestic groups.…
According to Barbara Waterbury (1987), the Tlingit’s, a Pacific Northwest Coast tribe, celebrate status changes by hosting a social event called a potlatch. Potlatch is a celebration with feasting, costumed dancing, masks, speeches, singing, and tales. Status changes are births, marriages, celebrations of a new totem pole, tribe position changes, and memorials. Potlatch can take a year to plan and lasts several weeks. Each person invited to the potlatch receives a gift or gifts.…
The work done by Horace Miner is impressive as it looks at a culture and its personal rituals that were until this was written unknown by people outside the Narcirema people. To the average outsider their traditions, beliefs and rituals may seem barbaric and even insane. It makes me wonder how these rituals started and how so many people believe that they were necessary. I agree with Miners work. He took a multicultural perspective and discussed without biases the traditions of the Narcirema people.…
The Choctaw Native Americans lived in the southeast area of the United States and developed a relationship with the French colonial immigrants. An unknown author recounted his understanding of Choctaw rituals, social structure, the role of women, marriage ceremonies, relationship with the French, and more. Although the exact date of this document is unknown, it is speculated it was written in the late 1700s or early 1800s. This Frenchman was a product of his time, place, and culture. Therefore, he held beliefs and understandings vastly different from that of the Choctaw natives.…
The study of literature enables students to interpret complex themes that assist in forming an individual’s identity and their sense of community (Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards [BOSTES], 2012). The text “Riding the black cockatoo” (2009) by John Danalis explores an individual’s journey to discover his own identity, in an Australian context. This resonates between the feud between “White” Australians and the Indigenous people and is relevant to the syllabus as it is required for students to study an Australian text that provides “insight into Aboriginal experiences” (BOSTES, 2012, p.24-26). Furthermore, it introduces the intense theme of the issues regarding the Indigenous populace throughout the colonial period to the…
Interpretation of Kent Monkman’s Shame and Prejudice: A Story of Resilience Monkman’s exhibit is a demonstration of the narrative of relations between the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples, implying much of what he is trying to convey with the title of the collection. Each piece is interconnected and has some relevance to the story of Indigenous culture and its survival of the state’s attempts to assimilate or destroy the history and ways of life of the many Indigenous groups within what is now considered Canadian borders. The discourse that surrounds this narrative is one which has begun to bubble up more in popular Canadian culture; the rejection of Canada 150 and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission are both examples of how many…
In this paper I will be critiquing the book Beads, Bodies, and Trash by David Redmon. All through this paper I will give a well extremely point by point data about the book. I give likewise recognize the gathering of people this book was implied for. Beads, Bodies, and Trash blends social human science with a product chain investigation by following Mardi Gras dots to their sources. Starting with Bourbon Street of New Orleans, this book moves to the dismal industrial facilities in the tax-exempt monetary zone of country Fuzhou, China.…
Eskimos are an indigenous group of people that inhabit Alaska, Russia, Canada, and Greenland. These areas are known for its frozen, barren, and dangerous environment. Through time, Eskimos have adapted to to their natural world and developed numerous traditions and techniques to survive. Richard Nelson, an anthropologist, is known for his research on the indigenous people of Alaska. The majority of his work, focuses on the relationship between the people and nature.…
The Green Corn Ceremony is an important Native American gathering. This passage will pertain solely to the Floridian Seminole ideas with some mention of Oklahoma Seminoles. Each tribe has their own rituals and traditions but are fairly all connected. To the Seminoles, the Green Corn Ceremony represents the first corn of July or August. Therefore, the special event is held every year to celebrate the growing season and a new year or new beginnings.…
In the article “Body Ritual Among the Nacirema,” Miner successfully persuades the audience that American’s fixation and obsession with the body’s appearance and well-being is absurd by using pathos to help persuade the readers to think the same way. He is able to achieve this by allowing his readers to form a view of this “tribe” before they realize mid-way through the essay that this article about people with bizarre customs and rituals are actual modern-day American’s. The author is writing this essay to the general public. He is doing this to inform his readers of a culture called the Nacirema. These people partake in rituals that seem unfamiliar to modern-day humans.…
The article Body Ritual among the Nacirema by Horace Miner is about culture and rituals. Culture is defined as “a system of ideas, values, beliefs, knowledge, norms, customs, and technology shared by almost everyone in a particular society” (Basirico, Cashion, and Eshleman 99). In other words, it’s a way of life in society or a specific geographical area. According to the author, Nacirema is between the Canadian Cree, the Yaqui, and Tarahumare of Mexico, which offer the readers some insight of the true meaning of the text.…
What is food authenticity? This essay will explore the dialectic relationship between the continuity of tradition and the continued changes found in the presentation of traditional activities (Lu and Fine 1995). Firstly, food authenticity is doubtful.…