De la Morena 1

Ines de la Morena

Cooper & Whipple

AP English Language/AP US History

14 May 2018

How has the collision of Native American and European cultures influenced the development of modern

American identity? To what extent has this influence preserved or destroyed Native Values?

In the beginning, hundreds of tribes roamed the American landscape. As the Paiute tribe of the

Great Basin hunted for their food, the Apache and Sioux of the Great Plains foraged for their morning

meal (“Native American Tribes”). Their Native traditions were simply ways of life, and their landscape

breathed an aura of pristine unpredictability. With the arrival of European powers such as Great Britain

and France, Native land was gradually encroached upon and with this reduction of their territory came a

reduction of both population and traditions. However, while the collision of cultures destroyed many

Native values, it also introduced this group to Old World technology and traditions of their own. During

my visit to New Mexico, I spoke with Navajo Natives while flowing down the Rio Grande, and had

lengthy conversations with students in a Native Reservation. In this short time, I learned that Native

Americans still feel a sense of national pride in the United States, but that many still preserve their Native

values. When I visited the To'hajiilee, I noticed that many wore traditional American clothes, and almost

all had Instagram and Snapchat, something that is to be expected as they live in the United States like any

other citizen. The collision of European and Native cultures has snowballed into the modern American

identity we all observe today, and has in many ways penetrated through the core of Native values and

molded them into modern America. This influence has, in large part, destroyed Native values but has also

been able to mildly preserve the core of such. While the American landscape is now shared between these
 De la Morena 2

two ethnic groups, this exchange has created Native tribes which identify as American and have

assimilated to many modern American traditions while simultaneously preserving their own.

In terms of destruction, a series of events such as old government treaties, modern governmental

policies, American pop culture, and misconceptions about the group, have contributed to the lowering of

their quality of life and loss of Native values. Historically, it’d be redundant to say Native interests have

not been prioritized. While completing my Light Side Dark Side Project, I researched Jacksonian Era

policies such as the Indian Removal Act which led to the Trail of Tears, in which thousands of Cherokees

died of starvation or exhaustion (“Trail of Tears”). Discriminatory policies have caused loss of life, which

have lowered the number of traditions and values successfully passed down through the ages, and have

limited the practice of these traditions to this day as the Non-Native population subconsciously carry a

cultural and ethical superiority. Political interests have also degraded other parts of Native practice, such

as religion. Sarah Zielinski in her Smithsonian article explained how Climate Change, and the

government’s unwillingness to actively reverse it, have foced Natives to change agricultural and cultural

traditions performed for centuries. A Native by the name of Lui, in my New Mexico trip, mentioned how

the river once flowed meters above where we then saw it, and the landscape was a stark green contrast to

the dry yellowness of today. This works as evidence that the merging of these two groups has been a more

bitter than sweet experience for Natives and has forced more compromise upon them than non-Natives. A

perfect example of this compromise is the Dawes Act passed in 1887. The act implemented a policy of

forced assimilation to “Americanize” Natives by ending communal ownership of land, dividing tribes into

set sectors, lengthening the process to become an “American citizen” and making Native children attend

American schools (“The Dawes Act”). The act was the epitome of destruction of Native values, as it

restricted them from living in traditional ways and limited its continuation through the years. It also shows

how American identity of today was influenced by this interaction, which restricted the rights and

liberties of the minority and lowered them to a standard of less-than, not others, but people. ​The modern
 De la Morena 3

American identifies as almost separate from this ethnic group, and many enjoy opportunities and lifestyles

still not possible for them today. During my Inquiry Based Learning Project, me and three others

researched the reasons behind higher Native suicide rates and narrowed it down to: Intergenerational

Trauma, Poor conditions inside Reservations, and Substance Abuse. The conditions inside Reservations

show how there’s a gap between what is possible and offered to Natives and what’s possible and offered

to non-Natives. The lack of resources and historical trauma have made Natives strangers to their own land

and have destroyed plenty of traditions. To add insult to injury, American pop culture industries such as

Hollywood encourage a Native stereotype that makes the group one-dimensional to their eyes and the

eyes of the public. The Pocahontas Paradox illustrates a stereotype of the attractive Native woman who

appears and saves the men in trouble (Pewewardy). That and many other Pop-Culture films encourage the

oversimplification of Natives and degrade their culture and traditions.

Notwithstanding, the interaction between these two groups has also preserved Native values and

molded them into a mix between the modern American and their Native roots. During my river rafting

trip in New Mexico, Lui said Natives still practice their traditions and religion regardless of the changes

to the environment. He explained how the Golden Ratio was still applied in everyday life, and how the

veins on their hands still mirrored the rivers he saw in his everyday endeavors. Regardless of the collision

of cultures, Natives still have preserved the core of their values and are today content with sharing their

significance with non-Natives such as myself. Smoke Signals, a film about two teenage Natives who

leave a reservation, shows how the modern Native has blended into modern America (Eyre). As the

protagonists flaunted their modern clothes and spoke to people outside their Reservation, I realized that

Natives have adopted a duality of character that continuously preserves their traditions. Many speak

English and many speak Navajo, some go to Church and others take a comfortable walk through their

Native land. While Natives have adapted to many modern ways of life and traditions, policies have not

been so ruthlessly implemented that they completely lose the other side of themselves. The collision of
 De la Morena 4

cultures has in many ways simply added to the diversity of this multifaceted community and added

another layer to its complexity. When I visited the To'hajiilee community school, I spoke to many High

Schoolers and children about their experience in modern America and its contrast with their life at home.

They explained to me that they identified as American and had national pride, while simultaneously

feeling deeply connected to their Native roots and traditions. The school has recently implemented a

policy to teach Navajo from a young age in order to preserve this Native cultural tradition, and many of

the kids spoke vigorously about the meaning of their Native name. By the use and implementation of

Reservations, America has tried to preserve this group’s traditions and cultural identity and has in many

ways been successful. Despite the odds being stacked against them, many aspects of Native culture are

able to permeate through the years and preserve the beautiful cultural autonomy they enjoy in this modern

era.

It's important to recognize that this interaction has formed the modern American citizen,

something both Natives and Non-Natives share. Both groups live in the United States in this modern day,

and both follow various cultural traditions that have developed through the years in this region. The

“Modern American” is the modern Native attending To'hajiilee Elementary, and it is also the New York

stockbroker driving to Wall Street every workday. This web of values, traditions, and cultural beliefs are

an integral part of the modern America we all inhabit today, and it is precisely this diversity that forms the

salad bowl, not melting pot, of cultures in the United States. While some traditions will perish in the name

of others, the core of Native values lives to this day, and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to

come.
 De la Morena 5

Works Cited

Eyre, Chris, et al. ​Smoke signals​. Alliance Vivafilm, 1999.

“Native American Tribes in the U.S.” ​Legends of America​, Legends of America, 2003, www.legendsof
america.com/na-tribelist/.

Pewewardy, Cornel. “The Pocahontas Paradox: A Cautionary Tale for Educators.”​BlesFsingway​,

University of Arkansas, 2001, www.hanksville.org/storytellers/pewe/writing/Pocahontas.html.

“The Dawes Act.” ​PBS​, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/resources/archives/

eight/dawes.htm.

“Trail of Tears.” ​History.com​, A&E Television Networks, 2009,​ ​www.history.com/topics​/native

-american-history/trail-of-tears. Accessed 14 May 2018.