The paper examines the Aboriginal culture and gives anoverview of this unique culture through focusing on the plain Indians. There are many sub-cultures that exist among the plain Indians, but this paper will specifically examine the Cree Culture. There will be an overview of the cultural beliefs and social settings that exist among members of this culture. The differences that exist among the Cree culture in comparison to other plain Indians will be examined, and a summary provided giving the relevant details. Conducting a critical review of the Cree Culture which is one of the sub-cultures that constitute the Aboriginal culture would essentially reveal important highlights about this unique culture.
The Aboriginal culture is composed of a diverse language group where there are tribal divisions which illustrate a wide range of personal culture. The Aboriginal culture has existed over a long period of time. This is affirmed by the identification of ancient rock arts and landscapes which dates back to thousands of years ago. The Aboriginal culture has also developed a wide range of musical instruments. The survival of the Aboriginal culture having being described as being among the oldest existing cultures in the world is attributed to the capacity to adapt to the changing times. Their ability to correlate with other people is what has enabled them to survive over the centuries and still retain their indigenous cultural practices.
The Aboriginal spiritual beliefs are based on the values they have for their land and believe in the Dreamtime. The dreaming is based on their traditional creation belief theory and the current dream visions. However, the different cultures that exist in the Aboriginal culture have their own cultural beliefs and languages. This explains the diversity that exists among members of the Aboriginal culture. However, the cultures do evolve with time adding more beliefs to their cultures based on new understanding of their culture. The Aboriginal believed in two creators known as Baiame and Bunji, who took part in creation. There also existed medicine men and women who were highly valued due to the role they played in the community in restoring the community’s health(ACME, et al., 2008).Despite the wide existence of the Aboriginal culture, the Aboriginal culture has not been acknowledged as a religious belief in the Australian continent. This is because most of the Aboriginal people who currently reside in Australia identify themselves with the Christian religion. However, there is a growing existence of the Muslim community among members of the Aboriginal people.
The aboriginal people included themselves in different cultural activities that included the development of musical instruments. The musical instruments developed by the Aboriginal people are considered as the Australian national musical instruments due to their origin. They date back to a long period of time, where music was a form of recreational activity in their culture. The Australian Aboriginalshave been associated with art during their historical times which are still valid up to date(Langley, 2013).The Aboriginal artistic work is internationally recognized since it is among the oldest form of art. However, the Aboriginal art has evolved with a few changes made to this art; they include watercolor paintings that are internationally recognized in the art industry. The earliest members of the Aboriginals were nomads. They lived a simple life where they used simple tools to toil the lands and look after their livestock. Despite the challenges they encountered, they were very adaptive to the changing Australian climatic conditions.
The plain Indians are among the earliest Native Americans to settle in the plains in Northern America. The plain Indians are widely recognized and cherished due to their resistance in adapting the surrounding Canadian culture. Despite the influence the Canadians have had in trying to make the plain Indians incorporate their culture, the plain Indians have been known to value their culture and still maintain the indigenous beliefs and practices. However, there exists different classification of the plain Indians(Langley, 2013). The classification differs in reference to their diversity and cultural practices.
The plain Indians are mainly composed of nomadic tribes where hunting is the main source of livelihood. The American Buffalo was the main source of food which was hunted by the plain Indians in order to get wild meat. Due to this practice which involved buffalo hunting, some tribes among the plain Indians started being referred to with their Buffalo eating practices. The buffalo hunted by the Indians was also provided raw materials for other practices. These practices included, getting hides, skins and bones(Langley, 2013). This would help in the making of clothes, houses, decoration items crafting tools and other items. The tribes based their seasons according to the buffalo migration where they would hunt them. They hunted the buffalos using horses in a more sophisticated manner through leading buffalos into cliffs and other areas where they could easily be trapped or killed. If trapped, the herdsmen could easily kill them by spears. Spears and arrows were the main weapons used in killing the trapped animals and hunting. However, they later adapted the use of guns where they could easily shoot the animals down when hunting on horses (Wheeler, 2013). However, the use of guns was not too much in use since they were heavy and were not convenient in their hunting. Therefore, the use of spears, bows and arrows was maintained since they were more effective in hunting. They plain Indians lived in simple houses since their lifestyle could not allow them to settle permanently in one particular area.
The hunting of the Bison as an alternative source of food from Buffalo became too much when the Bison almost faced extinction due to over hunting(Emberley, 2007).The Government of North America promoted the hunting of Bison’s since they wanted to eradicate the growing Plain Indians population. However, some changes were made to save the Bison from extinction since there was too much pressure being exerted on these animals. This move was, however, challenged since it was concluded that the growing plain Indian population was constantly at war with the American community. In order to reduce this growing population, the American government promoted the hunting of the Bison to eradicate the plain Indians primary source of food. The slaughter of the Bison animals that followed after this declaration almost led to the extinction of the Biston animal species(Wheeler, 2013).
However, the plain Indians acquired horses through the Spanish where they used the horses in their livelihood where they would use them to migrate and herd their animals. The horses were however mainly obtained through theft. The different tribes available among the plain Indians based their religious beliefs on their animist nature. Their beliefs were in reference to their spiritual nature since they believed that all animals were alive and possessed spirits. They believed that the earth is alive, and it contained many spirits that facilitated the continuity of life(Brightman& University of Regina, 2007).The plain Indians facilitated frequent players in which they would give thanks to the spirits. There also existed ritual ceremonies where all members were required to give personal sacrifice in order to thank the spirits for the gift of life among other acquired commodities. There was also the existence of medicine men and women who were carefully selected by the community leaders to undergo training in healing practices and medicine. It took a few years before the selected members were allowed to take place in these practices. This is because they were expected to be highly qualified.
There also existed different roles for the existing genders. The males were expected to be the head of the families where they would make decisions and take place in hunting expeditions. They were the sole owners of family property. The womenwould tend to crops, make food, involve themselves in making clothing material and participate in clubs that were composed of women(Wheeler, 2013).The women were, however, not entitled to any involvement in political activities directly. However, they participated indirectly by airing their views while in their family settings where the males would take their opinion into consideration if they found it relevant.
The Cree culture is among the diverse subcultures available among the plain Indians. They are among the majority group of the Native Americans located in North America with a substantial amount of their population located in Canada. They are unevenly distributed within the Canadian cities such as Quebec. They, however, historically lived around Lake Superior but are currently located in the cities of Montana. The movement has however been attributed to the role they had in the trade and hunting activities during their existence in the North America. There,however, exist different sub-groups within the Cree culture(Historica Canada, 2014).The groups are classified depending on their region of origin and residence during their existence. The Cree are associated with the metis that are located in parts of Canada and are evenly distributed across the country. There are woodland Cree’s, and the plain Indians are classified under these names in reference to their area of residence. The plain Indians located around the areas of Manitoba are referred to as the plain Cree. The other Indians located in other regions such as a forest land located in the northeastern sides are the ones referred to as the woodland Cree. This forms the difference in their names it is evident that the region of where they are found affects the differences in name. However, despite these changes in names, there are similarities in their cultural beliefs and languages. However, there existed some changes in their traditional livelihood which is attributed to their area of location.
The Cree Indians lived in reserve lands where they were in control of the activities that took place in these reserves. The Cree Indians are among the first tribes to settle in North America. Each Cree tribe was independent in terms of the way they run their governing system. There also existed established committees which aimed at developing solutions to the existing problems. These internal governments were headed by chiefs who were recognized due to the role they played in warfare. The role of the chief was not based on gender preferences but was gender sensitive where either genderwould be elected for the chief post. The Cree people are conversant with the English language. However, there existsome individuals of the Cree culture who speak their native language. The Cree language is sophisticated due to the tone and verbal words used in communication.
Members of the Cree tribe were hunters and gathers who took place in activities as similar as other communities located within the Aboriginal people. The Cree members lived in family settings composed of a lodge which was made up of around twelve family members. In instances where conflicts arose, there would be the dissolution of these settings (Cree Indians, 2014). On dissolution, there would be the emergence of other lodges where they might get along well depending on the rules and regulations set to govern the lodges. In order to unite the different bands of families, there existed family settings where there would be gatherings held to take place in activities such as hunting. In these settings, the bands would socialize and improve on their already existing relationships and reach solutions upon problems that may be affecting the community. They, however, remained independent of each other despite the existing political settings which generally dominated over the existing tribes under the Cree culture. There were arrangements established to ensure there was security in the areas of residence.
The Cree Indians had warriors who earned respect through the battles they won in protecting their territory. Their warfare tactics were well organized like in instances where they would conduct raids using their horses to capture more horses and acquire more territory. A warrior was required to carry the scalp of the enemy who had been killed in battle in order to prove his victory. It was required record the number of enemies a warrior has killed to show how strong one is, in the battle (Cree Indians, 2014).
Despite upholding cultural beliefs, there have been changes that have been experienced with the influence made on members of the Cree culture by the surrounding Canadians. This has been in relationship; this relationship was established through the trade that took place between the Cree Indians and the European traders and the Canadians. This is because the European traders depended on the Cree members to go and gather skins and meat products from the forest and trade them in for other products(Historica Canada, 2014). This trade is what created the relationship that exists between the Europeans and the Aboriginal people. These interaction lead to the developments that were made by the missionaries by establishing school and churches aimed at intergrading the Cree culture with some European perspectives. This began through services that were held on trading days to spread the Christian gospel. There were, however, more changes when social facilities were established to ensure the Cree tribe was modernized according to the existing Canadian and European culture which was modern.
With the joined unions and ties that were made between the Europeans and the Canadian government treaties were formed. These treaties were made to ensure there was protection of their community under the federal government. There were involvement of the European influence in conducting education programs and the systems which were aimed at putting the European influence and modernism in members of the Cree culture(Historica Canada, 2014). However, there were accusations made against the European government which stated that the Cree children were taken from their families’ forcefully. These allegations were based on the need to ensure that the growing aboriginal culture did not become too influential in the country.
Despite the influence made on the Cree tribe by the Canadian people, they still maintain the indigenous cultural practices and beliefs which they highly value. However, the Aboriginal people aim at ensuring that they are self-governed and that there is development within their community. The Cree community has acquired most of the objectives they aimed at achieving with modernization. Their main objective was to ensure that members of their community do maintain their indigenous cultural beliefs, and value their heritage(Cree Indians, 2014). The developments in the Aboriginal community have been achieved through various leaders who have been put in government positions to ensure that the set objectives are achieved.
In conclusion, it is evident that the Aboriginal culture is composed of different tribes of which the plain Indians are part of and are further sub-divided into different cultures which account for the existence of the Cree culture. The main focus which was on the Cree culture explains the indigenous livelihood of the Cree community. There are explanations on their cultural activities where it stated that they lived a nomadic way of life. There are brief details on the changes that took place with the influence from the European traders and the Canadian citizens.
References
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Wheeler, B. (2013). A companion to Australian Aborginal literature. Rochester (N.Y.: Camden House.
Emberley, J. V. (2007). Defamiliarizing the aboriginal: Cultural practices and decolonization in Canada. Toronto [u.a.: Univ. of Toronto Press.
Brightman, R. A., & University of Regina. (2007). Ācaðōhkīwina and ācimōwina: Traditional narratives of the Rock Cree Indians. Regina (Sask.: University of Regina, Canadian Plains Research Center.
Historica Canada.(2014). Cree. Retrieved on 21st October 2014, from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cree/
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