Respect for cultural diversity is essential to the success of any nation. However, this notion has not been properly upheld over the years in the United States, as one would anticipate. Captain Richard Pratt, for instance, had a disheartening overview of coexisting with the African Americans and the Native American communities. He wanted to assimilate the Natives into the American culture by establishing a school that would familiarize them with a new culture. He emphasized the utilization of brutal methods of civilizing the “savages” to enhance national progress (History Matters n.p). His actions are unjustified since they undermine cultural diversity. On the other hand, Charles Sprague believed that the Native communities are non-existent in the modern society. Specifically, he claimed that the civilization era between the nineteenth and the twentieth century led to the decline of these communities. This notion, however, is irrelevant and untrue. The concurrent society is comprised of native communities that are in their recovery process. As such, there is no justification for his claim as it is misguided. This paper covers the Lummi Nation as a native community and it assesses the initiatives it has been engaged in over they years. This society is recovering from adverse impacts of civilization in the previous centuries. For a fact, the Lummi community has implemented numerous initiatives over the years to enhance its recovery and to overcome the negative effects of civilization.
The Lummi website is an influential platform for improving one’s knowledge about the welfare of the community. It provides comprehensive knowledge about the history of this society and the initiatives the community members have taken over the years to enhance its recovery. For instance, it explains the current position of the native tribe in the United States regarding national recognition (The Lummi Nation n.p). Through this initiative, the website makes it lesser challenging for the community partners that are new to the practices upheld by the tribe members to internalize them. This approach undoubtedly reveals the praiseworthy motive behind the establishment of the website beside communication and enhancing the beliefs of the tribesmen in the modern society. For instance, making constant reference to the wisdom of the ancestors heightens the chances of convincing the “newbies” of the common practices to get assimilated to the practice. The fact that the community’s vision is highlighted on the website’s homepage positively depicts the values of the community as responsible, conservative and ethical. Additionally, the emphasis on family union and community integration further enhances the ethical appeal realized by the website. Consequently, the Lummi website makes a commendable achievement of appealing to the masses about their culture recovery efforts.
The overall presentation of the Lummi community in the modern society reveals its determination to restore its cultural values. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, the emergence of erroneous civilization notions threatened the welfare of the native communities including the Lummi. For instance, the popular theory, Kill the Indian, and save the Man” was a discriminatory notion to not only the Indians but also other native communities. This concept was based on the foundation of eliminating the beliefs upheld by the native communities and assimilating them with the western way of life to enhance cultural similarity. Through this approach, it would have been relatively easier for the central government to regulate the activities of these communities as they shared common beliefs with the Americans. This notion, however, undermined the culture of the native communities. According to History Matters (n.p), President Washington foresaw the liberation of the native Indian community in the United States as a threat to their superiority. Similarly, President Thomas Jefferson implemented policies that would regulate the settlement of the Indians away from the main commercial areas to limit their economic performance and to control the threats they posed to the white race. Over the years, the Lummi community foundation has made tremendous efforts to enhance the recovery of the community.
The Lummi Nation’s participation in contemporary events to promote the culture of the Native American communities shows its determination towards the replenishment of its culture. For instance, this community will take part in the 2016 Canoe Journey that is popularly conducted to among Native American communities to uphold ancient beliefs (Washington Rural Heritage n.p). This action is in line with the community’s value of self-independence and sustaining their way of life. According to the Lummi Nation website, the tribe has been an independent and self-sufficient society for centuries. As such, it has continued to uphold this trait over the years by taking part in cultural practices aimed at commemorating their existence. Precisely, they have continued to invest their time and finances in economic development through the utilization of modern technology such as the online platform. Through the website, the purpose of the community has been outlined and the participation in the Canoe Journey explained. The purpose of communicating through this approach is to enhance the credibility of the information presented to the audience and relates the ancient values of the community to the ethical principles upheld in the current generation. As such, the Tribe’s history and pride augments the audience’s perspective on the replenishment of the Lummi culture.
In conclusion, the Lummi Nation has engaged in a lot of activities to enhance the tribe’s recovery. The primary focus has been based on communicating the community beliefs to its audience, mainly comprised of civilized members of the tribe. Their participation in this years’ Canoe Journey will enhance their overall culture recovery as it would enhance the bond among its community members. When the tribes’ people participate in this event, they will enhance their familiarity with the culture as well as know one another. Overall, the Canoe Journey will appeal to many people from the community by urging them to unite in the replenishing the cultural beliefs upheld by the native community. Hence the recovery process would be enhanced as people will appreciate their native culture more than they did before participating in the event as they share their experiences with other community members. Consequently, taking part in the Canoe Journey is resourceful to not only the community members but also people across the globe, which does not respect cultural diversity. It is essential to respect other communities’ beliefs as this action enhances national and societal development.
Works Cited
History Matters. "Kill the Indian, and Save the Man": Capt. Richard H. Pratt on the Education of Native Americans". Historymatters.gmu.edu. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 June 2016.
The Lummi Nation. "Welcome To the Lummi Nation." Lummi-nsn.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 June 2016.
Washington Rural Heritage. "About: Canoe Journeys ~ a Nisqually Perspective." Washingtonruralheritage.org. N.p., 2016. Web. 9 June 2016.
