American Indians - article by High Quality Articles

American Indians

It never seemed strange to me that I knew no American Indians yet have heard so much about their societies and cultures. I was genuinely interested in the history of America, and the American Indian wars and the subsequent struggles for fairness and human rights are both part of this history. It took me years to realize how segregated American Indians are from the rest of the culture, however. I was living on the lands occupied by several tribes in the past, and yet I didn't know a single member of a single one of these tribes. That should have struck me as odd, but it didn't.

In college, I did know some American Indians, and they exposed me a little bit more to the issues that their peoples face. I went to my first powwow with some friends, and found it to be a fascinating and entertaining time. It felt a little bit strange to go to someone else's cultural festival when I wasn't even particularly interested in celebrating my own culture, but once I was there I found it really interesting. It was a part of American life that I had never been exposed to before, and something that I felt that everyone should learn. The dancing, the costumes, and the singing were all quite beautiful and intriguing, and the people all seemed very friendly.

Since then, I've been listening to Native American music, reading books written by American Indians, and in general immersing myself in their culture to whatever degree I can. I won't claim to be a fanatic or an expert by any means, but I can appreciate their traditions in a way that I couldn't before I was exposed to them. It is interesting to learn about the lives of the peoples who lived here before I did.