Native American Culture

It's always so saddening to think about the history of the native peoples of this continent. They were so culturally distinct from the European settlers that came about later on, and the things they placed value on simply didn't register in the settlers viewpoint. Native Americans didn't and essentially still don't view land as something that any one person or people can own. They see it as something that is our responsibility to take stewardship over, and I think that view point was and still is far ahead of its time. In the early days of Europeans on this continent, the indigenous people were portrayed very unfairly. They were depicted as primitive savages who had wasted all of the potential that this land had to offer, but in reality, their system took better care of it than very few other peoples all over the world. While it's true that not all native Americans were friendly towards the European settlers, in fact many of them were quite hostile, but that doesn't change the fact that many of them also showed great hospitality and the fact that my ancestors took advantage of that kindness fills me with a significant amount of guilt. With my genetics on my fathers side especially, having come from England but being on this continent for so long, I am sure that my ancestors were guilty of horrible atrocities against the natives of this continent. While, of course I am not my ancestors, I feel that I have a responsibility to learn about and understand their misdeeds, so that I will not make the same mistakes. I think that everyone should see that as their responsibility. Now to go into the actual culture of the Native Americans. Indigenous culture is absolutely beautiful. The art, the music, the rituals, all of it is so fascinating and bewildering. The way they viewed the world around them, their own communities, and the values they held are all things that we could all learn a lot from. I hate that the misconception that the Native Americans didn't build amazing societies, is so widespread. You really don't have to do a lot of digging to find out that they did in fact create amazing cities, with infrastructure that easily rivaled that of other cultures. They had bustling markets, large communities, and a system of bartering that made them incredibly distinct, and at the same time, quite a formidable culture. They viewed the world differently from the European settlers, and because of that different viewpoint, the settlers saw them as a people that they could take advantage of and exploit. That's not to say that all of the colonists were as evil as it may seem that I'm making them out to be. Many settlers lived in harmony and coexistence with the indigenous people. Many settlers contributed what they could to the Native Americans, and in many cases both cultures grew because of it. That is such a beautiful thing to think about; two cultures meeting and learning to help each other grow and develop. Then, unfortunately, there is the diseases that my ancestors brought to the new world. As many know, the Native Americans had no immunities to the old world diseases and horrendously large amounts of them were wiped out because of it. It's because of the disease factor that I'm a little iffy on whether or not I would call what my ancestors did full fledged genocide. Yes, they absolutely pushed indigenous people out of their land, and yes at many points they took advantage of them, but I don't think the reduction of the native population was entirely on purpose. My ancestors were simply looking for a new place to live, but I don't think their intention was full on genocide. Native American culture is absolutely fascinating, and I'm happy to know that it will continue to be around for a long time to come. Many of the cities, states, and locations all over this continent have native American names, and I think that is only right. We as a society, need to do all that we can to preserve and maintain the unique and amazing culture of the people that have originally inhabited this land.