Native American Culture

Culture can be defined as a system of beliefs and values that a specific group of people share, which ultimately make up their society. As the exploration period in Europe reached a peak, Europeans were being exposed to entirely new cultures previously thought to be nonexistent. Europeans coming from Spain, France, and England brought their cultures to the New World, but their ethnocentric beliefs and ideology of superiority would have devastating effects for Native Americans (Nichols, p.30). Similar to Europeans, all Native American tribes had specific cultures that defined their way of life. As Europeans continued to encroach on Native lands, cultures collided, and misunderstandings fueled ignorant biases which would eventually result in
Natives had become very wary of Christianity, especially since Europeans (whose main religion was Christianity) not only impeded on Native land, but also brought disease. “The shamans considered the Jesuits to be witches and charged that when the priests administered the last rites to the dying, they were actually killing their patients,” (Nichols, p.29). Religious conflicts can be seen when Spanish invaders built missions and came to “conquer, to exploit, and to convert, by force…” (Nichols, p.30). Along with being forced to convert to Christianity, Native Americans began to undergo the first works of assimilation. Evident in the Spanish and Puebloan tribal group in New Mexico, the Puebloan Natives questioned Christianity, asking “if [you] who are Christians caused so much harm and violence, why should [we] become Christians,” (Nichol, p.26). The Pueblo Natives also revolted against the Spanish in 1680, which the Spanish considered to mainly be an “anti-Catholic event,” (Nichols, p.26). Native Americans had their own set of religious beliefs, and these believes usually contradicted many values in Christianity. Spirituality was imbedded into Native culture, however Native religiousness was often overlooked by Europeans, and the invaders looked down upon Natives as being “heathen savages,” (Nichols, p.45). The violence that ensued between the Europeans and Native Americans can be strongly linked to the misunderstandings of one another, and the failure to successfully break down cultural