The Ritual Actions Of The Crow Tribe Essay - 1961 Words

I’d like to begin by ensuring the reader that the title is intentionally facetious. In this essay, I will compare the ritual actions of the Crow Tribe to the seemingly relativistic nature of contemporary American culture in regards to meaning and explore the multitude of questions this comparison raises. The Crow Tribe found great fulfillment in actions associated with tribal warfare such as enumerating battle achievements or engaging in the Sun Dance together (meant to inspire the Crow warriors to be successful in battle). When their land was encroached by the white settlers of the early U.S., these actions suddenly lost meaning as warfare was outlawed. Why dance together to inspire the warriors when there could no longer be any tribal fighting? While some meaningful actions like stealing the Sioux’s horses were literally barred from existence, I find the problem of the lack of purpose of the Sun Dance to be more interesting. This problem - societal rituals losing their meaning and the depression that ensues within that society - is referred to by Lear as cultural devastation. While the Crow Tribe rituals were stripped of meaning once their way of life was disturbed, American meaningful actions (rituals or otherwise) are less prone to losing meaning due to the individualistic nature of the U.S. Take for example: graduating from college. The fact that graduating from college has meaning should be self-evident. Is graduating meaningful because of its collectivistShow MoreRelatedIndian Problem2187 Words   |  9 Pagesconsidered the Indians to be a â€Å"problem† due to the fact that native tribes were halting the expansionist policy popular in the 1800’s. The main aspects targeted and defined as the â€Å"Indian Problem† by the Government were the Indian’s religious practices, household structure and land ownership, and educational differences. 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