Native Americans

Native Americans culture is unique for many ways. Living on the reservations they were in touch with nature as well as their ancestors. Native Americans are disputed in the country, diverse among tribes, culturally mixed, and recognize their own political stands (Bordewich, 1996, p. 71). These have changed over the years, but before the reconstruction of the Native Americans the people were identifiable and knew who they were.

Before the Europeans came and changed their living they felt one with the land. They believe the land was not to be owned by anyone. The Wakon'da, a god, who in there words related to all things, made the land. Also, they expressed their feelings for nature as in peace confidence. Before the ‘whites' took over the land the Native Americans had their own laws, as they do know, but one of the most important laws was to respect and keep peace with the dominant race and others around them. This meaning the Natives had never wanted to start fighting with the other races (Brophy, 1966, p. 24-25). They wanted to keep to themselves and keep the land clean and healthy. They did everything in and for nature.

The Indian dances were a spiritual way for the Indians to express themselves. Handed down from generation to generation the dances are not a form of their own movement. They do the steps of the ancestors exceptionally in the religious ceremony dances. The only time a dancer will go outside of the steps is when it's a personal experiment of the dancer or tribe. The different tribes are deviate in their own matter; for some wear brightly colored costumes with masks, others wear feathers, and some of the tribes during dances or ceremonies will be simply nude (Fletcher, p. 6-8).

Native American movements have helped, but put them in a deviant stage. Even though the Native Americans see them as spiritual and done for respect the majority see it as a protest and them wanting to go to war. There have been many movements: Revitalization movement, Handsome Lake movement, Ghost Dance movement, and the Red Power movement. Even though all of the movements are important the Ghost Dance was one of the most significant to the Native America. There were two Ghost Dance movements the second was much larger. Not only did it involve the West Coast tribes, but also the Great Basin tribes. By the second movement it had gone farther east to the Plain tribes. This movement was to show how sick the Native Americans were getting by the way they were being treated. They directed the movement towards the white leaders. It blamed the European invasion and the Americans for the miserable state of affairs on the reservations and for the destruction of traditional Native Americans living (Nagel, 1996, p.159). This movement ended in a massacre at Wounded Knee killing several hundred men, women, and children (Simo, 1991, P. 24). Native Americans tried to step outside the boundaries of the white Americans or the majority of the nation of the time, to make them go around the nations rules.

Although Native American tribes have different means for different