The beliefs and cultures of the United States of America are mostly comprised of Western Culture (European) with their own origin and form but was swayed by the multicultural ethnics comprised of many African, native American, Asian, Polynesian, and Latin American people. These Americans have their beliefs and culture related to social and cultural characteristics such as dialect, music, arts, habits, cuisine, and folklore.
The native inhabits of the Americas who lived are the Pre-Columbian peoples of North, Central, and South America and their descendants. Native Americans, also known as American Indian, Amerindian, Amerind, Indian, aboriginal American, or first nation person, used to live in the western hemisphere. They used technology and material culture that was different than today and used domesticated pets for hunting.
In the past, native Americans used skills that comprised of various methods including fire and the fire drills, the tamed dogs, stone kins of many kinds, the uses of spears (Atlatl), harpoon, bow and arrow, cordage, netting, basketry, as well as pottery to live their modern lives.
Native Americans using various weapons for hunting and defensive purposes (© worldatlas.com)
Many native Americans were focused on hunting and gathering cultures while honing their weapons in art and training their domesticated pets for their uses, while some were interested in agricultural practises such as growing countless numbers of corns, beans, squash, potatoes , tubers, turkeys, as well as numerous varieties of semi-domesticated classes of nuts and seed-bearing plants.
Native American philosophy and beliefs incorporate the customs and traditions of the United States, including various religions, cuisine, dresses, languages, marriage, music, folklore, arts, and habits.
Thousands of years before, when the great explorer Christopher Columbus’s ship docked in the Bahamas, a diverse group of people discovered America, a crowd of nomadic ancestors of modern Native Americans who hiked in the past.
At the dawn of the 16th century, the great European conquest of the Americas began in action, and many native American who resided throughout the western hemisphere were targeted and decimated by the effects of military conquest, enslavement, and discriminatory political and legal policies while others suffered from epidemic diseases till 20th and 21st century.
Even if they were victims of many difficulties in the past, they still have been among the most energetic and prosperous native peoples for affecting the political changes and regaining their freedom and autonomy in various fields such as education, land ownership, religious cultures, the laws and the renewal of the traditional cultures. The native peoples of the Americas as a whole were originated in American Indian.
Ethnically, the native people of the Americans who resided in the past were typically known for creating two expansive groups, American Indians and the Arctic peoples. American Indians are further grouped by areas of the dwelling, where they resided to be known as northern America (the present-day United States and Canada), Middle Americans (present-day Mexico and Central America), and South America.
The United States of America is a nationally and culturally varied country as a result of large-scale relocation from many countries throughout its history. Many traditional origins of the Americans, especially from common culture and cuisine, have spread across the globe through current mass media.
Native American Culture Areas
The Culture area, also called the cultural region, is focused on anthropology, geography, and other forms of social sciences are known as a topographical region where certain cultural behaviors of the people who reside there have in common or similar traits and philosophies while sharing many beliefs and traditions with others. The cultural region can be defined as the people who share a common language, religion, political opinion, economic features, beliefs, behaviors, and artifacts that have common features between them.
At the turn of the 20th century in America, the culture area of concept-based approach was established and continued to uphold knowledge on various fields such as education, laws, and the freedom of the people who resided and religious cultures into the 21st century.
Between the 16th and 19th centuries, in North America, the northwest coast culture was categorized by activities such as salmon fishing, woodworking, building large villages or towns, and ranked social organization.
Though ethnic features, language, clothing, and customs vary extremely from one clan to another, certain components are encountered frequently and shared by many clans among themselves.
The precise number of culture areas which was allocated for native America has been somewhat fickle because of the regions becoming sometimes subdivided and adjoined.
The ten culture areas that are frequently used are known as the arctic, the subarctic, the northwest, the southwest, the plains, the southeast, the great basin, California, the northwest coast, and the plateau.
Ten culture areas of Native Americans
The scholars favor combining the northeast and southeast coast into one eastern woodland culture area, whereas the plateau and the great basin are combined into a single intermontane culture area, respectively. These areas reflect on the location, climate, environment, languages, tribes, and common cultural behaviors before it was occupied.
American Cultures
American culture is the culture that holds and uptake the customs and traditions of the United States. The American culture is comprised of various arts, music, folklore, marriage, cuisine, dresses, loved ones, religion, and politics, including many more things.
The United States is the third major country in the world, with a population of more than 325 million. In accumulation to the native Americans who have already resided on the continent, the population of the United States was constructed due to immigration from other countries, which made it one of the most culturally varied countries in the world. The American culture has influenced many regions of the world, most notably the English who colonized the country in the early 1600s.
The United States is also described as a melting pot in which different cultures from the different worlds have contributed their own distinct essences to American culture. Like the cultures all around the word have swayed the American culture, it also has influenced the world with its various religions, music, arts, sports, and much more.
Basic Characteristics and Values of American culture include:
Independence -
Americans intensely have faith in the concept of individualism. They contemplate themselves to be isolated individuals who are in control of their own private lives, rather than being a member of a close-knit, interdependent family, religious group, tribe, nation, or other groups. Believe in freedom and perusal space.
Equality -
The American Declaration of Independence states that “all people are deemed equal,” and this belief is intensely rooted in their cultural values. Americans believe that all people are of equal standing and are therefore uncomfortable with explicit demonstrations of respect, such as being bent to. Americans come in all colors, including different types of religions, languages, music, arts, and many more.
Informality -
This belief in equivalence causes Americans to be rather familiar with their behavior towards other people. Americans are enormously comfortable and call most people by their first name or nickname. American men try to share a portion of work with their wives in parenting and housework.
Directness -
Americans lean towards value, honesty, and sincerity in their transactions with other people. They believe that skirmishes and disparities are best solved utilizing straightforward conversation among the people involved. Americans don’t push or stand too near to anyone in line. They always delay their turn. Americans are honest, punctual, always on time and never late for work.
Laws -
Americans and the residents who believe upmost and follow the law. Littering (throwing garbage’s on the street), graffiti (Writing or painting on walls), and loitering (standing and doing nothing in public spaces) are against the law and punishable by a fine or jail. Discriminating against some else’s religion or making an insulting statement is known as a hate crime.
Materialism -
The financial exploitation and embezzlement indignities, materialism is no longer a superlative for the Native Americans. However, historically, materialism used to signify the decisive, optimistic, onward thinking of the American people. It indicates the American Dream of transforming one’s life out through hard work and wealth amassing.
Diversity -
The United Kingdom, where the Native Americans reside, is vast and undoubtedly diverse and intercultural both in economy and culture. They try to immerse themselves in their cultures, accept new cultures, and respect the diversity of the world.
Food Culture Regarding Native American
Food is a significant part of the culture, which is commonly used on a larger scale. Food Culture refers to the practices, boldness, and principles as well as the networks and institutions adjoining the manufacture, distribution, and consumption of food. It functions as an expression of cultural identity. Settlers bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go. Cooking traditional food is a way of conserving their culture when they move to new places.
It incorporates the concepts of foodways, cuisine, and food system which includes the important understandings a clutch of group has about food, historical and present conditions determining that group’s relationship to food, and the ways in which the group uses food to express individuality, community, values, status, power, artistry and creativity. It also includes a groups’ classifications of what items can be food, what is tasty, healthy, and socially suitable for specific subcategories or individuals and when, how, why, and with whom those items can or should be consumed.
American cuisine was created by Europeans and Native Americans in its early history; there is a number of foods that are commonly identified as American cuisine, which includes many dishes such as fried chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, cheese, and macaroni, and meatloaf.
Created by Europeans and Native Americans in its early history, American cuisine includes Fried Chicken, Hamburgers, Hotdogs, Potato Chips, Cheese & Macaroni, and Meatloaf
There are numerous styles of cooking and types of foods that are specific to a region. Southern elegance cooking is often termed as “American comfort food” and comprises dishes such as fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and cornbread and southern west elegance cooking comprises chili and burritos, blend of Spanish and Mexican cooking dishes.
Political Culture Regarding Native American
Political Culture refers to the set of boldness, beliefs, and opinions which give direction and meaning to a political process and which provides the fundamental expectations and rules that govern behavior in the political system. It includes both the political principles and the operating standards of policy. The American political culture labels the relationship between the American people and the American government.
The United States is a centralized republic composed of a national government and fifty state-run governments. The political system is subjugated by two parties: the Republicans and the Democrats. One of the features of the American republic is low elector turnout. On average, less than half the eligible voters contribute to central elections.
Republicans and Democrats vary on assured key social matters, respectively. Republicans are usually conservative on social spending and moral issues. They upkeep cuts in federally-sponsored social programs such as welfare. They have faith in strengthening organizations such as marriage and the traditional family and usually are disparate to abortion and gay rights. Democrats tend to support federal funding for social programs that support minorities, the environment, and women's rights. However, criticizers argue that these two parties establish a very narrow array for political debate. Third parties that have arisen on both the left and the right include the Green, Socialist, Farm-Labour, Reform, and Libertarian parties.
American political culture comprises several core ideals and values. Not all Americans share the same views, of course, but the vast majority subscribes to these general principles, including liberty, equality, democracy, individualism, unity, and diversity.
Political culture is thus the expression in a comprehensive form of the psychological and subjective extents of politics. Political culture is the creation of both the cooperative history of a political system and the life histories of the associates of that system, and thus it is ingrained equally in public events and private experiences.
There are at least five significant elements in the American assessment of the political system: liberty, equality, democracy, civic duty, and individual responsibility.