The European colonization of America changed the life and culture of Native Americans forever. It has affected my family and me so that the descendants of the native Cherokee Indians are forced to live and work on the reservation. There are many problems in the reserves, such as poverty, alcoholism, low literacy, unemployment, which prevent the preservation of native American culture. In North America, indigenous peoples remain strangers in their own country: those who leave the reservation face racism at all levels, from domestic to the official. In the world of white people, it is almost impossible for Indians to find a job; it is difficult to get an education. Colonization also had a substantial impact on the community’s health: the expected average life expectancy of the Cherokee is 72.3 years (Ongaro et al., 2019). At the same time, the average life expectancy for the United States is 76.5 years (Ongaro et al., 2019). In the reserves, due to the lack of medical care, child mortality is high. In addition, uranium was previously mined on the lands of the reservation, which caused contamination of the grounds, and as a result, oncological diseases of the tribe members.
Modern Indian communities represent a specific institution of the indigenous population of the United States. The average monetary income on the reservation is about $ 3,233 per month, so natives have to leave it in search of work (Ongaro et al., 2019). Preserving cultural identity outside the reservation is incredibly difficult, but me, my family, and my community have shown strength and resilience in trying to do this. We have to deal with national discrimination and interethnic contradictions daily. We are fighting against the manifestations of racism against the Indian population by the authorities and police structures. Since every day we have to use English as the language of interethnic communication, there is a significant risk of forgetting the native language of the tribe. Therefore, we show perseverance and try to communicate in the Cherokee language at every convenient opportunity to preserve it. As Indian social activists, we show resilience in the struggle for the rights of our fellow tribesmen. We constantly try to remind the world of the many problems faced by the inhabitants of reservations.
Traditional Indigenous ceremonies are inextricably linked with this strength and resilience. They contain instructions, moral and aesthetic norms, rules, and skills of economic activity. Stability, repeatability, consolidation in customs – all this has made the tradition a means of transmitting the culture of the Cherokee people. Traditions function in all social systems and are a necessary condition for their vital activity. A lousy attitude to traditions leads to a violation of continuity in the development of Cherokee society and culture and the loss of valuable achievements. Cultural traditions go back centuries, but they do not lose their modernity. Tradition is one of the essential categories of the theory of culture. The universality of this category is determined by the fact that indigenous traditions are present in every sphere of human life – in material, political, artistic, and moral. Traditions are the essential tool for the transfer and development of Cherokee cultural heritage, and they should be handled carefully and skillfully. My people’s historical mission and international duty are to constantly introduce new generations to cultural values, to enrich and replenish the treasury of Indigenous culture. Therefore, my family and my community observe Indigenous ceremonies, showing strength and resilience to preserve them.
Reference
Ongaro, L., Scliar, M. O., Flores, R., Raveane, A., Marnetto, D., Sarno, S., … Montinaro, F. (2019). The genomic impact of European colonization of the Americas. Current Biology, 29(23), 3974-3986.