Native Americans and alaska natives

"These days people seek knowledge, not wisdom. Knowledge is of the past; wisdom is of the future," - Vernon Cooper, spiritual elder of the Lumbee or Croatoan tribe of North Carolina -

The Amerindians, as well as the native American Indians and Inuit, compose the 0.8% of the total population in 2008, with 2.4 million.

The Cherokees are 800,000 total. 70,000 live in Oklahoma in the reserve and 15000 in North Carolina on their ancestral lands.

The second largest tribal group is the Navajo, who call themselves "Diné" and live in a 16 million acres Indian reservation covering Northeast Arizona, Northwest New Mexico and Southeast Utah. The third largest group are the Lakota (Sioux) who have reservations located in the States of Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota and South Dakota.

AGRICULTURE.

Without a doubt one of the most strong influences than native Americans have had on US, is the agriculture. Immigrants learned of these, such as cultivating and specifically, such as growing crops that Europeans do not knew. One of them was the corn, crop that today is essential for the US economy.

LANGUAGE.

Another native's strongest influence has been, without doubt, the contribution to the language. More than 1900 native words have been added or have helped develop others within the English language. There are also many cities, states, regions that come from native words. Those words help to focus more on the historical places and not forget where they came. Europeans have put name to plants, animals and even climate phenomena, adopted name Native Americans used today in day. Mahogany or hickory are variations of trees.

MATRILINEAL FAMILIES.

Native American culture in many tribes dictates that societal structures are matrilineal — that is, family lines are traced through the females rather than the males, which was contradictory to European cultures. Native American women were active participants in decision-making on both a domestic and public level, making women important figures in the day-to-day functions of many tribes. In some ways, such a hierarchy was a model for women's rights. In Cherokee and other matrilineal cultures, wives owned the family property. When young women married, their husbands joined them in their mother's household.

SPORTS.
Notah Begay III, Billy Mills, Jim Thorpe, (one of the most important athletes of the 20^thcentury), Joe Hipp and Jacoby Ellsburyare some of the names that Native Americans gave to US sports. Also Fred Sasakamoose, as the first full-blooded Indian to play in the National Hockey League.

MUSIC.

Probalbly, the most important element in native american music, are the voice and rhytmes. Irregular rhytmes, no harmony and all the people singing at the same time, are the backbone of the native music. And the emotion of their music, has been a huge influence in folk music. A couple of examples of it, are: Robbie Robertson (The Band), Rita Coolidge,Wayne Newton,Gene Clark,Buffy Sainte-Marie, Blackfoot,Tori Amos,Redbone, and CocoRosie. Some, such as John Trudell.

Influence in Fashion.

Another important element that native Americans have added to the music in general is the flute. (from Wikipedia) The Native American flute is an end-blown flute fashioned either from cane (such as river cane), hardwood (such as walnut), or softwood (such as cedar).

Theoretically, the instrument's archetype is the Anasazi flute developed by the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of Oasisamerica. The Anasazi flute seems to derive from Mesoamerican flute design.

PHILOSOPHY.

Native Americans have left a deep and accurate philosophy that has slowly been adapted by the rest of the Americans. Their traditions are very respectful with nature and transmits an important lesson: how to live in harmony with the environment.

Traditionally, they believed that everything that surrounded them was loaded with supernatural power. Atmospheric phenomena, such as Thunder, lightning, rain and wind, were personifications of spirits, like animals.

For the sioux Indians, all of this was part of a great power called Wakan Tanka; Instead, the pawnee Indians called their Creator God Tirawa, and said that it had sent to atmospheric phenomena give form to the Earth.

Many native Americans are still practising their ceremonies and thereby understand man's relationship with nature has earned them a lot of adepts.