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There are many components that make up a certain group of people; the main components consist of language, beliefs, values, and behaviors. This is an elaboration on the main components of the Native American culture.

Language: Native Americans are known to speak English one of their languages. But as for the other language, it's specific to the tribe that they are. Take, for instance, the Navajo Native Americans. The Navajo, which is a very large group, has a language unique to its tribe. It is part of the Athabascan family of North American Languages, and still nearly 125,000 Navajo people are fluent in their native communication as of 1987 ("Navajos" 397-402). Their language is very important to them, thus, everything is taught in both English and Navajo. As you can see, for all Native American tribes, their mother-tongue has extreme value to them, so they incorporate it in everything that they do. In Michigan, a law was passed so that the Native Americans in the area would have a chance to pass on their language. Students have an opportunity to earn high school credits by learning the language taught by the Native American elders.

Beliefs: Like the languages spoken in different Native American tribes, their beliefs also vary. For example, the Sioux follow a religion of Wakan Tanka, a religion that focuses on seven different ceremonials. The Sun Dance is one of the seven ceremonials, and has made the Sioux widely known. One aspect of this belief is almost universal among many Native American tribes-- the preservation of lands and reverence for particular lands that are sacred to them. At one time, the practice of many Native American religions throughout the continent were considered crimes, until the American Indians Religious Freedom Act of 1978 was passed by Congress. Even in the late nineteenth century the religions were once again prosecuted, leaving the Native Americans no choice but to carry out their practices underground ("Sioux" 1622-1633).

Values: Many of the values in Native American tribes depend on the religion that they practice. In this case, sex was not seen as sinful in most religions--it was not restricted to the reproductive role, but seen as an experience given from the spirit world to enjoy from childhood to old age. In most tribes, a woman's status was not dependent on having a husband, and the status of the child (or children) was not dependent upon mother's marriage to a man (Williams 315-318). Native Americans in general emphasize freedom for the people; being able to follow their own inclinations, mostly based on their own spirit guardians guidance, and to share generously with others. The focus of the culture's values was that of the individual person's "spirit," believed to have come directly from the spirit world.

Behaviors: All Native American tribes have different behaviors according (mostly) to their religion. For example, the Hopi people bestowing a name upon a baby is considered an event of supreme importance, and is performed by the most experienced and wisest among the people--the elders. They believe that everything is done in a circle that is timeless and flowing, and they behave the same way. Black Elk, a famous Oglala Sioux holy man, states that "The life of man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves," (Editors 35). If one were in trouble, or if anything were to happen, the Native Americans know that they would get support form all of his relatives. Family is of utmost importance to them; elders carry on the tradition of teaching to be kind, generous, and respectful. There are rites of passage ceremonies, one of them being for puberty, many of these ceremonies were designed to help the children and teenagers attain spiritual power. In the Masquakie tribe, the boys' transition to adulthood was to be whipped with a quirt; this was to impress upon them the stamina and courage of an adult.


 * Sources:**

Primary: "Navajos." //Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life//. Ed. Timothy L. Gall and Jeneen Hobby. 2nd ed. Vol. 2: Americas. Detroit: Gale, 2009. 397-402. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.[| http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?&id=GALE%7CCX1839300199&v=2.1&u=pl7053&it=r&p=GVRL&sw=w]

This source I used because it consisted of information related to the language of many Native Americans. It was taken straight from an Encyclopedia, and no other text was added, making it a primary source.

Primary: "Sioux." //Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America//. Ed. Jeffrey Lehman. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 2000. 1622-1633. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 25 Jan. 2011. []

I used this source in relation to the belief section of the project, focusing on the Sioux religion, but also covering religion in general for Native Americans. It was taken straight from an Encyclopedia, and no other text was added, making it a primary source.

Secondary: Williams, Walter L. "Native Americans." //Encyclopedia of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered History in America//. Ed. Marc Stein. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2004. 315-318. //Gale Virtual Reference Library//. Web. 25 Jan. 2011.[]

This source information was included in my research project because it indicated many values accepted throughout most Native American tribes and which were accepted in the culture. As a secondary source, Williams added his own words and information to the facts he gathered from the Encyclopedia.

Journal: "A language barrier falls." //Diverse Issues in Higher Education// 27.21 (2010): 5. //Student Resource Center - Gold//. Web. 26 Jan. 2011.[| http://find.galegroup.com/gps/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=IPS&docId=A243525645&source=gale&srcprod=SRCG&userGroupName=pl7053&version=1.0]

I chose this academic journal to list current information about how Native Americans have a chance to pass on their language. This is a journal because it was written by a scholarly author.

Print: The Editors of Time-Life Books. //The American Indians Cycles of Life//. Ed. Henry Woodhead. Richman, Virginia: Time Life Inc., 1994.

I used this source because it contained a lot of traditions throughout different Native American cultures and explained behaviors of the tribes. This is a print source because it was from a book.