A true appreciation of Native
American culture can most effectively take place through
face to face interaction. Popular media have often
incorrectly depicted the American Indian. Through our
interactions with the Lakota Sioux people, we were able
to more fully appreciate their past as well as their
present. The "development" of the American Western
Frontier robbed the Lakotas of their homes, their
culture, and their former way of life. Only now are the
Lakotas in the process of rebuilding their communities
and adapting their traditional way of living to the
modern scene.
The American west has a rich
heritage that goes back thousands of years. We have
learned that the original Native Americans deeply
respected the natural world and incorporated it into
nearly every aspect of their lives. European settlers
considered the land "undeveloped" and rich in
opportunity. The two cultures clashed. As the Europeans
settled the West, the Native Americans were forced off
their land into reservations. The Europeans also had a
huge impact on the environment. As time went on,
railroads, roadways and towns came to occupy areas that
once were inhabited only by wildlife.
photo
M. Noonan