Religion

The Native Americans believed in more than one God. The Europeans rejected their religion, because the Europeans believed in one god-monotheism. The shaman was the religious leader/healer for the Native Americans. The older women of the tribe were usaully the shaman or strongly considered first. The Dakota Sioux Indians practiced a religious ritual called the Sun Dance. A man is hung in a upright vertical position, by hooks attached to ropes in his chest, from a tree or pole. The male was to endure the pain for as long as possible, and to embrace the pain with a laugh or smile.
(4)     (5)     This ceremony was performed to prove the four male virtues:
(1) Bravery (2) Generosity (3) Strength and (4) Intergrity. The Europeans later outlawed the Sun Dance because they thought it was too grewsome.

Tribe Life

There were no justice systems like jails, courts, laws, etc. Instead the troublemaker was ostrasized, or kicked out of the tribe. Tribes were very important to the Native Americans. It was their source of family and unity. No one was really an individual in the tribe; it was like one big family. People made decisions based on what was best for the village, and not based upon what was good for themselves. A type of motto that they had was, " Think for yourself, but act for the community"

Role of Women in the Family

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Male dominance was blurred in Native American culture. Most of the time families were matrilineal: every aspect of family defined by the woman's family line. The women were able to choose their own husbands, as opposed to arranged marriages. That allowance enabled the women to marry for love intsead of money or land. Native Americans were also open about experimenting with sex before marriage. They did not condone adultery, sex with outher people while married, but as long as you were single it was accepted. This also aided in finding a compatible mate. A Native American woman was eligible for marriage when she began menstruating. This was special because it meant that she was ready to have children. The women were isolated from the rest of the tribe during menstruation. They were given their own tent/hut to live in for the duration so that they had some time to themselves. More than one woman was assigned to the same place if they were menstruating at the same time. The Native Americans also practiced polygny: a man having more than one wife; and polyandry: a woman having more than one husband. Since family was so important to them, there was sometime a need for extra help in supporting the family.

Vulnerability to Europeans

A major downfall of the Native Americans was vulnerabilty to the Europeans. To Europeans, land defined how powerful and/or prosperous you were. The Natives didn't paticularly care about how much land they owned, they just used used the resources to the best of their abilities; this left them open for manipulation of their land by the Europeans. The Europeans' good ability to trade goods for the land they wanted; the Natives also wanted the whiskey, guns, and technology such as the wheel and iron tools, that the Europeans possessed. Another great misfortune was the disease brought to America from Europe. The Native Americans were not immune to diseases such as measle and smallpox, which resulted in eighty percent of Indians dead within the first one-hundred years of the European arrival.

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Prehistory

Africa was basically divided into two main regions: North Africa and Sub-Sahara.

North Africa had a long history of contact with the Europeans.