Native American culture

Original continental inhabitants

The collective traditions, beliefs, practices, languages, and arts of the indigenous peoples of North America.

The term spans hundreds of distinct nations with their own histories—from Navajo weaving to Lakota sun dances to Haudenosaunee governance.

The museum's exhibit on Native American culture featured both historical artifacts and contemporary work.

Often invoked as a singular concept, though it encompasses enormous diversity.

Related

wild rice · tribal council · medicine wheel · oral tradition · powwow · drum circle · peace pipe · totem pole · ancestral lands · Indian reservation · storytelling · pottery · clan system · treaties · sand painting · sweat lodge · basketry · sacred landscapes

Categories
Opposites
Indigenous vs. Colonial/Settler Heritage

Native American culturesettler colonialism

Occupation displacing native peoples

colonial heritage · Manifest Destiny · WASP culture · immigrant culture

Traditional/Indigenous vs. Modern Western Worldview

Native American cultureindustrial capitalism

Factory-based profit-driven economy

consumerism · individualism · anthropocentrism · resource exploitation · secular humanism

Oral/Place-Based vs. Literate/Globalized Tradition

Native American culturedigital culture

Society shaped by technology

Family

native, natively, nativity, natives, American, America, Americans, Americanism, Americanize

Familiarity
Top 100,000
Profile
Known to kids · Mostly American · Timeless · Everyday, not technical · Rated G