Culture of American Indians Essay Example for Free

Culture of American Indians Essay In Against the Grain, environmental journalist Richard Manning (2004) argues that notions of class and property are a direct result of the emergence of agricultural civilizations beginning 10,000 years ago. This is because of the social necessities demanded by distribution and storage of surplus. Conversely, he points out the contrastingly egalitarian nature of the hunter-gatherer lifestyles and the deeper social ties which result from cooperative food acquisition. Consider for example, the Plains Indians of North America prior to the arrival of European settlers, who would utilize their knowledge of buffalo movement patterns to haze and herd them, towards a cliff. By diverting the stampede of a large number of animals to their sudden vertical death, they would obtain a caloric pay-off through minimal effort, but â€Å"required social organization and sharing, both of the labor and of the proceeds.† (Manning, 2004; South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit, 2008) Yet despite this element of uncertainty in hunting and gathering, Richard Steckel notes that towards the end of the 19th century, the Plains Indians were among the tallest people in the world and argues despite the numerous technological and agricultural advances they did not have, they were surprisingly well-nourished compared to whites, indicating that agriculture should not be taken for granted as the sign of social advancement it is purported be, Manning notes that, in the absence of storage means and preservation technologies, it was impossible for the Plains Indians to hoard bison meat. Therefore wealth accumulation was impossible. As such, â€Å"communal feasting became the payoff for social organization,† argues Manning Agriculture on the hand, created social stratification in the form of governance, hierarchy and other institutions necessary for the management of food surplus. Although there is certain room for question to be made about the true egalitarianism of the hunter gatherer cultures of the Plains Indians, they certainly lacked some of the rigidly defined political structures which characterized those belonging to the cultures of Europeans at the point of first contact. Comanche leadership was rather informal, usually identifiable by consensus rather than by any formal nomination to the position and the longevity of a war chiefs authority lasted only as long as they were at war. (Bial, 2000) The Blackfoot people maintained a flexible social structure, a band, which was in constant flux. As such, social relationships were not determined solely by kinship but by residence. In modern times, the case for the difference between hunter-gatherer Native Americans such as the Plains Indians of pre-modern times and the agricultural Native Americans can be observed in the difference between the Inuit peoples, who live a predominantly hunter-gatherer lifestyle out in the Arctic regions (Snow, 1996) and the peoples of the Cherokee and Lakota. The Inuit are noted for their strong sense of community and flexible division of labor among gender lines. The Cherokee and the Lakota, however, have now long been agricultural societies characterized by their class and gender divisions, as well as their contentious disposition towards identity and blood quantum laws. REFERENCES Bial, R. (2000) Lifeways: The Comanche. New York: Benchmark Books. Manning, R. (2004) Against the Grain: How Agriculture Has Hijacked Civilization. New York: North Point Press. â€Å"Buffalo and the Plains Indians.† (2008, April 4) South Dakota State Historical Society Education Kit. Retrieved July 3, 2008 from: http://www.sdhistory.org/mus/ed/Buffalo%20Kit%20Activiteis/Teacher%20Resource.pdf Snow, D. R.. (1996) The first Americans and the differentiation of hunter-gatherer cultures. North America. Eds. Bruce G. Trigger and Wilcomb E. Washburn. Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Towards Clarity and Boredom :: Writing Writers Education English Essays

Towards Clarity and Boredom Begrudgingly Admitting the Usefulness of Style Books When God stood over the Earth, rumor has it; he decreed that he felt the need to punish English Students everywhere. His response was swift and to the point: he gave the world Style Guides. Taking the big guy’s cue, William Strunk Jr, E.B.White and Joseph Williams all set about to light that path and frustrate writers and students everywhere. Mission accomplished. However boring they might be, they do, in fact, help light the path to writing and proper English style. In the end, while both books might be on the dry side, they both are great resources and often plug the other’s holes. Dealing with â€Å"The Elements of Style† first, it’s very clear to me that both Strunk and White really hated going over the same rules again and again year after year with each new crop of Freshmen every semester. That seems to be the overall tone of the book. You can almost see the kind of guy who wrote this: a foppish older book – possibly British – who stands over you and berates you over the â€Å"do and don’ts† of proper semi-colon usage. Sounds like a blast. While definitely not a rock and roll show by any stretch, â€Å"The Elements of Style† has several perks outside the content. First thing is that the book is only 85 pages. 85 Pages is something that, maybe, a student could read on a public bus on the way to an English class. It’s small, sleek, compact and easy to reference from. Also, it’s been written in a style that interjects some humor into the rather vanilla topic. Finally, Strunk and White keep it light. There isn’t anything more then the rule, a few examples and a brief passage about the rule. Nothing more, nothing less. Personally, there were a few rules from the list of several hundred that will benefit me in my present and future writing endeavors. â€Å"Do not break sentences in two† (Strunk and White 7) is a rule that is good to keep handy.

Pedro Calungsod

MOVIE REVIEW(Pagsusuri ng Pelikula)While Calungsod’s importance in our country’s history is indisputable, his significance as a compelling subject for a feature length film is an entirely different matter. If the film’s narrative is anything to go on, Calungsod’s life is nothing more than a series of drudging sermons that ultimately lead to an untimely death on the beach. The film itself does its best to remain faithful to the historical events surrounding Calungsod’s missionary work, focusing on his life in the Marianas in an effort to baptize the local Chamorro natives. But the end result feels more like a dispassionate history lesson than a compelling cinematic experience.PEDRO CALUNGSODâ€Å"The Filipino Saint†THE MOVIEBUOD(Summary)Pedro Calungsod is a teenage Saint. He Was Killed in Guam at a Very Young age.But Despie his Youthfulness,he was a man of Character,he was responsible in his Duties at Catechesist,he was firm in depending his f aith and he was steadfast in in shielding his friends. Saint Pedro Calungsod (c. 1654 – April 2, 1672) is a Filipino Roman Catholic martyr who was killed while doing missionary work in Guam in 1672. He was beatified on March 5, 2000, by Pope John Paul II. As a skilled sacristan and teacher of cathecism, he was a companion of Blessed Diego Luis de San Vitores to the Marianas Islands. Through their efforts, many receive the sacraments especially that of baptism.A man named Choco became envious of the prestige that the missionaries were gaining among the Chamorros. He started to spread rumors that the baptismal water of the missionaries was poisonous. Because some sickly Chamorro infants who had been baptized died, many believed Choco and eventually apostatized. Choco found an ally in the local medicine man, Macanjas, and the Urritaos, young native men who were given to some immoral practices. These, along with the apostates, began to persecute the missionaries, many of whom wer e killed.At around seven o'clock that morning, Padre Diego and Pedro Calungsod went to the village of Tomhon in Guam because they were told that a baby girl was just born in the village. They went to ask Matapang, the child's father, to bring the baby out for baptism. Matapang had been a Christian and a friend of the missionaries but had apostatized. He angrily refused to have his baby christened. Those who personally knew Pedro believed that he would have defeated his aggressors and would have freed both himself and Padre Diego if only he had some weapon. But Padre Diego never allowed his companions to carry arms. The faith that was planted in the Marianas in 1668 did not die with Padre Diego, Pedro Calungsod and the first missionaries.It grew, thanks to the blood of the martyrs and the perseverance of the succeeding missionaries. Today, Blessed Pedro Calungsod intercedes for the young, in particular those of his native Philippines, and he challenges them. Young friends, do not hes itate to follow the example of Pedro, who ‘pleased God and was loved by him’ and who, having come to perfection in so short a time, lived a full life.† The feast of Blessed Pedro is celebrated every 2 April, the anniversary of his martyrdom.If the date falls within Holy Week or Easter Week, the feast is observed on the Saturday before Passion Sunday as was 2 April in 1672. On 21 October 2012, Pope Benedict XVI, in a solemn ceremony at Saint Peter’s Basilica, will inscribe the name of Blessed Pedro Calungsod in the Canon or list of Saints and from then on, the teenage Visayan martyr will be invoked as Saint Pedro Calungsod or San Pedro Calungsod.REFLECTION Tama ba ang Napanuod ko?NAME: DELA CRUZ, Gay SUBJECT: Philippine History and Nationalism TIME: 8:30-10:00AM MOVIE REVIEWNot so long ago, I finally came into a certain understanding that Filipino films will always be inclined into ‘melodrama': The sappy music, intense displays of physical animation to accompany the drama, and of course, tears. It's a nauseating phenomenon in the Philippine movie industry when  absolutely done the wrong way. But thank god there are films such as â€Å"Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos† to serve as timeless testaments to the magic that ‘melodrama' can create and manifest within one's senses and emotions, from simple to complex, when done perfectly.The film started with Hitler's rhyming, mouth-foaming speech regarding the strength of his socialist party. Being set in the times of the Second World War, the film unveils like how a history text book would for a student. But after this run-of-the-mill introduction, its story unfolds like how a poet affects to even the farthest of souls.In plain sight, the film may look like your typical ‘love caught by the tides of war' and a period vehicle for its star and producer, Nora Aunor. Granted, the love story arc is already established prior to the complications of the narrative, but I am deeply surprised and pleasured how complex the film really was.TATLONG TAONG WALANG DIYOS

Privacy Protecting Confidential Information On The...

Abstract— Privacy preserving in data mining specifies the security of the confidential data or attribute in the large data base. Sharing of extracted information from a data set is beneficial to the application users. But at the same time analysing such data opens treats to privacy if not done properly. This work aims to reveal the information by protecting confidential data. In the literature various methods including Randomization, k-anonymity and data hiding have been suggested for the same. In this paper we introduce new masking technique for hiding sensitive data based on the concept of genetic algorithms. The main purpose of this method is fully supporting security of continuous numerical data in the database and keeping the utility†¦show more content†¦This usually involves using database techniques such as spatial. These patterns can then be seen as a kind of summary of the input data. In recent years, data mining has been viewed as a threat to privacy because of the widespread proliferation of electronic data maintained by [2] corporations. A number of techniques have been proposed for modifying or transforming the data in such a way so as to preserve privacy. The privacy preserving in data mining concerns the protection of confidential data from unauthorized users. The confidential data may be numerical, categorical or both. The protection of confidential data may give personal security to the workers of a company, government employers and sometimes it concerns with national security. A key problem that arises in any mass collection of data is that of confidentiality. The need for privacy preserving is sometimes due to law [3] or can be motivated by business interests. However, sharing of data can be beneficial to others and give mutual gain. A key utility of large databases today is research, whether it is scientific or economic and market oriented. For example, medical field has much to gain by pooling data for research. Despite the potential gain, this is often not possible due to the confidentiality issues which arise. So the privacy of the one’s confidential data should be preserve from other corporate or public sectors. The problem of