Native American Identity Essay - 1363 Words

Cornell University Professor Clinton Rossiter explains identity as, â€Å"an intangible feeling. It is something that is felt†¦ An identity is not static. Feelings change with time and therefore, so can identity.†(http://ushistorythemes.weebly.com/american-identity.html). When colonists first arrived to North America, some people wanted to establish an identity unique to themselves and their new colonies. In the beginning, this proved challenging as they were constantly succumbing to Britain s authority all the way across the Atlantic ocean. When moving to the new world, there was not one single factor that encouraged Britians to move, but a combination of the desire of exploration, to accumulate wealth, to own and live on land on their own,†¦show more content†¦All of these different groups of people had widely different customs, culture, and belief and they were very proud of their culture. A Frenchman Would be offended to be considered similar to an Englishmen , they prided themself on their distinct cultures and did not want them to be similar to others. There is a lack of a common heritage in religion, politics, culture, or language that the colonists needed in order to create a unique identity.Some groups of people, such as the Pilgrims and Puritans, came to the new world in order to escape religious persecution and practice their religion freely and peacefully. Others came to accumulate wealth and land in order to live a more prosporous life (http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/colonial/jb_colonial_subj.html).All of these disparate groups of people came to the new world for completely different reasons fully intending on preserving their own cultures, not contributing to the idea of a new identity among the colonists. When first arriving in the new world, many colonists first considered themselves British, and then their colony second. This shows the strong dedication some colonists still had to Britain, which would explain why there were some colonist that were not supportive of a revolution against Britain. Many colonist continued to develop a culturally similar lifestyle to that of a Briton, mimicking their clothing trends and dining ware by purchasing themShow MoreRelatedNative American Identity Essay1078 Words   |  5 PagesThe Native American identity To explain the Native American identity is necessary to take into consideration several arguments. A group’s identity is never a universal consensus, since every individual’s experience would define the meaning of what is to be member of a certain group. Despite these differences in experiencing and living within a given culture; the commonality is that members of the group are recognized are part of It by members of the group they claim to belong. 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