Adaptation and cultural persistence among the Crow Indians of Montana

Voget, Fred W.

essay

Adaptation and cultural persistence among the Crow Indians of Montana

political organization of native north americans • Washington, D.C. • Published In 1980 • Pages: 163-187

By: Voget, Fred W..

Abstract
The author attributes Crow cultural persistence in the face of powerful assimilative pressures during the 20th century to the combined effects of five conditions: 1) possession of a homeland, lending a sense of identity as a people; 2) a local economy permitting both maintenance of social reciprocity among kin and attainment of traditional statuses; 3) religious ceremonies reinforcing the social system and activating a sense of identity through traditional forms and procedures; 4) a philosophy of causality bringing meaning to native religious forms and procedures; 5) a living language.

Cultural identity and pride

Functional and adaptational interpretations

Acculturation and culture contact

Inter-ethnic relations

Research and development