 FROM COLONIAL times until the late nineteenth century, vast cultural differences, prejudice, and differing views over the meaning of landownership caused tremendous friction and a series of wars between Native Americans on the one hand and settlers and the U.S. government on the other. In 1887 the Dawes General Allotment Act, which broke up 86 million acres of tribal lands, was aimed at forcing Native Americans into assimilating themselves into the dominant Anglo society. Boarding schools were established, and when children came of school age, they were taken from their parents and the reservations and forced to conform to Anglo standards. The children were given Anglo names, taught English, and forbidden to speak in their native tongues. Upon graduation, they were ill-fitted for either the Indian or the Anglo world. Today, as tribal elders grow older, an urgency is felt in many of the Indian nations, as oftentimes it is only the very oldest of their members who still remember the native language and culture. Unless the languages, tribal stories, and myths are put into written form and taught to the youngsters, knowledge of the ancient ways will die with the elders. As each tribe is a unique cultural group with its own social customs, traditional naming practices and ceremonies often vary greatly from one tribe to another. Common to many, however, is the practice of bestowing names during important times in a person's life. Birth, childhood, puberty, adulthood, an event marking an important achievement, change of rank—all can precipitate the bestowal of a name. Names influenced by nature are very common, as are those describing a particular feat or personal characteristic. Native Americans were obligated to assume fixed and hereditary surnames. Anglo names, often both first and last names, were assigned to children in the Indian boarding schools. Many adults assumed Anglo first names and used their native names, or an English translation of them, as their surnames, which they then passed on to their children. Although the majority of Native Americans nowadays have Anglo names, the current trend is toward the bestowal of native names upon the children. |
