Effect of the Roman Invasion on Religion

Effect of the Roman Invasion on Religion The Celtic Christianity. Christianity probably came to Britain with the Roman legions, the spread of the faith being certainly helped by the infrastructure of the Roman Empire, resulting in the gradual conversion of the various Celtic people to the Christian faith. Thus a strong and lively Celtic church existed in Britain and Ireland before the Germanic invasions took place. We know that there were British bishops at church councils at Arles, 314 AD, and Rimini, 359 AD. There are records of the martyrdoms of Alban, Julius and Aaron. Such great numbers of Celts were converted that to be British and Celtic meant to be Christian. After the legions left there appear to have been some 150 years of warfare in Britain between the invading Anglo-Saxons and the original Celtic inhabitants. So when Augustine came from Rome in 596 he came into the conflict between the Anglo-Saxon conquerors and an indigenous church among a persecuted people. [literally from the site!] The Celtic Christianity is the first form of Christianity that has been practiced in England and Ireland. (around 400 AD) In the 4th century, it really established itself by mixing the characteristic Celtic features with the religion. Once the Romans withdrew themselves, the Roman and Celtic Christianity started to evolve differently. In the 5th and 6th century a lot of Celts were converted because of missionaries. In Ireland, the Celtic Christianity is characterized by its cloisters. Celtic Christianity is the earliest form of Christianity in Great Britain and Ireland. Christianity reached Britain in the 2nd century, during the Roman occupation. It was not until the second half of the 4th century that the characteristic Celtic elements were mixed properly with the rest of the church. After the Romans had withdrawn from Britain, the Roman and Celtic Christianity had been apart for almost 200 years and had the opportunity to develop separately. The 5th and 6th century were marked by widespread conversions by the arrival of many missionaries. Ireland developed a church structure which was entirely based on monasteries. Because there existed no central authority of the Celtic church, there were many variations occurring in monastic rules and the rules of the liturgy. The Roman and the Celtic church met again in 597, when Augustine of Canterbury led a delegation of clergies to Britain. This meeting showed that there were many differences between the views of the two movements. The big difference between the Roman Catholic and Celtic Christianity led to the Synod of Whitby in 664. The decisions that were taken, were detrimental to the Celts. The Irish monastic rules were replaced with the rules of the Benedictines and strict adherence to Catholic doctrine was enforced. The decree of Whitby had no immediate effect. Especially Devon, Cornwall and Scotland continued to protest against the new form of Christianity. This resulted in the presence of a Celtic monastery on Iona (Scotland) until the 13th century, which then was replaced by a Benedictine abbey. However, Christianity in Britain began to adapt increasingly to the Roman Catholicism. Despite this, Celtic Christianity was passed on orally and there have always remained elements of the former belief in British and Irish churches. After the Reformation of the 16th century the Celtic tradition got offered more and more resistance. Reading the prayers out loud was discouraged and even forbidden, because it was thought that this was a pagan and polytheistic origin. In Scotland a combination of religious persecution and the highland clearances led to the weakening of the Celtic culture. But even this did not lead to the end of the Celtic Christianity. In the early 20th century Celtic prayers were collected in Gaelic and written down due to a resurgence of interest in Celtic literature. Partly because of this there was a growing interest in Celtic Christianity. People protested less against the tradition of pagan elements and more people began to appreciate the religion. Instead of eliminating the ancient Celtic symbols from the religious life, the Christian missionaries took over many customs of the pagan faith. Some of these traditions are still clearly seen in the Christian faith, and not just in Great Britain and Ireland. The old gods were largely held in honour, only now they were depicted as saints. The most famous example is Brighid, who became a saint with the same name after the arrival of Christianity. Jesus, the son of God, took the place of the sun god Lugh. His symbol, the cross, was added to the solar disk and so was the symbol that we know today as the Celtic cross Iona. Many sacred sites were converted to Christian places of significance. Lindisfarne, for example, was a place where the Celts worshiped their gods in the open air. On the island a church was built which became important later. The belief in the Otherworld, ensured that in almost the whole Christian world, the contact between people did not stop after death, but continued in the form of prayers and thoughts. But of course there also are differences between the Celtic Christianity and Roman Catholicism. The Celtic Christian religion is based on smaller groups of believers than the Roman Catholics, who interpret their own religion. This is partly because of the division of Celtic society: the importance of a family or clan was much larger than the importance of a country or a king. Another reason is that they dont care that much about exact rules but want to confess their faith in their own way. The fact that Celtic Christianity is different to Roman Catholicism in several ways, is largely due to the language barrier and the remoteness of the area. One of the most known differences with the Roman Catholicism is the determination of the date of Easter. There are several ways to do this, and those ways have changed and refined through the centuries. After the establishment of the Celtic Church, there was a time where there was relatively little contact with the rest of Europe and when that contact was renewed, it appeared that the Roman Catholic Church had adopted a different system. Several Celtic parishes practiced this system, while others maintained the old system. There is a striking difference in the conception of the original sin. The Catholic saint Augustine argued that the original sin was caused by Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit in Paradise, and that this sin was transmitted to their offspring and therefore all people. To get rid of the original sin, people had to live by the Bible and fulfil Gods will. The Celtic monk Pelagius, however, claimed that this original sin did not exist and that a good and sinless life would be enough to go to heaven. A final difference is the experience of God by the Celtic Christians. According to them, God is not separated from his creation and the major example of this is Jesus. Believers see the universe as a body, from which God is the head, and the cosmos the body. The cosmos can perform Gods will, just like the brain tells the fingers what to do. The head joins in the sorrow and the joy of the body. God is also seen as hermaphrodite: both male and female, while Roman Catholicism portrays God as male. That the Catholic doctrine does this, can be explained by the concept of the original sin. Eve, Adams wife, was the first who tasted of the apple and she was the one who encouraged him to eat of the fruit. As Adam didnt pluck the apple himself, but this was encouraged by Eve, she was more sinful than her husband. Partly because of this idea, the role of the woman in the church was kept small. She couldnt fulfil sacred tasks like priests and bishops did. The attitude of the Celtic Christianity was much milder towards women, such as that Irish women could be priests and there was no celibacy. Shortly after the ingestion of Ireland in 1172 the Irish Celtic church was placed under the Roman church and from then there were only men who performed the sacred tasks. The celibacy was introduced shortly after. Constantine I (the Great). Constantine the Great was the son of Constantius Chlorus and Helena, and was a Roman emperor from 306 until his death in 337 AD. He is best known for being the first Christian Roman emperor. He issued the Edict of Milan (313), which proclaimed religious toleration throughout the empire. As the heir when his father died, he soon took possession of Gaul, Spain and Britain. After some victories over Maxentius he also became the master of Italy. In 323 he killed his opponent Linius in battle, and became sole lord of the whole Roman World. A lot of books have been written about the subject. An example of one of those is Constantine, the Miracle of the Flaming Cross by Frank G. Slaughter. According to the stories, Constantine saw a cross in the sky the night before his battle with Maxentius. Accompanied with it were the lines By this thou shalt conquer. Along with the supports of his mother Helena, this should have inspired Constantine to be converted to the Christian belief. The miracle has been defended by several Roman-Catholic historians, but it cannot stand the test of critical examination. It is possible that Constantine has seen something in the skies Constantine was convinced Christianity was on the rise but his conversion was more a change of policy than of character. He retained the office and title of Pontifex Maximus until the very last, a title which nowadays is reserved for the pope as it is represents the highest position in the Church. Furthermore, he wasnt baptised until he felt he was about to die. T his of course so that if there were a Heaven, he would go there, but he didnt have to live a purely Christian life before that. Constantine kept Pagans in the highest positions in his surroundings, and forbade everything which might appear to be an attack of Christianity against Paganism. This is an example of the religious toleration in the Roman empire. Constantine III (usurper) and the end of the Roman reign in Britain. Flavius Claudius Constantinus (Constantine the third), is in Britain also known as Constantine II. He declared himself emperor of the Western Roman Empire in 407 AD and abdicated in 411. On the 31st of December 406 AD, Barbarian invaders attacked the Western Roman Empire near the Rhine. Along with the disunity of the Roman Empire and the tensions around Gaul, this was one of the factors that caused the Roman Western Empire to waver. At the same moment, the provinces in Britain were in revolt, which resulted in the rise of Constantine. Constantine crossed the English Channel, and assumingly took with him all of the British mobile troops. After several battles with Sarus, he secured the Rhine Frontier and positioned his troops on the passes that led from Gaul into Italy. Constantines movement to Gaul in 407 AD is often referred to as the Roman evacuation of Britain. The current Emperor Honorius in Ravenna (Italy) was having great difficulties maintaining his position. Mutinies from the Roman Army and the abandonment of the western army left Honorius with no significant military power. So when Constantine arrived in Ravenna to negotiate in 409 AD, Honorius eagerly accepted Constantine as his co-emperor. However, Constantines success didnt last long. Later that year, the Barbarian invaders that had attacked before near the Rhine, reached Constantines garrisons near Gaul, broke through them and reached the Pyrenees. Meanwhile, general Gerontius rebelled and arrived in Hispania. Constantine was so occupied by these invasions, that he could not defend Britain against the Saxon pirates since he didnt have any troops to spare. The Roman inhabitants of Britain, upset that Constantine could no longer defend them, rebelled and expelled his officers. This is the definite end of the Roman rule over Britain. Roman Britain split into separate kingdoms but the Romano-Celts continued to fight the Saxon raiders. Roman civilisation slowly broke down: Roman towns continued to be inhabited until the mid-5th century, but then most were abandoned. In the 5th century Roman civilisation in the countryside faded away. Julian the Apostate. Flavius Claudius Julianus, also known as Julian the Apostate, was the last ruler of the Constantinian Dynasty, as well as the last non-Christian Roman Emperor. His goal was to bring back the ancient Roman values in the Empire. Julian was the half-brother of Constantine I. He was a successful army leader, even though he had received no military education whatsoever. With the deaths of Constantine I, Constantine II and Constans, Constantius II was left the sole remaining emperor of the Roman Empire. InÂÂ   355 AD, Julian was made Caesar of the west, as Constantius II felt he needed a permanent representative in Gaul. However, Julian did not agree with the role Constantius had in mind for him. Constantius had thought of Julian more as a figurehead rather than an active ruler, but Julian took every opportunity to participate in the events in Gaul. Constantius attempted to keep some control over Julian, by removing one of Julians important advisors Salutius. This was the beginning of a series of struggles between Constantius and Julian. It almost resulted in a civil war, which was only avoided by the death of Constantius in 361. Constantius II recognized Julian as his rightful successor in his last will. Julians last Christian deed was the burial of Constantius in the Church of Apostles, next to Constantine I. JulianÂÂ ´s personal belief was both pagan and philosophical. Though he received a Christian upbringing, Julian preferred the ancient gods with their leader Zeus above the Christian monotheistic view. Once he became the sole emperor, Julian started a religious reformation. He approved the restoration of Hellenic paganism above Christianity as the state religion. His laws were targeted at the wealthy and educated Christians. He did not aim on destroying Christianity as a whole, but tried to drive it out of the classes that came into contact with governing the empire. He restored pagan temples, removed some of the privileges Christian bishops had received from Constantine and reversed many more favors. On the 4th of February 362 AD, Julian declared another edict. This edict was supposed to guarantee freedom of religion. All religions were equal before the law, and the Roman StateÂÂ   was not allowed to constrain a particular religion. This might not seem to be a direct attack against Christianity, but itÂÂ ´s purpose was to restore and increase the toleration of paganism. Since the past had learned that the persecution of Christians only led to a strengthening Christianity, most of JulianÂÂ ´s actions were intended to unable Christians to organize any resistance against the re-establishment of paganism. In the School Edict, Julian demanded that all public teachers were to be approved by the emperor. This would enable Julian to prevent that Christian teachers could use pagan texts for reading purposes rather than studying the religion. In the Tolerance edict (362) Julian ordered the reopening of some pagan temples, the redeeming of temple properties and so on. Remarkably, Julian also ordered a Jewish temple to be rebuild, probably as an attempt to foster any religion but Christianity. However, the rebuilding failed. This has been prescribed to the Galilee Earthquake of 363, but some Christians say it was divine intervention. Julian wanted to make sure that he could count on the support of the entire Roman Empire. To gain this support, he felt that he had to prove himself, and he thought the Persian Campaign was the perfect occasion to do this. However, things did not go as he pictured it, and he had to withdraw his forces. During the withdrawal, Julians forces were attacked several times by Sassanid forces. In one of these attacks on the 26th of June 363, Julian was wounded. He was treated by his personal physician, but on the third day he died as a result of his injuries. Some historians claimed Julian was killed by a Christian saint, while others reported that one of his own men, a Christian soldier, had thrown the spear that ultimately resulted in Julians death. It is said that JulianÂÂ ´s last words were Vicisti, Galilaee (You have won, Galilean), supposedly expressing his recognition that, with his death, Christianity would become the Empires state religion. Was Julian right with his prediction? We can say Julian was right. As from Jovian, Christianity remained the dominant religion in the empire. Jovian was Julians successor. He was one of Julians guard, and though his election was surprising, he had a great influence on the re-establishment of Christianity. Although his reign only lasted 8 months, he revoked all the edicts Julian had issued against Christianity. However, he did not stop there. By September 363, the situation in the empire had totally changed: One could receive the death penalty for worshipping the ancestral gods, and later for participating in either public or private pagan ceremonies. Jovians successor Valentinian is often considered to be the last great emperor. He was the last emperor to have total control over the empire, and according to historians there has been a visible period of improvement under his reign. Valentinian was only slightly more tolerant against other religions, allowing just a few types of rituals, but prohibiting the practicing of m agic. Importance of Roman Emperors and division within Christianity Though Britain was one of the farthest provinces of the Roman Empire, the Roman rule had a great influence on life in Britain. All the Edicts issued by the emperors were of course to be applied in Britain. Great Britain originally can be seen as a mainly pagan country, but in time this changed. Not only did this happen because of the Irish missionaries, but as well because of the attitude of the emperor. If the emperor was a strict Christian, there was a big chance that people converted themselves to Christianity. This was especially the case under the rule of Jovian and Valentinian, who were strong opponents of Paganism. Because Britain was so far away from the rest of the Roman Empire, Christianity had the possibility to develop itself differently here than in the rest of Europe. This resulted in the Celtic Christianity. This differed from the Roman Christianity in a few ways, such as the calculation of Eastern and the penitentials. There were more forms of Christianity that have b een practiced over time. It was not anything extraordinary if the two sons of an emperor had a different belief. This was the case with the sons of Constantine the Great (see figure 1) and in a intensified way with Julian who was a pagan, and his brothers who were Christians. This made it possible that though both emperors or groups of people were Christian, they fought each other and tried to convert other to their particular form of Christianity. Some examples of oppositions were Catholicism vs. The Orthodox Church, (Semi-)Arianism vs Nicene Creed and so on.

Journeys End Courseowkr Essay

Explain the ways in which R. C. Sherriff conveys a sense of the horror of war in Journey’s End with detailed reference to three extracts from the play. How could a film director enhance this sense of horror on the screen? Journeys End, the seventh most famous play written by R. C Sherriff in 1929, set in Saint-Quentin, France, in 1918, gives us brief glimpse into the experiences of the officers of a British Army infantry company in World War I by showing us 6 days in a dugout of the front line. It is about a 21 year old Captain Stanhope, and after having spent nearly three years in the trenches without any significant leave, has taken to drinking heavily to control his nerves and to ease the stress of trench warfare. The play brings us through many different themes and genre’s throughout, from death, to love and friendship, comadeship, to ‘class’, and the scarring effects of war, and to the horror’s of war. What interests me is that the play stays only on the single set of what is the dugouts. They are dark, underground rooms where the officers of a British company eat, sleep and talk about what is going on in the trenches just outside, yet you can still, yourself, experience what the war was like. You are not faced with your usual heroic commander who saves the day in the end, instead there is Stanhope, a heavy drinker, affected by three years of war. And the play doesn’t have courageous battle scenes and huge explosions, or a valiant death bed scene. Instead, the horror’s of war are portrayed through the waiting and the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen next, the characters trying to find security and comfort in anyway possible, the way they would do anything to get out of there. Fear and cowardice is shown a lot in this play, which is very different from your usual courageous soldiers, ready for battle. The authenticity of the play is what makes it original. It actually shows what really went on in the trenches. A particular, during act two, the audience experience a one of the soliders, Hibbert, trying to get out of the war but pretending that he had neuralgia. Hibbert is becoming effected from the war, and is generally scared of having to go up and fight. By now in the play, the men are expecting an attack in about two days, and as it draws closer, Hibbert is becoming more nervous and terrified. At first, he tries hinting the fact that he is supposedly â€Å"ill† towards the commander, Stanhope, but in the end, he almost impatiently declares that he has to â€Å"go down† the line to a hospital, when he says â€Å"It’s no good. I’ve tried damned hard, but I must go down. † Stanhope, a commander three years, has already seen this sort of behaviour and many men trying to get out of going to battle, and obviously see’s past this or does not think that neuralgia is an excuse to go to hospital. The scene goes on to the point where Stanhope and Hibbert get into a struggling fight, where Hibbert asks Stanhope to shoot him. This shows the horror’s of war because the character Hibbert is desperate to get out and go home because he knows that the attack is near. It’s not the actual war and the actual battle that is particularly horrifying, but having to wait for it, knowing that it’s going to happen, and being not completely one hundred percent sure that you’re going to come out alive is what is haunting Hibbert. The director could develop the horror of this scene on the screen by making the sounds of the distant guns and explosions a bit more taunting, almost as if Hibbert is getting more and more scared as the attack comes closer. Hibbert should also be shorter than Stanhope because Stanhope is more of an intimidating figure who is in charge, whilst Hibbert is a cowering soldier trying to get home. The actor playing Hibbert shout also be stuttering, not sure what to say or do because Stanhope is telling him that â€Å"No man’s sent down unless he’s very ill. There’s nothing wrong with you. † Hibbert is inconsolable and should be acting like he’s trying to make up more excuses why he should be sent home, almost pleadingly, as he says lines like â€Å"Stanhope – if only you knew how awful I feel – Please do let me go by -. † Hibbert gets very distressed and says things like â€Å"What the hell-! † and Stanhope and him get into a fight. Stanhope should be stronger and more skilled than Hibbert as he is trying to get away and disobey him, so the thrusting and the struggles from Hibbert should be pathetic and weak, quivering, and Stanhope should be firm and almost unfazed. The whole point of this scene is having to face reality and not really believing what you waited for, for so long, and feared was going to finally happen. The lighting should be dark and there should be shadows on Hibbert’s face, showing how distraught he is and possibly the lack of sleep. There should be a lot of close up shots as well to see character reactions, and some long shots to show the character’s difference and maybe, their similarity, how they are both afraid but are reacting but are handling it in different ways. A lot in the play, we see a lot of how the men cope with the dread of being in the war, and the upcoming attacks. The constant talk of food whenever the topic of attacks and the war comes into the conversation, Stanhope’s drinking problems, and pretending they have illnesses so they could have a shot at trying to go home. Osborne is seen as an â€Å"uncle† figure between the officers for his avuncular manner, and at one point in the play, Osborne is reading an extract from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Raleigh questions him on why he is reading a children’s book which doesn’t make sense, but it seems that Osborne is comforting himself by going back to times where he was safe and secure in his childhood memories. Before Osborne reads the extract from Alice In Wonderland, Raleigh and him were talking about the raid, possibly lots of dramatic pauses, trying to avoid eye contact, when Osborne quickly changes the subject and reads more of Alice In Wonderland, leading them into a completely different conversation about Raleigh’s home town. This scene should be acted as if Osborne is showing his first vulnerability in the play, taking comfort in his childhood memories, when he was away from the war, and in a safe and secure environment. When Raleigh comes over, he tries to adopt his fatherly figure. Raleigh is still very new to all this, so he is very naive and almost acts as if he is looking forward to this raid. The actors should say the lines from Alice In Wonderland as if they were haunting and not comforting at all. Osborne and Raleigh should be quite awkward and trying to avoid eye contact, sadly contemplating what they miss. Another horror of war portrayed in this play is the lack of certain possessions and things that the men cannot have whilst in the dug out. It being good food, comfort, sleep and even women. Throughout the play, the men are constantly referring back to food or their lives back home, and at one point, looking at pictures of naked women together. In the war, the men are deprived from these things. The deaths of two of the most important characters in the play Osborne, the paternal figure, and Raleigh, the figure of innocence and naivety are extremely important, as are their effects on Stanhope and are another horror of war. When Raleigh is dying from a shell hitting his back, he is paralysed, and is with Stanhope in his dying moments. Stanhope, who, from his drinking and paranoia, had always been very distant and cold towards Raleigh because he thought that he could write home to his sister about how much of a wreck he was, was now showing a new and comforting side of himself, calling Raleigh â€Å"Jimmy† and â€Å"old boy. † Even now, Raleigh is naive, thinking that there is something on his legs as he cannot move them, saying that he is â€Å"feeling rotten, lying down here when everyone else is up there. † By now, Stanhope would be desperately trying to comfort Raleigh, hoping that he would get lucky and possibly survive his injury, but through this scene you can tell that Raleigh’s voice is getting even more distant and softer as he is slowly getting weaker. The lighting should be soft and with some shadows to represent Raleigh’s fading life and the sound of the raid should still be going on. When Raleigh dies, Stanhope is left alone to face the rest of the war on his own, another revulsion of war. This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level War Poetry section.

What You Must Know About Descriptive Essay Ideas

What You Must Know About Descriptive Essay Ideas The Most Popular Descriptive Essay Ideas Generally the toughest characteristic of developing a descriptive essay is picking the topic. When you're working on your essay, you should select your topic carefully. A superb essay topic is something that you are personally knowledgeable about. Descriptive essay topics are crucial in creating a superb article that warrants readers' interest. The trick to writing an excellent effectiveA essay is to get the passion to write it. Professional writers can allow you to begin. So, writing of a lovedescriptive essay may be struggle especially if you haven't ever experienced such a feeling. Mastering the the inner workings of descriptive writing will allow you to paint an image with words. In any event, try to consider about your topic in a new method to permit your reader to see it in a new way. Despite it's not challenging to work on such papers, it can take lots of time. Perhaps the most crucial thing you must not forget is that you're required to compose an essay instead of simply to describe something. If you're tasked with writing a descriptive essay there are lots of things you can write about. Make certain your essay follows a particular format, consisting of the appropriate partsA of essay. If you don't know anything about descriptive essays you should certainly search for descriptive essay examples, which you are able to discover online, together with at Professays.com. It is simple to learn to compose a descriptive essay even if you're an amateur in the exact same. Descriptive essays might be difficult if you don't have any clue what to write about. Don't panic if you are not able to get your descriptive essay right. A descriptive essay is an essay that's bound to offer some type of detailed info on a particular subject. It may be considered one of the simplest although deeply involving essays. An excellent descriptive essay comes out of a knowledgeable and imaginative mind. As start to generate a descriptive essay, you must discover precisely what you want to explain. The outline of a descriptive essay is comparable to other kinds of essays. In addition to that you require a great topic for your essay. You obtain a preview of your essay and ask to create corrections if necessary. You've got to write very excellent texts so that readers have the feeling they already know the individual you're writing about or the occasion you have participated in. A descriptive essay is diffident from other sorts of academic writing for the reason that it requires students to express the sensation or emotion in a very clear manner so the reader can experience it as well. Although the writer is simply describing the subject, there ought to still be logic to follow. In the procedure for developing this kind of essay it's essential to add as many details as possible, to try to express the slightest shades of feelings and emotions such being the case readers are goin g to have opportunity to feel the exact same and see the situation through the opinion of the writer. Often times there are a couple measures which can be understood as a way to create essays and essay topics that will land the greater grade. Do a research to learn more about which transitions are ideal for descriptive essays. A lengthy essay on applied chemistry is dependent upon the chemical content. Essay writing comes in various forms. An assigned essay is far better be requested to look at the pressures and see yourself. So you may have a well created analysis paper about the principal topic of depressive disorders, the author will probably be found it necessary to have enough familiarity with despression symptoms. The Importance of Descriptive Essay Ideas Like every assignment, a descriptive essay has a particular function. Don't describe abstract notions, because it isn't a great idea for this kind of essay because your thesis will be difficult to develop. The structure of this kind of essay is comparable to numerous others it should incorporate an introduction, a major part and a conclusion. Descriptive essay topics could possibly be shown by utilizing any the item assortment of numerous techniques along with types.

Alcohol Dependency Among Native Americans - 1658 Words

Like junk food, the health and social problems associated with alcohol dependency among Native communities can also be traced back to the actions of European immigrants. Western movies pushed the unflattering stereotype of the â€Å"drunken Indian† onto a mainstream audience throughout the twentieth-century, yet Hollywood was less forthcoming in documenting the fact that before colonisation, alcohol was non-existent within all but a small minority of Native groups located in the American Southwest, where its consumption was reserved for purely ceremonial purposes (Abbott, 1996: 3-5). It was not until white settlers learned that the drunkenness of Indigenous people could be beneficial for trade and treaty agreements that cheap high-concentration†¦show more content†¦As funds appropriated to Native nations by the U.S. federal government are continually inadequate, this practice of medicalisation, which constitutes a cheaper and simpler short-term measure, indeed often t akes precedence, maintaining an endless burden for tribal healthcare that â€Å"cannot afford a single dollar lost† according to experts (Duran Duran, 1995: 112; National Indian Health Board, 2013: iii). If it is possible to recognise any positives from this situation, it is that the revitalisation movements made necessary by the systematic disenfranchisement of Indigenous people have highlighted the resilience of groups once dismissed as weak and inferior by colonisers. Though these projects purposefully challenge the idea that Native American identities are defined in relation to the actions of White America, any examination of these efforts that does not acknowledge the conditions that made them a necessity would be insufficient. For instance, had assimilation programmes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries not forced young Native Americans to abandon their cultural practices, the need to reassert traditional languages and customs in the present day through such events as the Miss Navajo Nation pageant would be mitigated. Certainly, the existence of the latter in no way justifies the former, butShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Substance Abuse On The United States1807 Words    |  8 Pages The Effects of Substance Abuse Alexis Holcomb Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis â€Æ' The cost of alcohol and substance abuse in the United States reaches heights of four hundred eighty four billion dollars per year (â€Å"Drug Abuse is Costly, n.d.†). That’s about seven hundred eighty times the amount it cost to diagnose and treat sexually transmitted diseases in the year 2000 (Chesson, 2000). The social issue I will be analyzing in this writing is substance abuse. MuchRead MoreEssay on Alcohol Abuse and Native Americans1754 Words   |  8 Pagesextensive usage of a particular substance is the Native American community. According to the Associated Press (2014, August 28), as noted on the MSNBC website, out of ten deaths among the Native American population, one is Alcohol related. 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New research into the way alcohol is metabolized by the body and itsRead MoreThe Death Of The Native American Population1470 Words   |  6 PagesSuicide in the Native American Population of the Northeastern United States While the Native American population encounters many health disparities; of growing concern, is the rates of suicide among these communities. The U.S. National Library of Medicine defines health disparities as â€Å"the variation in rates of disease occurrence and disabilities between socioeconomic and /or geographically defined population groups†. When looking at the Native American population of the northeastern United StatesRead MoreA Brief Study on Alcoholism2875 Words   |  12 Pagesreferring to all problems related to alcohol. In general terms, it implies uncontrolled and compulsive intake of alcoholic drinks that detriment the health, social standing, and personal relationships of the drinker. Medics have considered alcoholism as a disease categorizing it as an addictive illness; in psychiatry, it is referred to as alcohol dependence and alcohol abuse. The World Health Organization has defined alcoholism as a syndrome of dependence on alcohol (Vaillant, 2009). Causes of alcoholism