Vine Deloria, one of the most famous Native American rights activists, dwells on the idea of American Indian Activism to demonstrate the striking difference between the value system of the Native American tribes and the predominant Western culture driving American society today. Thus, when describing Indian Activism, Deloria emphasizes the concept of restoring sacred lands as one of the central ideas of the activist movement, as the American Indian culture has always revolved around the idea of unity with land and one’s ancestors.
On the other hand, the ideas promoted by the Western culture and Christianity, in particular, claim no connection to the land, emphasizing the spiritual union with God. As a result, Indian Activism and conventional traditions of the West struggle to reach a consensus in terms of preserving cultural and historical heritage. Essentially, Deloria addresses the gap that currently exists in the values pursued by the American Indian culture and the material assets of the West. Thus, while the historical evidence suggests that the American land populated by the Indian tribes was somewhat a definition of the Garden of Eden, the Christian paradigm of society overwhelms Americans with alienation from nature and the materialization of human assets. As a result, there is no way for the modern Western concept to fully grasp the idealism behind Native American values.
I agree with the ideas presented by Vine Deloria that American Indian activism is a concept that will always be somehow alienated from the conventional matrix of values promoted by the Western world. For the most part, such alienation takes place because of the policies adopted before the Civil War, as they promoted assimilation and conformation to Western idealistic values. As a result, for the consensus to be reached, modern anthropologists need to dedicate as much time and resources as required to educate society on the Native American cultural paradigm from its roots that go back to the discovery of the American lands. As a result, the insights presented to society can help reconsider the patterns of values inherent to the US land and Native American tribes.