Pan-indianism: Cultural Persistence Or A Step Toward Acculturation?

Pan-Indianism which arises as a result of common reservation experience of Native Americans and the myth of “non-melting pot” in the US society never ceases to attract the attention in the academic field both home and abroad. Meanwhile, the acculturation of Native Americans has always been a controversial issue in that the process is much slower compared with other minority groups in the US. This thesis seeks to explore the acculturation of Native Americans and the rise of pan-Indianism within the context of American culture and try to answer the question: Does panIndianism represent a step toward full acculturation or cultural persistence of native Americans.This thesis first reviews the history of pan-Indianism, a social movement which originated in late 1800 s and has since cast huge influences on the lives of Native Americans. Second, the thesis also presents an in-depth analysis of pan-Indianism and further compares it with the acknowledged acculturation paradigm of minority groups and the acculturation of African Americans in the US, by doing of which, this thesis seeks to argue that pan-Indianism is different from the acculturation phenomenon displayed by a minority group in its process toward full acculturation. This thesis then lists a series of evidences encompassing pan-Indian organizations, important panIndian ceremonies to prove that pan-Indianism is a way for Native Americans to persist with their common cultural identity.In the end, a conclusion has been reached based on the above-all analyses that pan-Indianism actually represents cultural persistence of native people amid the assimilation pressures imposed by white people or in other words a compromise to complete acculturation.