Cultural Features: Culture and Latinos
- What are the dominant cultural features found within Native American homes, and how do Native Americans shape their response to the broader American society?
Native Americans have unique cultural features dominant within their homes. According to (Tharp, 2006), Native Americans have a wide variety and diversity of customs, beliefs, lifestyles, and art forms. Native American homes form villages that are dominated by clans. Native Americans are grouped into distinct ethno-linguistic and territorial phyla; and this explains their language (Tharp, 2006). The cultural feature of Native Americans lies in their spiritual practices which are clearly defined by their ways of holding ceremonies in bands, tribes, and clans.
Today, Native Americans amount to approximately 1.5 percent of the entire U.S. population. The Aleut and Inuit share a great deal in common for many lived in dome-shaped homes made of timber, sod, or blocks. Native Americans have shaped their response to the larger American society cultural cues through politics, governance policies, tribe interactions, quest for democracy, and Americanization (Tharp, 2006). Last, Native Americans have recognized that cultural integration and pluralism is a major source of national strength; and this has built a “Great Society” in the broader America.
- How is substance use viewed in the Hispanic/Latino culture?
The cultural values of the Hispanic people have shaped their attitudes towards substance abuse. In the Hispanic culture, the most evident cultural values are fatalism and familyism and machismo. The indigenous Hispanic culture was against substance use and the abuse of alcohol and drugs was a taboo especially for women and children (Melba, 2009). Currently, drug and substance use has increased among the Hispanic immigrants whose traditional rich culture is being faded and replaced by the culture of White Americans.
In a nutshell, the recent Latino immigrants are more focused on their families and have less tolerant perceptions, views, ideas, and respect of their indigenous drug and alcohol abuse values. The percentage showing the general patterns through which the Hispanics abuse drug and alcohol is very similar to the White Americans percentage pattern and this is due to the increased assimilation and acculturation in the American society (Melba, 2009). Last, the Latino alcohol abuse or drinking behavior is wanting, and has been greatly affected by the White American culture.
References
- Melba, V. T. (2009, August 18). Latino/a Culture and Substance Abuse. Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse, 8(3), 301-313.
- Tharp, R. G. (2006). Four hundred years of evidence: Culture, pedagogy, and Native America. Journal of American Indian Education, 45(2), 6-25.