November is Native American Heritage Month and in this article I’ll be talking about how Native American culture still impacts us today. Unfortunately, when Europoeans colonized what is now known as the United States, Native Americans were forced to assimilate to the westernized culture to fit into the new world. What most people don’t realize, however, is that the Eurpoeans also adopted aspects of Native American cultures that have impacted our lives forever. Their influences brought changes in language and names. The settlers used words to name places and objects which is why many cities, towns, and rivers have Native American names. The Native Americans also influenced our medicine, government, and literature. Farming was also impacted as the Northern Native Americans taught settlers a lot about crops and farming techniques such as crop rotation and irrigation methods. Nonetheless, it’s sad to say that most of the culture has been lost.
All in all, history is something to think about, especially now that we’re in the month of November. As Thanksgiving rolls around we should all take this opportunity to think about those who came before us.