Читать книгу Multicultural Psychology - Jennifer T. Pedrotti - Страница 64

There are many examples throughout history of the impact of different worldviews on entire groups of people. Perhaps one of the greatest examples is provided by the experiences between White settlers and American Indians and other Indigenous peoples in the beginnings of immigration from Europe to the Americas. In the National Museum of the American Indian in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, there is a full collection (see Spotlight Feature 3.2) that depicts different transcripts, letters, and ideas recording the worldviews of Andrew Jackson and other White officers and those of the leaders of a variety of Native American tribes. Woven throughout these records are fundamental differences in worldview in many different areas, including land and ownership, religious ideals, and social interactions. One of the starkest surrounds a depiction of the different beliefs about oral versus written agreements. Whereas in the European worldview at the time, a written agreement stood as law, there was less value in an oral agreement made without writing. The exact opposite worldview was held by the American Indian groups—oral agreements were binding and important, while writing something down had less value. Just this one difference alone led to many circumstances that ended in violence and distrust between these nations.