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  • Essay / The impact of technology on indigenous peoples

    The Inuit (better known as Eskimos) are the indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic. Spread across the northern regions of Canada, Denmark and the US state of Alaska, the Inuit have their own language, culture, customs and way of life. The !kung, on the other hand, are the indigenous people of the Kalahari Desert in central Africa. They led a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, using rudimentary tools to gather food and living in small communities of up to three dozen individuals. They were constantly moving from place to place in search of water, food and shelter. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essay Rampant technology, industrialization and globalization still threaten local cultures and the Inuit and !kung have not nor have they been spared in this regard. As both cultures failed to keep pace with the times, they quickly found themselves overtaken and overwhelmed by foreigners. In both cases, the government of the day slowly and gradually appropriated these people's lands through various coercive and non-coercive means. In the case of the Kung people, the federal governments of their countries prevented their frequent migration and instead encouraged them to live in permanent housing. Many !kung, tempted by the creation of wealth in the current economic system, have chosen to live in these colonies and abandon the ancient traditions of their ancestors. As a result, the centuries-old way of life of the !kung people is slowly and gradually disappearing. Additionally, the advent of a labor-based economy has led to a shift in the traditional roles of men and women in the !kung tribe. While men work outside the home, women now have to take care of the home. Previously, men and women of the !kung tribe worked together side by side to collect food and build shelters. Since women are now confined to their homes, problems of domestic violence have also increased. To make matters worse, significant amounts of land belonging to !kunga tribes have been reclaimed by local governments for official purposes or converted into nature reserves. This has been extremely devastating to !kunga culture. Therefore, the costs of !kunga acculturation far outweigh the benefits which are limited to increased wealth, reduced hunger, and better health care. In the case of the Inuit, they were gradually integrated into the fold of the Canadian government through administrative measures. The Inuit were forced to abandon their previous way of life and were encouraged to live in large communities. When encouragement didn't work, jobs and prospects of wealth were used to entice them. Additionally, law enforcement was also used to force Inuit to live in these communities. A significant proportion of the Inuit population have also converted to Christianity, dealing a further blow to their centuries-old culture. Inuit children were forced to attend public schools and soon a generation of young Inuit men and women were raised, completely unaware of the traditions of their ancestors (Jones, 2016). Like the !kunga, the Inuit have also achieved economic prosperity and better health care at the expense of their culture and traditions. While the Kunga remain mired in their problems, the Inuit have begun to fight back using the very tools that were used to take away their.