I am curious to know the status of native American culture in mainstream America. Are any words from their languages used in mainstream English? Are any of their foods a part of American popular culture? Their music? Their festivals? Their art? Any peculiarities of their culture adopted by the Americans? I am wondering to what extent the assimilation is from their side and how much of their culture is accepted and celebrated by others. In what way.
Lots of words. Canoe being the only one I can think of offhand... there are others though. As to the rest, they're mostly marginalized and invisible. They're becoming more visible since the advent of casino gambling though.
Well an awful lot of place names come from Native American languages. Also canoe, cocoa, tobacco, tomato, tamale, taco, mocassin, kayak, pecan, hurricane, potato, bayou, poncho, and a lot of animal names. In the Southwest fry bread is pretty popular. Cornbread is originally Native American as is smoked salmon. A lot of what is considered Mexican food (things like tamales and tacos) were originally created by Native Americans. Oddly enough the Germans are more into Native American music than the Americans. One of my favorite albums is Jim Pepper's Pepper's Pow Wow, I guess that counts. You're talking about 100's of different tribes, each with their own festivals. Some may be of regional interest but that's all. Traditional arts and crafts are valuable (at least they always get high prices on Antiques Road Show)--beadwork, leatherwork, jewelry, blanket weaving, carving, etc. There are 562 federally recognized American Indian tribes and a bunch more that aren't recognized. While there is some cultural overlap, it is a mistake to assume there is such as thing as a monolithic Native American culture. Elements of those many cultures have found there way into mainstream American culture, especially now that the actual American Indian nations have been decimated and controlled. It's safe now to have nostalgia for their culures. During the conquest of this nation, however, they were often looked on as barbarians and their cultures were ignored or actively destroyed. Somewhat before that (when no one was thinking about manifest destiny) they had a larger influence. For example, the Iroquois constitution was an influential document on the development of the US constitution.
Quite a few. Several of our states (including my home state), and many of our cities are Native American words. Here are several examples: http://www.aaanativearts.com/article524.html
Lots of place names, lots of things peculiar to North America too. I teach my kid about the Great Manitou as well as other religions.
Also native American dance in the fall and spring. For comparison: there's no Guy Fawkes Day here either. Many of the European festivals have also faded. Trying to have a Native American holiday specifically is hard: there were hundreds of nations and tens of tribes. My wife is part Cree, and they didn't have any holidays she knows about. Actually they were nomads, so it's kind of hard to have any specific days I imagine.
Can you elaborate? What kind of influence? Because the European settlers already knew what barbecueing was before they ever got to the Americas.
First linquistically, since the most accepted word for the origins of barbeque is a Taino Indian word barbacoa. Also, while the idea of heating meat over a pit of charcoal was not new to Europeans, the communal celebration involving such a practice was something that the European settlers apparently got from the Indians. There may have also been some influence as far as the dry rub used to season the meat. That's at least according to a Food Channel show I saw on barbeque.
Are there any places in the US where the Native Americans celebrate their customs? Any significant festivals?
Toas NM and Black Hills of SD that I know of first hand. Lots of Pow Wows in SD. I know it means something to them, but looking at it from the outside it looks like a big excuse to get drunk.
New Mexico too; also the Pacific. A lot of it takes place out of the limelight. But for the most part they seem as crushed by the modern economic society as anyone else.
I'd have to say Navaho. They seem to have been able to keep it together the best. I think they had the first casinos. I grew up around the Sioux and it was dreadful.