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Group 1, Question B Stone Mother describes the tale of a mother of four children who, in an attempt to disassemble her children’s fighting, separates them. She instructs the siblings to light a fire, one from the north and one from the south. The siblings directed to go to the south ultimately never lit a fire causing the Stone Mother to cry enough tears to form a lake out of worry for her children. The origin story of Stone Mother describes all the criteria mentioned in “Native American Traditions.” For example, Stone Mother ties in ecological aspects with moral characteristics (Stone Mother’s tears that form the lake) and emphasizes the importance of both sibling harmony and mother-child bond (Stone Mother separating her children because …show more content…
For starters, both stories centralize on animals and these animals are somehow related to the creation or “beginning” of something. In “Coyote and Pine Nut,” the story explains the existence of juniper trees in Northern California and pine trees in Nevada (Origin Stories 3: Coyote and Pine Nut). Likewise, “The Big Fish,” story provides an explanation to the abundance of fish in June Lake, Gull Lake, Silver Lake, and Grant Lake (Origin Stories 4: The Big Fish). Both animals are given a huge role to play in the ecological aspect of the land. Conversely, the moods of both stories are starkly different. Whereas the tale of Coyote and Pine Nut is told in a light-hearted and joking manner, the tale of the Big Fish takes on a more serious tone as the narrator explains how the Big Fish stands for unity and familial bond amongst the Northern Paiutes. Perhaps this stems from the fact that the coyote in Native American traditions is a figure associated with tricks and jokes rather than …show more content…
This is further emphasized when he explains that the Native Taino people “were very firmly convinced that [he], with [his] ships and men, came from the heavens” and that “[t]his belief [was] not the result of ignorance, for [the Native Taino people], on the contrary, [are] of a very acute intelligence…” (Columbus). In comparison to Columbus’ manner of speaking, the native Americans accentuate respect and reach out for equality rather than superiority. While Columbus only believed in appealing to his own people, the native Americans in the Alcatraz Proclamation attempt to appease every single party involved. This is shown when they state that “[they would] give the inhabitants… a portion of [the] land…” (Alcatraz Proclamation), pay money that is of greater value in comparison to other purchases of islands, and even “guide the inhabitants in the proper way of living” (Alcatraz Proclamation). The stark difference in how each convey the other comes from the notion of superiority and inferiority. Columbus believed he was of greater status than the Native Taino people, therefore his behavior towards them and his manner of speaking about them was inherently crude and unfiltered since he had no reason to believe that he had to tread on his
Columbus and de las Casas were both explorers of the new world. They both encountered Native Americans and their treatment of them was both similar and different. Columbus viewed the Native American as subhumans. He did not have much respect for the people of the land and treated them as such. In his letter to Luis de Santangel, Columbus says how he took possession of the native’s highnesses by proclamation. He also discloses how no one fought back which then made native Americans seem weak. He also states how he already took Indians aboard with him.At one instance Columbus had a dispute with Spainards and decided to give up Indians as a peace offering. Which he states in the letter to that tey were not his to give
The Way to Rainy Mountain was written in 1969 by Pulitzer Prize winning author N. Scott Momaday. The novel is about Scott Momaday's Kiowa ancestors and their journey from the Montana area to Fort Sill near Rainy Mountain, Oklahoma, where their surrender to the United States Cavalry took place. In The Way to Rainy Mountain, Momaday traces his ancestral roots back to the beginning of the Kiowa tribe while not only learning more about the Kiowa people but rediscovering himself and finding out what his true identity is. The death of his grandmother prompts Momaday to dig deeper into the background of his family. To better help him become closer with his ancestral roots, Momaday returns to Rainy Mountain to visit his recently deceased grandmother’s grave where the spirit of the Kiowa tribe was thought to be very strong. Scott Momaday’s grandmother was believed to be the last of the Kiowa’s; with her death came the death of the Kiowa culture. Momaday wouldn’t let such a spiritual people who meant so much to him be forgotten so he created The Way to Rainy Mountain with this motivation. As Momaday works through each of the Kiowa’s mythical stories, he begins to learn a lot about his ancestors and, in turn, about himself. After reading the novel, it is evident to the reader that from beginning to end, Momaday has grown tremendously and has an increased sense of knowledge and appreciation for his Kiowa ancestors and their spiritual way of life. While Scott Momaday’s was creating his world renowned novel, The Way to Rainy Mountain, his relationship with past events greatly contributed to the overall meaning of the book in three major ways. During the novel, Momaday uses his recollections of the past to help understand Kiowa myths a...
Significantly, Welch deconstructs the myth that Plains Indian women were just slaves and beasts of burden and presents them as fully rounded women, women who were crucial to the survival of the tribal community. In fact, it is the women who perform the day-to-day duties and rituals that enable cultural survival for the tribes of...
Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within himself.
We are living in the world where rules and laws have a significant role in controlling human behavior in the society. There are rules everywhere. Traffic laws help to protect drivers and pedestrians from accidents; syllabus helps to give students a set of rules that teacher expects from them. Nevertheless, a minority amount of people wish not to follow these rules because of its oppression and pressure on the desire to achieve their dream. “Into the Wild,” a book was written by Jon Krakauer, and “Grizzly Man,” a movie which was directed by Werner Herzog, are two non-fiction stories about the journey of men who walked away from constraints for an adventurous, unexpected way of living. Both of them were not pleased with how the
The article, “Native Reactions to the invasion of America”, is written by a well-known historian, James Axtell to inform the readers about the tragedy that took place in the Native American history. All through the article, Axtell summarizes the life of the Native Americans after Columbus acquainted America to the world. Axtell launches his essay by pointing out how Christopher Columbus’s image changed in the eyes of the public over the past century. In 1892, Columbus’s work and admirations overshadowed the tears and sorrows of the Native Americans. However, in 1992, Columbus’s undeserved limelight shifted to the Native Americans when the society rediscovered the history’s unheard voices and became much more evident about the horrific tragedy of the Natives Indians.
The desire to learn about family and its history can lead a man to great monuments of nature. Scott Momaday is Kiowa in the blood, but doesn’t know the impact of his ancestry, what they had to endure, and how they adapted to the obstacles thrown at them. Scott Momaday decides to travel 1,500 miles to “see in reality” what his family went through. He writes this story with a mixture of folklore, myth, history and personal reflections. Scott Momaday uses nature as a main component of his story, incorporating different voices and his memory to bring personal vision into the story with different time frames to give the ultimate experience of the Kiowa and his family.
These stories were all myths about the tribes. All three of the stories include that they all take places in nature. The first story took place in the Desert, this would be the story of “The Coyote”. The next place would be in a cave located in the Great Plains, this form of nature was in the story “The Buffalo and the Corn”. The last form of nature would be located in the Appalachian Mountains, this place occurred in the story “The First False Face.” These different locations show the different landforms and geography of the United States. The last similarity would be they all have magical powers. In the story “The Coyote” the people use magic, through personification to make animals talk, and animals in real life don’t talk, so that is a form of magic. In the story “The Buffalo and the Corn”
N. Scott Momaday, shares the cultural background of the Kiowa tribe in “The Way to Rainy Mountain”. He is a long descendent that has no experience with the tribe during their traditional era but from the stories he has heard from his grandmother, he feels more connected to the Kiowa culture. He spreads light about who the Kiowas were and described who his grandmother was as well. With the experiences he shared with his grandmother, likely influenced the person he is today. In the end he is happy and proud of who his grandmother was and will remain even after death.
The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper displays a great clash of culture. Not only do we see the difference between French and English soldiers fighting in the new world, but also present is the age old struggle between Native Americans and the white man. Culture for both parties varies drastically and has given rise to many conflicts over the course of time. Although in this novel we see a parallel with the father-son pair of Chingachgook and Uncas and the father-daughter situation of Munro and his daughters, their different circumstances give rise to different relationships. While the former is a deep connection that has been nurtured and strengthened by constant teamwork, the latter is more of a conventional bond
This question will further the defense’s argument because the answer will establish the idea that Columbus had a good impression of the Natives. Columbus’s journal talks about how he liked the natives and thought they were intelligent (Nardi). He also thought they would be natural Christians as they had no false faith and he believed they did not have any other Gods (Pelowski). He told his men not to “marud, [or] rape but treat [them] with respect.” This shows that he didn’t want to harm or harass them, he wanted to get along.
Christopher Columbus was on track to create history and did so in revealing the “New World.” As he went through his voyage he approached an island occupied by an uncivilized group of people. Columbus writes to Spain describing the people ultimately as savages. They do not dress, they do not know how to utilize weapons, and they would leave their children. (5) As he went about his voyage he claimed all these islands occupied by people as Spain’s land, Columbus added, “I found very many islands filled with people without number, and of them all have I taken possession for their Highn...
Columbus described the people as being timid and unfitted to use weapons. He wrote, “They have no iron or steel or weapons, nor are they fitted to use them. This is not because they are not very well built and of handsome stature, but because they are very marvellously timorous.” Columbus described them as though they will not provide any resistance because they do not have the skill to use weapons, and that they very timid people. However, as shown in the first quote, Columbus wrote that they did not put up any opposition; he later wrote in the letter that he took some of the natives by force. If the natives did not put up any opposition to Columbus, why would he need to take them by force? Columbus also notes that they had been very serviceable, and would very much be open to evangelization. An important note, Columbus wrote more and provided more detail about the vast islands he had “discovered” compared to the indigenous people, of which he wrote, “ In all these islands, I saw no great diversity in the appearance of the people or in their manners and language.” In the end, Columbus’s description of the Indigenous people was that are serviceable people would make adequate slaves. Columbus’s letter paints a good picture into his imperialistic mind, as opposed to providing information about the
When Columbus landed on the new land he put a flag in the ground claiming it for Spain. Then he met the Native Americans and was very friendly to them. “I want the natives to develop a friendly attitude toward us because I know that they are a people who can be made free and converted to our Holy Faith more by love thwn by force,” Columbus wrote in his journal.
The writing by Christopher Columbus (Journal of the First Voyage,) depicts his crews initial encounter with the “New World.” To address the question presented in this weeks discussion, I do not believe that Columbus or his crew had genocidal intent towards the Native Americans. An exert from Columbus’s journal on Sunday, October 14 adds validity to my argument. In his writing he states “An old man came on board my boat; the others, both men and women cried with loud voices--"Come and see the men who have come from heavens. Bring them victuals and drink.” (Columbus, pg. 2) The tone of this quote echoes comradely more so than genocide. Not only does it give the idea of celebration for a new found relationship, but it also written on the