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What do these poems written by modern Native people say about the concept of cultural survival? What has been lost for the speakers of these poems and the people they describe? What has been saved? How? America is a country of pickers and choosers, picking what will be assimilated into American culture and the forcing people to adapt everything else about them in order to survive. Both poems express how much of their native cultures they had to give up in order to survive, and how they protected what was left. “The Reservation” by Susan Clouds demonstrates the ways in which the speaker protected her sense of identity as a Native person, but also how it was complicated. Even though at the time everyone around her attempted to assimilate entire, through speech, but also the way they sat and their appearance. “Torturing their …show more content…
hair”, “sit with your knees together”.
Even though her mom would not share stories as often, the speaker felt as if her native culture was a secret. She would play as a child and pretend she was “the Savage”. She could not freely express or talk about who she felt she was. What is lost a sense of togetherness even the fact she called herself “the” savage exemplifies that she believed she was the only one, and that no one else related to her. She was alone even within her own family who shared the same culture because all of the adults were afraid. Afraid of the discrimination they faced and-and trying to protect their child from it. Whereas Clements spoke about cultural survival in a more familial setting, the speaker in “Real Indian” by Chrystos expressed her cultural survival and the loss of it through the lens of mainstream America. The speaker who is standing in front of a tobacco shop compares herself to the Indian dolls
in the window of the store. She first says that “the doll would look better at a Powwow than her” to exemplify how mainstream America perceives Native people and their culture and traditions. America stereotyped Native people and believed that they wear the type of clothing that is put on these dolls every day, however, the real Indian standing in front is wearing a t-shirt and jeans. The fact that she is wearing jeans is due to the fact that in order to survive she had to wear “American” clothing in order to not be discriminated against. Survive is quite literal in this context because the reality is that there are “more fake Indians than real ones.” If Native people did not adapt they would be literally extinct, but at the cost of respect for their culture. There is no respect for the culture or their clothing and it is made very obvious by the “blonde blow up fuck me doll” right next to the Native dolls. Not only does that make the Indian dolls seem sexualized, the actual clothing on the dolls is disrespectful to the culture. “The doll is wearing a “headdress from hell” that “no bird on earth / would be caught dead in”. She is not only saying that a Native person would never wear something that the dolls are dressed in but even an animal in which the feathers on the headdress would not wear it. There is no respect and she lost a feeling of being able to express her culture and that is was respected. Instead of something just to be sold to whoever makes the most. The issue of this discrimination and disrespect to native cultures goes back centuries. People’s actions will not change until they are more aware of the situation. Indian Halloween costumes and dolls will only stop being made if none are being sold, and the only way to prevent them from being sold is realizing how problematic it is. The reason people don’t recognize the problem is because people are not aware there is one. This country started on racism and it will probably be destroyed by it, unless something is done. Why is it that the idea that religion was used to justify this racism in the beginning? Why is no one addressing it now? It should not be the goal to have everyone be equal, while that would be nice it is not feasible, there will always be someone above someone else or at least that someone always thinks someone is above them. The idea is that people are aware of these issues and can talk about it in a way that is helpful, and it is the idea that if you don’t know then ask, seeming like you generally care is better than making a mistake.
In the words of Ross, her focus and goal for writing this book was to write “…about the racialized and gendered experiences of incarceration, with a focus on Native American women and the loss of sovereignty as it is implicitly tied to Native criminality…” because there was little information on this subject. This means that Ross studied wo...
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.
Thomas King uses an oral story-telling style of writing mingled with western narrative in his article “You’re Not the Indian I Had in Mind” to explain that Indians are not on the brink of extinction. Through this article in the Racism, Colonialism, and Indigeneity in Canada textbook, King also brings some focus to the topic of what it means to be “Indian” through the eyes of an actual Aboriginal versus how Aboriginals are viewed by other races of people. With his unique style of writing, King is able to bring the reader into the situations he describes because he writes about it like a story he is telling.
The issue of identity also emerged in her commentary on how many Native American women are forced to prove their ethnicity for equality in health care and school: “For urban Indian women, who are not registered in federal government records, social services and benefits are difficult or almost impossible to obtain” (page 222). This governmental requirement for people to prove themselves as being “indian enough” can be damaging to one’s sense of self, and is proof of ongoing colonialism because the oppressors are determining whether one’s identity is legitimate.
Professor and poet Deborah A. Miranda, pieces together the past and uncovers and presents us with a story--a Californian story--in her memoir, “Bad Indians.” Her use of the Christian Novena, “Novena to Bad Indians,” illustrates the irony of using the form of her oppressors as a call out for help, not to God, but to her past ancestors. We tend to think of religion as a form of salvation and redemption of our lives here on Earth, in which we bare down and ask for forgiveness. But by challenging this common discourse using theological allegories and satirical terminology, Miranda turns her attention away from a Deity to call the reader out for help. It is crucial to recognize the struggles that the Native community currently face. Californian Indians are often not given recognition for their identity and their heritage, and are also repeatedly stereotyped as abusive, alcoholic, uncivilized, and “freeloaders” of the United States government. Such generalizations root back from European colonization, nevertheless still linger in our contemporary society. Miranda has taken the first step forward in characterizing few of these stereotypes in her Novena, but she’s given her story. Now what are we going to do with ours? It’s up to us to create our
Lakota Woman Essay In Lakota Woman, Mary Crow Dog argues that in the 1970’s, the American Indian Movement used protests and militancy to improve their visibility in mainstream Anglo American society in an effort to secure sovereignty for all "full blood" American Indians in spite of generational gender, power, and financial conflicts on the reservations. When reading this book, one can see that this is indeed the case. The struggles these people underwent in their daily lives on the reservation eventually became too much, and the American Indian Movement was born. AIM, as we will see through several examples, made their case known to the people of the United States, and militancy ultimately became necessary in order to do so.
Louise Erdrich’s short story “American horse” is a literary piece written by an author whose works emphasize the American experience for a multitude of different people from a plethora of various ethnic backgrounds. While Erdrich utilizes a full arsenal of literary elements to better convey this particular story to the reader, perhaps the two most prominent are theme and point of view. At first glance this story seems to portray the struggle of a mother who has her son ripped from her arms by government authorities; however, if the reader simply steps back to analyze the larger picture, the theme becomes clear. It is important to understand the backgrounds of both the protagonist and antagonists when analyzing theme of this short story. Albetrine, who is the short story’s protagonist, is a Native American woman who characterizes her son Buddy as “the best thing that has ever happened to me”. The antagonist, are westerners who work on behalf of the United States Government. Given this dynamic, the stage is set for a clash between the two forces. The struggle between these two can be viewed as a microcosm for what has occurred throughout history between Native Americans and Caucasians. With all this in mind, the reader can see that the theme of this piece is the battle of Native Americans to maintain their culture and way of life as their homeland is invaded by Caucasians. In addition to the theme, Erdrich’s usage of the third person limited point of view helps the reader understand the short story from several different perspectives while allowing the story to maintain the ambiguity and mysteriousness that was felt by many Natives Americans as they endured similar struggles. These two literary elements help set an underlying atmos...
When a native author Greg Sams said that the reservations are just “red ghettos”, the author David disagree with that. He thinks there must be something else beyond that point. After his grandfather died, he somehow changed his mind. Because he could not think anything e...
In the poems, “The Song of the Sky Loom”, “The Corn Grows Up”, and “The Hunting Song”, innocence and hopefulness are themes that reveal the Native Americans’ traits to the reader.
LaDuke, Winona. All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life. Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 1999. Print.
This narrative poem explains the origin of white people’s destruction. One witch claims that this is the most extreme evil the earth will ever experience. The evil Silko describes indicates the detrimental role white people played in shaping Pueblo society and ultimately the world. She highlights the western idea that because we view the individual as coming first, we believe nature is fundamentally separate from us, thus granting us complete dominion over the earth. As one witch, who is genderless (an evil within itself), tells the story of nuclear energy and a crumbling earth, the others implore the witch to take it back. Unfortunately, “ the witch shook his head… It’s already coming. It can’t be called back.” (Silko 138). This story explains how the Laguna people thought of World War II as a western conflict, brought on themselves because of white people’s exploitation of nature. Silko suggests that there is possibility for a silver lining through storytelling: “Their evil is mighty, but it can’t stand up to our stories. So they try to destroy the stories, let the stories be confused or forgotten,” (Silko 2). These words emphasize the idea that without such stories, Native people cannot survive. Because stories can tell history, retelling them can help prevent similar disasters from ever occurring. Again, the western attitude towards life and lands disposability starkly opposes Indigenous peoples deep respect and appreciation for their land. This poem is shocking and extreme in its language, but it correctly interprets the struggle and plight Native Americans have been forced to
“When the World As We Knew It Ended,” written in response to 9/11, dramatizes the conflict between Native American identity and American politics. It is important to consider the perspective of an author when analyzing their poetry, because doing so allows for a more complete understanding of their message and point of view. In this case, Joy Harjo’s works are deeply influenced by her personal experiences as a Native American woman; therefore, to overlook her heritage would result in a loss of perspective. The speaker introduces where “we” is: “an occupied island at the farthest edge” (1). With Harjo’s Native heritage in mind, the “occupied island” symbolizes the reservations Native Americans were assigned to in the aftermath of the genocide
Originally, an American identity to the margins of society signified an opportunity to acquire a better life. In Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, or Zitkala-Sa (Red bird), story, Impressions of an Indian Childhood, she yearned for the land of red apples at a young age. The land of red apples represented a life of happiness, liberty, equality, but most importantly hope. To Zitkala-Sa’s imagination, asserting an American identity was something she favored. However, upon arrival, that was changed and she was stripped of her individuality. While she was stripped of her identity, a “white man’s” education gave Zitkala-Sa an opportunity to be a storyteller, expressing how she comes of age and asserts an American Indian identity.
what makes people special? Is it their personal appearance? the way they treat others? Or how much money they have. Accordingly to both essays, “Growing up Native” by Carol Geddes and, “Pretty like a white boy,” by Drew Hayden Taylor emphasizes the beauty of culture through family traditions.
The Ingalls, whether at fault of their own or impressions from society, enter the West with preconceived prejudices against its inhabitants. This creates a variety of dynamics within the little family, as some individuals, such as Ma, look down upon the Indians, while others, such as Laura, finds fascination in the natives. It is the promise of seeing Indians, most importantly Indian’s babies, that allows Pa to secure Laura’s desire to move West. Yet there are familial influences, specifically Ma’s, that block Laura from fully embracing the Indians and having a relationship with her native neighbors. Implications teach her to distance herself from the Indians by disassociating them from humanity. However, as this essay will later discuss,