Deirdre Evans Pritchard White People Summary

Deirdre Evans-Pritchard brings up excellent ideologies and perspectives of the indigenous people. She states that the perception of “white people” by the native people is respectful because that is how their culture operates. There are limited amounts of published work that joke or talk about the white man as it does not represent the Indian culture accurately. Nevertheless, the Indians dramatize the white people’s actions and capture their motives through art, stories, and jokes. They rationalize the white people’s actions as greedy and deceitful because they have excess power and money. By understanding the history between the whiteman and Native Americans, it’s easier to understand the image the Indians have towards the whiteman. Without knowing the prior information, it would be difficult to understand the perspective of the Native Americans.

This view the whiteman has is dehumanizing and belittling. To counteract these prejudices, they find peaceful and creative ways to fend the ignorance of the tourists. This form of humor gives them an outlet of angry feelings and helps negate frustrating situations. This also shows the nature of Native people because as they joke with the tourists, they use themselves as the butt of the joke. For example, the clowns of the Tewa pueblo dances. They use the ignorance of the tourists as a way to reverse the roles of the two people. This creates balance as they mess with the tourists but also manage to use themselves as the tool for the joke. The Indian people utilize the power of silence very well, creating a barrier between them and the tourists. Psychologically they retaliate the prejudice from the