Army veterans have a long history of suffering with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) staring form the late 1600s. However, in the most traditional American history classes students attend are about the white veterans who would come back from war. Never have I personally ever learnt about veterans of other races and ethnicities. In the book Ceremony written by Leslie Marmon Silko, she describes the life of a Native American man named Tayo, who suffers from posttraumatic stress disorder. In this paper I will discuss the relationship between Native Americans and their place in the United States after World War II and specifically base my observations through Tayo.
In the beginning of Ceremony, Tayo is coming out of the veteran hospital,
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but because this posttraumatic stress disorder is so common he is just sent home because there isn’t really a cure yet. But as soon as he gets home he seems to have horrible flashbacks in his sleep and throws up a lot. He is never checked up on by the army. He is left to deal with his sickness all by himself. His family is concerned, but it is u to him to go out and find his own cure. This is an example of how the government does not take care of its veterans. Even their white veterans do not receive much healthcare and have a hard time finding jobs after their service. This continues to be a big problem for veterans today. Many troops coming for Iraq are having a hard time finding jobs especially since our economy is not so well either. Actually, all through history veterans have had a really tough life post war, either from suffering of illnesses or not being able to make money to support themselves and their families Post traumatic disorder “stems from a particular incident evoking significant stress”, states Steve Bentley in his scholarly article A Short History of PTSD: From Thermopylae to Hue, Soldiers Have Always Had a Disturbing Reaction to War. In Ceremony the main character Tayo, witnessed the death of his cousin (Rocky), who was like his brother, in World War II. Coming back to his home town, Laguna Pueblo, Tayo begins to feel guilty about not being able to prevent his cousin’s death. He feels like he should have died and not Rocky. Tayo mentions that he knew that his aunt “always expected it to happen to him, not to Rocky”(67, Silko) Tayo had always been an outcast at home and with his “friends” because he was the result of his mother conceiving with an unknown white man and had left him at a very young age. A specific example of this is when they are at the bar and Emo (his bully) tells him that “he drinks like an Indian, and you are crazy like one too— but you aren’t shit, white trash. You love Japs the way your mother liked to screw white men” (58, Silko). In other words Tayo was not full Native American blood, so he was not fully accepted at the reservation. Throughout this text Tayo has flashbacks of his war life and there are also poems/stories in-between events which contain Native American traditional stories. Tayo and his cousin were not the only ones who went to war his other friends from home, Harley, Emo, Leroy, and Pinkie, were also veterans. They also seem to suffer with posttraumatic stress disorder; however they all seem to medicate the psychological disease by drinking a lot of alcohol. In one of their bar encounters they talk about how they enjoyed going to war because of the respect the y received from everyone. They were no different than the white people who were also part of the military. They were able to charm the white women around them and they were given the same badges the white military men were given for achieving the same things. The way they describe it makes it seem like they felt that they had finally gotten approval and acceptance from white people. They could be themselves and they were finally at the same level any white man in America is because they were the main part of representing America throughout this war by giving their lives for the country the shared with these white men and women. Little did they know that the uniform was the only thing that gave them this feeling of “equality”. When Native Americans went to war they were treated greatly only while they were fighting the war. Once they went back to their homes they were completely ignored and discriminated just the way they were before they had left. Thomas D. Morgan talks about this exact idea in his article Army History: The professional Bulletin of Army History. He states that World War II for the Natives “signaled a major break from the past. Many Indians in the military made a decent living for the first time in their lives. Military life provided a steady job, money, status, and a taste of the white man’s world. Indians learned assertiveness they could use in their fight for equal rights after the war.” (Morgan). This proving that what Tayo and his friends experienced was very true and very common. With this in mind, the reason Natives Americans would even sign up to go to war was because the army would promise them anything in order for themto sign up.
Tayo tells us in Ceremony that he actually signed up because of his cousin Rocky. And the reason Rocky wanted to go to fight in World War II was because the man who gave him the army pamphlet promised him many things. One of those things being that he would be allowed and taught to fly a plane, which was something Rocky, had always dreamt of doing. “This was where the white people and their promises had left the Indians. All the promises they had left to you [Tayo], Rocky, they weren’t any different than the other promises they made” (117, Silko). Given that many Indians were deceived into joining the army “A good deal of credit must go to the Native Americans for their outstanding part in America’s victory in World War II” (Morgan). The culture change, once again, of going into new land and the change of their daily traditions was a huge sacrifice they committed to is admirable. And after all that the way they were treated when they came back seemed so unfair. “Native Americans became Indian- Americans, not just American Indians” …show more content…
(Morgan). Because Tayo is half Native American and has grown up all his life in a Native American reservation with Native Americans, he can see how much of an impact white people have on Native Americans. I personally also, believe that because he sees why Native Americans do not really like white people he does not argue or fight with his family for making him an outcast because he has white blood in him. Old Betonie wisely tells him that “white people are tools that witchery manipulates… we invented white people; it was Indian witchery that made white people in the first place”(122, Silko). Nonetheless, because he has basically been raised his whole life by natives in a native reservation he is more Native American than white. The constant reminder of his mixed ethnicity adds on to the psychological illness he is facing. All of his life Tayo is made aware that he is not a Native American however I do not fully understand why because it was his mother who made the decision to sleep with a white man and she was the one who abandoned her child. Tayo seems like a total innocent man to me with a lot of unnecessary baggage. Because Tayo has to find his own cure, he turns to his traditional culture.
Tayo “knew what White people thought about his native stories. In school his science teacher explained what superstition was, and held the science textbook up to show the true source of explanations.” (87, Silko). Tayo did not care and he became even more dedicated to find a cure and he didn’t know how else to find it. He goes on a journey looking to receive the ceremony for his cure. He goes to Betonie, a man who is aware of the problem held between white people and Native American people. Betonie then helps him heal by giving the ceremony, which is divided into
sections. However, throughout the process Tayo faces the obstacle of the white police searching for him, because he had a fight with Emo again. Nonetheless, Tayo is able to avoid him and not get arrested. For the last step of the ceremony, he has to add an element of white culture. He spends the night in the mine and is finally cured. Given these points, Tayo is a perfect example of what happened to Native Americans back then when they came back from fighting war. Tayo and his cousin were both promised things that were not very likely for them to experience, just so that they would join the army forces. Once they join the army they are treated amazingly by all the white military people. They are finally not a unwanted race when they are in the army and are treated just any other white military man. However, once Tayo came from completing his service n the World War II war he is treated with racism and comes back home to being an outcast again. Also, we can see how the government took advantage of these people by also, not treating them properly after being diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder. Leading individuals like Tayo to rely on their own culture and customs to find a cure to their anxiety attacks and other illnesses. It is a very sad thing to hear that these Native American men were taken advantage of because they were a big part of America’s success specifically in the winning of the World War II.
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In the fourth chapter titled “Native Reactions to the invasion of America” in the book, “Beyond 1492: Encounters in Colonial North America, the author James Axtell shares with us an essay he wrote and shared at a conference at Vanderbilt University. Historical accounts are followed beginning at the arrival of explorers and settlers until the 1700’s with various Native tribes in North America. Axtell’s goal is to educate us on the multitude of ways Native Americas reacted during various periods of colonization, and the various methods that the Native Americans perished. Axtell also educates us in his essay on the ways that Native Americans tried to ultimately prevent their extinction at any cost.
In Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, author Sebastian Junger deeply reflects on the ancient tribal human behaviors such as loyalty, dependence on the surrounding community, and cooperation, as well as how modern-day society has deviated entirely. Junger theorizes that such deviation from communal societies to individualistic societies is the principle reason depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide rates in veterans are incredibly high and increasing at such an alarming rate. Junger supports his thesis with multiple credible sources, as well as realistic comparisons of ancient civilization behaviors to modern day behaviors. Junger explained what the tribal culture often entailed, as well as the main differences between tribes and American society.
The novel Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko follows a young man, Tayo through his journey beginning when he returns home to the Laguna Pueblo Reservation, from World War Two; and is very ill. During the narrative Silko introduces us to Tayo's life before the war, which gives insight to reasons of why Tayo is ill. Through out his illness Tayo goes through many ceremonies both literally and metaphorically to try to cure his ailment. One of the ceremonies that is performed, is lead by Old Ku'oosh, the medicine man, where he performs a cleansing ceremony for someone who has killed someone in battle, even though Tayo doesn't recall killing anyone. However, he adds that this ceremony, which he has been performing for many of the returning war soldiers, has not worked for all of them. He then recommends another medicine man with the tools to cure and perform ceremonies, for the old ceremonies, since the white man had arrived, have not been able to cure the new diseases. Along with the medicine man ceremonies he also goes to American "white" doctors, which also acts as some what of a cleansing for him. In his case vomiting is can also be used as a ceremony for Tayo because he uses it to cleanse his body of the poisons and evil, both physical illness and mental illness. The ceremonies that Tayo goes through whether traditional through a medicine man or contemporary like visits to the psychiatrist and stays in the hospital, all add to his recovery, either through physical or mental cleansing.
Native American’s place in United States history is not as simple as the story of innocent peace loving people forced off their lands by racist white Americans in a never-ending quest to quench their thirst for more land. Accordingly, attempts to simplify the indigenous experience to nothing more than victims of white aggression during the colonial period, and beyond, does an injustice to Native American history. As a result, historians hoping to shed light on the true history of native people during this period have brought new perceptive to the role Indians played in their own history. Consequently, the theme of power and whom controlled it over the course of Native American/European contact is being presented in new ways. Examining the evolving
In An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s reexamines the American historical record and moves it passed the typical narratives of colonialism, revolution, and American exceptionalism. Dunbar-Ortiz’s analysis will impact the field of Native Studies and even general United States history with its examination and focus on settler colonialism as a genocidal policy. It is, as Dunbar-Ortiz argues, impossible to write American history without the acknowledgment of Indigenous peoples. Dunbar-Ortiz shatters the myth of “free land” and conquered Natives. She instead focuses on “the absence of a colonial framework (7),” which she believes is the reason that most historians overlook Indigenous history. In other words, historians need to view colonization as an ongoing process and not a
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.
In addition to his internal struggle with identity, Tayo faces struggles with his mental health in his return home after world war two. In his journey to cure himself he is hospitalized in an institution that disregards the traditions of the natives and uses medicine of the white world. When he goes back home he is still suffering and he constantly feels like running away. His Grandma in response says “I’ve been thinking, all this time, while I was sitting in my chair. Those white doctors haven’t helped you at all. Maybe we had better send for someone else”(30). Tayo’s reaction to the white medicine is negative and is a rejection of white culture. On the other hand, the scalp ceremony performed on him by Old Man Ku’oosh does’ny help to solve his problems either. He has not yet made peace with either culture nor can he turn to either one for comfort and healing. One way Tayo yearns for the comfort of the white world is in his critique of the resources they have. In examining Betonie’s hogan he says “all of it
Although the work is 40 years old, “Custer Died for Your Sins” is still relevant and valuable in explaining the history and problems that Indians face in the United States. Deloria’s book reveals the White view of Indians as false compared to the reality of how Indians are in real life. The forceful intrusion of the U.S. Government and Christian missionaries have had the most oppressing and damaging affect on Indians. There is hope in Delorias words though. He believes that as more tribes become more politically active and capable, they will be able to become more economically independent for future generations. He feels much hope in the 1960’s generation of college age Indians returning to take ownership of their tribes problems and build a better future for their children.
A young Apache at the time, Geronimo set out one day with his family from their homeland, which is now located in southeastern Arizona, on a trading mission into Mexico. Many other families also went with him. The men went into town to trade each day, leaving their families behind. On this momentous evening, they returned home to find that Mexican soldiers had ferociously attacked their camp. They had murdered their women and children and stolen their supplies and horses. The dead were scattered everywhere. Geronimo’s wife, three children, and his mother were among those slaughtered. He found their bodies lying in a pool of blood. “I had lost all,” Geronimo said. His heart was broken. He would never be the same again. The loss of his family led Geronimo to a lifelong hatred of all Mexicans. He was filled with hatred, and he would spend a lifetime pursuing vengeance for all that he and his people had lost. He became one of the most feared Apache warriors of all time. The career and accomplishments of Apache warrior Geronimo were indicative of the fight for a Native American way of life in conflict with that of the progressing American frontiersmen and Mexican soldiers.
Tayo and his cousin Rocky grew up together practically as brothers and attended a school where they were taught by whites. Curiously, it was Rocky who denounced the Native American traditions and wanted to leave the community and to “win in the white outside world” (Silko 47). Traditions such as covering the head of the deer after hunting, was something that Tayo believed in and followed, along with other Native American traditions that Rocky, a full-blooded Native American, declared as superstition. Tayo, being half white, could have just as easily as Rocky worked toward a place in the city with white men, but because of his mixed identity, Tayo always thought of himself as an outsider. He felt even less at home with the white men, because he grew up around Native American culture and
The systematic racism and discrimination in America has long lasting effects that began back when Europeans first stepped foot on American soil is still visible today but only not written into the law. This racism has lead to very specific consequences on the Native people in today’s modern world, and while the racism is maybe not as obvious it is still very present. These modern Native peoples fight against the feeling of community as a Native person, and feeling entirely alone and not a part of it. The poem “The Reservation” by Susan Cloud and “The Real Indian Leans Against” by Chrystos examine the different effects and different settings of how their cultures survived but also how so much was lost for them within their own identity.
Native Americans have undergone a horrific past of genocide, discrimination, forced acculturation, miscommunication, and misunderstanding. They were frequently dehumanized and stripped of basic human rights. Treated as “savages” they were herded into areas of confinement and robbed of their language, culture, and way of life. In many instances of genocide, experts have noted a type of historical trauma that may be passed down through families, known as generational trauma. While the potential effects of this concept are not proven, the stories, images, and memories of thousands of Native Americans continue to be shared with their children, thus perpetuating, and never forgetting the pain and embarrassment that their people have experienced.
Yellow Horse Brave Heart, M., & DeBruyn, L. M. (2013). THE AMERICAN INDIAN HOLOCAUST: HEALING HISTORICAL UNRESOLVED GRIEF. The American Indian Holocaust, 63.
Tayo faced a struggle of recognizing his essence: the true definition of himself outside and most especially inside. Being a half Native American and half-Caucasian in an environment of a Native American tribe in Laguna, he was constantly reminded of being an outcast. Externally, whenever he would try to fit in any of his race, both sides would reject him with ridicules. As Emo stated against Tayo, “There he is. He thinks he’s something all right. Because he’s part white. Don’t you, half-breed?” It presented hatred from a full-blooded Native American because, “the only reason for this hate was that Tayo was part white.” In fact the shame of being a “half-breed” continued down to his relatives. Auntie’s, “shame for what his mother (Tayo’s) had done, and Auntie’s shame for him (Tayo),” was surprising even though she was one of the closest blood relative of Tayo. On his Caucasian side, encounters were similar with the Native Americans. He was not truthfully acknowledged by the Caucasians he encountered under the shadows of his military uniform, which symbolizes “his service and loyalty” for the United States because, “they had the uniform and they didn’t look different no more. They got respect” . He was automatically disregarded as “the different o...