Night Flying Woman Sparknotes

Reflection #6
To begin with this reflection, I would like to provide an overview of the book Night Flying Woman by Ignatia Broker. An Ojibwe girl was born tells the story of her great-grandmother. She was also known by a various of other names such as Ni-bo-we-se-gew, Night Flying woman, and Oona. During the time of her great-grandmother, many people encountered hardships. Despite the act of having to move to reservations, Oona continued to focus on the “old ways” that were looked down upon. The need to assimilate to the new culture, in this case, is the white culture.
The story incorporates in the journey in which Oona and her family had to go through.
When traveling to the White Earth, it was said that they would be given land that was set aside for the Ojibway. Once they arrived, they were told that there were too many Ojibway people in that area. Due to this, they were moved to another area. I believe that through this journey, it provides readers with the insight that many tribes in the past had to relocate. After finding a place to live, there are some Native Americans who decide that it is more beneficial to keep their own tradition way of living than to rely on the white people’s lifestyle. Noted within the reading, a man had discussed

with council leaders about planting and gathering their own food and resources that is provided by nature instead of taking the white people’s bribes or items.
Another event that occured within the story that stood out to me is how David had been given an American name.

He was seen as the one who is held accountable to speak to the white men. He was not given a choice in a name change. This is something that occured a lot, especially to those who attended boarding schools. They were no longer allowed to relate back to their own traditional culture. This section provides readers with the idea that many people lose their culture. In the past, we have watched a film that had an elderly man talk about how he lost his culture and language due to boarding schools. Although it is possible to relearn a language and culture, it can be difficult to be fluent than to learn at a younger

age.
Overall, I enjoyed this reading. Although our class has discussed the topic of assimilation, it still surprises me and shocks me everytime, knowing that in our history, Native Americans had to go through many obstacles. Comparing forced assimilation from the past to our present day, I would say that this is an issue that is still being seen in our society. For instance, many people are becoming more open about their opinions on immigrants or people of color living in the United States. These people are normally oppressed and marginalized. Many people of the dominant culture will target those who are of minority descent, and tell them to return back to “where they are born”. They will also tell them to speak English and refrain from speaking their native language. This can be related back to the Native Americans being punished if they were to speak their native language.