Playing Indian By Berreby Summary

A basic human need, the sense of belonging, can turn simplistic things into symbols of “us” vs. “them”. The human mind has a tendency to categorize people into social groups. And often these social groups can create this mentality toward people who may be different than us in some way. “Rituals and Traditions: it Takes a Tribe” by Berreby claims that humans either naturally or subconsciously try to become a part of a “Tribe.” This claim is presented in the article, “Playing Indian” where Americans according to Deloria have usually played Indian in order to themselves as a “nation”. People are willing to do anything to belong a part of group and willing to sacrifice for their enemies. Berreby and Deloria implement the idea of “us” vs. “them.”

Berreby portrays this idea through his use of scoping the life of college students. This conveys the separation among nationality, while Deloria’ style implements American history to reveal the search of American identity.

Berreby’s style helps the audience personally relate to the concept of “us” and “them” by using his unique approach to connect a broad idea to a narrow matter. Berreby starts by presenting rhetorical questions to set up a casual conservation. Through questioning, he plans to evoke thoughts that help the audience connect and show how differentiating people into groups can be related in our tangible world. Furthermore, he mentions, “Spend time on a campus in a coming week, though, and you’ll see what he meant” illustrates that the author has left it to the audience to go experience and see the “tribes” surrounding them (Berreby 1). He began by stating a generic idea about college life and how students have started to

place themselves in “tribes” to emphasize that they have already begun to generate the sense of belonging, “us,” and that now they automatically have a “them” for rivalry (Berreby 2). Moreover, he alludes “the same sort of feeling most Americans have about race, ethnic group, and religious,” to connect the idea of us, who identify with the norms, vs. them, who do not conform to our societal expectation, to America (Berreby 2). The author sways through his use of style that we are no different from the college students. He does not come out and admit that Americans are also divided into various groups, but rather implements the idea of broad to narrow, so the audience can understand the idea by themselves as it would be powerful. Berreby portraying a broad idea of the college life persuades the audience to see and agree with his point-of-view, then he goes on to connect the same idea to a slender view; this way he traps the audience into thinking that his idea is valid.
While Berreby easily presents the idea of “us” vs.

“them” through his use of college student, Deloria expands the idea through event’s in the past that have raised issues of missing American identity. Deloria began by stating the Boston Tea Party to show the origin story of American identity representing that this mentality has been carried on for generations. He states, “a party of what looked like Indian men” to specify that the customers that Americans wore Native Indians allowed the colonist to free themselves by adopting the image of noble savages (Deloria 2). These customers were not intended to hide these men’s identities; they were used to create a new American Identity in opposition to British domination. There the colonial rebels played Indian to claim a Native American identity. It is based on desire of civilized order and “savage” freedom. By stating this, Deloria claims that Americans are wanting to have a traditional culture and rituals like the British but they do not want to be under British control. If Americans were to join them then they would not be superior which they did not want as “Americans [had the chance to] redefined themselves as something other than British colonists” (Deloria 2). Americans wanted to possess their own identity, the idea of “us,” that they wanted to be separated into their own group and be free from British order because the British, “them,” did not conform to our societal expectation. The author wants to show that American

identity, was not established at that time and that being the reason to reform Indians identity as their own as they did not want to stay under British control as they were our “rivals”. This separated us from British while creating a unique American identity with which we are only partially comfortable. Deloria wants to show that American have consistently used Indian representation to represent themselves, they have also consistently denied power to actual Native people.
Differences have created spaces between social groups, races, religion and taken to a smaller scale even schools. This idea of being into separate groups has been going on for as long as time has been recorded as mentioned in Deloria’s article from Boston Tea Party; People are now able to see it clearly as it occurs in our society. It is natural for people to separate themselves from other by who they are or what they believe in. Although these differences are harmless in some extent, it can grow into larger issues that can effect of our society. Both “Rituals and Traditions: it Takes a Tribe” and “Playing Indian” interpret that humans want to feel part of a group in differing way.