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Native American culture
Native american struggles in america
Different native american cultures
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Jacksons’ grandmother powwow-dance regalia is the symbol In this story. It was symbolic to the love and respect he had for his grandma and also the connection he had for his ethnic group, the Spokane Indians. The complete tale was based upon his journey to regain the only thing that connected him to those things. This journey gave him a sense of purpose even in his homeless state. In his homelessness he finds comfort, I also believe that the other homeless Indians gave him a tribal feeling. He wasn’t alone because there were many others like him. Even if it is not the traditional tribe, there is a sense of belonging, a sense of family. He is not just homeless in the physical; he’s homeless mentally because he doesn’t have tribe with him. He
considered himself to be a Plains Indian “he [Jackson’s friend] identifies himself as Plains Indian, a generic term, and not by specific tribe” (Shalabi 2013). Although he wasn’t connected to his tribe he tried to find a tribe in his friends by taking care of them. To Jackson, he didn’t care about the tribe because all he and his fronds had was each other
It was hard to find symbolism in this film since their culture was very colonialized. It seemed as though the culture was so European/American that the culture was gone. Even though it was hard, I was still able to find some cultural symbolisms.
A very important scene that exemplifies this is the scene on the bus when Victor teaches Thomas how to be a real Indian. The movie uses frybread as the symbol to represent the desire to fulfill the stereotype because Thomas is wearing the “Frybread Power” shirt when he lets his hair down. They feel the need to act this way because they have only lived on the reservation and do not know anything different. In the movie the viewer is given the impression that the Indians on the reservation fear the outside world. One of the girls they run into on the reservation even says that even though they are still in the United States it is like they are going to a foreign land. As the movie progresses, Victor and Thomas move away from the stereotype. Victor cuts his hair, even though earlier in the film he states that an Indian’s strength is his hair. Thomas goes back to braiding his hair and wearing a suit. This represents the change in culture of Native Americans since the colonialism era. Another scene in the movie that shows change in society is when Victor and Thomas are in the sheriff’s office after the car accident. They think that they are going to be in trouble for simply “being Indian”. Victor and Thomas end up getting off without being in any trouble because there is no actual evidence against
In this poem, there is a young woman and her loving mother discussing their heritage through their matrilineal side. The poem itself begins with what she will inherit from each family member starting with her mother. After discussing what she will inherit from each of her family members, the final lines of the poem reflect back to her mother in which she gave her advice on constantly moving and never having a home to call hers. For example, the woman describes how her father will give her “his brown eyes” (Line 7) and how her mother advised her to eat raw deer (Line 40). Perhaps the reader is suggesting that she is the only survivor of a tragedy and it is her heritage that keeps her going to keep safe. In the first two lines of the poem, she explains how the young woman will be taking the lines of her mother’s (Lines 1-2). This demonstrates further that she is physically worried about her features and emotionally worried about taking on the lineage of her heritage. Later, she remembered the years of when her mother baked the most wonderful food and did not want to forget the “smell of baking bread [that warmed] fined hairs in my nostrils” (Lines 3-4). Perhaps the young woman implies that she is restrained through her heritage to effectively move forward and become who she would like to be. When reading this poem, Native American heritage is an apparent theme through the lifestyle examples, the fact lineage is passed through woman, and problems Native Americans had faced while trying to be conquested by Americans. Overall, this poem portrays a confined, young woman trying to overcome her current obstacles in life by accepting her heritage and pursuing through her
Sherman Alexie writes in his story, What You Pawn I Will Redeem about a homeless Salish Indian named Jackson Jackson. Alexie takes readers on Jackson’s journey to acquire enough money to purchase back his grandmother’s stolen powwow regalia. Throughout the story, Jackson’s relationships with other charters ultimately define his own character. Alexie, a well know Native American author tells an all too common tale of poverty and substance abuse in the Native American community through his character Jackson. The major character flaw of Jackson is his kindness, which ultimately becomes his greatest asset when fate allows him to purchase back his grandmother’s powwow regalia from a pawn broker for only five dollars.
The banjo symbols the African American culture of Jazz and R&B. Jazz, R&B, and other sounds of the African American spirit is what helped them to get through tough times. In the painting, you can see they are bonded by the play of the music. Another symbol is the glow of the light. Wherever they is darkness, there is always light that would guide you. No matter what you are going through, always have your faith. In the painting The Banjo Lesson, the light symbolizes some growth and maturity in what life is going to bring forth. As for the story in the painting itself, it symbolizes how African Americans value with what they have. According to the banjo, it symbolizes a miracle for them to understand how precious their moments are when they are together. Since there are only one table, view old pots, and rusty wooden floor, and both the old man and the young boy have less fortunate clothing, it all symbolizes that they are living in poverty. The old man has worn down shoes and the young boy has on none, which represents there hard work working in the
Two Socks and Cisco are the main two symbols in Dances with Wolves. Two Socks, is the wolf that befriends John Dunbar symbolizing the Sioux Indians who start trying to also befriend John. Then, when he takes the meat from John’s hand the wolf continues to symbolize the tribe, that will now accept John to come and be one of them. After, when Two Socks is shot by soldiers it symbolizes the fate of the Indians, later to come. Cisco, John Dunbar’s favorite horse is a symbol of John’s faithfulness to the Sioux Indian tribe, although they have tried to take the horse away many times he has always found a way to return to his master. Later in the story, when John is being shot at by the army the horse finds a way to make those shots hit him instead of John and separates from John in death, symbolizes that John will have to leave the Indians, to protect them.
N. Scott Momaday, shares the cultural background of the Kiowa tribe in “The Way to Rainy Mountain”. He is a long descendent that has no experience with the tribe during their traditional era but from the stories he has heard from his grandmother, he feels more connected to the Kiowa culture. He spreads light about who the Kiowas were and described who his grandmother was as well. With the experiences he shared with his grandmother, likely influenced the person he is today. In the end he is happy and proud of who his grandmother was and will remain even after death.
In the short story “What You Pawn I Will Redeem”, Sherman Alexie uses the two most well known stereotypes of Native Americans today, that they are alcoholics and homeless. These are more modern day stereotypes but they fall under the the main stereotype, that Native Americans are helpless and uncivilized. Alexie’s short story focuses on a character named Jackson Jackson, who happens to be both homeless and an alcoholic. Jackson is walking past a pawn shop when he notices his grandmother’s regalia that was stolen from his family fifty years ago. The owner of the pawn shop gives Jackson twenty-four hours to come up with the money for the regalia. The story takes us throughout his journey which consist mostly of Jackson buying alcohol, food, and even some lottery tickets. Jackson would acquire money through a variety of situations right after getting money he ended
Welty tells the story with “some dreams and harassments and a small triumph or two, some jolts to [Phoenix’s] pride, some flights of fancy to console her, one or two encounters to scare her, a moment that gave her cause to be ashamed, a moment to dance and preen…” (quoted in Moberly, 109). The early harassments evoke symbols of slavery such as coming through the “dark pine shadows” in slave garb, “dark striped dress…an equally long apron of bleached sugar sacks…all neat and tidy” (Roberts, 95). The “chains about my feet” and the uphill climb is descriptive of literally being a slave in chains. Being caught in the “pretty green bush” (Rogers, 96) that turns out to be a thorn bush is a figurative hard worn path to equal rights, with unseen snags and pitfalls. “Purple stalks” (Rogers, 96) and the buzzard and through the “old cotton” (Rogers, 96) represents the mourning of the African American people,...
Jackson wants to find something that will make him feel like he has done something for his culture and his people. These sayings contradict his actions because every time he gets closer to gaining more money, he spends it. In the long run, Jackson’s pitfalls did not stop his determination to gain back the regalia and ultimately find his personal identity. Given that he is Native American, the reader might assume that Jackson has a feeling of resentment towards white people due to the displacement of his people. From the beginning of the story, Jackson reveals a protective feeling caused by white people.
“Reclaiming Culture and the Land: Motherhood and the Politics of Sustaining Community” is about a mother who is a Native American activist who has two children, she wants them to be raised and go to school in an Indian community. “I put my children in that school because I wanted them to be in the Indian community.” She explains that she is not sure if her children know what she is doing is common, but they know that what she is doing is right. “My children do have the sense that what I do is not necessarily common. Recently my daughter started asking me if I’m famous.” She has fought for her children to have a good life, full of community, ritual, and an understanding of who they are and where they come from.
The story shows the importance of dance in Native American culture. Wikiash was practically an outcast until he learned the dances from the animals, then he was loved by all. It is the Kwakiutl way of life to dance, and its an important part of all their ceremonies, if I understand the symbolism in the story correctly.
The Blues have long been a way of expressing one’s woes and hardships through music, and Alexander uses this genre of music to express the plight the Indian community has faced. A harsh journey over two-thousand miles, the Trail of Tears was a forced relocation of the Native Americans: “I hear you talking about your Trail of Tears/ If you feel the need I can help calm your feels”( Alexie 53). Although referring to the historical event, in this love song the Trail of Tears is used to describe how the woman he’s watching feels. Watching their loved ones die of disease,
The Hopi Indians use art in their everyday life from woven rugs to clay pots. Art is a very important aspect of the tribe’s life and each piece is said to have a story behind it. The Hopi tribe even has dances said to bring luck and prosper to the community. They also have a very unique piece of art that ties directly to their religion, kachinas mask and dolls.
In the scene, a woman talked about that for Navajo is still difficult to talk about the long walk. Also, she started to cry like she was living at that time. According to Blog “(historical trauma is) the devastating trauma of genocide, loss culture, and forcible removal from family and communities are all unresolved and become a sort of ‘psychological baggage…” This Navajo woman is an example of the continuous cycle of trauma that was transmitted to the past generations and perhaps she will pass to the next generations.