Week 15- (Blog # 24) Thomas King: The Truth about Stories

Thomas King’s The Truth About Stories, is now my favorite work of the semester, passing up Qwo-Li’s poetry. I really enjoyed King’s message of how important stories really are, which reiterated the point that now it’s my turn to spread stories myself. King passes on many relevant stories throughout this book, and I felt an absolute sense of pride and desire to spread the word even more. “One of the surprising things about Indians is that we’re still here.” Yes. Native Americans have overcome so much adversity, and unnecessary problems, yet have persevered. In return, I feel that I have a responsibility to help broaden horizons, by spreading the many Native American traditions and stories to help the culture flourish.

His writing style is very interesting and effective. Each story starts with a similar beginning of the previous topic, but emphasizes a different situation, which accounts for a different story ranging from basketball games, duck and coyotes, and the disappearing of Indians. He is masterful in his belief of being able to think about a story differently, or even better tell it differently. King is a great storyteller, who uses humor and emotion to get across his views on Native American culture and history, oral traditions, and personal experiences. This book demonstrates how stories shape the perceptions of our world, and further understand the world around us. However, he warns us, “You have to be careful with the stories you tell. And you have to watch out for the stories that you are told.”

The story of coyotes and ducks is a great metaphor of the history of whites never being satisfied, and Indians suffering because of it. This story retells the notion that Natives are looked down upon as not important. Sure, its human nature to always want more, but that doesn’t make it alright to take from the vulnerable. The ducks were content with their lives, and didn’t deserve to be bothered by the sly coyote. “But then who will sing for them?” Who will dance for them? Who will remind them of their relationship with the earth?” If only it was this easy to see that both cultures could exist together and attain a solid relationship, if only greed didn’t take over. However, the coyote moves on, thinking about his next move, while the ducks have to start over again from scratch, and “pick up the pieces.”

Week 15- Online Resource

This is a website that contains many valuable resources designed for educators, focusing on teaching about Native Americans. The article associated with it is titled, "Native Child: Teaching Kids the Wonderful Diversity of American Indians." This website/article intends to spread awareness about mainly the diversity of Native Americans in an accurate, respectful, and positive manner. This website has a very useful "Curriculum" page of activities and ideas, for teachers to implement within their classroom, along with a page dedicated to "Posters" of important Native American people, landmarks, and places. This is a very beneficial and serviceable website for respective teachers, and students to utilize. Its goal is to essentially help in providing a proper education in a subject otherwise lacking in schools today.

http://www.nativechild.com/resources/article.html

Week 14- Indigenous Poetry/ Joy Harjo

Joy Harjo’s collection of work, How We Became Human did not suit me as much as Qwo-Li’s poetry. Although similar, I didn’t feel as much as an influence or enthusiasm from Harjo’s work. I appreciated her work, and the reoccurring themes associated with her beliefs and what we discuss in class, but a lot of the content was hard to completely understand. I also felt that her singing voice ruined some of the poetry; however I did like the tribal stomp and dances to correlate, along with the beautiful sound of the saxophone.

Don’t get me wrong, she is an incredible woman who has a lot of talents and accomplishments to be proud of. In regards to her poetry, I just couldn’t make as much of a personal connection. One poem that I did really like though is Remember. This poem made me think about everything in my life that has made me who I am today, and reinforced many of the values I believe in.

“Remember that you are all people and that all people are you.
Remember that you are this universe and that this universe is you.
Remember that all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember that language comes from this.
Remember the dance that language is, that life is.
Remember.”

Week 13- E.C. Blog: We Shall Remain

The first episode of the PBS program, "We Shall Remain: After the Mayflower" was very interesting. It is a documentary that showcased the initial contact between Wampanoag Indians and colonists in Plymouth in 1620. It was a real eye-opening episode, in regards to the history being reenacted and the misconstrued truth behind what took place. It was really cool to see relationships being developed and then how conflicts came about. I never really considered all the behind the scenes history that took place that entitled the creation of Thanksgiving. The change of power between the Europeans and the Wampanoag was appealing as well.

The struggle between peace and tension was the main theme throughout. Initially, the tribe wanted to fight the incoming settlers, but the chief saw this as a possible advantage of working together. As a result, the tribe became fine with sharing the land and hoped to make allies to defend against enemy tribes. However, the settlers weren’t in good shape either, which caused for a fair amount of struggle. The two coexisted for a few years, until religious beliefs and overpopulation caused an invasion and essentially trouble. Europeans felt that they were more superior to the Indians, which caused the most conflict. The real story of Thanksgiving is a depressing account of what I previously thought, but sometimes the truth hurts.

Week 13- Fascinating Qwo-Li Driskill

Walking with Ghosts by Qwo-Li Driskill was a very surprising collection of poems for me. I say surprising because I was skeptical of whether or not I would like his work, but to my surprise I really enjoyed it. He is a very powerful and influential writer. Especially hearing his poetry out loud really made the creative illustration stick out in my mind. All the themes in his poems, such as sovereignty of land/body, identity, and struggle confirm what we have been talking about in class throughout the semester.

I don’t like to judge people based on appearance or sexual preference, but the reason I was initially unsure was based on Qwo-Li’s background. With that in mind, I am still honestly able to say that his work was my favorite read of the semester. I really enjoyed the visions that he was able to create, added with the controversy to basically open my mind to making new connections.

His poem Lullaby, was one of my favorites. He speaks with such a truth and passion that it’s hard not to feel his emotions passed to the audience. The words that stick out to me most are, “I am sweating ink, You speak words, you were never supposed to, Your tongue a shield. I feel he utilizes a war on words, in particular paying attention to body parts in relation to identity and the land. This is what I chose to contribute to the poem we constructed in groups and I feel it is a very meaningful and fascinating play on words.

Week 12- Read around Blog Posts #2

Getting another chance to read my peers blog responses I was inspired to find some very interesting concepts. I paid particular attention to blogs on Andrea Smith and LaDuke in regards to the strong sense of history I attained from the articles.

Reading these articles, the LaDuke in particular reinforced much of what we have talked about in class all semester. However, it is still difficult to hear just how badly industrial plants have destroyed the Mohawk people. Now that we understand the harm caused by PCBs, factories have to respect the land around them. In return, the Mohawk people can hopefully make a comeback by preserving their land and bodies.

I also specifically read responses about Qwo-Li Driskill and his collection of poems. Many of my classmates talked about how great of a class period it was when we got to write our own poetry based off of his work. I, too, felt that class was very inspirational. I enjoyed being able to hear the Qwo-Li's poetry out loud, as I felt I could create strong visions from his words. He is a very powerful person, and his poetry is filled with evident passion.

Week 12- More Indigenous Feminism… and Gynocentrism

I feel that there are absolutely differences between these two ideas. Indigenous feminism relates mostly with women of different cultures striving for power and control to ultimately make decisions in a larger context. This is based around the belief of equality throughout the society. Also, a good amount of this notion is fighting against oppression, while being treated with respect and making their voices heard.
Gynocentrism focuses more on the belief that females should portray a specific role within the community. More so than just being primarily maternal figures, Gynocentrism is a concept that strives for more female contribution within the entire society. For example, in Paula Gunn Allen’s “The Sacred Hoop” the ideology is shared that women can lead tribes based on their strong decision making attributes. They rely on their nurturing behavior to benefit other aspects of life within their communities.

Week 11- Laduke

In “Akwesasne: Mohawk Mothers’ Milk and PCB’s” the adversity between the nation and General Motors is explained. I might have been naïve to this type of behavior before, but I was really shocked to find out all the pollution and damage GM has contributed to Mohawk land, water and people. It’s flat out sad that a company can be so inconsiderate. Yet, the fact of the matter is that this type of behavior goes on and drastic changes need to be made to voice Native concerns.
The Mohawk people have lived on the eastern part of the continent for many generations. Communities were established scattered over 14 million acres across the US and Canadian border. The lands were eventually ceded by American leaders such as George Washington through force and deceit, until only around 14,000 acres remained. Like many Natives have been accustomed to throughout time, they had to adapt to survive economically. During this time, although difficult, the Mohawk pride themselves on staying true to their culture and way of life. Yet, with industry taking over this was not an easy task. Pollution problems have taken over the community and as a result land is devastated. Until 1978 when PCB’s were banned, virtually all PCB’s polluted the air, water, vegetation, and animal life. Again, I am saddened for what these people have to go through as a result of big time companies disrespecting others for money. I agree that accommodations have to be made for future generations and the health and safety of Akwesasne people.

Week 11- Indigenous Feminisms

Andrea Smith’s, Indigenous Feminism without Apology, takes a closer look at being labeled as a “feminist.” The debate comes from feminism as an indigenous concept chosen by white women. She goes on to challenge the roles of patriarchy within Native communities along with white supremacy dealing with mainstream white feminism. In other words, why do white women get to define what feminism is?
The main idea surrounds the third wave of feminism, to transform feminism into a multicultural movement. Taking from various feminist histories, including Native resistance to colonization in 1492, would allow for a stronger contribution from all feminists instead of only whites.
A fine line has to be drawn between the project of national liberation and nation-state building. Yet to rally against the hate crimes the slogan, “We’re American too” is been widely encouraged. Showing an allegiance to America may temporarily make things better, but that can’t be said for everyone. One activist stated: “You can’t win a revolution on your own. And we are about nothing short of a revolution. Anything else is simply not worth our time.”

Week 10- The Sacred Hoop

Paula Gunn Allen’s “The Sacred Hoop,” is a controversial text that takes a closer look at Native traditions and beliefs, and how they were actually undermined by Europeans. The book focuses on the role that women played in Native gynocentric societies. Allen argues that many Native tribes were heavily influenced by the decisions of women, in opposition to the belief of balance between male and female reliance. Regardless, Allen’s work centers on the contributions and the role women play in American Indian traditions.

Week 10- Jim Thorpe

I wanted to dedicate one of my blogs for this week to the person I gave my presentation on… Jim Thorpe. Even though only three people in the class knew who he was before I presented on him, I wasn’t surprised. It’s really unfortunate that Jim Thorpe’s story hasn’t been told as much as it deserves. When you think about the greatest athletes ever, the names Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Babe Ruth all come to mind. One name that deserves to be on that list is Jim Thorpe.
Jim was without a doubt an incredible naturally gifted athlete. He was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma where he was known as Wa-Tho-Huk. This translated to “Bright Path,” which is exactly the path Jim Thorpe was on. At age 16, he attended Carlisle Indian School and began his athletic career. He was first team All American and won the national championship. At age 24 he won a gold medal in the Belgium Olympics in the decathlon and pentathlon. After the Olympics he played professional football and baseball. He was named the first president of the American Professional Football Association. As a result, we can credit the National Football League to Jim Thorpe.
1912 Olympic silver medalist Abel Kiviat on Thorpe
"He was the greatest athlete who ever lived.... What he had was natural ability. There wasn't anything he couldn't do. All he had to see is someone doin' something and he tried it ... and he'd do it better."
It’s hard to summarize all Jim Thorpe in a single blog post but I recommended you do some more outside for yourself. Thorpe was not only an amazing athlete, but also a prominent figure for changing the negative misrepresentation of Native Americans through athletics. Through thick and thin, Thorpe prided himself in being the best he can be. He is in the Pro and College Football Hall of Fame, along with The Track and Field Hall of Fame. He was also ranked third on the AP list of top athletes of the 20th century. Today the Jim Thorpe Association awards scholarships and honors to high school and collegiate athletes focusing on academics and leadership.

Week 8- Powell

Powell’s “Down by the River,” opened my eyes to a new term on the perspective of “survivance” or a combination between survival and resistance. Her message is strong, in that Indians who speak out for what they believe in is already an act of resistance. I found the part where she wrote about re-imagining ourselves to be most interesting. By understanding who you are, and accepting it is more powerful than trying to change. Although change is possible, it can be regarded as a negative feature. Change is above all necessary for learning about the past to better prepare for the future. In doing so, we find out more about ourselves and our relationship to others. The more knowledge we can attain and the more education we can share with others is ultimately the driving force for an effective lifestyle. Powell emphasizes the importance of stories and how they are the way for us to learn about each other. The power to tell and listen to stories relating with an understanding of who the audience is and what will influence persuasion. Her story is an example of how she believes life should be. She says our lives should not be ruined by making things harder on ourselves than they need to be. By over analyzing, we have a tendency to miss the larger message and as a result miss out on what we can learn from our own comfort.

Week 8- Delicious Food in Class...

I will admit that initially I was very skeptical to trying both dishes. Yet, to my surprise both were so good I had to go back for seconds. I especially like the Wild Rice Casserole. I feel that the dish would have been even better served with buffalo meat, and I now want to try buffalo. I did some research on buffalo as a source of food and I found that they have been since the 1500’s for natives. The buffalo supplied virtually everything that the Plain Indians needed to stay alive; food, clothing, tools, and housing. However, the arrival of Europeans made it increasingly difficult to hunt buffalo for food because of hunting for sport. Buffalo meat is significantly higher in protein and lower in fat, cholesterol, and calories than most other meats. All buffalo meat can be eaten, and it is noted that the tongue is the best part of the meat.

Week 7- My Blog on my Classmate’s Blogs

Getting to read my classmate’s blogs was a very rewarding experience for me. I read a good amount of interesting analysis and opinions similar and different from my own. I was most intrigued by what my peers had to say on Trudell, The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, and the controversial issue of mascots.

I think the insight on John Trudell was incredible. The fact that most of us in class had never heard of Trudell before blows my mind. He is an extremely interesting guy who has lived a very inspirational life with highs and lows. I really like how he calls himself a civil rights activist. Also, the way he sends a message through is poetry is really beautiful. I agreed with my classmates that he is a great leader who doesn’t get the attention he deserves, so future generations should know who he is. I feel that if I would have known about him growing up it would have benefited me greatly.

Regarding Sherman Alexie’s novel I was surprised to look at the different feelings towards it. The responses made me think of this book in a completely different manner. I got so caught up in the optimistic story of Junior; I negated the fact that he is essentially confirming many stereotypes of Native Americans in our society today. Rather than embrace who he is, he points out the negative aspects of being Indian and assimilates to a white lifestyle. This unfortunately takes away a lot of the positive feelings I had about Sherman Alexie. Trudell should absolutely be disappointed.

Lastly, the recent mascot controversies have sparked an interest with me and I am curious to find out how these situations are handled. The hardest thing for me to comprehend is how can it be determined if the “line is crossed.” I would imagine that choosing the mascot to represent a school area or population would have good intentions. Yet, by using mascots to intimidate is that just adding fuel to the fire of already overblown stereotypes? The relationship between the represented tribe and the team must be on good terms. If not there isn’t much debate as to why the tribe may be against it.

Week 6- Debbie Reese Take 2

“Images of Indians in Children’s Books,” Reese’s other blog is intended to find pictures in children’s books and comics that portray ordinary stereotypes about Native Americans. They are primarily based around visual rhetoric of what an Indian is supposed to look like. This includes war paint, bow and arrows, large head dresses, totem poles, and even dogs. These passages explain the problems of creating inaccurate perceptions. The over exaggeration of these pieces of work essentially give off false perceptions and as a result the readers have a skewed mentality. I for one know that seeing Indian images portraying them as barbaric and primitive formed my opinions of Indians in a negative manner. As a result the way I looked at people of this race for a part of my childhood was severely wrong.

Week 6- Dr. Debbie Reese’s Blogs

Dr. Debbie Reese is a Native American professor at UIUC who focuses on “American Indians in Children’s Literature.” She responds to the notion of difficulties regarding children books that accurately portray Indians. While glancing over her blogs I came across Sharon Creech’s Walk Two Moons. Since I was studying this novel in one of my other classes I was interested to take a closer look at a critical perspective of indigenous people in this book. Beverly Satin’s response was extremely critical of the social events pertaining to Native Americans. Although she admits the novel is beautifully written and a compelling story she is thrown off by the cultural and historical flaws of “Indian” material. The protagonist, Sal, constantly refers to her “Indian blood,” and the quote “Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked two moons in his moccasins” is used and abused. Yet the story doesn’t provide any insight to anything Native American. The title itself implies that the story is based around Native American beliefs dealing with a closer relationship and better understanding of nature. Although the title can be assumed to correlate with Indians, the book provides little contextual evidence that it is indeed so. Even though the book is fiction, the characters are manipulated and misrepresented to further demonstrate racial prejudice.

Week 5- Casinos

In recent news, The Illinois Gaming Board decided to build a casino in Des Plaines, Illinois near my hometown. As a result I was curious to find out what role American Indians played in gambling enterprises and how much revenue is made. Indian Gaming enterprises include gambling businesses operated on Indian reservations or tribal land. Indian tribes have limited sovereignty over these businesses and are granted the ability to establish gambling enterprises outside of direct state regulation. After the federal government gave more control over economic development some began operating gaming places. Yet, only 90 of 557 nation’s tribes are involved in gaming. The positive factors of casinos for Indian Americans are population increase and an increase in available jobs. Also, tribes use their profits for the better of the reservation and its people. They are building schools/colleges and community centers, setting up education trust funds/scholarships, and investing in alcohol and drug treatment programs. Negative factors include a higher crime rate and increase in bankruptcies. As for the casino in Des Plaines, most of the revenue will go to the city for improvements in education and fixing up the city.

Week 5- The Birchbark House

There are many components to Louise Erdrich’s The Birchbark House, but most are related back to the aspects of ties to the land and environment. The family transitions from their winter cabin to their summer birchbark house while dealing with family, neighbors, wildlife and dreams. The major theme of respect for nature flourished over all concepts of the book. Identity and gender roles, assimilation and spirituality all intertwine with the land and environment yet the notion of “Earth is our Mother” is prevalent over all. The book emphasizes understanding change and adaptation going along with the land. The Omakayas family focuses on the correlation between the land with knowledge and power while ultimately gaining valuable resources from it.

Another common theme is the concept of reciprocity, or balance of giving back to the land. In doing so, the family takes into account only using the bare essentials to survive. The sustainability of lifestyle is also very apparent in this book. The ties to The Birchbark House are apparent regarding the kinship with the environment in particular recognizing it as siblings. The ideologies of learning from nature and animals stay true to the beliefs behind family togetherness. After using an animal as a source of food, the family buries the bones as a proper burial. Also tobacco ties are regarded as sacred and used as gifts. The symbolism of birds, in particular owls and foreboding, show the inner relationship between land/environment and society.

Week 4- Trudell

In response to the movie in class, its fair to assume that John Trudell is a well educated American Indian activist, who has taken the initiative to voice his beliefs of equality for his people. Also poet and performer, Trudell is a spiritualist who was willing to dedicate his life to the dangerous American Indian cause. He stressed the importance of native consciousness, or in other words the transition of living life in a coherent manner.

The common theme that he stays true to is questioning the government on enforcing treaties of the past. He states treaties are laws and for them to be broken regarding the American Indians is essentially disrespecting the U.S. Constitution and more importantly our ancestors. Throughout the many programs including AIM, and public speaking, John Trudell couldn't fathom how Manifest Destiny justified genocide against American Indians. The government didn't offer much compassion and never could admit they were wrong. I found it interesting that the majority of American citizens agreed with native peoples and not the government, ultimately becoming a threat.

The part I was most amazed and disgusted by is when John burned the American flag, and twelve hours later his home was burned down killing his whole family. In retrospect Trudell most likely wishes he could take his actions back but that being said he felt he had to take drastic action to prove a point. I would be oblivious to think the govt. didn't retaliate, and that sickens me.

Week 4- American Indian Language

Week 3- American Indian Language

For this weeks readings I wanted to take a closer look at the American Indian Language in reaction to the highly metaphorical aspect of them. First it’s pertinent to state that American Indian tribes had various forms of language and communication. I found the complexity and frequent use of metaphors to correspond words and things intriguing to try to make a comparison to usage today. The main idea to understand is how the words embody concepts and relationships between physical and spiritual forces. For example “When I dance, I am the corn,” expressing sense of identity with corn.

Metaphor in English today is considered a figure of speech yet the intellectual power is much more. In native languages metaphors express the intimate relationship with human and physical worlds. For example in the Aztec Empire, the word white derived from salt, red originated from the word for blood, and green from the general word for plants. Also, parts of the body were associated with other objects such as bark for skin, and a door with the mouth. These associations make sense within accepted intellectual constructs in a society. The story of Selu in a literary sense tells the story of a mother who was killed by her two boys and corn grows where her blood sank into the ground. As a metaphor it explains the connection between human and earth fertility, and cycles in life.

Week 3- Algonquin Indians

Starting to do research for my autobiography assignment I made a connection that I became intrigued with. Living a few towns away from Algonquin, Illinois I was curious to find out more about how the name originated. I was surprised to find that not much credit was given the American Indians for the naming of the city. It was mentioned that long before Europeans settled the Potawatomi American Indians inhibited the land. They became victims of European politics, and by 1894 the first settler Samuel Gillilan came from Virginia to take over the territory. Much changed but the name Algonquin stuck around. The Algonquin banded together with Iroquois and are very closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe culturally and linguistically. Some more information I found was that there are still around 8,000 Algonquin Indians in Canada today.

Week 3- Colonialism

In response to Davis Spurr's The Rhetoric of Empire regarding Western cultures, the idea of colonialism relating to gaze and surveillance is relevant. By watching others behavior and culture as an outsider, preconceived stereotypes and objectivity allow for a relationship struggle. Colonialism, or the exploitation by a stronger country over a weaker one was a very common tendency in Western civilization, and for this case Indian American life. The harsh reality was that many natives were killed based on the belief that they were inferior peoples from even a divine point of view. Yet for the most part the two societies coexisted for the time being. The mission was to take a progressive view and assimilate the natives for culture and arts to mainstream American civilization. This approach was difficult to follow with westward expansion at the forefront of society. Gaze and surveillance are apparent as a result of the colonizer's actions of how the natives were regarded. The Europeans had full advantage of the natives because of the way they were portrayed as dangerous and different. Yet, the observations of others can be skewed and biased based on what was unknown.

Week 2- American Indians on Obama

In regards to the recent presidential elections the American Indian nation stated their opinion and gave their blessing for Barrack Obama to become the next U.S. president. This was a decision that was made which was deemed best for the American Indian society as a whole. Obama has promised to help put an end to the neglect that American Indians have been dealing with for a long period of time. As a result Obama had and will continue to have the support of the American Indian nation. A major issue is criminal jurisdiction on Indian land and Indian versus Federal governments. Yet, more than anything and along with the rest of the U.S. Obama brings a sense of change and inspires us to want, dream, and do more.

Week 2- Understanding the Earth

After this weeks readings the issue that I find most interesting and relevant is American Indian relationship with the earth/land. The spiritual commitments made in treating the land, trees, rivers, etc as living objects and with respect is a way of life that I commend and think should be more of is today's society. The theme of respect is taken very seriously in a manner of reciprocity. A mutual balance and giving back to the land is essential to a proper existence. The earth provides knowledge and power and American Indians understand this notion. Also, to go along with this, as the land changes, so must the people. Americans Indians have a unique ability to physically and spiritually cleanse their minds and stay true to their beliefs.