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.