What I've Learned

This semester has been very busy for me. In my American Indian Literatures and Cultures class I've learned a few things since the beginning of the semester.

• I've learned that American Indians are alive and active today. This isn't to say that I didn't think this at the beginning of the semester -- it's just that now I can name authors who are producing works now that are relevant to today's times.
• I've learned that most of what I've learned in school prior to this course has been a very incomplete story.
• I've learned that I love creation stories. I think partly because I am not very religious, at least not in a "I go to church every Sunday" sort of way. I love, love, love creation stories and that American Indians believe that everything is connected.
• I've learned about a reciprocal relationship with the earth and humans and this makes total sense to me.
• I've learned that I need to try harder when I am a teacher to help diminish the misconceptions about American Indians and open my students' eyes as mine have been opened this semester.

The Truth About Stories

Thomas King's book, The Truth About Stories, was by far one of my favorites that we read in this class. There were lots of points that I enjoyed reading. His writing was more of a conversation which made it very easy to follow and understand. I loved the Afterword. He wrote "If we change the stories we live by, quite possibly we change our lives" (153). I love this quote. I think it is absolutely true. We tell stories all the time. There are some people who only tell sad stories, people who only tell stories to "one-up" the other person, some people who tell funny stories all the time. I don't know which one is better or worse. I think that some people who only tell funny stories are, at times, avoiding bigger things in their life. Using humor to avoid the situation. People who only bring up sad times can not be very happy in their life. I think the best combo is when people tell truthful stories. Ones that can teach other, ones that can share something with others.
We often go out with friends and the conversation revolves around stories. Stories are a part of us. They are in our history and in our future.
Some more quotes that I loved from the book:
"For once a story is told, it cannont be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world" (10).
"We both knew that stories were medicine, that a story told one way could cure, that the same story told another way could injure" (92).
I think these two quotes are so related, which is another reason why I loved this book. Stories are powerful. We need to be careful with them and treat them well so that they will treat us well in return.

American Indians and Medicine

One of my classmates is doing her final project on medicine. She is comparing American Indian medicine to Western medicine. I think this project is really interesting. I used to pop pills like they were going out of style when I had a backache or headache. Probably within the last 10 years I have tried to adjust that. I have learned to instead try drinking water first. Something as simple as drinking water usually cures a headache or backache for me. I have recently become interested in alternative medicine because of another issue that I have been dealing with for the last three years. I like that balance is a huge concern for American Indians and I think that there medicine practices probably reflect that as well. I also really enjoyed hearing how everything they used was from nature. Porcupine quills for needles. Another student's presentation talked about how American Indians were the first recyclers and I think they were and are still today very involved in the environment. If only the rest of us had joined in on the cause long ago, we wouldn't have a "Green Movement", being "green" would just be a part of our lives.

The image was found at http://www.ojibwatea.com/images/indianwheel.jpg

Incorporating AI Lit into all facets of Lit

So, this question really got me thinking. How can we, as future educators, change the perception of American Indian literature? I know that I was not exposed to much, if any, American Indian literature in my high school or grade school. I remember reading Indian in the Cupboard, but that was on my own in grade school so I'm sure I wasn't reading critically or thinking about the book after I finished it.
I don't think that literature/poems written by American Indians should be put in their own separate category...i.e. we only teach them when talking about Early American History. This makes the Indians appear as though they don't exist anymore, that they aren't producing literature today. I think that the exposure that we have gotten in this class will definitely be useful to me in the future. I would love to be able to talk about e.e. cummings and then use Quo-Li Driskill in the same unit. I think that acknowledging the background of the author is important but separating the authors into White/African American/American Indian, etc. is more damaging than anything. It is saying that these authors can't be read together...that we can't find commonalities among all the works. I think that we can and should and need to interweave the authors of all backgrounds into major themes not timelines.
I hope to be able to use something from this course next year when I student teach. I am challenging myself to somehow incorporate a modern poem or story written by an American Indian into my students' lives. I know this movement, if one wants to call it that, needs to start small in a single classroom and then it will hopefully multiply and change views of other people.

Favorite Poem of Joy Harjo

I actually liked a lot of Harjo's poems in her book How We Became Human, but one poem really stuck with me.

If All Events Are Related

If all events are related, then what story does a volcano erupting in
Hawai'i, the birth of a woman's second son near Gallup, and this
shoulderbone of earth made of a mythic monster's anger construct?
Nearby a meteor crashes. Someone invents aerodynamics, makes
wings. The answer is like rushing wind: simple faith.

I often think that certain things happen for a reason, because something else happened somewhere that now causes this thing to happen to me or people I know. Some times I am angry when things don't go the way I want them to, but I try to remember that everything happens in its own time. I sometimes laugh when I am driving down to school and I am late (which is often). Usually I am angry at myself and then I see a cop whose pulled over someone a few miles up the road. It makes me think that I am late for a reason. Had I left my house 10 minutes earlier it probably would have been me pulled over on the road.

Maybe this isn't even what she is trying to say but I had these thoughts go through me when I read this poem. It makes me think of chaos theory -- that if a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world, a hurricane/tornado/blizzard (insert any natural disaster) will occur in another part of the world.

Qwo-Li Driskill

I really enjoyed reading Qwo-Li's Walking with Ghosts. I'd like to talk about some lines that struck me and why.

"For Matthew", the poem about Matthew Shepard.
"We have no more time for symbols.
We have no more time for vigils.
We have no more time"
I love these phrases. It shows that people need to stop reacting to events and start steppin up to the issues. It is a call for action, NOW, not after the fact. I think these lines are so powerful in really driving home the issue of acting instead of reacting.

I love the visual aspect in "Map of the Americas". I really like seeing the time and effort taken not only in the words chosen but also the placement of each of those letters. It truly shows a dedication to hir work.

Simple words, simple phrases. The fact that Qwo-Li can choose such words honestly and directly is very powerful. In "To Your Rude Question, What's Your Pedigree? A Response", his words are short and to the point. They create a powerful image and tell a story. It proves that you don't need to say a lot to have a great impact.

F.C. Martinez

This week we read poems by Qwo-Li Driskill. Hir poems are very well-written, thoughtful, powerful, imaginative, creative and thought-provoking. Driskill ends hir book with a series of poems written in memoriam for FC Martinez, Jr. Our professor provided us with a newsarticle of the horrific tragedy that took place in Colorado. This event took Martinez's life and Shaun Murphy pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. FC was a two-spirit, just like Qwo-Li is, and was the victim of an apparent hate-crime against transgendered, gay individuals.
I was curious to find out the result of the sentencing and I can report that Murphy received 40 years and must serve 25 before being eligible for parole. More on the story can be found here. There is a nice statement from FC's mother that really shows her character. I can not begin to imagine what it must feel like to lose a child to such a terrible crime. My heart goes out to FC's family and friends.
I think what I take away from all of this is that it seems to me that the Indian community is much more tolerable of differences than other communities. Accepting people for their differences - actually, embracing people for their differences is what is going to make this world keep going. If we don't start now, it will be too late in the future.

Feminism...

This week we have been talking about Indigenous Feminism. For the most part, I liked the articles that we read. I will admit that I have never thought of myself as a Feminist. I think because when I picture a Feminist I see a woman who is not very feminine, bra-burning, man-hating, insert word that rhymes with witch. That is the negative connotation that has come across to me most strongly when I think of feminism. Now, if you ask me if I think women deserve equal pay, equal vote, equal rights...Absolutely. If that makes me a feminist then I guess I am. I really enjoyed reading about the connection between feminism and the earth and environment especially when it was illustrated that women are the first environment. I feel sorry for the women who have had miscarriages, not due to a hereditary element but to an environmental element that could have easily been prevented if the big companies had been more responsible. Women who go through the pain of miscarriage have a big enough burden than having to worry about trying to battle big companies. I think that it is amazing what some of these Native communities are trying to do and to accomplish not just for the good of their own nation and people but also for the planet.

LaDuke and Akwesasne article

After reading LaDuke’s article about Akwesasne and the contamination of PCBs from the GM plant and other industrial plants, I wasn’t surprised to learn about the Mohawk people’s dedication to preserving the land that they live upon. Throughout this semester in this course, we have talked repeatedly about the ties to the land that Native Indians have. That spiritual, cyclical relationship that Natives have can be a hard concept for Americans to grasp. This is evident in LaDuke’s article and her brief history of industrialization in this land. Back in 1903, when the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) first established a factory, I’m sure the people who were running that factory were not worried about the damage that they were causing to the land surrounding them. From my understanding of industrialization, it seems that making money and progressing forward was probably first and foremost the most important thing. It’s reminiscent of the whole “outta sight, outta mind” mantra. Environmental pollution is a tricky situation especially because in the past, people were not aware of the damage that was being done. By the time, it was made aware, it was almost certainly too late to undo the damage.

It was inspiring to read about Katsi Cook’s efforts. She certainly is a strong woman to battle with major corporations and to ask for help from the Environmental Protection Agency.
I enjoy how LaDuke ended her essay. In the last paragraph she states, “the welfare of the entire planet is at stake” (23). I think with the recent “Green Movement” that people are becoming more and more aware of the dire state of need that our planet is in. We, as a human race, need to come together and really start believing in that reciprocal relationship that every human has with the earth.


· LaDuke W. 1999. All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life. Cambridge, MA:South End Press.

Summary of The Sacred Hoop

In The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions, Paula Gunn Allen covers a wide array of roles that American Indian women struggle with in today’s society. These roles include historical roles as chiefs, healers, dreamers, shamans and more modern roles as wives, mothers, daughters, lesbians. Allen explores the struggle that American Indian women face as they try to find their voice as an American Indian, as an American and as a woman in today’s world. She discusses the obstacles of physical survival and cultural survival that Native women face as a result of their historical role in a gynecentric society to their role today in a patriarchal society. Allen provides a history of tribal traditions such as myths and the importance of women’s roles in these stories. She addresses the change that occurred due to the presence of the white man and their patriarchal views. The status of American Indians has declined in recent years and this is another point that Allen attempts to explore to find out why this has happened and the implications that it holds. Native women struggle to find balance and duality in a modern world that no longer holds the woman as the central rock and focal point that so many tribal myths and stories are based upon. Allen’s book relates not only to the voice that American Indian women are trying to preserve but also to all women in general.

Mother Earth

Paula Gunn Allen’s The Sacred Hoop talks about how the creator of the earth and all things was a female. Thought Woman, Beloved Woman, Grandmother Spider; these are some of the names that different tribes call her. I am not a very religious person. I don’t know much about the stories in the Bible. I am under the assumption that most Christians believe that God is male. Yet, most people also are familiar with the term “Mother Earth”. I think that the fact that American Indian tribes tell creation stories with the creator being female makes sense. If we call our planet “Mother” it makes sense that the earth was created by a woman. Now, I am not going to get into my own personal beliefs about religions, creation, etc. but I like the notion that the stories focus on a female creator of Earth.

I really liked the part in Allen’s book where she talked about a particular story, a Cheyenne tale about Maheo, the All Spirit, creating things out of a void (57). The story says that Maheo needed the help from the birds and other creatures because four things had already been created: the water, the light, the sky-air and the peoples of the water. It is a nice idea to think that the earth was created in harmony with everyone as an active participant. It puts a responsibility on us, as a people, to take care of the earth in a more nurturing way. I think in general that people tend to care more deeply for something or someone if they have an investment in it. If people are held responsible for the creation of something then they are also held responsible for the destruction of that same thing. It goes along with the other themes of the book about duality and balance which I hope to blog about more this weekend.

History and Government

So, after starting to read Paula Gunn Allen's The Sacred Hoop earlier this week, I have come to the realization that I do not know a lot about the history of the United States or Government in general. In the beginning of the book, she addresses a "petticoat government" which I knew nothing about. I guess I have known or thought that I knew that women were treated as more of an equal in Native tribes than in European societies. I didn't know that women were held in such high regard. I didn't know that many tribes had female chiefs who essentially made decisions for the tribes. I didn't know anything about the Beloved Women title and all that it held. It was interesting to read the story about the Jesuits and the Montagnais. It made me chuckle when I read the part about how a male could not do something that he said he was going to do and use the reason that his wife did not want him to do it. It made me think of an old saying "a happy wife is a happy life".
I also wondered what life would have been like if the Indians had not adopted a patriachial society but instead kept a matriachial one. The big questions of "what if..." come into play. What if Le Jeune did not try to "civilize" the Montagnais but instead embraced their way of life? What if European women had more rights instead of fulfilling the roles under the authority of their husbands? What if the Montagnais had not assimilated as much as they did? These questions ultimately would have rewritten the history books. Instead of a male-dominated, white view of history we may have gotten a very different report of the events of history.
The first part of Allen's book was interesting but definitely gave me a sense that I may need more background to fully understand some of the things that she talks about. My lack of historical knowledge made me need to reread some things to try to understand them.

The Three Sisters

Corn, Bean and Squash - a.k.a. The Three Sisters

I was surprised to find out that corn and beans were not native to this country. Since my family has farmed the same ground for over 150 years, I guess I have always assumed that corn and beans were something that was natural in this country.

I liked learning about why the three plants were planted together and that they were intertwined with each other. Farmers will often rotate fields, plant beans one year and the next plant corn to help keep the soil balanced. From everything I’ve learned in this course so far about American Indians believing in a cycle of life and giving and receiving from the land, I wasn’t surprised to find out that the Native tribes thought that these three plants were magical. I think it is amazing that they were able to use the plants in such a way that each one served a purpose and helped the other two somehow. The corn grew tall for the beans to have something to climb and the beans helped with the nitrogen in the soil for the corn to grow better and the squash kept the weeds away because of their large leaves close to the ground. It makes me think of the garden that we have at my farm in the summer. We have a friend who is from Mexico that plants it and he uses these same techniques. He knows exactly what plant to put where and which ones will help the others grow better. It’s an impressive concept and I enjoyed learning more about it, not to mention the bonus of eating all the great food my professor brought to class to inspire us to learn more about the “Three Sisters”.

http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/IroquoisVillage/sistersone.html
http://americanfood.about.com/od/nativeamericanfoods/a/3sis.htm

Comment on Others' Blogs

I really enjoyed reading my classmates' blogs. Although, some of them I have only skimmed because of time constraints, I found many reoccurring themes. One that I think most of us agree on is how interesting it was to learn about John Trudell. I am one who had never heard of this man and I think he is a person that should be taught in history. He belongs with other human activists in the history books.
Another theme that seemed prominent is mascots. This topic can be very touchy but I think everyone's comments to those blogs that talked about mascots was handled well. I also now know to only wear orange on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Fridays...LOL.
I think there were a few good points about Debbie Reese's blog about American Indians depictions in children literature. I agree with those that say that it needs to be taken in stride. Most of the books were written in a different time and therefore also illustrated when the world had a different, and I believe less sympathetic, view towards others. I would like to think that the world is changing and that we, as a people, are becoming more aware of differences and instead of pointing them out or exploiting them, we are embracing those differences.

Can Sherman Alexie be taught in schools?

The video that we watched the other day got me thinking recently about whether or not a teacher could get away with teaching The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. It is most certainly a very good read. I enjoyed reading the book myself. But, I don't think I could imagine myself teaching it to a group of sophomores in high school. Especially the "boner" part in the book. I wonder how a teacher could get around that subject and still teach the book. I definitely think that the book has many things to offer. Even though it is written by an American Indian, I think the biggest theme in the book is trying to belong somewhere. This is something that every teenager struggles with. Trying to find themselves, trying to fit in with a certain crowd, trying new things. I wonder if while teaching this book, it would be best to either ignore the section about boners or if you deal with it and move on. I suppose that it would depend on several factors. One would have to make sure that their school supported their choice to teach this book. One would also have to make sure that the students in the class can be mature enough to handle the book. There are so many topics that one could explore. Prejudice, Death, Bulimia, Alcoholism, Economic Status, the list goes on and on. I think it would be daring to teach a book like this but in the end, if it is done correctly, it would be very beneficial for teenagers to read Alexie's work.

Humor as a defense mechanism but also healing

After reading Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, I have come to the conclusion that the humor used in the novel is used more as a defense mechanism and a way to avoid situations. There is a lot of humor throughout the book and by a few different characters. Obviously Junior/Arnold uses a lot of humor throughout the book. One instance that really stands out to me is when he enters the Wellpinit gym and his tribe turns their backs on him. The only thing he can do is start laughing, which soon sends his team into hysterics. I think it is one of those things like we talked about in class that instead of crying in a situation, he uses laughter. He does the same thing when he finds out that his sister died. He laughs hysterically in the car on the drive back to his house. I think it was his way of dealing with such an intense situation, especially after all the other losses he had endured during the year.
I also noticed, through the article that we read and the book, that Indians use a lot of one-liners. They are very quick-witted. It’s like one of those things where you know someone who doesn’t say much but when they do it’s pretty good. The humor seems to be pretty sharp and even though they make fun of themselves often, at the core is ultimately a dig at Americans. The article, “Custer Died for Your Sins”, states “one-line retorts are common in Indian country” (Deloria, 166). I definitely sensed that while reading the article. There were many examples, especially ones where the Indians were making fun of themselves. “When a people can laugh at themselves and laugh at others and hold all aspects of life together without letting anybody drive them to extremes, then it seems to me that that people can survive” (Deloria, 167). I find this quote to be true not just for Indians but for all people. When someone can make light of a serious situation, I think that is one of the best ways to get through life. Humor can be the one thing that can be healing even if it starts out as a defense mechanism.

Gender Roles in The Birchbark House

I found it very interesting towards the end of the book when Erdrich mentions that the men are gossiping and the women are talking. “The work came first, but then lengthening light in the afternoons kept the children at play outside and kept the aunts talking, the men gossiping, the grandmas reminiscing about their own playing days as small children when they roamed the sugar camps” (208). I thought the use of the word “gossip” to describe the men was telling. To me, gossiping is something that women do. You picture little old ladies sitting at the local diner talking over coffee about who is doing what with whom. I don’t think of men gossiping. Erdrich’s use of words paints a picture that may or may not be accurate. She mentions in the book earlier about how the men talk about ceremonies and treaties, but this use of the word “gossip” puts a new twist on what the conversations are actually about. Are the men talking about others as the word “gossip” implies, or are they merely talking about ceremonies? It blurs the line between genders. Mostly, women gossip but this use of the word suggests that it was commonplace for the Ojibwe men to gossip as well.

"How do we sell the stars?"

This quote from the John Trudell poem got me thinking. Ironically, I was driving home from work the other night and I heard on the radio an ad to "buy a star for someone you love." This made me laugh because we had just talked about this very concept in class. I had heard about this concept of buying your own star before and I was shocked that I heard it on the radio again. Especially with the economy the way it is. Does this company really expect that people are going to essentially waste their money on something that they can never physically touch let alone look at everyday? I started thinking about the method for which they "sell" stars. Does each country have certain amount of stars to sell? How are the stars divided among nations? I understand that there are a crazy amount of stars in the sky but whose decision is it to decide which stars are sold? I think that "owning" a star is a bizarre concept. Obviously it is just another way to make money. Apparently there must be people out there who are buying into this sort of thing. I wonder who those people are and why they think that they have the right to buy a star. It is, to say the least, a very weird phenomena.

John Trudell

The documentary about John Trudell was interesting. I could definitely draw some similarities between what he was saying in the film and the text. One of the first things I noticed is that he felt like he had “been born 100 years too late.” I got the feeling that he felt out of place in his life but that he accepted his role as a political activist because of these feelings. You got the sense that he respected his heritage and was willing to fight for independence. He took pride in his role and that showed when he talked. He was passionate for what he was doing but in a quiet kind of way.
It was really sad to learn about his wife and family. I think John Trudell and Tina Manning were probably soul mates. He said that he reconnected to the earth after “putting my love into the ground.” That reiterates everything that we’ve talked about so far about American Indians feeling connected to the ground and that everything revolves around the relationship with the earth. He seemed to be understated after his family died but still had purpose and meaning in behind what he was doing for the American Indian tribes.

Language

“Language is breath that is given form by thought” (Kidwell & Velie 83). I really liked this quote from the text. The languages of American Indians primarily were spoken and that is how it got passed on to the next generation. I found it interesting to read about metaphors and how metaphors were used to tell lessons to others and also form a relationship between the self and inanimate objects. I think every culture has used metaphors. It is a great medium to try to get a point across that may be abstract or hard to relate to otherwise. I imagine that trying to translate the languages posed a problem and with the many metaphors that the American Indian languages used probably added to the confusion. Language is constantly changing and if it doesn’t get used often it gets lost. Many of the Native languages are being lost because the only people that speak it are the elders of the tribes. I hope that some people are doing what they can to preserve their language so that it doesn’t become lost.

“American Progress” by John Gast
This painting evokes a lot of emotion and information. It is very interesting that from the east, it is bright and sunny but to the west it is dark and unknown. It must have felt like that for the colonists and also for the American Indians. I think this painting illustrates what history illustrates. It is all about whose side gets to tell the story. Obviously, John Gast is telling the story from the colonists’ point of view. For the colonists, moving westward was about opportunity. Opportunity for new land, new crops, new discoveries, new jobs, new lives. This idea of “Manifest Destiny” was not a new concept. For centuries, other nations and people have tried to expand their empire. The Romans are a great example of this. In history, there are many examples of one nation or culture trying to displace another in order to better themselves.

Oppression

It was interesting to read in Chapter 11: Expansion and Removal, that some Cherokees owned slaves. Cherokee was considered to be part of the “Five Civilized Tribes”. In the side bar, there is a tongue-in-cheek comment about what civilized means if this tribe did indeed own slaves just like the colonists did. It made me think of why the colonists came to America. One of the reasons why is because they were being oppressed and they were seeking religious freedom. After arriving in the “new land” the oppressed became oppressors by owning slaves and pushing the American Indian tribes further west. This made me think of Paulo Freire and his thoughts on how “the oppressed become the oppressor”. I think that this can be true in some cases and learning that some Cherokee owned slaves illustrates this point. In order to not be controlled, do we, as people, try to control others? Is it a case of one-upping and “keeping up with the Joneses” that leads us down this behavior? Is it fear that things will be taken away from us so, in order to keep things, we do as our oppressors do and find a group weaker than ourselves to take advantage of?

Life and Death

"Death is not an end in itself, merely a necessary part of life. Time is cyclical, not linear." (Kidwell 23)

I think this quote is very thought-provoking. In the past few years, I have had the unfortunate experience of dealing with death. My husband and I have lost some very close relatives. Some have been sudden and some have been expected, all were unfair and you are never emotionally prepared for anything of that scale to happen in your life. I like this quote, in that it simply states that death is what it is. There is nothing particularly special about it but it is something that has to happen. I find peace in knowing that. It is comforting to think that death is not an end, rather it is an event in time. That maybe there is more out there and it is not a stopping point.

A Pleasant Surprise

I will be honest and say that I didn't really know what to expect from this course. After reading the first couple chapters in Kidwell & Velie's Native American Studies, however, I think I am going to really enjoy it. I really loved reading in Chapter 2 all about the different stories that relate life to the earth. It has peaked my curiosity to learn more about these stories. I like that the stories tell of origins and answer the age-old question of “Why?” The stories also have a deeper meaning in trying to understand life and purpose. It will be interesting to learn more and I hope that throughout the semester I can explore more of these stories.
Since I am a farmer's daughter and a farmer’s wife, I am especially interested in the strong connection that American Indians have with the earth. Many of the tribes seem to believe that life and death are both tied to the land. They have an understanding that it is a reciprocal relationship. The concept of giving and taking is one that I hope to learn more about.