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.