As we learned in class, the Pueblo Indians is a specific group of Native Americans found in central New Mexico to northeastern Arizona. The Laguna Pueblo Reservation in found between Albuquerque and Los Alamos, New Mexico. The conflicts between the Pueblos and the whites began in the sixteenth century, when the Spanish decided to settle within the area of the Pueblos. After the Mexican-American war, the United States took control of the area surrounding the reservation. From there, the United States government implemented a “Reservation system, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and government-run schools for Native Americans.” (Native Americans of Southwest: 1). The use of storytelling is used in traditional Native American culture and is portrayed throughout the novel. The author uses the main character, Tayo, to intertwine the stories told by Native Americans into the life that in portrayed in the novel. Ceremony was created to help spread the word about the importance of preserving the Native American culture, and creating an awareness of the cultural hybridity between the Native American traditions and the whites.…
The documentary “Indians, Outlaws and Angie Debo” shows Angie Debo as a 98-year old lady, reflecting on her experiences in life. In the documentary she talks about Oklahoma´s history of depriving its five Native American tribes of their land and resources in the 1930s from the perspective of the displaced. Native Americans during this time were seen more than ever as a bounded group by the European Anglo-Americans [in the following analysis, the dominant European Anglo-American group is referred to as whites to simplify the reading]. In comparison to whites who felt superior and avowed to themselves the power to dominate the inferior race, the Native Americans were ascribed a strongly subordinated position in society and were treated in a discriminatory way by the whites.…
This report is based on the book Thunder Rides a Black Horse written by Claire R. Farrer. This book is written in context of an indian group called the Mescalero Apache Indians. Their reservation and ceremonial grounds are based in the south-central part of New Mexico. The author is very familiar with this tribe as she claims to be like family with some of the members. She writes this book based on her visit to join in on one of their big traditions. It is called the puberty ceremonials. These ceremonies are where the young girls of the tribe are traditionally accepted as women into their society. The Mescalero Apache Indians still use a lot of their old traditions and still believe in their old myths. Bernard, who was a dear friend of the author told many stories revolving the the ancient ways of the Mescalero Apache tribe. As in their creation, their ways of live, and even their traditions.…
Tim O’Brien’s novel In the Lake of the Woods perpetually references the preceding atrocities that blemish American history. Within the chapters titled ‘Evidence’, scattered amongst the evidence accumulated for the fictional investigation into Kathy Wade’s disappearance, quotations from characters both authentic and fake exhibit the catalogue of concealed violence embedded in American history. Quotations reference the brutality in the battles of Lexington and Concord where the colonists were “as deplorable as the Indians for scalping and cutting the dead men’s auditory perceivers and nasal perceivers off” (262). Further references contained in the Evidence chapters regarding the Native Americans reiterate the words “exterminate” (260) and verbalize…
Hurt, shame, humiliation, and pain. The struggle for Indigenous people is a continuous cycle of abuse and one of broken hopes and dreams. In Deborah Miranda’s tribal memoir, Bad Indians, she uses her narrative along with primary sources and related stories to reassess previous knowledge about how the lives of American Indians were affected by colonialism. Through the use of tone, point of view, and counter discourse, Miranda sheds light on how the gender-based violence and sexual abuse that accompanies colonialism, despite the notion that settlers were following Christian ideals, shaped a new Indigenous society that tore their culture apart and led to a mosaic of their broken identities. By creating a distinction between historically dominant…
The scene begins with a small sunlit bedroom; the camera’s focus is on an empty bed fitted with railings. The narrator’s voice emerges: “I’ve never asked myself what binds me to my community or to my culture. I’ve never had to. It seemed obvious.” Last Call Indian: Searching For Mohawk Identity, is a documentary that begins with a clear and direct statement that takes a look at the reality Sonia Boileau, a last generation status Indian, faces as she tries to hold on to her culture after the passing of her grandfather. In the process of Boileau’s quest to find her identity, what it means to be Mohawk and to understand the generation of status Indians, she discovers true identity isn’t determined by any band number or status card.…
The rituals were reviewed as an important significance in facilitating interactions with the sacred. In other words, it can mean communing with deities, and honoring ancestors. This underscores the connection of Native American’s relationship with their spirits and ancestors. However, the Native Americans are having to fight a major battle in maintaining tradition yet allowing for the influence of contemporary values they face every day. It proves to be challenging because the beliefs that make contemporary society are drastically different from their traditional customs. In addition, being a Native American had a stereotype associated to being drug addicts and alcoholics. This meant no jobs, and no housing. Due to the lack of respect for the way these people pray, and live to understand their relationship of the world around them the biggest problem, Annika explains, for the Native American people today is invisibility. She explains throughout the film how the American people forgot about the natives, where they made treaties with them and yet failed to uphold their part of the treaty, by stealing lands. One of the many ways these Native Americans have been countering these issues have been where one out of four tribes in the US have casinos and use that money to fund education, housing and have control over their own finances and resources. This creates freedom for the community while at the same time holding on to their identity. Vic Camp, one of several interviewees of the film beautifully summarizes the reflection of the Native American’s struggles by stating, “[w]e live in America, but we are not Americans. But we are the first nation here, protectors of this land. So we are going to be here on the July 4th to celebrate our independence…
When the government constantly issues tiny borders for the Cherokee Indians, they do not take into account the reality that the Cherokee Indians don’t have anywhere to go. The land the government wants is the only home of the Indians. The government swiftly annihilates rebels and sticks to its plan to gain more land (Carnes, 1996). Although this might seem like a plan of perseverance, it is selfish, ensnares, and abuses others. The Indians have lost their kin and home because of wrong control. This piece of evidence is important because it reveals the personal desires of the government and its cruel ways to get what it wants (Carnes, 1996). This system of law keeps people powerless and dependent on the government. While the Indian’s homes are to be abandoned, they offer no solution to the problem, and depend on their leader, Sitting Bull. Sitting Bull proposes and leads an idea of peace with the Americans, but this all comes to an end when he is accidentally killed by a policeman. The Indians seek a new leader [a strange farmer], and rely on the miraculous Ghost Dance (Carnes, 1996). Their enemy views the dance as a superstitious, and then massacres all of the Indians. Because of the selfish control of the government, led by fear of the Indians and greed, the Indians have no freedom; this shows how much people shouldn’t have ultimate control over…
In The Roundhouse, a central portion of the novel surrounds the horrific rape of an innocent Native American mother, Geraldine, as well as the murder and abuse of Mayla, a young Native American woman. The theme of abuse of Native Americans, in particular, women, is essential to the plot. It is the painful reality of Native American life: that these peoples have been systematically and egregiously mishandled, attacked, and abused. I was interested to see how prevalent the violence against both Native American women and men was. I wanted to know the statistics surrounding the abuse as well as what kinds of abuse. In addition, I wanted to learn more about the kind of perpetrators of crimes against Native Americans. The violence against Native…
The Cherokee are perhaps one of the most interesting of Native American Groups. Their life and culture are closely intertwined with early American settlers and the history of our own nation 's struggle for freedom. In the interest of promoting tolerance and peace, and with regard to the United States government 's handling of Native affairs, their story is one that is painful, stoic, and must not be forgotten.…
Celane’s retelling of Dewey Beard’s tale of the massacre at Wounded Knee is haunting because of the sheer inhumanity and brutality of it all. Dewey, his family, and approximately 300 other Indians were on a winter trek to Pine Ridge when they met up with the U.S. 7th Cavalry. The cavalry had orders to disarm the Indians but the Indians couldn’t understand the logic behind it. They needed those weapons to feed their families and to protect themselves. The soldiers lulled them into a false sense of security by offering them food and drink. They were starving so they obligingly took it.…
“Who’s your favorite Indian? …Nobody, nobody, nobody…” as Victor, the pessimistic protagonist of a movie “Smoke Signals”, set in the 1970’s asserts, revealing indignity towards his own nation when his drunken father asks him who his favorite Indian is. The Native American population, having been discriminated against and vexed by the White American society, underwent great stress and prejudice, and therefore was locked in a vicious cycle of the discrimination towards their nation and the consumption of alcohol. Just as Victor was ashamed of his father’s alcoholism, the nation itself was similarly ashamed of this social issue. “ The last successful chapter in any genocide is when the oppressor can remove his hands my god what is this people doing to themselves, their killing each other and then it becomes a situations where they can blame them” (TED talk). Apart from the internal factors that induced shame on this nation by the nation itself, there were also other external factors that mortified the Native Americans with their…
Native Americans have felt distress from societal and governmental interactions for hundreds of years. American Indian protests against these pressures date back to the colonial period. Broken treaties, removal policies, acculturation, and assimilation have scarred the indigenous societies of the United States. These policies and the continued oppression of the native communities produced an atmosphere of heightened tension. Governmental pressure for assimilation and their apparent aim to destroy cultures, communities, and identities through policies gave the native people a reason to fight. The unanticipated consequence was the subsequent creation of a pan-American Indian identity of the 1960s. These factors combined with poverty, racism, and prolonged discrimination fueled a resentment that had been present in Indian communities for many years. In 1968, the formation of the American Indian Movement took place to tackle the situation and position of Native Americans in society. This movement gave way to a series of radical protests, which were designed to draw awareness to the concerns of American Indians and to compel the federal government to act on their behalf. The movement's major events were the occupation of Alcatraz, Mount Rushmore, The Trail of Broken Treaties, and Wounded Knee II. These AIM efforts in the 1960s and 1970s era of protest contained many sociological theories that helped and hindered the Native Americans success. The Governments continued repression of the Native Americans assisted in the more radicalized approach of the American Indian Movement. Radical tactics combined with media attention stained the AIM and their effectiveness. Native militancy became a repertoire of action along with adopted strategies from the Civil Rights Movement. In this essay, I will explain the formation of AIM and their major events, while revealing that this identity based social movement's…
Thesis: Modern Native American traditions reflect the history of struggle, strife and triumph they experienced in history.…
In the short story, “Battle Royal”, Ralph Ellison uncovers a boy’s fight to maintain his dignity in a world of racial injustice. The first person narration portrays a naïve view of the boy’s values of what he believes is important in life that is only questioned by his grandpa’s firm conviction of dignity. On page 39, starting with paragraph 99, the text depicts the differences between the two segregated worlds of black and white.…