What I Learned

 

On one of the first few days of class, we watched The Navajo Boy. I was first introduced to the idea of separated Native American families through that movie. I had never heard of how native families were split up in an attempt to de-Indianize them. I have always been interested in the sufferings of minorities or other groups of people in foreign countries, but I had never expected such terrible atrocities to happen in this country. I did not know that common Indian caricatures or icons could be so offending. For example, the Atlanta Braves use the red faced Indian cartoon for their mascot. There are also a lot of agricultural items with stereotypical depictions of Indians such as: tobacco and corn starch. Now that I think about it, I would be offended as well if distorted icons of my ethnicity were commonly used. The problem of Indian alcohol abuse was not known to me until I took this class. In Naturally Native, I was very confused as to why the husband would not even let his wife drink a little bit of alcohol. Later, the movie explained that many Indians destroyed their lives through alcohol. I was very unaware of many of the struggles American Indians have had to endure. The Indian casino issue was only vaguely in my mind because of the Simpsons. I remember Homer setting up a casino on an island for a group of natives who ended up destroying their lives with alcohol and gambling. Many cartoons are actually poking fun of reality. I had never really thought of the historical basis behind those episodes until now.

Furthermore, I did not ever think about how Indians are thought of as "less authentic" if they do not wear traditional clothes. Clothes do not define a group of people. However, come to think of it, I have dismissed Indians as INDIANS if they were not wearing feathers and leather. Many people may be guilty of such thought processes without even noticing. Every group has a known stereotype that people use to help themselves categorize others.

Through the book, Playing Indian, I have realized the imprint of Native Americans in the United States. Every American has an Indian side to them. They want to destroy and embrace the savage and noble within the Indians. During the research process for my paper, I found that the Iroquois deeply influenced the written constitution as we know it today. Their women also had the rights that women have today. American Indians are a main part of the modern American. The class has helped me see the contribution of Indians to this country.

The discrimination targeted at Native Americans came as a surprise to me. I had thought they would not be discriminated against because they are the original Americans. However, now I see how the government was so keen on dispersing and destroying their people. The numbering of the natives like prisoners in anti-Semitic Germany struck me very hard. In order to be recognized as Indian, they must have a certificate to identify them as part of a tribe. Through Naturally Native, an Indian produced and directed movie, I learned that only the Indian people are numbered in this way. No other minority group needs to have a piece of paper that tells them of their ethnicity. I found this very ridiculous.

The stereotypes that the public have placed over Indians are so strong that even Indians believe them. In the movie Windtalkers, one young man tells his friend how to be an Indian. He tells him to dress like an Indian and let his long hair flow. Thomas King, in his book The Truth about Stories, also mentioned how he and his brother looked for people who looked like Indians on their trip. Then they realized that they do not know what an Indian looks like either. It is ironic how the stereotypes have gotten so out of hand that it has gone to the heads of the people they are directed towards.

In The Truth about Stories I also learned a few Indian myths. I really like creation myths from different cultures. Everyone has their own way of explaining how the world was created. The world on the turtle's back is a very interesting way of explaining things. I like how there is no one complete good or evil. It talked about balance between the twins. It reflects the world in an accurate way because there is no absolute good or evil in the world either. The story about the duck feathers was my other favorite. It is a good parallel to the actual course of events in American history. The coyote kept getting more feathers until all the feathers were gone just like the Europeans kept taking the Indians' land until they had no more land to give. The book taught me a lot in the area of what Indian children are taught about the world.

I also learned that Indians have not disappeared unlike what American popular culture implies. Indians are living and still in today's society. The smallpox and years of war have not extinguished them. They do not stand out in society like a sore thumb because they dress and act like everyone else. The idea that Indians are a novelty from the past is completely wrong. They have become a minority group in the United States after being the first inhabitants on this continent.

The class has been very good at introducing many problems plaguing Indians today. I would probably never have known all this if I did not take this class. Everything from traditional culture to current lifestyles and grievances was covered in class.