LITR 4332: American Minority
Literature
Sample Student Poetry Presentation 2002
Reader:
Todd Wielichowski
Respondent:
Sara Curtis
Recorder:
Valerie Lawerance
“Travels
in the South”
By
Simon Ortiz in UA pp.278-281
Biographical
Information:
Simon
Ortiz was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was raised in the Acoma village
that spoke the Acoma language. Ortiz attended many colleges throughout his life.
He attended Fort Lewis College in 1962-1963, the University of New Mexico
1966-1968, and the University of Iowa in 1968-1969. Ortiz taught at San Diego
State, the Institute of American Indian Arts, Navajo community college,
University of New Mexico, And Sinte Gleska College. Ortiz who is a full-blooded
American Indian learned English as a second language. While in school he and his
classmates were reprimanded by their teachers if they were caught speaking their
native language.
Ortiz
began writing in the 1960’s when there was a focus on equal rights and social
injustice. Dennis Clifford from the last fall presentation states that “ Ortiz
is not just a Native American writer but the Native American writer”. This
statement seems to be true. Ortiz is easy for readers to read and understand
because his poems have a sense of realness and power to them.
Course
Objectives:
Objective
3b) Loss and survival:
The Indian tribes not being Known, who or where they are. The Native Americans
struggle to survive on their new land “the reservations”.
Objective
4) Assimilation or resistance:
Become an American or stay an Indian, Keep the long hair like my grandfather had
it. Birds and squirrels being seen as brothers.
Objection
5a) To discover the power of poetry and fiction to help other hear the minority
voice and vicariously share the minority experience:
I had a hard time in Atlanta, I though it was because I did not have a suit and
tie, George Wallace against somebody.
Questions:
1) How does the objectives listed above relate to the poem.
2) What does the passage mean “ when I passed the Huntsville State pen
I told the Indian prisoners what the people said and thanked them and felt
humble? Also is their a certain style that you picked up on in the reading.
Class
Discussion:
Jerry:
Loss and Survival comes up. Evan the tribe names have been lost, but remain in
place, but the people do not even remember who they are.
Todd:
It is a foreshadowing to the concept. It was their land, but know no one knows
who or where they are.
Jerry:
He knows, but the white park ranger does not know.
Todd:
Loss and Survival come up a lot throughout the poem.
Dr.White:
There ain’t much they don’t try to take comes up a lot to in the poem.
Todd:
Both tribes move a lot. The Coushatta were split into two reservations in the
East and in the West.
Dr.
White: They
survived
Jerry:
American Indian creation stories involved turtles. He had to cut off a turtles
head and severe the ties of his Indian people.
Todd:
Resistance
is also seen several times. He refuses to cut his long hair and kept like his
grandfathers is resistance.
Todd:
He also uses illusions and imagery with the white crumbs the bread.
Dr
White:
Biblical Imagery. *
Sara:
The white crumbs could be a race issue. The bird is red like Indians are
referred to and the crumbs of the white bread could be the white men giving the
Indian crumbs of their land.
(*Matthew 25.
22A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying
out, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is suffering
terribly from demon-possession."
23Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged
him, "Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us."
24He answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of
Israel."
25The woman came and knelt before him. "Lord, help me!" she
said.
26He replied, "It is not right to take the children's bread and
toss it to their dogs."
27"Yes, Lord," she said, "but even the dogs eat the
crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith! Your
request is granted." And her daughter was healed from that very hour.)