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Model Midterm1 answers 2018 Essay 1: Begin Minority Identification & Analysis (American Indians) Index to Essay 1 Sample Answers |
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Christa Van Allen
02/25/18
Minority Voices: Small but Strong
In the beginning, at least when I was coming into this class, I had some
knowledge of the things I was given by virtue of being part of America’s
dominant culture. Minority was on a basic level anyone that I felt personally
disconnected from, usually from a lack of experience or knowledge in their
culture, beliefs or practices. My initial image of minority is in terms of
ethnicity. I have heard it used in association with things like gender, or
social class before, but only sparingly. Short of interviewing a real person,
the best option was to read into the works of someone who grew up living a life
different from mine. It was surprising to me just how much historical emotion
and context I was woefully ignorant of. I wish I had considered these facets
earlier, but the literature of Native America is thankfully clear in its
explanation of what it lost and what it hopes to regain someday.
Indian tribes are the perfect starting point for a class like this as
they are not immigrant minorities. They have the unique position of being the
displaced natives in a large land. They are the group that has chosen to
assimilate somewhat to the culture of the encroachers, but never has this been
portrayed as the desired path of their people. The mythological origin of the
Iroquois tribes can vary slightly, but most agree to the creation story of the
Sky People and the Great Turtle. The turtle’s back became the continent the
Native Americans lived on after Sky Woman used small grains of dirt to grow his
shell and the soil. The natives themselves were descended from the first Sky
Woman to fall from above. She has a daughter of her own and that daughter has
two sons, one who represents humanity’s Good Mind and one which stands for the
Bad Mind. The latter chose to be born by cutting through his mother’s armpit,
killing her, while Good Mind was born the natural way. They and by extension
humanity are tasked with protecting the natural world their mother left for
them. Unfortunately, specific caretakers of nature often forget their duties, to
the detriment of their earth mother.
In the Native American story of “How
the White Race Came to America and Why the Gaiwiio Became a Necessity” The
reader is made aware of the interesting way Europeans were perceived when they
came to America and how the Natives view themselves. The Indians were the
innocent good people and the Europeans were unintentional tempters. The devil,
as he is eventually revealed to be, tells a young preacher about the existence
of a new country and gives him the task of bringing five items to the Native
Americans. “Those people are virtuous,
they have no unnatural evil habits and they are honest… Here are five things
that men and women enjoy; take them to these people and make them as white men
are” [5]. These are things that Europeans enjoy, but never does he say these
things are good. He tells a lie of omission. The white race, in its ignorance
brings danger with the belief that their coming is the result of a benevolent
power. By the end of the story, even the devil seems perturbed by just how much
suffering he has wrought. This implies that any ill will was never intended to
be as bad as it became.
There is a sincere feeling of resignation and loss in the interpretation
of the European’s actions, almost everything the items were intended for
succeeded, corrupting the innocent Natives. History shows that attempts at
violent resistance on the Indians part were not effective enough and eventually
the best strategy appeared to be patience. In
“Impressions of an Indian Childhood”
by Zitkala-Sa, the reader is told about the personal losses brought about by
Native land being stolen. Family members given inadequate time to rest while
ill, passed before their people could reach the territory they were sent to.
Describing her mother’s sadness, Zitkala-Sa describes the revenge that manifests
in her heart toward the pale-faces. All of the short stories following it
however, are reminiscent of a family moving forward with their lives because
that’s all they can do. The traditions are different, but the actions are
familiar. At least until the seventh story of
The Big Red Apples where Zitkala-Sa
is introduced to the European-American way of education and convinced to
assimilate for some opportunities. The transition on her mother’s part is slow,
but she admits a few times that it seemed the pale faces were attempting to pay
reparations for the mistakes they’d made before. Zitkala-Sa was enraptured by
the newness of what was then modern society without considering the consequences
until she’d already taken her first steps from her mother. “I
felt suddenly weak, as if I might fall limp to the ground. I was in the hands of
strangers whom my mother did not fully trust. I no longer felt free to be
myself, or to voice my own feelings” [7.24]. Her mother had allowed her home
to be modernized in response to white influence, but sternly held onto her own
traditions, this permission she gave for her daughter to travel and receive an
education was something of a trade and a gamble on her side.
In
The Schooldays of an Indian Girl,
Zitkala-Sa begins to understand just how different things are in the school than
at home. When she learns that her long heavy hair is going to be cut, she panics
and threatens to fight. “We discussed our
fate some moments, and when Judewin said, "We have to submit, because they are
strong," I rebelled. “No, I will not submit! I will struggle first!"” [2.4-2.5].
In her culture, shingled hair is a sign of cowardice, in the east it was
simply to make caring for her locks easier. She cries and no one tries to
console or explain their reasoning to her. Something about how she lost the will
to fight after the first cut reminded my eerily of the biblical story of Samson
or of Nisos getting his one purple lock cut in Greek mythology. These points and
others helped to give me threads of familiarity to better empathize with
Zitkala-Sa’s plight. Though not a physical death, this served to diminish her in
a way she never wanted, and awaken some bitterness in her mind. Her rebellions
after that are entertaining in how relatable they are to anyone that has ever
felt the need to take petty revenge for a perceived unfairness. However, the
slow assimilation of her education carries a hint of resistance itself as she
chooses not to fear the devil she is shown because her mother would not be
afraid him. Her rebellion becomes one of silent slights against her oppressors
while simultaneously understanding that it will not impact her teachers for more
than a moment.
This attitude of frustration carries onward into
The Round House. It is a more modern
time, but the wounds are deeper still because the enemy is malicious in thoughts
and actions. The narrator, Joe, displays his frustration and angst through the
relatable stage of adolescence in tandem with individual aspects of his culture
and how he and others choose to interact with it. In chapter four, Joe is hit
with the harsh realization that his mother’s rape was committed in what was
meant to be a sanctuary. The Round House was a historical hideaway where the
Chippewa people could pretend to be going to bible study and instead perform
their own ceremonies. This was the result of a foreign religion being pushed on
them until it was ruled that they could practice openly. His friend Mooshun
explains that a single priest name Father Damien practiced the tribe’s religion
with them. “The old priest had learned
the songs. No priest knew the songs now” (Erdrich, 75). This is important
because it brings to light the stark
contrast of someone from the outside that seeks to understand with someone that
seeks to blame and hurt. The eponymous Round House was a place used for
religious communion and at one time a safe haven. Joe realizes that someone not
only violated his mother, but this space and to do so implied knowledge of the
reservation and premeditated action. Based on what we already know about what
the attacker had on him to kill Geraldine, it is not a far stretch to believe
the initial target of arson was the Round House itself. This was planned by
someone who desperately hated the Chippewa for some imagined slight and wanted
to kill a symbol of their history.
In final analysis, these works speak volumes for a mostly voiceless
minority. Never once do these stories ask for pity, only empathy. There is a
unique mixture of resentment and patience between the European races and the
Native Americans. The historical actions are more openly discussed these days,
but the consequences tend to be overlooked. Exploring the context and emotion
left in the wake of the past while developing relatable, unique characters and
narratives is no easy feat. That it was accomplished so eloquently without
budging from its roots speaks well of the original Americans and implores
understanding from anyone that seeks to know them.
