Mari Caylor

Loss of Tradition, Loss of Self: An Examination of Native American, Mexican American and Gay Literature

While studying Multicultural Literature, I found a common theme among most of the texts which was that of a minority group losing their traditions due to their forced participation in The American Dream of the dominant culture. This loss of tradition leads to a loss of identity and eventually leads to a loss of the culture itself. The Native American “loss and survival” narratives and the Mexican American label as “ambivalent minorities” leads to confusion over what their place in the American Dream is. Both of these cultures embrace rich cultures and traditions but their place in the Dream is one of confusion and swift change that led to a loss of the culture’s identity. The narratives we read in this seminar portray real issues and problems that occur with being a minority in a postmodern world. The main concern these minorities face is how to coexist in a world that expects them to be like them while maintaining a sense of culture and tradition. The beauty of the authors Louise Erdrich and Sandra Cisneros is how they maintain their culture’s tradition but reinvent a new cultural tradition. This “new” identity establishes the culture’s ability to evolve and become more aware of the importance in keeping a culture’s traditions alive and well.

So how does a minority group hover between these two different “lines” in society? What would be the consequence if a culture did not preserve their culture and what impact would this have on future generations? In Black Elk Speaks, Black Elk is a traditional medicine man who operates within both these worlds: his traditional Lakota heritage and later in the book, his new-found Catholicism. This is an interesting parallel because we do see a more traditional way of life partnered with the rapid expansion of the dominant culture. In Black Elk’s narrative, I found Black Elk’s reluctance to change but we learned after Matt Martin’s presentation of “Black Elk and the Jesuits” that Black Elk converted to Catholicism because his children needed to operate in the modern world of the Whites. This statement is problematic because we think that as a traditional medicine man, Black Elk would only practice one way of life. However, this is not always true with Native Americans that to survive they must “adapt or die.” When the traditional way of life is abandoned, the younger generations feel lost and abandoned. The option of “forgetting the past and leaving it behind” is an easy option but not the best one. Black Elk’s narrative is also an excellent example of a traditional man having a voice for others. Unfortunately we do encounter the problem with abandoning the past and moving towards the future with a lack of identity in Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine.

In Love Medicine, an Ojibwe family encounters numerous problems as a result of being “forced” to abandon their ways. In this novel, we see examples of syncretism like in Black Elk when some of the characters coexist and learn to live with traditional Ojibwe religion and Catholicism. Catholicism was forced upon Native Americans and boarding school was there to “kill the Indian and save the man.” Erdrich’s poem “The Runaways” also describes the sensitive issue of boarding schools in Native American culture. Erdrich’s narratives are poignant and at times, explicit in her portrayal of negative effects of being an Indian in a modern world. Erdrich’s work is realistic and offers a portrayal of Native Americans that is true to life. In Love Medicine, we see a family that is simply trying to adapt to a changing world while trying to secure some traditional ways for younger generations. The book travels through several generations of children and shows how this adaptation has affected them as well.  

As we finished the Native American narratives, we moved into Mexican American Literature and the transition to this literature fit some of the themes in Native American Literature. Similar issues to both minority groups included: learning English, taking on a Christian faith, and learning the ways of the dominant culture. In Bless Me, Ultima, the protagonist Antonio is forced to become the bridge between the new world and his family’s traditional ways. This novel, in particular furthers the question of tradition and identity being intertwined with each other. Antonio is successful in the “new” world of school and learning English so naturally, his family pressures him into becoming a priest. Faced with these problems, Antonio is forced to make a decision between these two worlds but becomes disillusioned when he learns there is not one correct solution. Antonio develops a “new” identity to exist in the modern world. Ultima introduces the issue of syncretism in Antonio’s family when her curandera way of life coexists with traditional Catholicism. Antonio’s ability to exist between these two worlds has a positive effect on his family and all the younger generations of Mexican Americans.

In Cisneros’s Woman Hollering Creek, we encounter children growing up in a traditional way of life and other Mexican American characters who exist in a non-traditional life. These individuals develop a “new” identity that becomes part of the American identity. These characters remember an old way of life and adapt these old traditions to their new traditions. This outlook on life begins to make Mexican Americans less and less ambivalent. Cisneros does a great job in bridging the gap between these two worlds and we see this in the novel. This particular work serves as a guidebook for Mexican Americans in how they operate on both borders. We discussed Gloria Anzaldua’s “frontera” image and how this way of life is effective in a modern culture. This new image develops a new identity for Mexican Americans that appeals to me because this is how I grew up. Jimmy Santiago Baca’s poem “Green Chile” is reminiscent of old traditions meeting new ones. This poem is a beautiful example of a man remembering his grandmother and her way of life. These narratives are great examples of how a new way of life can still preserve a culture without destroying the traditions of old.

Overall, the experiences these narratives provide offer insights on how useful it is to remember traditional ways yet adapting to new ones. This becomes invaluable to minority cultures to preserve their identity and adapt to a changing world.