Cherokee Trip

Interconnectedness being one of the topics we talk most about when discussing Native American values, it seems important to discuss some of the connections that I made while I was at Cherokee. One of the main things i noticed was the name Tsali everywhere. Even the street the museum was on was named Tsali and a significant portion of the Trail of Tears portion of the exhibit. More so, I found out that Casino Drive is also known as Tsali road, which is somewhat disturbing that the name was changed. The name change shows how tradition is replaced with profit, and how the casino is becoming a dominant force on the reservation.
With the idea of interconnectedness in mind, one of the saddest thing I saw at Cherokee was the mound separated from the reservation. With the homeland of the Cherokee separated from their sovereign land, it is odd to think that the one piece of land that is not under the sovereignty of Cherokee is the motherland.
One thing that I cannot relate to the course but have to talk about because of how stunning it is, is the amount of money that newly adult Cherokee people receive from the casino. The revenue that the casino creates is amazing, but outside of the obvious cost to the reservations culture, the ramifications of those who come into all of this money are still unknown. The fact that there are courses that teach how to deal with receiving that amount of money at once says more about it than I could. Only time will tell what the casino will bring for Native American culture, and it will be very interesting to visit Cherokee in a decade or so and see how things have changed.

Cherokee Forgiveness

Forgiveness requires an understanding of what needs to be forgiven, but forgiveness should not be something that is overlooked. The speaker Spent a long time detailing the atrocities that were perpetrated on the Cherokee people, and after a while I began to wonder when the subject of forgiveness would surface. When the subject of forgiveness came up, I was already distanced from the speaker because of her assertions about Europeans and her tendency to address the audience in an accusatory manner. The presentation was said to be "spiritual" and "life changing" and I was excited to be a part of something that was positive, but the lecture was more like so many "Europeans are evil" speeches I have been subjected to in the past. The idea of forgiveness was brought up at the end of the lecture, and held little resonance with the stories and themes that were discussed, leaving me to wonder how much of this was about forgiveness.

Letter to Davey Arch

Davey Arch,
The stories you tell, and I meant tell because they are more alive than words just placed on page, in the book Living Stories of the Cherokee captivated me more so than the other authors. The way that you introduce each of your stories is so honest, in a way that simply beginning a story without introducing cannot be. Stating where you heard the story and giving a references of why you have been reminded of it, such as your intro to "The Rattle Snake in the Corn,"makes me feel more like I am being told a tale than an account. "That corn over there reminds me of a story he told me," Pulling from the landscape and relating the story back to your grandfather instills a feeling of heritage, as you grew up on these lands like the Cherokee people and these stories have been passed down here for thousands of years.
You are also honest in your recollection of the stories, never being afraid to correct yourself. The seldom corrections in your stories are subtle and act to remind me that it is a story being told, far from Western traditions of immersing yourself in a story. The reminder that you are only listening to a tale by a story teller feels more personal, one of my favorite examples of this is in your story "The Origin of Strawberries." "And she said that first man and women were living together, and they got mad at one another, and the man left. No, the women left, thats the way it was." The fearlessness by which you retract statements feels natural in a way that other story tellers could not do, and the seamless transitions make me feel as if I am a child listening to a story being told by my parents, eager the whole time for what is to come next.
The alteration of who left is in concurrence with other forms of the same tale, which would matter little if it didn't, but works to support why the retraction was made. The telling of the story is what is most important but the effort put forth to keep the tales the same adds a style of truthfulness and a personal touch that is moving.
I would like to know if you put these corrections and introductions in intentionally in order to keep the style of Cherokee story telling alive or if this is simply how you tell them. I am also wondering what it is about story telling that you find to be the most powerful, what is it that keeps you coming back? And finally I would like to know what the first story you remember from your childhood is, simply out of curiosity.
Sincerely,
Matthew Randazzo.
 

Honor

So what is honor? Joseph Marshall in his novel The Lokota Way defines honor as having integrity, and being upright, and includes the Lokota word for honor Wayuonihan. In the story two hunters that are sparred by a snake are duty bound to take a man only identified as the man with the scar to a lake. The reasons remain a mystery why they had to take the man, but after they do the man is driven insane, and must choose between banishing himself or bringing insanity into the village. The man sacrifices himself by leaving, and thus spares his entire village. The man later dies, but the moral lives on, the message is that the man displayed honor by sacrificing himself for the good of others. 

The Story of the Snake

The stories later on the chapter do not emulate this value. Where the first story shows a man who does the right thing because he should, the later stories depict characters who are dishonorable and thus punished. The reason I cannot extrapolate honor from this is because the message is that if you do not comply with the standards you will be punished. When the alternative to being honorable is negative then of course people will choose honor. True honor comes when someone takes on a burden because it is morally sound, like the man with he scar. The idea of teaching honor in a fear based manner subverts the entire purpose of having honor, which is doing what is harder no matter what the outcome is.

Things Learned

One of the things that I have learned is about the disparities that tribes face today. Growing up near Cherokee I had a sewed vision of the fiscal success of reservations, as Cherokee is a incredibly successful model. The poverty rates are astounding when considering how Indigenous peoples are compared to the rest of the U.S., and Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven gave me a brief glimpse into the hopelessness faced by Indigenous peoples on these impoverished reservations. The readings on Prezi about historical culture and context gave me the initial numbers to consider the disparity of Indigenous peoples which was later exacerbated when reading about the experiences in Alexie's book. Compounding the problem, Leslie Silko's book Yellow Woman and the Beauty of the Spirit depicts many of the short comings of the U.S. Government in regards to their promises to Indigenous peoples, and how that translates into the increasing levels of poverty.

Cherokee Casino

                   Pine Ridge Reservation South Dakota

Having interacted with the people of Cherokee many times, and having made some close acquaintances, I have had some voice their concerns to me about problems on the reservation. Never was poverty mentioned as an issue. Having first hand experience with Indigenous peoples, and never experience with impoverished reservations, I was missing the picture entirely and focusing on one microcosm. I first watched the film Smoke Signals when I was about thirteen years old and I remember wondering about the financial situation on the reservation in the film. At the time I assumed that it was a unique situation, when quite to the contrary my first hand accounts were skewed. 

American Treatise

The chapters on America's debt to Indigenous peoples and Auntie Kie talking about American policy regarding indian relations was especially interesting to me. The fact that the U.S. Government has done little to address the issue of repayment of Indigenous peoples for their land may have a light at the end of the tunnel. In 2009 the Oboma administration alloted nearly $4 Billion to tribes to make up for mismanagement of Indigenous money. "The commission will begin reviewing the Interior Department’s management and administration of nearly $4 billion the federal government holds in trust for Native Americans and native peoples."(Associated Press). The admission of abuse of the system is a large step for a Government that has so far given very little consideration to the plight of the people who were forcibly removed from their lands after signing treatise that would allow them to keep their land. Aunt Kie was quoted saying that all President's just appear to be putting on a show, but the promise of $3.4 Billion by the administration is a good start in gaining trust in a community full of skeptics that have been let down too many times. 
Auntie Kie also touches upon partisanship and how the problem of Indigenous treatment spreads beyond either party. Reznetnews.org reports on the battle in the senate over the repayment. "The House gave its approval in May. But the settlement authorization is tucked into the Democrats' jobs-agenda legislation that fell three votes short of breaking a Republican filibuster in the Senate on Thursday, and now the future of the hard-fought agreement is in doubt." (Matt Volz). The money has been tied a budget proposal that is labeled as "Aid" and so a battle in senate is ensuing over the entirety of the budget not specifically the repayment. So the battle is seen as a partisan issue when really the solution seems obvious, the repayment of Indigenous peoples should not be tied to a general aid budget. The proposal is much larger than the $3.4 Billion and unless we can separate the issue of Aid in general and repayment for abused funds there seems to little hope to gain the trust of these scorned tribes. 

http://www.reznetnews.org/article/34b-indian-settlement-stuck-senate-filibuster
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/new-reform-commission-on-indian-trust-lands-managed-by-federal-government-to-begin-work/2012/02/29/gIQAtdleiR_story.html

Values

Not surprisingly at all my values are inherently "Western." But with interconnectedness in mind many of the values that I hold can be reconciled with the values of the sacred tree. Most of my values have to do with self reliance and determination, which coincide with the importance of volition, and the idea that all must be active participants in the unfolding of their own potentialities is at the core of my values. Another Value I hold dear is honesty, I have never been one to avoid being honest in the spirit of avoiding conflict, and I keep myself honest even when it would be easier to lie. Humility is a value that can reflect honesty because in order to have humility one must first be honest with themselves about their abilities. Humility is just an outward express of internal honesty about ones own capabilities and limits. Integrity is my last value that I discussed in class and it can be found all throughout the sacred tree. Whether in regards to how you treat those around you or yourself, the idea of integrity is integral to the central message of the Sacred Tree in that everything is connected and should be respected.

British Native American Relations

In class while discussing articles in "The World Turned Upside Down," an article about Native American support of King George was brought up. Outside of historical context this would perfect sense, with the colonies expanding into Indigenous territories it would follow that Indigenous peoples would side with the British. With the knowledge of previous events such as the French Indian War, the loyalty to the crown coming from Indigenous peoples is conflicting. Though Native Americans fought on both sides of the French Indian War, other events such as Pontiac's Rebellion were strictly anti-British campaigns perpetrated by Indigenous Peoples. It is also puzzling that with the heavy support of the Colonies from the French, that more Indigenous Tribes did not side with their former allies. Upon investagating this subject I found that there was very little research about it so all I have to offer is questions, but as we continues discussing historical events in class it would be interesting to keep this in mind.

The World Turned Upside Down: Section Six

Joseph Brant, an Indigenous Person living in the 18th century, was affluent in both "White" and Indigenous culture. Though accepted by "White" culture, he realized many flaws that still exist and he vividly contrasts them to that of Indigenous culture. The cruelty of prisons are contrasted to perceptions of Indigenous acts that Brant claims cannot hold a candle to that of the prison system.
         Joseph Brant 1776

Using the Rhetoric that Brant learned in schools, he juxtaposes the ideas of cruelty held in imprisoning people for trivialities such as debt. Brant goes on to state that execution would be less cruel than keeping one in prison and from living naturally.  Utilizing the rhetoric learned in white schools, Brant takes on the language of the oppressor in order to prove his point on grounds that white culture cannot disregard. One of the most interesting points comes right at the end when shows great intuitiveness by condemning the term "savage," "Cease to call other nations savage, when you are tenfold more the child cruelty, then they." (Calloway 180). The retort was made much before the realization that the term was archaic, and shows a great amount of foresight in an essay for the most part ignored when viewing American literature. 

Movers and Shakers

So there has been a lot of talk about if Seymour spurned his identity as a Native American, this to me is absurd. Seymour grew up on a reservation and though he left, continuing dwelling on his experiences as a Native American to assure his success. So why is it that so many are against the idea that Seymour could leave the reservation, become a poet, be surrounded by white people, but not still be a Native American? One of the most baffling things about this is how you define culture. Is it fry bread, alcoholism, ceremonial dances, chanting, or being a naturalist? Or could it be, and I strongly believe it is, the individuals who define the culture? I feel that many people are confusing tradition with culture, and thus are assuming that since Seymour is leading an untraditional life that he is not participating in the culture, this could not be further from the truth. Traditions are frequently questioned within a culture, and individuals who challenge these ideals work to evolve the culture. Going against a cultural norm is not always bad, and sometimes sets new standards for the culture. Cultures do in fact affect individuals, but the individuals are always affecting their culture, and Seymour is not a villain for attempting to do what is best for him while retaining his culture. What no one seems to realize is that the culture abandoned Seymour much before it abandoned him. Continuing to write about his experiences within his unique culture, it is the Reservation that decided that Seymour was no longer adhering to his culture, and that is where Seymour's guilt comes from. It is not that he turned his back on the reservation, but that he is torn between refusing his wants as an individual in order to be accepted and living the life he has dreamed of since he was a child. It is selfish for those on the reservation to expect Seymour to deny what he wants the only life he will ever get to be in order to conform to what they think an "Indian" should be, and that is not for anyone to decide.

The Business of Fanydancing

One of the most interesting things for me was how Seymour's character reconciled being a homosexual and an Indigenous persons. One of the major conflicts of the story is how he left the reservation and how he did not feel like it was home anymore, this is not because of adversity he faced as a homosexual but because of the limited possibilities he had there in many aspects. One of the things I was wondering about was how his lifestyle, though it seemed to be generally accepted, would have had developed had he not left the reservation. The qoute about how many sexual partners that Seymour had and their ethnicities made me wonder how many romantic choices he would have had on the reservation, and if this influenced his decision to leave."I've had sex with one Indian woman, 112 white boys and two black men," he laughs, "but I've never slept with an Indian man."Though I am merely speculating, the quote seems to point out that Seymour feels as if he would not have easily found a significant other if he had stayed on the reservation, or at least not had as many options. The conflict of having a home that Seymour seems fond of overall, versus being able to have many opportunities that coincide with his sexual preference may be a reason that Seymour felt such conflict. Seymour at least may have felt difficulty in identifying with his tribe while being visibly different.
Though in the movie Seymour's Grandmother was accepting of his decision, two of the largest communities of Indigenous Peoples recently put measures in place to ban Gay Marriage on reservations. "Experts note that some tribes, including the Navajo and the Cherokee, have passed laws opposing same-sex marriage, but the precise marriage policy of many tribes is not known because tribes do not always make their laws public." (William Yardley NYTimes)(http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/us/12tribe.html) . Since homosexuality is not a concurrent issue throughout all of Indigenous tribes, it is difficult to asses whether Seymour felt as if his identity was able to be sustained on his reservation, and I am interested in seeing if and how this is resolved in the end of the film. 

Oppression Abroad

We have talked in class many times about the ongoing mistreatment of Indigenous Peoples in the United States. There is no doubt that the injustices have not ended, and require some kind of intervention. But it is not fair to only observe the plight of Indigenous Peoples in the United States, and oppression has no bounds. The Brazilian Government has authorized the building of the world's third largest hydroelectric dam. Hydroelectric dams generally come with controversy, the conflict between generating green energy and disturbing natural flows of water, but this dam comes with a lot more baggage. The Kayapo, a people indigenous to the Xingu River, are being forced out of their homeland due to the widespread flooding that the dam will cause. the Kayapo are just one of the groups that are being displaced from their lands, an estimated 20,000 people will be affected by the dam. The Kayapo people have utilized the river as a source for their culture long before industrialization. Without the river and their ancestral lands the Kayapo are in danger of losing their culture, one that has been sustained by the large river.

Kayapo Children in the Xingu River

TheKayapo not only use the river in a utilitarian manner, but it is also a  source of great pleasure. As soon as Kayapo infants are born they are taken to the river, it is such an important part of their lives that the Chief of the Kayapo people was devastated when he heard that the Brazilian Government would not budge on their decision. 
                       Chief of the Kayapo

Brazil is at an interesting crossroads as a rapidly growing economic power, and must learn to temper fiscal growth with preserving diverse cultures and their livelihoods. The Brazilian government might have to look back one day and see an ugly history that lead to financial wealth. 

Group Work

What are the crimes that Native American have witnessed. It is interesting that no one attempted to break up the potential lethal situation that Victor's uncles had created. The idea that it would have been the same situation that Indigenous peoples had faced four hundreds of years speaks towards the plight of the people in witnessing the genocide of their race. One of the shocking things about this is the dehumanization that occurred as a result. "Victor's uncles were in the midst of a misdemeanor, that would remain one even if somebody was to die" (Alexie 3). The general level of acceptance that everyone at the party exhibited is result of a four hundred year process of dehumanization. In the intro to the book Alexie discerns what really happened and what is entirely hyperbolized or altered. In this he speaks of a man who, though is a known killer, is not arrested. "And yes, my father knew who killed and buried that man, as do most of the people on my reservation. The police know, too, but they can't make a case against the killer."(Alexi xxi). The dehumanization that took place is the result of being a constant witness to the mistreatmen of their people.
In "A Drug Called Tradition" How does tradition function as a drug? One of the most basic functions of drugs is to escape, escape a life temporarily. So of course the idea of living before the reservation, before alcohol, and before columbus functions as a method for indigenous peoples to escape to more ideal existence. The unnamed drug that the boys take allow them to hallucinate and see visions that are of ideal situations, such as stealing a horse in braids, or playing the guitar for an audience of indigenous people. So the idea that Thomas proposes about the vision of a traditional lifestyle is the same concept as using the hallucinations to escape reality.

Reservation Realism

It is amazing ow some people have the ability to coin words or terms that have the capacity to stick. Sherman Alexi's "reservation realism" is just that, a term that was created to encompass something that before could not not be named. For those of us who did not grow up in a reservation, which I am going to go ahead and assume that means all of us, reservation realism is something so different it takes an entire novel to understand, and even then there is no guaranty. So as I read I attempted to define this curious term, which I do not claim to have done perfectly, but nevertheless am going to try to articulate. So in the course of my education I have found that I am to discern between objective and subjective ideas. One of the traits I noticed about reservation realism is that these two concepts are both accepted as truths. Since there is no division between subjectivity and objectivity one can understand how oral tradition is more important then a western perception of factual accounts.
In "Every Little Hurricane" Alexie makes the statement "When the hurricane descended upon the nation in 1976, Victor was there to record it. If the video camera had been available then, Victor might have filmed it, but his memory was much more dependable" (Alexie 7). The idea that Victor's memory is more dependable speaks towards the nature of subjectivity. The camera could not have captured the emotions, the way the tears felt on Victor's skin or the love that went into his uncle's punches. The focus on perception is important to the culture, and reservation realism.
Alexie also speaks towards the importance of tradition. With three young boys tripping out by a lake, one finds it relevant to talk about the ideal. That is the traditional values of the culture, visions, the culture before alcohol and communing around a fire. When the other two boys are skeptical about this and asks Thomas, the speaker, "You don't really believe that shit?" Thomas responds "Don't need to believe anything. It just is."(Alexie 21). The idea that the culture, though diminished, is ever present, and Thomas doesn't need to buy into the idea because it simply exists, is another trait of Alexi's reservation realism.
A third trait of this curious term is the idea of love in hate. I was once told by a professor at UNCA that the mark of intelligence is the ability to hold two conflicting ideas in your head and still walk and be able to chew gum. Thought the comment was very tongue in cheek there is truth in this, a truth that can be found in reservation realism. "He could see his uncles slugging each other with such force that they had to be in love. Strangers would never want to hurt each other that badly." (Alexi 2). Whereas at least I was raised to see acts of aggression for the most part separate from love, Alexie explains how the two are intertwined, and further illuminates the complex nature that is reservation realism.
So these are only things I have found so far that I feel apply to reservation realism, as the week progresses I will ad more and would love to have feedback so I can see where I might need to redact certain parts, add to it, or just get another perspective on the matter.

Indian and Indian

One of the things we have discussed is the wrongness in the term "American Indian." The term is not accurate because as we all know this was not India as Columbus believed his whole life. But one of the things I stumbled upon while surfing the web that was fantastic is an incredible similarity between the Indigenous peoples of this country and Indian culture. I was looking into Indigenous art when I found Navaho sand paintings. I remembered something incredibly similar to this in Indian culture and decided to explore it. Sand Mandalas are the Indian counterpart to the Navaho sand paintings, and the intricacies and beauty of both are inspiring. 

Navaho Sand Paintings

                                                                      Sand Mandala

The similarity of the practices is astounding and I wonder how so far away they developed similar practices. The abstract qualities of the Navaho sand paintings are distinct from the symmetrical Sand Mandals of the Indian culture and clearly each culture's take on the art form has a life of its own. After looking into the matter further I discovered that Australian Aboriginal cultures also created sand paintings. Though I was unable to find a video I located a picture of a large sand painting. It is incredible that from North America, to India, to Australia, three incredibly different cultures all utilized the same medium to create art, and it speaks directly towards the interconnectedness of all things.

Aboriginal Sand Painting

Indigenous Education

So something I find striking is the idea that Indigenous peoples had about interconnectedness. The reason I am intrigued about this because of how Liberal Arts Education is beginning to reflect this. "Historical Context and Culture to Native American Literature"describes the idea of interconnectivity. "These include a sense of the interconnectedness and relationship between all things, between animals, land, peoples and their language, and a requirement to seek individual, communal, and environmental balance."(Porter 43). The ideas that Indigenous peoples observed hundreds of years ago are the same ideas stressed in university environments today.

Indigenous Peoples are still ahead of the curb when thinking about interconnectedness, an article on the development of economic growth in indigenous communities speaks towards the focus on generating revenues while considering the future and environmental impact. Annette Alvarez, in her article "Native American Tribes and Economic Development" discuss how decisions are carefully weighed. "We are taught to think about how a decision we make about our land will affect the next seven generations," he says. "It is all about sustainability—about making decisions that ensure that our land, air, and water can support all forms of life for generations to come. While each American Indian tribe is unique, all tribal people believe in balancing the economic impact of a decision with its physical, economic, social, and spiritual implications."(Alvarez). 

While reading this article it was amazing to me how similar the morals were to the ones stated in Porter's article. The idea of balance follows right after the idea of interconnectedness in both articles. "Balance is linked to the survival of community within specific landscapes." The same principles that existed in early Indigenous cultures shine through today, as Indigenous communities advanced in their ability to balance economic, environmental, and communal prosperity. The article is interesting because it looks at the prosperous communities in the Indigenous culture which we haven't really talked about, thought the article acknowledges the economic hardships that many reservations face. For those of you interested in the full article it is a great look into modern cultural practices of Indigenous peoples. http://urbanland.uli.org/Articles/2011/Mar/AlvarezNative

Indigenous Literature in theatre

So revisiting the performances from a few weeks back I decided to see if I could find some performances that had put in more time and resources. I was lucky enough to find a tale from our book. "Iktomi and the Wild Ducks."

So this video is part one of four so it is considerably longer than the tale in our book. Once you get passed the tacky costumes and difficult lightning it is actually quite an enjoyable performance. Watching a performance versus reading to yourself is far superior. Even after I attempted to read with more vigor I find that watching an interpretation of the tales is something that cannot be topped. The energy that goes into making a performance is incredible and it can be picked up on by the viewers. outside of our own performances, it would be interesting if as a class we could attend a performance put on by actual players (Hint Hint). The video is also a good source to get ideas for our own upcoming performances from. So if the video was not evidence enough of the fun and energy that these players put into this I am including the out-takes. If you enjoyed the first video don't forget to check out parts 2, 3, and 4 on youtube.

Intent vs Ignorance

So to follow up my previous post and todays class discussion I wanted to touch on intent and ignorance and how each should be responded to. Though ignorance has a certain negative connotation, I feel ignorance can only be viewed in a negative light if the subject refuses to learn. Everyone is ignorant before they have the chance to learn so looking down on those who haven't had that chance is irresponsible. So now that I have made my plea for those who have not yet been educated on a given subject, becoming hostile with someone who says something out of ignorance is foolish. Before today I would not have the slightest clue that saying "Native American Literature" could carry such an offensive message. So after class I began to contemplate the circumstances of the classification and it seems obvious that the terms would offend indigenous people. Being given a name by people that attempted to eradicate your race, it is easy to see why so many are so passionate about not accepting the terms. It is also understandable that some are embracing the terms attempting to reclaim them. So that just leaves intent, and it seems obvious that when some one says something to harm someone that it is not right, so I will not touch too much on that. One interesting thing that i found is that this is not the first name that was supposed to encompass the Indigenous peoples of this country. "Savage" was not always a derogatory term, in fact it was the acceptable term up until the the early 1900's. So now it easy to see how terms evolve and how in a hundred years "Native American" will be the new "Savage." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_name_controversy) In a constantly evolving world it is easy to see how terms will evolve with people, but since this evolution is ongoing it is important to first be concerned with educating those who are ignorant of their offense before taking offense yourself.

What's in a name?

So after reading Literary, Historical, and Cultural Conjunctions, I have to say that some parts are a bit confusing. One of the most baffling statements in the piece is that they are not sure what to call the literature in question. "The typical labels– American Indian literature, Native American literature, native literature, Indigenous literature,Amerindian literature–all pose ethical and descriptive problems because they impose European concepts and language that are inaccurate and transform diversity into a vague generic essentialist category that can be used to marginalize or misrepresent a diversified people and a complex intercultural history." I begin to wonder at one point are we splitting hairs? The fact is if someone says "Native American Literature" you know what they are talking about, and language after all is just a tool we use to communicate effectively. The literature is diverse, but so are a lot of other things and sometimes it is just easier to have an umbrella term that can quickly cover all of the sub categories. Those who refer to the collective literatures as one of the aforementioned terms would most likely not be attempting to subjugate or belittle the diverse group, but merely relay information about the the type of literature. When we put constraints on people to dance around words that are hardly construed as having negative connotations despite the claims by Roemer, such as "Native"or "Indigenous," we begin to have a breakdown in communication all caused by the need to seem more politically correct then the person standing beside you. The fact that there is not a consensus in the Native American community itself just shows that people are putting too much into it. No one means to be offensive by saying "American Indian"or "Native American" so if the terms are not meant as derogatory why are they received with hostility? It seems that great effort has gone into attempting to find an agreeable name for the literature, which all could have been time spent enjoying it rather then arguing over the title.

Crow V Coyote

So todays performances were a lot of fun but something bothers me about one of the stories. It has nothing to do with the morals, or humor, or mechanics, it has to do with with crows. Crows are some of the smartest animals on the planet and one of my favorites. So in defense of crows I offer up this video, for those of you who will stave off internet ADD to watch all ten minutes. Aside from odd afinity towards crows the class came alive today and it got me to start thinking. Kept as an oral tradition it is hard for me to imagine that these story tellers weren't talented, and it makes me wonder how much I have been missing reading in a monotonous inside my head. The stories have morals and speak towards human nature but they were also meant to entertain, so when I read these stories as I would a manual to assemble furniture it does not do it justice. Though I do not always have the luxury of players performing the stories, I do control my inner voice while reading the piece and after todays class it will be much more lively.

The Possible Bag

One of my favorite stories is "The Possible Bag." It contains humor, etiological elements, morality, and of course doing something one too many times that results in a catastrophe. Veeho, sets off to find a man who he has heard is never wanting of food but does not hunt. Veeho is already demonstrating a lack of work ethic and an interest in an easy way out which pretty much describes the motives of most of the tricksters. Once Veeho has found the man he is welcomed and invited to eat, at which Veeho gorges himself, further illustrating his incessant greed. Veeho then proceeds to wait until his host has fallen asleep and attempts to run off with his possible bag, which Veeho is enamored with.
Veeho failed at getting away, and his host was so gracious and trusting he believed Veeho's excuse for talking the bag. Veeho immediately started planning how to take the bag, and his overly trusting host confided in Veeho his only fear. Once again illustrating the lack of ethics and greedy nature of the trickster, Veeho takes advantage of his hosts trust and transforms himself into the hosts one fear, which happens to be a goose... Once securing the Bag from his host Veeho is told only to use it four times, which sounds way too familiar.
Veeho goes home and finds that the bag yields a buffalo every time he opens it. So Veho proceeds to feed his family with the buffalo that he gets from the bag and for the first four nights everything is great. But it is all short lived, and of course Veeho uses it more than four times which results in a stampede of buffalo coming from the bag and trampling his village.
The destroyed village prompts the villagers to look for the one responsible, which Veeho, being less than an upstanding guy denies avidly that he knows what happened. Unfortunately for Veeho, the people soon realize that the buffalo are a blessing and it is too late to for Veeho to take credit.
So the tales obvious etiological element is the reason that the world has buffalo. The moral implications of the story are that if Veho was honest he would have been credited for having given the world buffalo, but since this story exists he was anyways, which kind of defeats the moral... The tale also contains cunning on the part of the trickster, and of course the ability to transform into other things which seems to be a common ability of the trickster. I love this story because it is very much a trickster tale, their is cunning on the part of the trickster, a flaw which leads to not being credited, and an explanation of buffalo exist.

Real Injun

The title of the documentary says everything, a depiction of Native American people made by Native Americans. The most interesting part of the documentary for me wasn't the negative portrayals in film or the ignorance that many people have about the culture, it is not news to me that movies and television are not the best at portraying other cultures. What I found the most interesting were the failed attempts at understanding the culture by those who were trying to emulate it. Though the intentions were good, groups that idealized Native American culture in the sixties still managed to oversimplify the culture and impose their own ideals into their perception of the culture. It shows just how unique Native American culture is, and it becomes more and more clear as I read trickster tales and have to constantly catch and then reprimand myself for colonizing the texts.
The Night Chant was very eye opening for me. I found it to be repetitive at first and did not really appreciate it. It was later on in the week that thinking back to it I realized that I didn't appreciate it because I was trying to hard to relate to something else to try to make sense of it. My brain is based in relations and anytime I encounter something I try to make sense of it through past experiences. Now that I have come to terms with the fact that I am not going to be able to to clarify anything I find in the text with Western ideas, I am appreciating the stories for what they are.
The trickster tales themselves are very funny and I find that they are easy to get through. Even the tales that have many of the same mechanisms are interesting and I don't feel as if I am just getting through them for class. One of the things that I notice, and I'm sure we all did, is the number four. So saying that "It is significant to the culture" does not stave my curiosity. So being intrigued I looked into the significance and found an article that explained it. (http://www.examiner.com/native-american-spirituality-in-denver/totems-of-the-four-directions). So I cross referenced the article and found that one recurring view is the tie to the four directions.  Understanding the origin of the of the number helps appreciate the repetition, especially when it is beginning to become monotonous.
 I misread the syllabus and read the next section of the trickster tales and found especially interesting the section on love. The very funny and sometimes vulgar nature of the stories is very unfamiliar to those like me who are use to Western style folk tales, though they also contain modern ideas that are relatable. The old tales still contain humor that a modern audience can appreciate.
The tale "The Cheater Cheated" involves the cheating of a French man. I was unaware of the newness of some of the tales until I had read this. With that in mind the next tale "The Spider Cries Wolf" is incredibly similar to the Western idiom of the boy who cried wolf. I makes me wonder how many of the tales were influenced by Western civilization, as they were oral tales that have no definitive manuscript that pre dates Western influence. Not being able to know for certain how close the tales are to the originals, or even how much they changed after contact with Western civilization is upsetting.