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.