Native American Historical Inquiry
Essential Question: How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives
lead to a more enlightened understanding of history AND contemporary social,
cultural and political realities?
Journal #2
In many old western films, cowboys and Indians never died the same way. When a cowboy was hit, he would groan and fall to the ground. But if an Indian was shot, he would yell with his head dress falling off. When we first started this movie, I was expecting the Native Americans to be angry at Hollywood and white people. Some were, but others thought that everyone just needed to know what they have gone through in the movie world and in the real world. When we went to visit the little couple that had met on the set of a movie. They told us how the Native Americans would go off script but no one thought of translating it back until now. But in the recent years, the films that represent the Native American people and tribes are now becoming more realistic and not completely far-fetched. Some of the people that they interviewed were very serious about what had happened in the past, and how they were being portrayed. But them others made jokes about it, had people laughing so it wasn’t making this movie as serious as it could have been. It also made the audience more comfortable with the information that was being given to them. I am making an assumption that many white people would be watching this movie, and when we are being mocked or informed in what we have done, we shut down. So with the comedy that was brought in, it created a good mix of good and bad. There had been some serious things that needed to be brought up anyway. Like when the Academy Awards, and Littlefoot (Name check) was sent up to accept it, but was told that she couldn’t read her speech and only had 60 seconds to thank everyone. Then the audience and press were attacking her, saying that she wasn’t a real Native, that she rented her fancy dress, and other things that were just offensive. But the comments that were said should be taken with a grain of salt. |
Journal #5
The common theme that is shared between Sherman Alexie’s short stories and the Dartmouth alumni essays are the misconceptions of the Native American life and the stereotypes that have been set upon them. Sherman Alexie is a Native American author and poet whose first book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven, introduced the world to the struggles of being a Native American in this country. Then we read the introduction, and two of the essays of some Dartmouth alumni’s from a book called First Person, First Peoples. This was a book that had the Native American students and graduated students perspective of attending Dartmouth, which had originally been a school for Native Americans. Many of the students had talked about either gaining back some more traditions from their people and others losing theirs to blend with the main stream. We didn’t read the entire book, but one of the stories we read from Sherman Alexie’s book was “Indian Education”. This was sort of a timeline through his education and what had shaped him. One of the first times he ever received unfair treatment was when he was in second grade with a teacher who wanted him to be conformed to American ways. “She sent a letter home with me that told my parents to either cut my braids or keep me home from class. My parents came in the next day and dragged their braids across Betty Towle’s desk.” (173). Then, when he was a freshman at a white high school, he had been playing basketball and was at a school dance, he fainted from non-diagnosed diabetes but a teacher immediately assumed that he had been drinking. The Chicano teacher ran up to us. “Hey,” he said. “What’s that boy been drinking? I know all about these Indian kids. They start drinking real young.” (178). The Native teacher had stereotyped him as an early alcoholic just because he had passed out. Even with it being a fiction story, there is a truth hiding behind the curtain of make believe that Robert Bennett, one of the Dartmouth essay writers, had been living with. For the more real-life situations and experiences, we had read two essays out of First Person, First Peoples. I decided that Robert Bennett’s story “Why Didn’t You Teach Me?” was my favorite. He decided to talk about how he never learned about his learned about his Native American background until… until he was in college. But he had been getting stereotyped his whole life. “During high school, I was usually the only Indian in any group I was in: football, basketball, baseball and all my social groups. I felt overly cautious when my white friends were ‘causing trouble.’ Because I was the only Indian, I was often singled out as the troublemaker.” That was in high school when he was able to understand why people singled him out. One time, he was at a friend’s house and the mother asked Robert to leave when they left because she believed that he would take something if he was left unattended. He knew that he wouldn’t steal anything or be rude, but his mother still insisted that he leave. But he was still respectful, followed his heart and ended up at Dartmouth. After reading all these different stories and perspectives, the theme is clear that the Native Americans are stereotyped in such ways that it is offensive that it makes some people hate and regret being Native American. We should let Native Americans want to have their heritage. |