Instincts

While in class the other day we began a topic that has always greatly appealed to me.  We started to talk about how humans are all flawed and that we externalize things in order to help better deal with them.  We make jokes out of serious issues in order to help cope.  However, the way people act and carry themselves is all a result from the things a person has been through.  We uses defenses and put up walls to keep people away, but the few people that we let into our lives are supposed to be there to help us.  However, human instinct is always to put ourselves in front of others and that when it comes down to it humans will do whatever possible to help themselves succeed.

The Only Holocaust?

When hearing the word holocaust the first thing that comes to my mind involves Hitler and the Jewish people.  The film presented in class informed me that there is more than just one holocaust.  One that happened over  a longer period of time and one that no one really concerns themselves with.  The holocaust involving the Indians goes unspoken about and when I was informed of the statistics to this event I was astonished that I was never taught this in former schooling.  The Jewish holocaust had casualties resulting in 6 million, however, the Indian holocaust started with 19 million Native Americans and ended with 260,000.  Almost 19 million people were killed and I was never taught this? The total number of deaths over time has resulted in over 100 million. 

How does such a tragic event go untaught in the school system?  Not even mentioned.  In hopes to change this I found a site that informed me further about this holocaust.. http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/aiholocaust.html

It shows a list of the horrible things that happened to the Indians, along with a video.

The emotions that poured out of me while watching this video made me wanna cry.  I felt so helpless and overwhelmed with the feeling to help change this.  Sorrow, shocked, hurt, astonished... I was completely dumbfounded by the images and thoughts that people could do this to other people for selfish reasons.  These people were completely dehumanized and stripped from their cultures and ideals. 

Kids were taken from their homes and told that everything they knew was wrong and they were taught a whole new set of traditions.  Brainwashed of their identities. 

"Almost every Indian carries scars and wonder when it's all over will I be Indian or will I be white?"

-Quoted by a Native American

"The only good Indian is a dead Indian"
-General Phillip Sheridan, U.S. Army

America is supposed to be a free place where people can come and openly display their cultures.  Yet we eliminate tribal government and lands become apart of America's "melting pot". We relocated, isolated, and alienated the culture of these people.  Around 12,000 Navajo in the last 25 years have been forced to move to land where noone wants, land near the largest radiation spill.  All because some were too selfish and were more interested in the large coal deposits than protecting and preserving their customs. 

Trickster Tales :)

Trickster tales have the characteristics of being playful, creative, and mischevious.  Some of the tales presented reflect the emotions and personalities of people in the world.  (more background on trickster tales can be viewed through this link- http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-9073359 ) A very important lesson in life is to mind your own business.  Although very cliche, it's an important aspect to life to understand.  Certain things are sheltered from people to prevent one from being hurt.  But where exactly is the line?  Friends are supposed to tell eachother everything even if that means hurting them and other times it's just too much to put their friend through.  So how exactly does one judge the fine line that separates the difference?  While reading the tale, Don't Be Too Curious (in the link below), the only thing I could think about is the personal things in life that one can relate to. 
http://oraltradition.wikia.com/wiki/Don't_Be_Too_Curious
Overall, I came to the conclusion that one should only be concerned with the infromation that is presented in front of them.  If one goes looking for trouble your more than likely gonna find it and possibly get hurt.


While still thinking about trickster tales, I decided to youtube them to see an actual storyteller tell the story and also so I did not have to continue to read.






 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlHtzU133NI

The video was about how rabbit got his stubby tail.  It makes me laugh because some of the reasons that these stories use to explain why things are seem so ridiculous.  The rabbits tail got frozen and pulled off while trying to catch fish.  The trickster bunny was tricked and it just shows that what comes aroung goes around.  Bunny was showing off his long warm tail and using it as warmth in the cold air and now bunny has no tail!):

Night Chant

Music appeals to people because they "catch" our interest and are easy to remember because of this.  Growing up I learned to look for a certain beat, rhyme, or count in poetry.  Putting some type of beat behind poetry makes it more interesting to read and interpret.  However, I was unable to do so  while reading the night chant.  Therefore, I was left with a very empty feeling about this writing.  It caught no interest of mine and the words alone made me feel like it was creating a false sense of reality.  The chant asked for so much from one thing.  The person is asking for rainbows, happiness, youth, and much more.  This poem had so much going on and repeated itself so much that I find myself skipping over words and only paying attention to the ones that are different.  Unable to pay attention to the poem altogether I am slightly confused the ultimate meaning. 

Reel Injun

The film Reel Injuns is a Hollywood film that explores the stereotypes associated with the Native American culture. 


The portrayal of Indians has always had a very stereotypical representation.  Even the modern representation has been skewed.  When people think of Indians one may picture a chanting Indian or man looking off a cliff into the wind as a symbol of a free spirit.  Emphasized in the video, the Hollywood representation over-dramaticized the view upon Indians as well.  However, movies have done this over time in order to appeal to audiences and bring in more revenue.  The more extravagant we can portray the Native Americans the more people will be interested and begin to believe a false representation of the true Indian culture.  I find this to be typical in today's modern world. More often than not a person would choose a more action packed movie or comedy over a documentary. It is just how society has made us think these days, we do what is accepted and what we have been taught to do.




Upon the opening of the film, it immediately shows the stereotypical man driving a muscle car that is “typical” of an Indian. To some degree I find super offensive, but explains the degree to which stereotypes have been used to remember history.

The famous Indian, Crazy Horse is a historical figure that greatly influenced the American Indian culture.  Ironically enough during the video it is stated that there is not an actual portrait of Crazy Horse himself.  This was due to Crazy Horse's belief that the more important issue was to remember what he stood for and what he was doing for his culture, not what he looked like.  The statue erected in South Dakota is a mere representation of what the man thought of when they thought about an Indian. Which leads me to disappointment, people who are visiting this monument get the mainstream representation of Crazy Horse which is less important than what he stood for.


This part of the film about Crazy Horse was the most interesting part to me.  This was because about 7 years ago I visited this monument in South Dakota.  Unaware of the historical importance that this statue portrayed at the time, I was amazed to see the lengths we have gone through just to remember him. Being so naive at the time I could not wrap my mind around how big this actual monument was and how exactly they were constructing it. The statue seemed to have little importance to me at the time and almost forgotten until I was reminded of it during the film. History and American Indians never have caught my interest and it was just something I put in the back of my mind, but as I continued to watch further I began to think that maybe it could be interesting.

The film overall just made me mad and made me realize the how often the American culture has skewed the historical accuracy in order to appeal to society.  And consequently how often people actually believe what they see in movies.