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 Entries
Journal Entry #2: Reel Injun Reaction
Indians played a role of being known in a more negative way such as being an alcoholic, also a tad crazy and wild. Indians were also commonly made fun of but society seemed to accept instead of try and stop it. For example the bugs bunny skit when he sang a classic song while shooting the Indians. Bugs bunny is a cartoon generally meant for a more youthful audience, and bugs bunny’s actions are not quite influencing kids to treat Indians in a respectful and kind way. Sacheen Littlefeather is an activist for Native American Civil Rights. She was best known for her speech during the 45th Academy Awards which Marlon Brando was boycotting, which is why Sacheen Littlefeather spoke in 1973. She would not accept the award because she was protesting the treatment of Native Americans in the film industry. Back in 1973 majority of ‘Indian’ actors were Americans dressed up to play the roll of an Indian. This is why Sacheen Littlefeather spoke up to bring awareness to this inequality.
Journal Entry #4: Theme in Readings
A common theme found in the readings is the amount of tension and uncomfortableness between both sides. This is shown in ‘First Person, First Peoples’ by Louise Erdrich “‘Don’t let Bennett hang out in the fraternity basement, because his people have a big problem with alcoholism.’... I acknowledge the problems with alcoholism that many -but not all- Indian people face, but I did not appreciate being stereotyped. (Bennett, 147)”. This is showing that even back then and now there is still tension. I would be interested to see how this would be dealt with if everyone had the same amount of knowledge of the history and the truth about what happened. Would it have been handled in the the favor of the Coach or Bennett?
Journal Entry #5: Response to Readings
The tension between Native Americans and Western Europeans is longstanding and not likely to change. We read short stories from ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven’ by Sherman Alexie, along with ‘First Person Native American College Graduates Tell Their Life Stories First Peoples With A Foreword’ by Louise Erdrich. The theme of tension between the two cultures was found in both readings. In these stories Native Americans had lost their cultural roots and as a result, lost their identity. This was due to stereotyping and prejudice. Although the tension related to this may be everlasting I believe that society should continue to be educated about the history that caused this tension so that understanding could lead to the end of stereotypes.
In the Dartmouth writing Erdich gives examples of the effect of being labeled. “‘Don’t let Bennett hang out in the fraternity basement, because his people have a big problem with alcoholism.’... I acknowledge the problems with alcoholism that many -but not all- Indian people face, but I did not appreciate being stereotyped. (Bennett, 147)” The coach is making an assumption based on what he thinks he knows of Native Americans, that a majority of Native Americans drink too much. Bennett adds his input about the situation, and how these stereotypes make him feel.
In Sherman Alexie’s book, he humorously told the stories of Indian young people and their struggles against the stereotypes that caused them to search for their identity. “There were these two Indian boys who wanted to be warriors. But it was too late to be warriors in the old way. All the horses were gone. So the two Indian boys stole a car and drove to the city...When they got back all their friend’s cheered...You were very brave, everyone said to the boys. Very brave.” This was the only way these boys could find their warrior selves. They were searching for their identity, and giving in to the stereotype of Indian as thief. In the end they left the cars in front of the police station, maybe their way of trying to end the stereotype that had kept them down.
Again, in Alexie’s book, he gives an example of the tension between Indians and non Indians. When an Indian went to a 7-Eleven to buy a drink he was assumed to be dangerous. “He stiffened ready for a gunshot or the blow behind the ear….I was hoping you weren’t crazy. You were scaring me.” The tension that came from years of battle, still is present today, but now it is based on stereotype and fear that it brings.
We can hope that the tension between Indians and non-Indians will die down. These writers have educated perspectives, as Native Americans themselves and are able, through their writing to educate others. Allowing the stereotypes to come to an end by learning the facts, knowing when a statement is true or false and having the capability to speak up when the tension is high will create more peace between people.
Journal Entry #6: Reaction to Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee
One of the most shocking parts in the film was seeing the amount of violence from both sides that came with the disagreements over land. It was interesting to see the truth in how both sides fought instead of learning a more bias side that was in charge of the violence acts. I was most taken by the killing of younger kids, during the war when the parents got shot and how the settlers still shot the innocent kids. I also found how the Native Americans were not provided with any medical assistance and resources to be extremely greedy and a every immoral action on the settlers behalf. I would think that even though the settlers wanted the land and the Native Americans to leave the land, that the settlers would still do the moral action and provide essential medical treatment.
I tended to see more bias towards favoring the Native Americans, I noticed this by showing how Native American kids were treated either in the tribe or at boarding school. Using visuals to get a more personal connection causing the audience to feel more for the Native Americans. Also by going ghost war zones and only filming the Native Americans that died in the fight, but of course there were some settlers who died, but there was no images of fallen soldiers fighting for what they believed in. Some of the information seemed to be bias in favoring the Native Americans, because of how much they talked about there life style, what they believed in, along with the Native Americans perspective on the settlers being talked about. But there was very minimal time spent of the settlers side of the story, we didn’t know what they’re everyday was like, how the kids were treated, what the punishments were.
Indians played a role of being known in a more negative way such as being an alcoholic, also a tad crazy and wild. Indians were also commonly made fun of but society seemed to accept instead of try and stop it. For example the bugs bunny skit when he sang a classic song while shooting the Indians. Bugs bunny is a cartoon generally meant for a more youthful audience, and bugs bunny’s actions are not quite influencing kids to treat Indians in a respectful and kind way. Sacheen Littlefeather is an activist for Native American Civil Rights. She was best known for her speech during the 45th Academy Awards which Marlon Brando was boycotting, which is why Sacheen Littlefeather spoke in 1973. She would not accept the award because she was protesting the treatment of Native Americans in the film industry. Back in 1973 majority of ‘Indian’ actors were Americans dressed up to play the roll of an Indian. This is why Sacheen Littlefeather spoke up to bring awareness to this inequality.
Journal Entry #4: Theme in Readings
A common theme found in the readings is the amount of tension and uncomfortableness between both sides. This is shown in ‘First Person, First Peoples’ by Louise Erdrich “‘Don’t let Bennett hang out in the fraternity basement, because his people have a big problem with alcoholism.’... I acknowledge the problems with alcoholism that many -but not all- Indian people face, but I did not appreciate being stereotyped. (Bennett, 147)”. This is showing that even back then and now there is still tension. I would be interested to see how this would be dealt with if everyone had the same amount of knowledge of the history and the truth about what happened. Would it have been handled in the the favor of the Coach or Bennett?
Journal Entry #5: Response to Readings
The tension between Native Americans and Western Europeans is longstanding and not likely to change. We read short stories from ‘The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven’ by Sherman Alexie, along with ‘First Person Native American College Graduates Tell Their Life Stories First Peoples With A Foreword’ by Louise Erdrich. The theme of tension between the two cultures was found in both readings. In these stories Native Americans had lost their cultural roots and as a result, lost their identity. This was due to stereotyping and prejudice. Although the tension related to this may be everlasting I believe that society should continue to be educated about the history that caused this tension so that understanding could lead to the end of stereotypes.
In the Dartmouth writing Erdich gives examples of the effect of being labeled. “‘Don’t let Bennett hang out in the fraternity basement, because his people have a big problem with alcoholism.’... I acknowledge the problems with alcoholism that many -but not all- Indian people face, but I did not appreciate being stereotyped. (Bennett, 147)” The coach is making an assumption based on what he thinks he knows of Native Americans, that a majority of Native Americans drink too much. Bennett adds his input about the situation, and how these stereotypes make him feel.
In Sherman Alexie’s book, he humorously told the stories of Indian young people and their struggles against the stereotypes that caused them to search for their identity. “There were these two Indian boys who wanted to be warriors. But it was too late to be warriors in the old way. All the horses were gone. So the two Indian boys stole a car and drove to the city...When they got back all their friend’s cheered...You were very brave, everyone said to the boys. Very brave.” This was the only way these boys could find their warrior selves. They were searching for their identity, and giving in to the stereotype of Indian as thief. In the end they left the cars in front of the police station, maybe their way of trying to end the stereotype that had kept them down.
Again, in Alexie’s book, he gives an example of the tension between Indians and non Indians. When an Indian went to a 7-Eleven to buy a drink he was assumed to be dangerous. “He stiffened ready for a gunshot or the blow behind the ear….I was hoping you weren’t crazy. You were scaring me.” The tension that came from years of battle, still is present today, but now it is based on stereotype and fear that it brings.
We can hope that the tension between Indians and non-Indians will die down. These writers have educated perspectives, as Native Americans themselves and are able, through their writing to educate others. Allowing the stereotypes to come to an end by learning the facts, knowing when a statement is true or false and having the capability to speak up when the tension is high will create more peace between people.
Journal Entry #6: Reaction to Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee
One of the most shocking parts in the film was seeing the amount of violence from both sides that came with the disagreements over land. It was interesting to see the truth in how both sides fought instead of learning a more bias side that was in charge of the violence acts. I was most taken by the killing of younger kids, during the war when the parents got shot and how the settlers still shot the innocent kids. I also found how the Native Americans were not provided with any medical assistance and resources to be extremely greedy and a every immoral action on the settlers behalf. I would think that even though the settlers wanted the land and the Native Americans to leave the land, that the settlers would still do the moral action and provide essential medical treatment.
I tended to see more bias towards favoring the Native Americans, I noticed this by showing how Native American kids were treated either in the tribe or at boarding school. Using visuals to get a more personal connection causing the audience to feel more for the Native Americans. Also by going ghost war zones and only filming the Native Americans that died in the fight, but of course there were some settlers who died, but there was no images of fallen soldiers fighting for what they believed in. Some of the information seemed to be bias in favoring the Native Americans, because of how much they talked about there life style, what they believed in, along with the Native Americans perspective on the settlers being talked about. But there was very minimal time spent of the settlers side of the story, we didn’t know what they’re everyday was like, how the kids were treated, what the punishments were.
Seminar Prep
Essential Question:
My Response:
I believe that once everyone has an understanding of what happened between the Native Americans and the Europeans then we will be able to end the stereotypes and have an understanding of why there is tension between Native Americans and Europeans. This will help us all see the truth betweened what happened and allow us to form our own opinions along with allowing us to try and ease the tension by acknowledging what truly happened.
My Questions:
Part One: History
Part Two: Modern Day:
How did learning the history that we studied throughout this project help you better understand the more modern-day readings and/or the real world around us? Cite examples from the modern-day readings and/or your personal experience that you better understand now as a result of the history.
When we started this project I didn’t realize how much tension there was and still is between both sides. I knew that there was some because my mom works on the Southern Ute reservation as a doctor and she gets a lot of passive aggressive people towards her because of her race. But I didn’t really know the amount of uneducated I was with this topic that is current. I was surprised to read how much we stereotype different ethnicities. I have come to the conclusion that there will always be a lasting tension between both the Native Americans and the settlers but my vision is that we can become knowledged about the facts of what happened without the bias opinions and that the facts will put an end to the stereotypes that are unnecessarily causing more tension.
Write down 3 thought-provoking questions from either Sherman Alexie’s stories or the Dartmouth student essays that you’d like to pose during seminar.
- How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history, and contemporary social, cultural and political realities?
My Response:
I believe that once everyone has an understanding of what happened between the Native Americans and the Europeans then we will be able to end the stereotypes and have an understanding of why there is tension between Native Americans and Europeans. This will help us all see the truth betweened what happened and allow us to form our own opinions along with allowing us to try and ease the tension by acknowledging what truly happened.
My Questions:
- What is it about human nature that drives people to do this? “A white invasion of Creek lands began-looters, land seekers, defrauders, whiskey sellers, thugs-driving thousands of Creeks from their homes into the swamps and forests. The federal government did nothing. (Zinn, 7 pg. 142)” I would say what drives us as human beings is the fact that we always want something the other person wants, whether its a fancy computer or a piece of land. I think there are different ways to approach the situation but what is truly driving people to do this is the fact that they want what the other person wants.
- Was the Trail of Tears the largest human migration? “On October 1, 1838, the first detachment set out in what was to be known as the Trail of Tears… There were 645 wagons, and people marching alongside. (Zinn, 7 pg. 147)” No, although this was a major migration, this is not the largest human migration in recorded history.
Part One: History
- Could there have been a better solution to the manifest destiny and the way they treated Native Americans?
- How would our history have changed if we had instead embraced Native Americans instead of wiping their population out?
- What is the responsibility of a scholar of history to accurately portray historical facts?
- “A white invasion of Creek lands began-looters, land seekers, defrauders, whiskey sellers, thugs-driving thousands of Creeks from their homes into the swamps and forests. The federal government did nothing. (Zinn, 7 pg. 142)” The lesson being taught through this passage is that the truth of how we went about invading others land, and where the Native Americans had to go afterwards, and how disrespectful the actions were.
- “He realized his mistake but it was too late. He stiffened, ready for the gunshot or the blow behind the ear. (Alexie, 184 The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven)” This is a good lesson that was shown in the reading, it shows the amount of judgement we have in each other and how when we make a mistake the first reaction we have is what the punishment will be instead of the lesson we have/will learn(ed).
- “... Custer led his troops into a headlong attack against superior numbers. Custer and his troops were quickly encircled and slaughtered. (Textbook, first page, Battle of Little Bighorn)”. This shows how we are teaching other generations of what happened and how we are making it sound kind of bias towards the Europeans because of how they used the terminology ‘Slaughtered’. When both sides were getting slaughtered but the Europeans didn’t end up winning. This is teaching younger generations that the Native Americans are killers when so are the Europeans.
Part Two: Modern Day:
- In what ways does the media shape Native American identities today? Cite Examples from Reel Injun, Alexie’s stories and/or the Dartmouth student essays that show the stereotypes and their effect on Native American’s personal identities and Western culture’s perception of Native Americans.
How did learning the history that we studied throughout this project help you better understand the more modern-day readings and/or the real world around us? Cite examples from the modern-day readings and/or your personal experience that you better understand now as a result of the history.
When we started this project I didn’t realize how much tension there was and still is between both sides. I knew that there was some because my mom works on the Southern Ute reservation as a doctor and she gets a lot of passive aggressive people towards her because of her race. But I didn’t really know the amount of uneducated I was with this topic that is current. I was surprised to read how much we stereotype different ethnicities. I have come to the conclusion that there will always be a lasting tension between both the Native Americans and the settlers but my vision is that we can become knowledged about the facts of what happened without the bias opinions and that the facts will put an end to the stereotypes that are unnecessarily causing more tension.
Write down 3 thought-provoking questions from either Sherman Alexie’s stories or the Dartmouth student essays that you’d like to pose during seminar.
- I wonder now a days how a Native American student at Dartmouth would respond to his coach telling a friend to make sure I don’t drink because of the stereotypes? “Don’t let Bennet hang out in the fraternity basements, because his people have a big problem with alcoholism. (Bennett, 147)”.
- What is the responsibility of a scholar of history to accurately portray historical facts?
- What if the Indians had fought harder and actually beat some of the white invasion, would they have more of their land today? What if we had different outcomes and that the Native Americans won, what kind of society would we have today, what would now a day look like?
Reflection
To expand our knowledge on the topic of the Native American Historian project we read Chapters 1 and 2 from A People’s History of theUnited States by Howard Zinn. We also watched a film called Reel Injun where we looked at the different types of media influences. Then we read several short stories from The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie. We read A Drug Called Tradition, Crazy Horse Dreams, This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Indian Education, and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven. Along with First Persons, First People by ….
The most significant lesson I have taken away from this project was gain an understanding from the amount of tension between both sides of Native Americans and Americans. I gained an understanding for where the stereotypes come from along with how we can end these stereotypes and teach history without any bias sides, and bias teachings causing the with held information of what happened in history. I felt most challenged by the ways by being asked how we can potentially end and stop the stereotypes and the tension between both sides. When finding out that I was taught false or not the whole truth about certain information about the history between both sides, I felt like I was taught to be bias on this topic instead of getting the full story and making my own decision in the area.
We spent the first two and a half weeks relearning about the battles between the Native Americans and Europeans along with how Columbus treated the Native Americans and where the anger in the Native Americans came from. Then we had a seminar online using the application edmodo where we posted our own thoughts and questions for the Zinn reading of chapters 1 and 7. Then we did a seminar where sat in a small group of class mates and talked about the reading, how it made us feel, talking about the essential question which was ‘How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history AND contemporary social, cultural and political realities?’.
One of the biggest talking point in the seminar was taking about stereotypes now a days and what we should do to end them. With this discussion also brought up one of the more current arguments which is the football team name ‘Redskins’. Many different points came up such as the Anish bringing up the point an all white team shouldn’t be called the Crackers, so there is no reason to call them this team the RedSkins. “I feel like if they were a good team then it would be different.” said Garrett. Garrett is trying to get across that if the team was good then it could be like we are honoring them, but since they aren’t that great of a team then it is more of a dis than a complement.
I believe that once everyone has an understanding of what happened between the Native Americans and the Europeans then we will be able to end the stereotypes and have an understanding of why there is tension between Native Americans and Europeans. This will help us all see the truth between what happened and allow us to form our own opinions along with allowing us to try and ease the tension by acknowledging what truly happened.
The most significant lesson I have taken away from this project was gain an understanding from the amount of tension between both sides of Native Americans and Americans. I gained an understanding for where the stereotypes come from along with how we can end these stereotypes and teach history without any bias sides, and bias teachings causing the with held information of what happened in history. I felt most challenged by the ways by being asked how we can potentially end and stop the stereotypes and the tension between both sides. When finding out that I was taught false or not the whole truth about certain information about the history between both sides, I felt like I was taught to be bias on this topic instead of getting the full story and making my own decision in the area.
We spent the first two and a half weeks relearning about the battles between the Native Americans and Europeans along with how Columbus treated the Native Americans and where the anger in the Native Americans came from. Then we had a seminar online using the application edmodo where we posted our own thoughts and questions for the Zinn reading of chapters 1 and 7. Then we did a seminar where sat in a small group of class mates and talked about the reading, how it made us feel, talking about the essential question which was ‘How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history AND contemporary social, cultural and political realities?’.
One of the biggest talking point in the seminar was taking about stereotypes now a days and what we should do to end them. With this discussion also brought up one of the more current arguments which is the football team name ‘Redskins’. Many different points came up such as the Anish bringing up the point an all white team shouldn’t be called the Crackers, so there is no reason to call them this team the RedSkins. “I feel like if they were a good team then it would be different.” said Garrett. Garrett is trying to get across that if the team was good then it could be like we are honoring them, but since they aren’t that great of a team then it is more of a dis than a complement.
I believe that once everyone has an understanding of what happened between the Native Americans and the Europeans then we will be able to end the stereotypes and have an understanding of why there is tension between Native Americans and Europeans. This will help us all see the truth between what happened and allow us to form our own opinions along with allowing us to try and ease the tension by acknowledging what truly happened.