Newly Opened Eyes

     Over the weekend, I went shopping with Hallie and Janine at the Lehigh Valley Mall. We were there because Hallie had to do a simulation where she had to pretend to be a physically disabled person for her special ed class. While we were shopping I had started to notice that there were a lot of items of clothing that seemed to have a Native influence. Some of the most common foot wear for the winter are moccasins. Also many of the boots have a Pocahontas like vibe because they have fringe or turquoise beads on them. This get me thinking about our recent conversations in class about what a Native American "looks" like. Also many of the shirts I saw had feathers in them that we're vaguely Indian in nature. What does a Native person really look like? Do they wear moccasins and feathers? Why is out fashion so influenced by Indians considering there is no real Indian "look". That would be saying that a person had a European look, it really means nothing and is very confusing. Why are non native people so enthralled with the look of Indians? Even when I was little one of my favorite movies was Pocahontas, she was this noble, mysterious, exotic looking strong woman who seemingly was intelligent enough to have everything she wanted. She also "looked" Indian with her black hair, dark eyes, and her tan skin, which is what the typical stereotyped Indian looks like. No one ever thinks about how she seemingly learned English so quickly, or whether any of the situations or places were actually plausible. The real Pocahontas really didn't have all that great of a life. She was actually kidnapped and she was converted to being a Christian after much hardship. She, when given the chance actually did not return to her family or her home, and married a tobacco plantation owner. She was apparently somewhat of a celebrity and was even taken to England so that they could see what a "civilized" Indian looked like.
     Due to the fact that Hallie, Janine, and I were all getting stairs from various people while we were doing the simulation at the mall, this made me think about what it must feel like to be a Native person and go out in public and be stared at because you look different. It is no wonder why many Natives go through and identity crisis, or why some Natives just try to assimilate into the mainstream culture. For God's sake, Hallie was getting odd looks just because she was riding around in a wheelchair, how must Natives of the past felt when they were paraded in front of the settlers and they were mocked and ridiculed, I am sure. I felt judged, and I was only pushing Hallie in the wheelchair.
     Another point that I wanted to talk about is that it took until now, but I was finally offended by the book we are reading. In "Everything You Know About Indians is Wrong," By Paul Chaat Smith, there is a part where he basically goes on a rant that says something to the effect of: everyone who is interested in Indians is usually unintelligent, and the people that want to know more about Indians and/or talk to them is even more unintelligent. He then goes on to say that the smart people are the people that stay away from Indians, they go about their business by finding out at an early age that it is a dangerous place to be and a ticking time bomb. It's not that I disagree with the second part, about the people finding out early how it is easier, because trust me, I agree. There is a reason that the saying "ignorance is bliss" is so popular, because it is very true. Before this class, I really thought that I knew a good amount of information about Natives, and I called it a day. Now that I know better things are much harder. The part that I have a problem with is the part about being unintelligent if you try to learn more about Natives. While I understand what he is getting at, that it is such a touchy subject, one that has literally been going on since 1492 and before, it still makes me mad that he says it in this way. It's not even that I disagree, I think that he is right in what he says, I just wish that sometimes the truth was sometimes easier to hear.
     I titled this particular blog post Newly Opened Eyes because I feel like I really am experiencing more diversity this semester, largely through this class. I am finally weeing things that before I didn't know, or didn't want to know. 

 (How Natives are "supposed to look")

(When I found this picture it was titled "Navajo Chic". I wish I was kidding.)

   

Reel Injun

     So today in class, we watched a brief segment of the movie Reel Injun. I really felt like I connected with this movie especially now with all of the stereotypes we have been uncovering in class. It showed clips of modern day Indians, which I really liked. Then it also showed Natives from the past, and how they were portreyed and what they really looked like. I also really liked that the people in the movie explained that Crazy Horse was missnamed/not translated, as well as there are no real pictures of Crazy Horse. The ones that we see are most definitley a fake.

     I think that the excerpt of the book we had today really again spoke to breaking down stereotypes. It is true that even as Americans, all we learn about natives are the Plains Indians who were the exception, not the rule. I truly am horrified at how little I actually know about real Natives and especially Natives post 18th century. I mentioned in class that I felt really dumb. I don't think that I clarified why I feel this way. It's not as though I feel unintelligent, it's that I feel cheated out of knowledge. I knowingly participated in the systematic ignorance of modern day Native Americans. I feel like I should issue them an apology, hopefully it would be more heartfelt than the one the government issued. This class has literally shaken my very roots in my education. If all that I have been taught about Natives is a lie then what else has been a lie.

I also have the problem of blaming myself when I read this literature. I literally ask myself things like "why did we do this?" I feel like the reason that I think this is that at times I feel so un-American. I feel this way because I am a huge critic of not only our government but our culture as a whole. I literally need to stop assimilating myself with these settlers from long ago and stop feeling bad that I don't know a lot about Natives, because I am not only not alone in this, I am striving to become better and learn about modern day Natives. Hopefully that is enough and I can convince myself not to feel bad anymore.  I also am guilty of using the whole "we" versus "them" mentality. We of course are white people and Them are the Indians, which is totally messed up, of course. I'm not quite sure exactly why it is that it seems that even though I am obviously horrified at the atrocities that the settlers committed, why do I still count myself among their ranks? In class the other day, I said something to this effect, and I realized that if I was really going to assimilate with anyone during this time, it should be the Irish. My entire ancestry was not even thinking about coming over to the United States until the 19th century. I think the whole reason that we as a culture so over-identify ourselves by our "Americaness", is simply because it is ingrained in us since we were very young children. It is considered unpatriotic to be anything but extatic about being American, and relating to other Americans, apparently even past ones that were in fact, committing genocide. Wonderful, can't say how happy that makes me feel.

Stereotypes uncovered

I think that this is the first class that I have ever had that is both formal and informal at the same time. It is quite informal in nature, in the aspect that we all sit around in a circle, however very formal in the topics that we discuss. I really like that this class is all about Native Americans because I had never had a class that touched upon not only the historical significance of Natives but how other Americans assume there are no Natives left or if they are they are smoking a pipe on a reservation and saying "how". This is the first class that I have had that challenges everything that I thought I knew about Native Americans. We are all taught as children about thanksgiving and how the settlers and Natives were friends, the teachers never tell you the darker aspect of the story, that not only did the settlers strip them if their land, steal their women and children, and banish them to lands that the Indians had no experience with, they then proceeded to give them smallpox blankets, kill the buffalo that many tribes revered, and overall just decimate their culture and populations. So that is why I called this blog stereotypes uncovered because I feel that that is exactly what we are doing in this course, uncovering. Not only uncovering things about Natives, but things about our own ethnicities, ourselves as people, and uncovering the untruths and things we thought we knew. Personally I do not consider myself an ignorant person. I pay attention to world news, and am a registered voter. That being said, until this class I really was ignorant about the lives of native Americans post 18th century.