Native American Literature Notre Dame Walls

"The New Apartment, Minneapolis" (Linda Hogan)

1960s, Native people were relocated, this relocation was viewed as an imprisonment of Native people, it brought up bad memories and experiences for Natives (white merchants hung an elder on a meathook and beat him); also gives a warning that Native people were very willing and ready to fight back and weren't going to let whites control their lives anymore; there is truth hidden within the walls of the apartment, the closed doors is where Native people can finally relax and think about nature, animals, family, and everything that connects them to their past and their culture.

"13/16" (Sherman Alexie)

Alexie frequently acknowledges both his Spokane and Coeur d'Alene tribal heritage, even as he notes that he is a "breed," not a "blood," being 13/16. Alexie explains reservation mathematics in "13/16" and describes how hard it is to be poor. -refers to blood quantum measurements -takes away Natives' identity

Angela Grace St. John

Angela is a white woman who comes to the reservation for health reasons when she is pregnant and ends up having an affair with Abel. Although she is pregnant, her husband never visits her at the reservation. Seven years after their affair, Abel sees her walk by on the street in California and tells Benally about her. After Abel is beaten and hospitalized, Benally contacts Angela, and she goes to visit him in the hospital. She explains that she has raised her son with an awareness of Indian culture, telling him a story about a bear and a maiden that resembles the story that run through Francisco's mind as he is dying

"Los Pájaros" (Deborah Miranda)

Based on writings from 1773 & 1774. Talks about the arrival of Spaniards to native peoples and their lust. Goes on to explain how the fleeing women were taken for the soldiers and the men who tried to defend their wives were shot. Speaks to the idea of European sexual exploitation of native women and to the idea that they believed they were entitled to whatever they wanted.

Custer's Last Stand

Battle of Little Bighorn; not a lot of people have heard the story from the Native's perspective; Custer's murders; heroification of Custer Occurred from June 25-26, 1876. Following the battle Custer became an American hero, and is often portrayed as the last man standing while surrounded by Indian warriors/savages. In Flight by Sherman Alexie during one of Zits' dream visions he was fighting in the battle. The particular scene ended with the boy having to choose between killing and scalping a US soldier or forgoing revenge. Another book which discussed Custer's Last Stand is Black Elk Speaks, and Black Elk himself was a participant.

Blood Quantum

Beginning in 1705 in Virginia, nationally instituted through the Dawes Act of 1887 which was designed to break up the collectively owned lands of Native peoples and instead give them land allotments to individual Native people whose blood quantum could receive tribal membership and its benefits (e.g., land and resource use, voting and tribal elections, health care; education). Invisible issues; The U.S. Federal Government has instituted a policy that defines "Indians" based on blood quantum standards that establish Indigenous identity. How much blood does it take to make you a Native American? What makes you Native American? Religion? Culture? Can you be adopted into the Native American Culture? Should your Native identity be measured based on blood quantum..?

'Counting Coup"

Black Elk Speaks; Act of bravery; "In your face" humiliation of another person; non-lethal blow; Hundreds of different versions with different tribes -as a practice of warfare in the past (advancing upon the enemy at great risk to yourself and striking a non-fatal blow with the hand or a coup stick and then retreating unharmed) -as oral literary practice and genre in the past (verbally narrating "coup tales" to groups of fellow warriors and members of the tribe - coup tales could also be pictographically represented on hides and shields) -as a physical demonstration of courage today (performing physical acts that resemble the warfare practice or the past OR refers to a Native individual / team physically dominating an opponent) -as a literary expression (describing an in-your-face type of act of personal courage against an opponent)

Nicholas Black Elk

Black Elk Speaks; Writes an autobiography; It is seen as Historical Testimony (taught in anthropology courses); and as a literary act/text (taught in English courses). It's a great collaboration between two men. Work of a man's life story (autobiography); it is not a novel. Profound impact on Native and American people. Helped establish an ethical basis on which to tell the story of History. (Everyone should have an opportunity to be heard). It's a story of power, and powerlessness. Puts a face on Native Americans . Nicholas Black Elk (1863-1950) A man who has seen it all Sees the end of the bison Sees the tragedies of war and the suffering of his people. Sees the rise of modern technology (trains, cars, electricity, photography, movies, airplanes) Sees the atomic bomb

Black Elk's Vision

Black Elk had a vision when he was nine years old that implied he was destined to unite his people and lead them to victory. The vision was reported through Neihardt by Black Elk in the book Black Elk Speaks, which was the first narrative written from the perspective of a Native American individual. The vision he has as a child depicts six grandfathers, which appear to represent the elders and ancestors of the Indian community. At the time the book was published, in 1932, Black Elk expressed remorse for never being able to fulfill his destiny. In this way, the book shows how traditional Indian identity failed the community, different from House Made of Dawn. (Black Elk doesn't feel worthy of this vision and ends up not being able to fulfill it).

Paradox of assimilation

Boarding schools called for a rejection of native languages but Navajo code talkers were instrumental in WWII? Natives that were forced into cities struggled to assimilate and find their place in white culture? Assimilation was often thrust upon Native Americans through violence and cultural genocide, however, in order to survive the white/european dominated mainstream society, Native people also needed to assimilate by learning english, capitalism, jobs, etc in order to integrate. Assimilation became part of the negotiation for survival.

The Albino

HMOD: represents the whiteman; Racially ambiguous figure; there is an age ambiguity as well. He is a force in the community; evil; evil laugh, tongue lashes at Abel when he stabs the Albino... like a snake. Is he a sorcerer? A manifestation of evil? He humiliates Abel

Pueblo Indian Dance Controversy

Happened in the American Southwest. Pueblo people had long practiced these ancient sacred ceremonies, fertility-agriculture dances. White women and tourists came as spectators (1910s-20s). Govt. and missionaries as moral reformers tried to suppress "obscene" dances. Some non-Natives defended the ceremonies. Relates to romance of primitivism, exotic, natural, authentic, primal.

Pocahontas Perplex

Indian Princess Theme: dignified, honored virtuous, Indian nobility or royalty. Highly romanticized, nationalized "Squaw" Theme: subservient, exotic, sexualized, unromanticized both are objectified stereotypes of Native American womanhood, and like mascots they are projections of desires and ideologies of the Non-native world

"Open Letter to White Women Concerning the Handmaid's Tale" (Tiffany Midge)

Is an open letter to white women about their fascination with The Handmaid's Tale. She writes how many people view the story as a dystopian world of fiction but that for Native women it is much more real. Children were taken from native mothers to be put into boarding schools full of abuse. That even now Native women suffer rape and violence at a remarkable rate. Native women were even subject to sterilization and are incarcerated at 6x the rate of white women. The story is not representative of all society but does represent the cultural amnesia of America.

Leslie Marmon Silko & Story Telling

L.M. Silko is a highly regarded female author. Every story is connected like a web, unlike a linear narrative. Every person has their own story and it is up the storyteller to bring it out. People share both good and bad stories in her culture You learn from these instructive, didactic failure stories Through repetition you get a variety of meanings from a story Even words have their own stories, connotations Like the word "West" - frontier, western genre, manifest destiny Creation/Thought Story Matrilineal storytelling reflected in powerful female characters of creation Accounts for all people, not just natives. (African, Asian, Europeans) Story was often told by women as well Tricksters: braggards that create and destroy. They represent negative human values of lust, greed, etc. and are usually punished after accomplishing some goal. Ex: "How Raven Stole the Sun" Cornmeal story Story mixed many genres (Recipe, Tragedy, Unconditional love of a mother, Creation) -endlessly mutable, constantly changing.

"The Woman Hanging From the Thirteenth Floor Window" (Joy Harjo)

Most buildings don't have a 13th floor; the woman represents many people who feel the same way as her; this woman is torn between ending her life because she sees that "the grass is greener on the other side", but she is held back by her ties to her family, land, culture, etc. The poem makes it clear that it is the woman's choice whether she ends her life or not.

Mascots

Native American Identity Issue: Blackhawks, Indians, Redskins, Seminoles, etc. problematic because it is dehumanizing to Native people, portrays them as being less than non-native people. caricatures of Indian people further differentiate Native people from non-native people in a harmful way that allows for the continued oppression of Native people and enables the trivialization of Native cultures -some people believe the mascot is good and represents courage, strength, power, etc. -Charlene Teters: woman who fought against mascots

Simon Ortiz

Native American poet- spearheads a Nationalistic sense of Native literature. -Expresses importance in community and sharing, because this in turn brings strength and continuance. Addresses the creative ability of Indian people by showing how Natives celebrate the human spirit and the Indian struggle for liberation (ex: Christian religious rituals are no longer Spanish → they are now Indian because of the creative development; this creativity can also be seen in the response to force colonization, which is resistance). -Oral tradition (including prayer and song) is the most important because it is the most reliable method by which Indian culture and community integrity have been maintained. -The struggle against colonialism has given substance to what is authentic. -Brings up the problem of whether a national Indian literature actually exists? -Story substantiates life, continues it, and creates it Summary: Ortiz talks about how life has progressed and how Natives have been modernized and they struggle against colonialism and old traditions and culture has been lost.

Oral Tradition/Oral Literature

Oral Tradition/Oral Literature/Sacred Stories/History- Then native's Oral Bible. Would be passed down by priests and elders from generation to generation. Ancient genre → Modern literature Attempts to represent oral tradition in written texts through typography and paralinguistics -Considered one of the best ways to pass down Native traditions and culture; women were often considered the storytellers

Peyote & Native American Church

Peyote is a small, spineless, carrot-shaped cactus that grows in the Rio Grande Valley. Mainly eaten as a hallucinogenic substance in Native American religious ceremonies. Appears in House Made of Dawn when Abel recalls a prayer meeting with Tosamah, or the Priest of the Sun. Peyote acts as Native American communion. The Native American Church was largely popular in the 50-60s as a support community for Indians living in cities. Helped created pan-Indian unity among relocated members.

Tosamah

Priest of the Sun in House Made of Dawn. Full name "The Right Reverend John Big Bluff Tosamah." Skevy appearance: "shaggy and awful-looking in the thin, naked light: big, lithe as a cat, narrow-eyed, suggesting in the whole of his look and manner both arrogance and agony" (pg 80). Always scheming, represents the trickster. Expresses scornful admiration for the ways in which white society has controlled and obliterated the Indian: "They put all of us renegades, us diehards, away sooner or later. They've got the right idea. They put us away before we're born. They're an almighty wise and cautious bunch, these cats, full of discretion" Once, when he ridicules the Indians who stay with the old traditions, the "longhairs," Abel becomes so angry that he almost starts a fight, driving him to a two day drinking binge

Decolonization

Process of writing back offers a hope of decolonization. Process of decolonization is thought to allow for critical reflection on how colonized people might think, believe, and act differently from the non-Indigenious way once imposed upon them, including language, religious beliefs and practices, values, etc. Reframe narratives about native community history and values Art, novels, poetry, any sort of native expression can be used as an effort for decolonization, basically gain back what was lost to European settlers/values Doing anything to reverse harmful effects of colonization → talk about boarding school experience (The Surrounded) and its harmful effects and what we can do now for Natives to help them regain lost culture

"Raven Brings the Light"

Raven lived in the time of darkness. An old man who lived with his daughter was the keeper of the light. The old man kept it in the box and did not show anyone the light including his daughter. Raven is tired of living in the darkness so he devises a plan to free the light. While the daughter is out getting water from the river, Raven turns himself into a blade of grass that is swallowed by the girl when she takes a drink. Raven remains inside the girl for 9 months grows into a baby boy. As the old man's grandson, Raven is able to cry and beg until he is given the light. When finally given the light, Raven changes back into his true form and leaves the house and releases the ball of light into the world. But while Raven did this his feathers were burnt which is why ravens have black feathers to this day. Raven is a kind of trickster whose curiosity brought about a good, but at a slight cost

Catherine Leon

She is Archilde's mother. She is the daughter of a Salish chief and is well-respected among the community. She was baptised when she was young and was referred to as "Faithful Catharine". She practices Catholicism all the way up until the middle of the book, when she kills a man for shooting her son Louis. Most memorable part in the book is when she asks to be whipped to purge her of her sins and to clear her conscience (whipping was an old Native tradition that was banned by white people). On her death bed she does not ask for a priest, but asks for her Native community to be alongside her.

Literary Sovereignty

Simon Ortiz: What is, for Simon Ortiz, a "national Indian literature" or "indigenous literary sovereignty"? What are its goals? · Exposure of the good and the bad. Culture/history should be for everyone to see. · Trade-off between identity and acceptance · Expressing by way of ceremony o Exposure, Expression, Assimilation · Ancient, ancestral tie · Resistance/Acceptance · Culture eventually eroded and lost (boarding school and language shaming)

"Indian School Night Song Blues" (Joy Harjo)

Speaks about the Native boarding school experience. It alludes to the trails the girls face but also the trauma of being pulled from their families and culture. Students were taken to "help" assimilate Native children into American culture and it also was a check on Native adults because the government had possession of their children.

Termination

Termination Act of 1953- dissolved Indian nations in return for financial compensation to the Indians, suspended Federal services such as health, economic, and educational benefits that were guaranteed by treaties, severed relations between the US govt. and Indian tribes, relocated Native people to cities. Indians were assimilated and "Americanized". Termination resulted in financial disasters (no more loans), relocation, loss of land and access to resources, and the termination of reservations and tribes (ex: Klamath in Oregon, Menominee in Wisconsin)

"Back to the Blanket"

The Surrounded; back to the blanket: Return to the indian culture; condescending, expression of contempt; a term still used today;

Cripple Mare

The Surrounded; hows how nature is so important to our roots. Horses connect you to the land. The page before the horse chapter, Archilde tries to help an old woman, but is unable to. It is a mirroring of this scene in the rancher world; He tries to help a crippled mare, and chases her down in order to help her. Existential futility You feel an obligation to relieve suffering ***Until the life leaves your eyes A lot of it is self pity, and not just mercy Mirrors white man's burden---> mercy killing the Indian identity

Tricksters

Toe'ash; When you encounter a character that acts like a trickster, you should realize that the author is trying to tell you something. Justice is a trickster. Another example of a trickster is Coyote in many stories. Often do important things, creating some things that people value. Human and animal characters act as tricksters. -some of the most important characters in Native stories; always in animal form, but frequently changes shape to disguise themselves; mischievous, foolish, plotting / scheming, taking risks and breaking rules, reckless, tricky, deceptive, have insatiable appetites, greedy, selfish, often pay a price for bad behavior -**tricksters often do important things, create things that people value

Survivance

a combination of the words 'survival' and 'resistance' intended to represent strategic and proactive literary point of view using wit and wisdom to build Native community rather than self-defeating prose of tragedy, destruction, and victimhood. It is a native sense of presence and the will to resist dominance.

Homecoming as a Theme in Native Novels

both archilde in surrounded and Abel in house made of down Compare values learned outside of native community to native values → leads you to question who you are, who you have become, if you still belong, if you can belong again, is this truly my home anymore, etc Abel's Homecoming Confronts world curious with him (angela) Confronts "evil" (albino/white man)

Dypaloh/Qtsedaba

dypaloh: signals that a story is about to be told; similar to "once upon a time"; used in House Made of Dawn. Used to signify that this is a Native story told on Native terms. Qtsedaba is used as the closing formula for HMOD.

Primitivism

fascination in people who are thought to be primitive, savage, noble or ignoble, simple, crude, childlike, superstitious, close to nature. It's part of the modernist agenda of the Western world because it draws upon the tension between modernity and the primitive (European nations vs. uncivilized world of indigenous people). It has a component of racial ideologies, and is used to dehumanize people. Primitivist imagery has played an important role in justifying colonialism and the expropriation of Native lands.

"Kill the Indian, save the man"

function of boarding schools and other relocation programs. idea that it was possible to separate a Native person from their cultural identity and integrate them into white American society and that this would be beneficial to both the Native and society as a whole. plan to completely eradicate Native cultures without actually killing all of the Indian people. forced assimilation

Boarding Schools

intention: to provide a structured environment-- for education, assimilation and modernizing Native peoples government would provide food and funding Archilde is an example of why a structured environment can be good: he was able to discover himself and he was exposed to new ways of life, he learned English, he was able to go out into the world and make a living) important to recognize that with education natives were more of the white mans equal, without it they are its victim obviously what happened to natives in boarding schools was wrong but where would they be without it--once they get through it they are empowered (they could have had it worse and could have just been killed instead)

N. Scott Momaday

kiowa-cherokee descent => Kiowa tribe of Oklahoma. Kiowa were nomadic hunter gatherers who followed Buffalo in the Rocky Mountains, until they settled in southwestern OK after the civil war his work highlights specific oral traditions, rituals, and are in Native culture of the American Southwest and Great Plains. A number of his books combine poetry, prose, paintings, and drawings Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for HMOD His work highlights specific oral traditions, rituals, and art in Native culture. "None but the Indian knows so much what it is like to have existence in two worlds and security in neither." Writes about real experiences (compares himself to Tosamah in HMD).

Abel

main character in "House Made of Dawn"; WWII veteran (PTSD), raised by his grandfather. Struggles to find his place in the world. He struggles trying to find a balance the expectations of white with Indian culture, but he feels connected to nature and the outdoors. He goes through many hardships, has trouble finding a job, has a love affair with Angela and with his social worker Milly (but he actually falls for Milly). He is part of the Eagle Watchers Society and chokes an eagle after he catches it. His best friend is Benally. He is somewhat purged and 'brought to health' towards the end of the book when his grandfather dies and he goes to run at dawn.

Archilde Leon

main character in "The Surrounded". He is the only one in his family who has separated from Native tradition and has gone out into the world and became more accustomed with typical American society and culture (and he enjoys it). He plays the fiddle and does not have a very good relationship with his father (until towards the end of his father's life). He cares for his family and has come back to visit to help out a little bit at home, with the intention of this being his last visit home. He originally plans to leave the reservation and go back to modern society, but in the end he has a change of heart and decides to stay because he feels that this is where he belongs. He also gets arrested at the end of the book because he was present in the killing of that man in the woods (NAME?) and in the killing of the Sheriff. He also falls madly and dangerously in love with Elyse.

Zits

main character of Flight; foster child - constantly jumps around to different foster homes. He is trying to find his identity in the Native American culture since he is part Indian and part Irish (he feels very lost and just wants a place to belong). Eventually Officer Dave takes him under his wing. Zits represents many Native people and their struggle to find their place and find their identity.

Indian Reorginization Act & D'Arcy McNickle

some of the first national legislation that secured rights for Native American individuals and tribes slowed or ceased the functioning of the Dawes Act of 1887 which had sought to divide and privatize Indian Reservation lands, providing individual allotments to specific tribally enrolled Native people, and selling any remaining "surplus" lands to non-Indians, producing checkerboard reservations of Indiana and non-Indian owned lands [this is how Max Leon and many other non-Indians portrayed in The Surrounded likely obtained lands on the Salish Reservation] promoted the process of tribal self -determination through tribally elected reservation governments, that were then recognized formally by the U.S. federal government and its administrative branches begins the process of tribes regaining some sense of political sovereignty. tribes allowed to formulate and adopt a tribal constitution, elect their own tribal councils , and employ legal counsel to protect tribal interests. However, the federal government still often dominates in managing Indian affairs reduces erosion of Reservation lands sold to non-Native Americans. Begins the process of tribes regaining some lands to be held in common, for the tribe, for communal use (as most tribal lands were before contact)

"House Made of Dawn"

symbolizes rebirth and life and beauty the certainty of another day-- after every dark night comes a new day six dawns represent the six recollections that Francisco has when he is dying

Dawn Runners

the men who run at dawn in HMD; a group of them gather right before the sun rises and then start running as fast as they can to the Middle of the village (a type of ceremony). -Indian running was a tradition: running was used to communicate, hunt, and wage jobs. All indigenous people ran. Spiritual runnin: puberty rite of passage, purification rites)

D'Arcy McNickle

wrote The Surrounded (first modern Indian novel) -mixed descent (mother was French Cree, father was white/irish) -born in 1904 on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana -sent to Roman Catholic mission and government boarding schools for Indian children in Montana and Oregon -employee of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (implemented the "Indian New deal," which began to give Native tribes more of a role in self-government, and slowed the emphasis on total assimilation -Director of American Indian Development, Inc. helping Native students find employment -Prof of Anthropology at Univ. of Saskatchewan -activist for Native American rights and was a founding member of the National Congress of American Indians

Indian Child Welfare Act

(1978) Flight; Alexie brings in politics; Forced adoption, Boarding School. The Act was an effort to to keep Native children in Native families, but it sometimes separated people arbitrarily (as in the case of Zits). Because Zits is not fully Native American, he floats around to non-native families and exemplifies one of Alexie's points that cultural preservation is not possible or helpful for some individuals.

"Changing is Not Vanished" (Carlos Montezuma)

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"Blue Horses Rush In" (Luci Tapahonso)

----Navajo Story...

Officer Dave & Officer Martinez

-Officer Martinez is the culebra (snake). He is Mexican and has a hatred towards Native people which is why he is so cruel to Abel and Benally. He beats up Abel and breaks his hands and steals from him. He takes advantage of his position as an officer and abuses his rights. -Officer Dave from "Flight" is the complete opposite of Office Martinez. Dave is kind and caring and takes Zits in to try to mentor him along the right path. He doesn't abuse his power (he is also white).