Ceremony

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko is the most beautifully written novel I have read. Each line can be analyzed and have more than one meaning. It is amazing. However, I am incredibly confused. Silko's writing is not in chronological order and I have the hardest time getting around it. I always want to know what's going on, but to really enjoy and understand the novel I have to let go of that. The Laguna Pueblo timeline is not how Americans see it. When I think of time it goes in a line. I am in the middle, the present, behind me is the past, and in front of me is the future. The past has already happened and maybe I have learned my lessons from it but it is often forgotten about. I try to live in the present. The present is what is going on right in front of me. Depending on what I do, my future could change. The future is ahead of me. Sometimes I can picture what my life is going to be and somedays it is all foggy and I can't see anything. It will happen but it isn't me now.



In the Laguna Pueblo tradition, all three parts coincide. Instead of a line, time is a continuous circle or waves in the ocean. The person I am now is the person I was and the person I will be. I like this way of thinking but in writing it is really confusing. Many authors write what their character is thinking and it goes into tangents. The tangents are typically past events that make the character feel a certain way or explain why they like or dislike another character. In Ceremony  the tangents aren't separate stories. It's more of a second thought that Tayo, the main character is having. The thoughts aren't explained. It's up to the reader to draw conclusions but there often isn't enough information to complete a thought. I have to let go of the idea of knowing what's going on and accept that I am going to be confused. I wish I had already read the book so I had some frame of reference but it will all make sense in the end.

Ignorance is Bliss?

Native people are often portrayed at stereotypes. They are either the awful savage or the peaceful spiritual community that won't hurt a thing. Stereotypes are used in everything. Marketing items so it appeals to the largest group of people involves stereotypes. The problem with this is that not every person fits into these categories they are put in. This is where the public becomes insensitive to groups of people. Society comes up with standards for every culture. It can be divided hundreds of ways. Religions, race, color, country of origin and gender are all boxes people get sorted into. Each box has a label but it doesn't apply everything in the box. Each person is different and should be. If everyone was the same nothing would ever change. The world needs different people but different doesn't mean bad. There are all types of people in the world and similar characteristics are spread all over it.

I try to see people for who they are before I make any assumptions. I can't say this happens all the time. Humans aren't perfect and I will never make a claim to be so. I do fall into the habit of judging people by how they look. It may be my lack of experience with more diverse cultures or just the easy path my brain is trained to follow by society. Either way I don't want to make those assumptions and I don't want people to assume things about me. I have been told my life is perfect. That I am perfect. Nothing is perfect. It isn't possible. I don't get judged on being an awful person and being called perfect doesn't bother me because I want someone to sympathize with me. It bothers me because it isn't true. I lost my dad and moved away from my best friends. I woke up one day and found myself surrounded by a new step-family and it hasn't been easy. Life gives everyone a hard time. Some are much worse than others but people can all understand it to a point. Everyone lives on one Earth and finds a way to make it through the day. Are people really that different? They all look different on the outside but inside they are all the same.

Native People

The Apache 

The Apache call themselves nde, "the people", and currently live in Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and New Mexico. They were mostly hunters and traveled throughout the year with primarily buffalo. Wickiups, camp tent size homes made

of a wooden frame and bush, were made by the women. Apache women could build these Wickiups in two hours if there was enough supplies. Now there are thirteen different Apache tribes with independent governments and laws.
                                             

Famous Apache:
 Cochise was a chief of the Chiricahua Apache. He fought with the US over land but finally a treaty was reached in 1872 with the help of Tom Jeffords, Cochise white friend. His family now lives in the Apache Reservation in New Mexico.

 Warrior Woman Dahteste fought with the Native American freedom fighter Geronima. She was best friends with another woman warrior called Lozen. She was fulent in English and became a translator for Apache and US people.


The Lakota


Lakota are thought to be agriculturists and are known for their hide paintings. Battles and calendars were recorded on buffalo hides.
                                                   
The tribe was split into two main areas: one in the North/South Dakota region and the other by the Missouri river. Louis and Clark meet the Lakota people on their journey. The Lakota refused to let the two men travel upstream. They are often considered to be apart of the Sioux tribes.

Famous Lakota:
Crazy Horse was a warrior who lead the Lakota people against the US troops. After surrendering in 1877, Crazy Horse was stabbed with a bayonet while on guard and died that night. His death has a lot of speculation around it.

Sitting Bull was a holy man who also fought with the US over land. Him and 186+ followers were forced to surrender due to the risk of starvation in 1881. Today he is an iconic symbol to modern activists and an inspiration in many movies. 

Dancing into the New Year

A new year has begun and with it comes a fresh start. Life doesn't give people many so I don't plan on wasting it. This semester, my English class is starting to study films and native culture. I know almost nothing about both! I am a little intimidated with the film study part. Dances with Wolves is the first movie I've really started looking at critically. There hundreds of little details that producers spend years getting perfect so the audience subconsciously reacts to the scene. Poses like the Christ pose means sacrifice. In the film Dances with Wolves, John Dunbar rides his horse into an open battle field in order to end his life. He is giving up and sacrificing himself. Having his arms outstretched and head up is iconic now. I noticed this pose before but I never put much thought into it. If he wasn't in this pose the significance and his state of mind would be harder to read. It wouldn't have the same impact on people. The other pose that I never paid much attention to was when John Dunbar runs his hands through the wheat. It shows the audience that he is at peace. I subconsciously felt this but I never would have caught it. Subtle actions make people connect with the characters and make the movie that much better. I know I will learn a lot more than a few key poses but it's something to start with.

I'm not quite sure how studying native culture fits in with senior literature and composition with communication but it should still be interesting. I know almost nothing about native people and their culture. I can confidently explain the pilgrims in detail but Native Americans and other cultures like theirs have always been a mystery to me. I, like every little girl, watched and loved the movie Pocahontas but that doesn't count. I didn't learn about modern Native Americans last year in history. I studies how they live today on reservations. Most of them struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol along with terrible poverty. Seeing the pictures of some Indian reservations was heartbreaking. Throughout history, they have been a minority. I can clearly see that even in today's society. Native Americans are given many scholarships to college to help them out of the poverty. People also believe that taking children off the reservation will help them lead a better life but it is incredibly hard to do. It also isn't right. Taking children away from their culture isn't right. It may give them a better chance at an addiction free future but it takes them away from their culture. Where a person comes from gives them a foundation for where they can go.