Abstract This paper reviews Catherine Maria Sedgwick's "Hope Leslie", an expansive work detailing with both sides of the conflict between the Puritans and the Native Americans in the Massachusetts Bay colony. It discusses how in order to create this rich and detailed story, Sedgwick presents a varied cast of characters and employs a number of literary techniques. One of the most prominent of these techniques is the use of letters that her characters write to each other. It analyzes these written letters and shows how Sedgwick uses this literary device to overcome the problem of omniscient narration, obtain more in-depth characterization, and better deal with the passage of time in the story.
From the Paper "Hope Leslie is written in the third person through the eyes of an all-knowing, all-seeing narrator. This allows the author to add a great deal of depth to the story by interjecting characters? thoughts and feelings, but it comes at a price: this style of storytelling is inherently difficult for readers to believe. Many critics describe third person narration as the "God"s-eye view? because only a god could understand and explain the motivations and feelings of every character in the story at all times. Many readers do not find this to be a believable viewpoint. On the other hand, using first person narration would unduly limit the depth of a novel with as wide a scope as Hope Leslie by only allowing one character's thoughts to be explicitly defined."
Abstract This paper examines Louise Erdrich's novel, "Tracks" about the starving Native American Chippewa tribe in North America moving toward extinction due mostly in part because of the Industrial Revolution. The path of Erdrich's novel consists of a series of tracks that connects the present to the past. It analyzes how through colorful characters and conscious detail, Erdrich portrays a realistic account of the struggles of the Chippewa tribe. It looks at how by consciously selecting descriptive details and portraying dynamic characters, Erdrich successfully reveals to the reader a side of Native American culture that is often not taught. and how she demonstrates the importance of culture and family, as well as the art of storytelling.
From the Paper "Tracks, is also a novel of sorcery and love within the traditional realm of the Chippewa people. Throughout the novel, there are several references to love and relationship triangles; Erdrich uses the character of Fleur to help make some of these situations real. Erdrich adheres closely to known Chippewa myth portraying her characters. She calls upon many legends to enhance them including animal folklore, evil forces, love medicine and Christianity, in constructing Fleur. Fleur is the traditional Indian woman in the story. She does not conform to the white ways and, as a result, conflict arises between her and Pauline. Pauline's dislike for Fleur is evident throughout the book. She despises her and attempts to spread unflattering rumors about her. Pauline's description of Fleur includes a wide range of emotions, ranging from hatred to respect to envy. Pauline senses that Fleur's spirit is stronger and more powerful than her own; therefore she never misses an opportunity to do her reputation harm. Pauline cannot help but observe Fleur; she is drawn to her."
Abstract Sherman Alexie, in his book "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven", takes the role of the storyteller in society, the one who puts the attitudes and concerns of the community into narrative form. The paper shows that Alexie is dealing directly with the role of the storyteller in Native American society and how that role affects the social order, is fed by that same order and both conveys and creates myths as a result. The paper shows that a theme that recurs in the stories in this collection concerns the birthright of the Indian and the way it has been compromised by white society, which seeks to adapt it to its own uses.
From the Paper "Poverty is another theme in this book, for poverty is the condition to which the people on the reservation have become accustomed as they have become more alienated from their birthright. This is also a condition passed from father to son: "On Christmas Eve when he was five, Victor's father wept because he didn't have any money for gifts" ("Every Little Hurricane" 4). This is another reason for the alcoholism, which in turn contributes to the poverty. A deadly cycle is thus created, a cycle that continues from one generation to the next with little sign of any change. There is some memory of earlier times when Indians believed they had achieved something by selling land or oil rights to whites, but that was an illusion. Poverty is the reality and alcohol the way to make it all seem better: "He thought one more beer could save the world.""
Abstract This paper begins by presenting the academic background that qualifies him to write such a book as the "To Die Game". Next, background on the subject of the book, the Lowry Gang, is described and a brief summary of the book presented. The paper also looks at the main thesis of the book, which is concerned with the Lumbee's fight against white suppression.
From the Paper "William McKee Evans? book, To Die Game, is a worthwhile piece of scholarly literature. The book, fully entitled To Die Game: The Story of The Lowry Band, Indian Guerrillas of Reconstruction, tells the story of the Lowry family, the ancestors of today's Lumbee Indians. Evans? accounting suggests that the Lowry gang's acts of violence were justifiable revenge against the brutal actions of the Ku Klux Klan and the Confederate Army. Ultimately, the author's substantial academic credentials and extensive scholarly research result in a thorough and worthwhile account of the lives of the Lowry Band."
Abstract This paper offers a review of the though provoking novel "Montana 1948" by Larry Watson. The writer shows how racism, as seen in the novel, can result in tragedy. The book is the retrospective tale of a childhood event told by the protagonist David Hayden forty years later. The story evolves around the alleged professionally unacceptable behavior of a physician towards his Indian patients.
From the Paper "Among David's primary recollections concerning the events of 1948 is the realization that Marie Little Soldier's bedroom was ?a small room off the kitchen,? despite the fact that there was a "third bedroom" vacant on the second floor ? the floor where the white people slept. "Who decided that room should not be Marie"s?? Despite the Hayden's tolerant and benevolent appearance, and their adequate treatment of Marie, they obviously are subtly influenced by the prejudice based on the belief in the superiority of a particular race. Wesley ?was not a hate filled bigot ? he probably thought he was free of prejudice.? Wes was able to "treat Indians with generosity, kindness, and respect" nevertheless he believed Indians? were ignorant, lazy, superstitious and irresponsible."
This paper discusses the history of the American Indian boarding schools and their influence in developing "pan-Indianism", which connected individuals from different tribes.
Abstract This paper explains that the "Friends of the American Indians" believed that education was the only answer to the "Indian problem" to assimilate Native Americans into Euro-American society. The author points out that, whereas, the mission schools were traditionally located on the reservations, the "retraining" process meant that the government-influenced boarding schools were located off of the reservations, usually many miles away from families, so that many children were not able to see their families for years at a time. The paper relates that, although the tribal traditionalists strongly were opposed to families sending their children to distant schools to learn the "white man's" ways, grinding poverty and the overwhelming hopelessness of reservation life caused many Indian parents to consider the possibility of sending their children to find a more prosperous life.
From the Paper "Many times the child was not told ahead of time that they would be leaving home to attend the boarding school. This resulted in a child resisting or fleeing home and hiding in the woods or with sympathetic relatives. The child might also runaway upon reaching the boarding school. One student's account is recorded at the Clark Historical Library (1999). He remembered that on the day that he left, his mother pack his lunch, simply handed it to him, and sent him off to a day school he was attending. When he arrived at the school, he was then told that he was to leave immediately. He and several other children were told to get into a truck prepared with a wire cage. The cage was to keep them from fleeing, and they were then driven to the nearest railroad station."
Abstract One of the more profound developments of the current Native American movement has been an effort on the part of Indians themselves to record their own history in order to help them gain control of their future. When Deloria promulgated his "Indian Manifesto" in 1969 with the title of "Custer Died for Your Sins", it became apparent that he was at the forefront of this movement, and the issues he identifies continue to be at the forefront of Native American concerns today. This paper provides an overview of Deloria's book, followed by a discussion of six of the main points made by the author. A summary of the research is provided in the conclusion.
From the Paper "According to Deloria, popular myths about American Indians have created a mainstream mentality in American that is based on ethnocentric perceptions that help soothe the national conscious because, after all, the Indians got the short end of the resources and geographic stick. Deloria makes the point that Native American men have been considered virtually subhuman since Europeans first set foot on the continent, but the Indian women were viewed as possessing a sufficient amount of stockiness and attributes to make them worthy of having their bloodlines added to the Euro-American family history through intermarriage."
Abstract This paper reviews the book "Love and Hate in Jamestown" by David Price, praising the author and for his honest and forthright portrayal of what actually took place between the settlers and Native Americans, in the early years of American settlement.
From the Paper "From our early years, every American child memorizes the stories of starvation, disease, violence and friendship that characterize the American "Thanksgiving Day" myth. This myth often belittles the cowardice, prejudice and hatred that characterized most of the early interactions between the settlers and the native inhabitants of the "New World." Instead, the story we learn focuses on the love and sacrifice that enabled early settlers' survival - an idea that was recently transformed into the heroic myth of Disney's Pocahontas. We would understand our national character, both in its past and present conflicts, much better by honestly examining those early relations. Lucky for us, this is exactly what David Price has in mind. Even the title of his historical narrative, "Love and Hate in Jamestown", suggests the well-rounded outlook it provides."
Abstract This paper explains that Native Americans disproportionately have a greater occurrence of mental health and substance use disorders than the population as a whole. The author relates that the U.S. government's policy of expansion, containment and non-sanctioned genocide in the 1880s has manifested itself in the Native-American population as poverty, alienation from mainstream public services and education, increased risk for medical and psychological conditions and a fractured sense of tribal and family cohesiveness. The paper points out that alcohol dependence combined with major depression or post-traumatic stress disorder are the most prevalent co-occurring disorders. The author reports that the evolving standard treatment method for Native-American clients is integrated mental health and addiction services using motivational interviewing, which is especially compatible with Native-American values.
From the Paper "Because Native Americans have a long, rich cultural heritage strikingly different from the mainstream of America, and because Native America is segmented into hundreds of tribes, many of which with their own unique cultural systems, providing adequate mental health and chemical dependency services in a culturally sensitive manner is difficult. This very issue serves as a barrier to treatment and outcomes, especially for individuals living off reservations where local community support and tribal customs are not present. Even on reservations, community support is inadequate as funding for mental health services through the Indian Health Services entitlement is woefully under-funded."
Abstract This essay is an in-depth look at Native American writer Leslie Marmon Silko's novel "Ceremony", analysing how the central character Tayo heals his psychological disorder by returning to his Indian roots and seeking the help of a medicine man.
From the Paper ""Ceremony" opens with a dream that the main character and World War II veteran, Tayo, is having concerning a plethora of thoughts and emotions concerning different cultures he has been exposed to throughout his life. The dream involves voices from many different races, the races that Tayo has positively or negatively dealt with in his life. The voices include Spanish (a man singing a familiar love song), Japanese (angry voices of soldiers), and Laguna (the voice of his Uncle Josiah bringing him fever medicine). The mixture of these races in Tayo's mind made him mad even in his sleep. The dream represents a lifetime struggle Tayo has had with the negativity of differentiating cultures. He started life as a mixed blood child, never as well accepted as his brother Rocky and never happy with his placement. His negative experience in the war increased reasoning for Tayo to despise the whites that had taken culture from his ancestors. He was able to get along with fellow soldiers during the war, it was afterward that he realized the anti-Indian attitude expressed in his habitat. In his only exhibit of disgust towards whites after the war Tayo states that "The war was over, the uniform was gone. All of a sudden that man at the store waits on you last, makes you wait until all the white people bought what they wanted. And the white lady at the bus depot, she's real careful not to touch your hand when she counts out your change. You watch it slide across the counter and you know" You know!? (Silko 42). Not only does Tayo have to deal with his knowledge of the reality of his situation as an Indian, he has no one on the reservation to completely relate to, as he has the additional problem of being mixed blood. His conflict with this is seen when his fellow veteran and peer, Emo, angrily labels him as a ?half-breed.?"
Abstract This paper examines the culture of the Hopi people with a focus on their history the problems the Hopi now face regarding acculturation into American culture.
From the Paper "The Hopis were first contacted by foreigners when Spanish conquistadors discovered their villages in 1540. In 1629, Spanish missionaries began to settle on Hopi land and tried in vain to convert the Indians to the Catholic faith. In protest, the Hopis joined with neighboring tribes facing the same persecution in the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680, causing the destruction of several Spanish missions throughout the southwest. When the Spanish returned to conquer the Rio Grande pueblos nine years later they did not venture as far west as Hopi territory. The Hopis lived virtually unbothered for more than a century until they became part of the United States at the end of the Mexican War in 1848. As Americans began to settle the southwest, the question of land rights arose. In 1882 President Chester A. Arthur established a 3,863-square-mile reservation for the Hopis (Hieb 1994). Now under U.S. government control, a culture that had remained practically unchanged for centuries began to feel the strong influence of an encroaching and far bigger society called America. "
This paper presents a book review of "Exterminate Them: Written Accounts of the Murder, Rape, and Enslavement of Native Americans during the California Gold Rush." by Clifford E. Trafzer and Joel R. Hyer. Forward by Edward Castillo.
Abstract The following book review examines the true treatment of Native Americans in California at that time of the California Gold Rush. It is a testament to the fact that folklore and tales can be embellished for many years with little accuracy. The book details and documents provable facts that should alert any future white person that it can happen, and did happen in the United States.
From the Paper "Throughout history, authors have used their works to convey emotion or a principle or moral that they felt strongly about. One of the best illustrations of this type of literary work is in, 'Exterminate Them' : Written Accounts of the Murder, Rape, and Slavery of Native Americans During the California Gold Rush, 1848-1868 ,by Clifford E. Trafzer (Editor), and Joel R. Hyer (Editor). In this work, the authors detail many of the horrors that were faced by the Native American, while the white man moved through the state of California, and industrialized it and changed it to their liking."
Abstract The paper explores the problems in categorizing the novel, politics raised within it and the main characters. It studies both the internal and external conflicts in the novel and looks at the use of setting and imagery.
From the Paper ""Love Medicine" by Louise Erdrich is a novel that defies categorization. It is part Gabriel Garcia Marquez fantasy-fiction, part Hemingway's down-to-earth working man's (and woman?s) fiction, part Normal Mailer's political-fiction. Erdrich chases the story of two families ? the primarily the Kashpaws and the secondarily the Lamartines ? through decades and generations of interactions and experiences. The two families? lives intertwine and intersect at several points, and the lynchpin to all of the stories varies between Marie and her granddaughter Albertine. The stories take place primarily on and around Indian reservations in North Dakota, and the Native American themes are present throughout the work. Erdrich does not overtly politicize ?Love Medicine,? but her background thematic structures lean heavily on the mistreatment of our Native American population and the unfairness of the reservation and allotment systems. The novel switches narrators often, which lends each character a unique and powerful voice. Erdrich's general structure is to deal with a character in one chapter, and then give that same character his or her own narrative voice in the next chapter. These perspective switches allow us to create our own view of a character before that character has a chance to narrate and either modify or strike down entirely our view. Erdrich uses this structure to give her characters several layers and forces the reader to identify with characters who would otherwise be distant and a bit daunting."
Tags: category, genre, novel, politics, conflict, setting, imagery, Native, American
Analysis of North American Indian societies, 1775-1815. Historical response to Europeans, traditions & political skills. Effects of American Revolution; resistance to Federal gov't. policies; devastation of their cultures.
4,050 words (approx. 16.2 pages), 16 sources, 2001, $ 135.95
From the Paper "This research paper discusses the cultures of Native American peoples as they existed during the creation of the American nation from 1775 to 1815. It focuses upon the traditional cultures of the Eastern Woodlands Indians, the Iroquois in the North, the Algonquian Shawnee in the Northwest Territory and the Muskhogean Creek Confederacy in the Deep South and Gulf region.
Over the centuries, a plethora of Indian tribes east of the Mississippi evolved and developed a wide diversity of cultural institutions and patterns of life, uniquely adapted and attuned to their natural environment and historical circumstances. All of them were significantly disrupted and altered by contact with European settlers. By the time of the American Revolution, most of the Algonquian tribes in New England and other Indians along..."
