They have driven us from the sea to the lakes, and we can go no farther.
They have taken upon themselves to say this tract of land belongs to the Miamis, this to the Delawares and so
on. Our father tells us that we have no business on the Wabash -- that the land belongs to other tribes. But the
Great Spirit intended it to be the common property of all the tribes, nor can it be sold without the consent of
all.
The United States has not treated the Indians dishonestly nor
unjustly. Indians are not one nation, nor do they own the land in common. Has not the Great Spirit given them
separate tongues?
As the Great Chief in Washington is to determine the matter, I hope the
Great Spirit will put some sense into his head to induce him to direct you to give up this land. It is true, he is so far off. He will not be injured by the war. He may still sit in his town, and drink his wine, whilst you and I
will have to fight it out.
Listen! Father! We are much astonished to see you tying up everything and
preparing to run the other way. You always told us to remain here and take care of our lands. It made our
hearts glad to hear that was your wish. But now we see you drawing back like a fat animal, running off with
its tail between its legs.
Listen! Father! The Americans have not yet defeated us by land. We, therefore, wish to remain and face our
enemy should they make their appearance. If you have an idea of going away, leave us the guns and
ammunition and you may go and welcome for it. Our lives are in the hands of the Great Spirit. We are
determined to defend our lands, and if it is his will, we shall leave our bones upon them.
Hope -- hope and freedom. That's what I thought
he stood for. And his vision that he had, the way he looked into the future and tried to stop progress for the
red people.
These are all random quotes taken directly from the transcript of the show. Ones that I thought really stood out. For me, the entire story of Tecumseh is very inspiring. More so is the story of his brother... who had vision and gave up drinking. He became known as the prophet and even made the sun stand still in the sky to prove he was sent from god.
Revolution is a difficult thing. Tricky at that. It is the cause of death and war. But it potentially can bring peace over a tyrannous government. When the Great Chief of the Americans issued orders to push them further to the edge, these people who wanted to leave peacefully were forced into war. I believe they took the right action, however violent it was. Unfortunately the Americans were dishonorable fighters and struck early. And that the English, those of common decent as myself, fled on the eve of battle... afraid of death in a cause they believed was not their own... simply because they were white and also taking the land. Its unfortunately that the great heroes are remembered tragically. But such is the way of history.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Truth About Stories
There is a story I know. It is of the earth. I've herd this story many times, and each time someone tells the story, it changes. But in all the tellings of all the tellers, the world never leaves the turtle's back. And the turtle never swims away.
The truth about stories is that that's all we are.
Thomas King's story of his mother struck a chord with me. The 60s were a time of change. Unfortunately his mother was sucked into the same discrimination we fought to destroy in the 50s when blacks were still forced to walk miles just to use a run down segregated bathroom. His vision of walking out on his father in a bar one day was of an anger I have seen a hundred times. I couldn't count how many friends I hold dear who's parents have split up.
The way King writes his stories, and refers back to previous topics throughout each chapter is very interesting. It helps keep things in the memory, and also helps advance each topic.
The story of Curtis and his photography was funny. And the white fascination presented with it is so true. Exotic cultures are seen as a commodity. It is even more hilarious that he would dress Indians up to look authentically Indian. The most poetic topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman. I really need to read Poe soon. I guess I'll put that collection after Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
Ishi was a very interesting story of a mysterious man. At least it ended well, and he was not turned into a commodity. The idea of entertainment is rather depressing, because it is very true... the way people are used and abused in this manner. The reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail is good on a number of levels. The foremost being that the witch is dressed up that way by the townspeople who are solely concerned with burning her.
King's humor towards the quick death of the Indians who were taken to Europe as slaves is pretty funny. That they were not profitable.
A Million Porcupines Crying In The Dark is my favorite story. First with the labor camp that was more profitable than slavery in that it was free labor that in the end, caused each of the laborers to pay the corporation 12 dollars due to housing and food costs. Its quite ironic that the white mob who came pissed off because (to quote South Park) "They took rrr jjobs!". That we pretend we read more than we do is funny as well... and true. His analogy to "basic propagandas that the British would use to justify their subjugation of India, or that the Germans would employ in their extermination of Jews, or that the Jews would utilize to displace Palestinians, or that North Americans would exploit for the internment of the Japanese, or that the U.S. military and the U.S. media would craft into jingoistic slogans in order to make the invasions of other countries -- Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq -- seem reasonable, patriotic, and entertaining to television audiences throughout North America
Reason and Instinct." is reality. Most Americans did not seem to realize how they were playing into the media's design of entertainment here. The same way most of the country tuned in while they showed the Towers come down over and over for months after 9/11. It was sickening how much the news companies bank tragedy. Its fucked up really.
I also really liked the way he worded "watch a vengeful United States, burdened with the arms of war, bomb the world into goodness and supply-side capitalism"
Take it. It's yours. Do with it what you will. Tell it to your children. Turn it into a play. Forget it. But don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story.
You've heard it now.
The truth about stories is that that's all we are.
Thomas King's story of his mother struck a chord with me. The 60s were a time of change. Unfortunately his mother was sucked into the same discrimination we fought to destroy in the 50s when blacks were still forced to walk miles just to use a run down segregated bathroom. His vision of walking out on his father in a bar one day was of an anger I have seen a hundred times. I couldn't count how many friends I hold dear who's parents have split up.
The way King writes his stories, and refers back to previous topics throughout each chapter is very interesting. It helps keep things in the memory, and also helps advance each topic.
The story of Curtis and his photography was funny. And the white fascination presented with it is so true. Exotic cultures are seen as a commodity. It is even more hilarious that he would dress Indians up to look authentically Indian. The most poetic topic in the world is the death of a beautiful woman. I really need to read Poe soon. I guess I'll put that collection after Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
Ishi was a very interesting story of a mysterious man. At least it ended well, and he was not turned into a commodity. The idea of entertainment is rather depressing, because it is very true... the way people are used and abused in this manner. The reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail is good on a number of levels. The foremost being that the witch is dressed up that way by the townspeople who are solely concerned with burning her.
King's humor towards the quick death of the Indians who were taken to Europe as slaves is pretty funny. That they were not profitable.
A Million Porcupines Crying In The Dark is my favorite story. First with the labor camp that was more profitable than slavery in that it was free labor that in the end, caused each of the laborers to pay the corporation 12 dollars due to housing and food costs. Its quite ironic that the white mob who came pissed off because (to quote South Park) "They took rrr jjobs!". That we pretend we read more than we do is funny as well... and true. His analogy to "basic propagandas that the British would use to justify their subjugation of India, or that the Germans would employ in their extermination of Jews, or that the Jews would utilize to displace Palestinians, or that North Americans would exploit for the internment of the Japanese, or that the U.S. military and the U.S. media would craft into jingoistic slogans in order to make the invasions of other countries -- Grenada, Panama, Afghanistan, Iraq -- seem reasonable, patriotic, and entertaining to television audiences throughout North America
Reason and Instinct." is reality. Most Americans did not seem to realize how they were playing into the media's design of entertainment here. The same way most of the country tuned in while they showed the Towers come down over and over for months after 9/11. It was sickening how much the news companies bank tragedy. Its fucked up really.
I also really liked the way he worded "watch a vengeful United States, burdened with the arms of war, bomb the world into goodness and supply-side capitalism"
Take it. It's yours. Do with it what you will. Tell it to your children. Turn it into a play. Forget it. But don't say in the years to come that you would have lived your life differently if only you had heard this story.
You've heard it now.
How We Became Human
I'm a big fan of poetry. And Native poetry has really caught my ear this semester. I was a huge fan of Qwo-Li's work. Most of Joy Harjo's book didn't really resonate with me however. I find her singing voice irritating. But I love her sax.
My favorite part of How We Became Human was the introduction, simply because of the stories. I love the dimly lit, smokey and dingy bar atmosphere. My family is all from England. I visit there a lot and I love the traditional pub feeling. It is home. I don't smoke, but I love the stuffy cigarette filled pub because it has soul. Her stories of the introduction are soulful. My favorite part of the intro was the story of the palm reader during her deep depressed period. There are a lot of unconventional spiritual beliefs that I hold personally, and this story truly resonated with me.
Few of her poems moved me. Some however, I found very interesting. I read through most of the book... and these are the ones I found myself coming back to.
I Am A Dangerous Woman: the final stanza is incredible. Words and knowledge are power. Harjo expresses this by the clicking of the gun inside her head.
I am a dangerous woman,
but the weapon is not visible.
Security will never find it.
They can't hear the clicking
of the gun inside my head.
The Woman Hanging From The Thirteenth Floor Window: The title alone had me expecting great things.
She thinks she will be set free.
I love the rhetoric here of "thinks". Also that she is not alone. How she also thinks back on memories and life. The people below. Finally the indecisiveness at the end left me hanging in a way I cannot explain. The entire poem I was reading to the end wondering what she was going to do. I didn't want a happily ever after and I didn't want her to jump either. Harjo's use of "or" let me take both.
Remember: My favorite poem of the entire book.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers.
Remember your father. he is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Upon reading this part I had to stop and read the entire thing over, and then again out loud to the woman I love (who was driving the car). The depth of line three left me stunned. The memory here is so true. Also that of earth whose skin we are is so true. They say you are what you eat... but it goes so much deeper than that. Also the colors of earth being representative of the different skins of people, and that brown is in its own line. We are earth.
Songs From The House Of Death, Or How To Make It Through To The End Of A Relationship: First I like the numbering of the sections and what they all are. This is one of the first poems of ending that fill most of the end of the book. We all leave things behind in this world. And the people we touch the greatest of all. "All Cities will be built and then destroyed."
Again, there wasn't much I took from How We Became Human, but the poems which I did love I cherish none the less.
My favorite part of How We Became Human was the introduction, simply because of the stories. I love the dimly lit, smokey and dingy bar atmosphere. My family is all from England. I visit there a lot and I love the traditional pub feeling. It is home. I don't smoke, but I love the stuffy cigarette filled pub because it has soul. Her stories of the introduction are soulful. My favorite part of the intro was the story of the palm reader during her deep depressed period. There are a lot of unconventional spiritual beliefs that I hold personally, and this story truly resonated with me.
Few of her poems moved me. Some however, I found very interesting. I read through most of the book... and these are the ones I found myself coming back to.
I Am A Dangerous Woman: the final stanza is incredible. Words and knowledge are power. Harjo expresses this by the clicking of the gun inside her head.
I am a dangerous woman,
but the weapon is not visible.
Security will never find it.
They can't hear the clicking
of the gun inside my head.
The Woman Hanging From The Thirteenth Floor Window: The title alone had me expecting great things.
She thinks she will be set free.
I love the rhetoric here of "thinks". Also that she is not alone. How she also thinks back on memories and life. The people below. Finally the indecisiveness at the end left me hanging in a way I cannot explain. The entire poem I was reading to the end wondering what she was going to do. I didn't want a happily ever after and I didn't want her to jump either. Harjo's use of "or" let me take both.
Remember: My favorite poem of the entire book.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother's, and hers.
Remember your father. he is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Upon reading this part I had to stop and read the entire thing over, and then again out loud to the woman I love (who was driving the car). The depth of line three left me stunned. The memory here is so true. Also that of earth whose skin we are is so true. They say you are what you eat... but it goes so much deeper than that. Also the colors of earth being representative of the different skins of people, and that brown is in its own line. We are earth.
Songs From The House Of Death, Or How To Make It Through To The End Of A Relationship: First I like the numbering of the sections and what they all are. This is one of the first poems of ending that fill most of the end of the book. We all leave things behind in this world. And the people we touch the greatest of all. "All Cities will be built and then destroyed."
Again, there wasn't much I took from How We Became Human, but the poems which I did love I cherish none the less.
Friday, April 17, 2009
WE ARE POWER
http://www.angelfire.com/psy/intheheart/TrudellJohn/tdell1.html
various excepts from a speech by John Trudell in THE INDIGENOUS VOICE, Vol.2.
I enjoyed reading this. I have always reacted towards the oppressors with anger but reading this has caused me to step back and evaluate the ways in which I choose to stand against the "enemy". Reading the comments near the bottom has also caused me to think about the use of the word enemy and its dehumanizing/demonizing nature. Trudell's idea of acting with love toward the people opposed to hate toward the "enemy" is interesting, but I'm not sure whether I have enough restraint for that or not.
The page is titled Resistance Consciousness. I think the title is very adequate. It suggest being aware of how we resist. It is very important to be cognitive and not act irrationally.
"This former chairman of the American Indian Movement (AIM) learned that he has 17 thousand pages in his f.b.i. file when he was able to get 60 of them from the Freedom of Information Act. He was a main spokesperson in the American Indian take-over at Alcatraz Island, and led at least one march protesting f.b.i. tactics against Indian people in the 1970s (during the height of the f.b.i.'s illegal "Counter Intelligence Program" aka "COINTELPRO"). During the angry protest, Trudell burned an American flag on the steps of f.b.i. Headquarters. 12 hours later a fire killed his wife, his three children and his wife's mother. The f.b.i., which has jurisdiction on federally mandated Indian reservations, declined to investigate."
really sets the page on fire right from the start.
various excepts from a speech by John Trudell in THE INDIGENOUS VOICE, Vol.2.
I enjoyed reading this. I have always reacted towards the oppressors with anger but reading this has caused me to step back and evaluate the ways in which I choose to stand against the "enemy". Reading the comments near the bottom has also caused me to think about the use of the word enemy and its dehumanizing/demonizing nature. Trudell's idea of acting with love toward the people opposed to hate toward the "enemy" is interesting, but I'm not sure whether I have enough restraint for that or not.
The page is titled Resistance Consciousness. I think the title is very adequate. It suggest being aware of how we resist. It is very important to be cognitive and not act irrationally.
"This former chairman of the American Indian Movement (AIM) learned that he has 17 thousand pages in his f.b.i. file when he was able to get 60 of them from the Freedom of Information Act. He was a main spokesperson in the American Indian take-over at Alcatraz Island, and led at least one march protesting f.b.i. tactics against Indian people in the 1970s (during the height of the f.b.i.'s illegal "Counter Intelligence Program" aka "COINTELPRO"). During the angry protest, Trudell burned an American flag on the steps of f.b.i. Headquarters. 12 hours later a fire killed his wife, his three children and his wife's mother. The f.b.i., which has jurisdiction on federally mandated Indian reservations, declined to investigate."
really sets the page on fire right from the start.
Monday, April 13, 2009
We Shall Remain
Episode one of We Shall Remain was so moving. I loved every second of it. From the friendship of the Wampanoag chief Massasoit and New England leader to the betrayal of the English men of the Indians. I loved how the acting was done. Most documentary/story films are cheaply done but We Shall Remain was a fantastic production. My favorite quote was the son of Massasoit telling the English that they should be shown the same respect that Wawpanoag showed the English when he whites were the weak people now that the Wawpanoag were strong. Another of my favorite uses of rhetoric was when they stated the fact that modern interpretation of Thanksgiving is a myth. I can't wait for episode II.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Flowing silk skirts
Our discussion Wednesday was inspiring. Listening to Qwo-Li read his poems opened my heart and gave me such a deep understanding of those specific poems. The images were so powerful. Also hearing the story of Qwo-Li turning to that man and saying "Dude! I'm a cross-dresser" was awesome. I want to wear skirts now. I'll look into that...
From the heavy debris of loss
we emerge
feast on the memory of your first laughter
sing an honor song
to the slow heart beat
of your final breaths
weary from wailing
Hold up hot fierce
blueness of Colorado sky
Listen for your breath
caught in branches
where sun stains sky
crimson and gold
What is breath
if it cannot hurl storms across the continent
What are words
that can't block blows
feathered smoke rising from sage
braid thunder through your hair
<3
From the heavy debris of loss
we emerge
feast on the memory of your first laughter
sing an honor song
to the slow heart beat
of your final breaths
weary from wailing
Hold up hot fierce
blueness of Colorado sky
Listen for your breath
caught in branches
where sun stains sky
crimson and gold
What is breath
if it cannot hurl storms across the continent
What are words
that can't block blows
feathered smoke rising from sage
braid thunder through your hair
<3
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Walking With Ghosts
I put my headphones in and play Pink Floyd's The Division Bell. Great reading music. And my roommate is watching Braveheart, which is distracting me. These poems are short and spaced very broadly apart. I'll be finished with this book soon is my initial thought as I finish the first 10 pages. I loved the Beginning Cherokee. The lessons were very powerful. Map of the Americas was very powerful as well. I like the formatting of north and south America on the second page. My other favorites were Ghost Dances and Wild Indians. I'm not sure which of those two was my favorite of the entire collection, but I'd put them on the top. However the most moving poem of the book for me was A Long Story Made Short. The most powerful thing I have ever read regarding homosexuality. I want to share this poem with everyone. As I came to the last 5 pages or so my CD finished. The desire to listen to Queen's greatest hits album was quite strong.
A friend of mine had written a note on Facebook less than a week ago asking for recommendations of books to read over the summer. Halfway through reading Walking With Ghosts I put it on there.
I checked this book out from Milner, though they didn't have it in stock so I had it brought in from UofI in Chicago. I will be purchasing this book along with Flight and Grapes of Wrath first thing this summer.
Thanks for sharing this book with us.
A friend of mine had written a note on Facebook less than a week ago asking for recommendations of books to read over the summer. Halfway through reading Walking With Ghosts I put it on there.
I checked this book out from Milner, though they didn't have it in stock so I had it brought in from UofI in Chicago. I will be purchasing this book along with Flight and Grapes of Wrath first thing this summer.
Thanks for sharing this book with us.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Rape of the Land
Wow...
This excerpt left me speechless.
Some real shit. I don't know what to even write about it. The work speaks for itself. I had heard of the government testing nuclear weapons on their own people in the Pacific islands, but the graphic truth written here blows me away. And the ignorance of some people's take on environmentalism and population control is way f**ked up. So the Constitution reads that in the case of a corrupt government it is the peoples right to overthrow its own government. Anyone marching to D.C with me? I really don't know what else to say about this piece. The violence perpetuated by our government is sick. So many human rights are violated and the justifications are almost worse.
I need to get out of this country and go home to Canada or England.
This excerpt left me speechless.
Some real shit. I don't know what to even write about it. The work speaks for itself. I had heard of the government testing nuclear weapons on their own people in the Pacific islands, but the graphic truth written here blows me away. And the ignorance of some people's take on environmentalism and population control is way f**ked up. So the Constitution reads that in the case of a corrupt government it is the peoples right to overthrow its own government. Anyone marching to D.C with me? I really don't know what else to say about this piece. The violence perpetuated by our government is sick. So many human rights are violated and the justifications are almost worse.
I need to get out of this country and go home to Canada or England.
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