I enjoyed talking about literature and basically expanding our definition of it as a class. Not every piece of writing is necessarily considered “literature” because in order to be considered literature, there needs to be a universal truth and depth within the story. I never realized that there was a significant difference between Western literature and American Indian literature. I found it interesting how in Native American culture, everything is considered a story. Everything in the natural world has the potential to tell a story, such as the rings in trees, a spider web, or the scenery. The fact that Native American literature only occurs when Native Americans write it themselves is very important because it gives them a chance to define certain things. This type of literature can be given as gifts and I think that this is really important to the youth. Young Indians get the chance to see their culture through the lens of fellow Indians. This literature also helps them tell the stories of their history from their point of view. They get a chance to reclaim their sense of identity as well as redefine stereotypes and stigmas placed around their culture. Their literature corrects the stereotypes in their own words.
tkyle July 18, 2018
Yes because the truthfulness of ancestry is important. The youth knowing who and what they come from and should believe in is important. It builds the foundation for their goals, attitude, and morals. This information should be from primary sources and not from just anybody. Also, it should be passed down from generation to generation and not stop because it’s just that important. Also, we have all these people showing us who and what the Native Americans are but the people telling the stories aren’t Native Americans. Stereotypes are killing the country as a whole today. Native Americans have the ability to erase some of these stereotypes with the use of Native American Literature.
Amanda July 18, 2018
I also think that this class is very creative in the ways that our professor conveys information to us. I would much rather watch films, and read creative story books, than read like robots out of textbooks all day. For example, I watched the extra credit film last night, Wind River, and I feel like it got it’s point across to me and was influential to me more than it would have been if I was reading a boring history textbook. Just some of the scenes in the movie were horrible to watch and made me so angry at the way natives are treated especially the women and how no one is doing anything about it. They’re all just being ignored.