Native American Readings - Extra Credit

Unfortunately due to a prior commitment I was not able to attend the entire list of invited readers, but after hearing the few that I did, I really wish I could have been there the whole time. I came in for the last hour and a half of the readings and was able to hear about half of the reading by Daniel Heath Justice but I was able to listen to the readings of LeAnne Howe, Debbie Reese (and her daughter) and David Treuer in their entirety. I came out of this experience in a way questioning myself and how I have reacted to certain situations throughout my life. I am a Native American, not full or even half but 1/8 and I am a decedent from two different tribes in the Mid-West region. Growing up I remember bringing in photo albums that my Grandmother has of a few of my more recent ancestors and I remember my classmates always being jealous that I had access to something so cool. That always made me feel proud, but after listening to the speakers last Thursday, especially LeAnne Howe and Debbie Reese's daughter (unfortunately I forget her first name) I had to ask myself why was it only at these certain times that I felt pride? Why did it take someone else being jealous of my ancestry for me to acknowledge how great it really was? LeAnne Howe read a passage of her book pertaining to baseball and a game between an all white school and a school of Native Americans. Hearing some of the verbal harassment that LeAnne described was almost shocking to me. I guess I never quite realised how much the Native American people were despised, for lack of a better term, by other people in society. I knew from my history classes that the Native American people lost much of their land and were treated horribly upon the arrival of the European settlers but I never realised how far into the present that treatment was carried. My grandparents on both sides never talk to me about the way they were treated growing up, my grandmothers especially who both have very prominent Native American features. In fact, I even remember my grandmother reading me stories about Native Americans that are very similar to the ones we shun during class for being too stereotypical. This just makes me wonder why my grandparents accepted the stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans in story books and why they didn't feel as strongly about the roots as the speakers I heard. There was so much passion in their words, Debbie Reese's daughter especially. For a 16 year old girl she really knows how to get someone to listen to what she has to say. In a way I envy that passion and now I am motivated even more to understand the current treatment of Native American people and they ways they are depicted in literature. I want to find those stories that move beyond the stereotypes and really present readers accurate representations of Native Americans and their ways of life. In looking at my reaction to these readings and what if felt like for me, a person of Native blood, to be so out of touch with my ancestry I wonder if there are others who go through the exact same reaction when they encounter their family history in a way that has rarely been expressed to them. This encourages me to really make an effort to learn about my students and learn about their backgrounds. I want to be able to give students the opportunity that I didn't necessarily have as far as reading literature of accurate representation of my cultural background. I wonder how I would be today if I had heard the readings I heard last week when I was in grade school, and I wonder if exposing students to literature of their own backgrounds can also have as big of an impact on them as it has for me. In a way I feel like my obsession with my personal feelings during the reading actually hindered me from taking them for full value. But none the less, I left the Union last Thursday having learned a lot about what it means to have passion and love for your culture. Oh, and how can I forgot! I also learned that if you are going to cook locusts and eat them as snacks that you need to ONLY choose the ones with their heads facing up. Otherwise you will get a rather disgusting surprise when you open the oven. Thanks Debbie, and thank you everyone who I previously mentioned. Your words really touched me and I feel privileged to have been able to hear them.

*** For those who read this, please do not assume that I am angry with my grandparents but more that I am curious about why I didn't learn more about accurate portrayals of Native Americans through the stories they read to me***