In Kiss of The Fur Queen by Tomson Highway and Lightfinder by Aaron Paquette, storytelling by elders to a younger generation is shown to be a significant part of Indigenous culture and life. In both these novels storytelling portrays the lack of knowledge the younger generation have of their history, and how in some instances it can be an outcome of western influence. In Kiss of the Fur Queen, the Okimasis brothers Jeremiah and Gabriel are misinformed of the history of their village, and Aisling in Lightfinder has no knowledge of her family history. Jeremiah and Gabriel encounter Amanda’s grandmother Anne-Adele Ghostrider who informs them of the authentic story. Similarly, Aisling’s grandmother Kokum teaches her of the powers and history in…
From time to time, a book of true historical significance is written on a subject that has been written on almost endlessly. The Battle of the Little Big Horn is one of the most written about, speculated on, celebrated, talked about, and glorified events in American History. Popularly known as "Custer's Last Stand", it has been the subject of many films, documentaries, novels, and was even re-enacted at every Wild West Show put on by Buffalo Bill Cody. In the work Killing Custer: The Battle of Little Bighorn and the Fate of the Plains Indians, Welch and Stekler do an excellent job in the subject matter at hand, and come to the correct conclusion that this battle, which was a huge military disaster for the United States, directly resulted in an even greater disaster for the Indian victors who won it: that is, total defeat and total subjugation.…
1. Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: Introduction 2. Dee Brown Biography 3. One−Page Summary 4. Summary and Analysis 5. Quizzes 6. Characters 7. Themes 8. Style 9. Historical Context 10. Critical Overview 11. Essays and Criticism 12. Suggested Essay Topics 13. Sample Essay Outlines 14. Compare and Contrast 15. Topics for Further Study 16. Media Adaptations 17. What Do I Read Next? 18. Bibliography and Further Reading…
“And so it was all over. I did not know then how much was ended. When I look back now from this high hill of my old age, I can see the butchered women and children lying heaped and scattered all along the crooked gulch as plain as when I saw them with eyes still young. And I can see that something else died there in the bloody mud, and was buried in the blizzard. A people’s dream died there. It was a beautiful dream.” (218) These were the words that Black Elk spoke of the dream that he and his people had of a country where they were allowed to live free and happy as they had before the white men invaded their territory. The Indians that Black Elk encountered in his lifetime all had only a simple dream to be able to live as they pleased. They…
Often times in Native American literature, authors offer a better understanding of what the traditions and values are in regards to the Indian culture. Interestingly enough, specific characters offer different ways in which they express their traditional way of life. House Made of Dawn, by N. Scott Momaday, introduces Francisco, Abel’s grandfather, who took on the role of being his guardian. Winter in the Blood by James Welch shows a grandmother that is neglected by her grandson because “distance” was very much relevant in his life (2). The Round House by Louise Erdrich speaks of Grandma Ignatia Thunder, also referred to as the medicine woman, who is a “hardened,” “dried out” lady that spoke Indian (71).…
The soldiers used any ghastly means they could to destroy. It was war at its cruelest. Some victims even burned to death, lying wounded in the searing heat of the flaming wood and bark longhouses. Some were trampled by horses and charging horses as soldiers chased them down. Fields of ripening crops were set afire and exploded into tall orange walls of fire in the dryness of August day. Soldiers cut belts of bark all around the trunks of apple and peach trees that had been cultivated for generations so they would die. Any cattle or animals were slaughtered in the riot and glut of the massacre. The sky was black with huge, billowing plumes of smoke and the air was heavy with the acrid smell of burning longhouses and flesh. When they were finished not even a hand-woven basket had escaped conversion to smoldering black ashes. Everything was "laid to waste" as General Washington had commanded and the soldier's felt full with the success of their surprise attack. They whooped and hollered and danced around congratulating each other among the slaughtered bodies of Indians. Generations of wisdom and heritage died that day on Seneca Lake.…
Indians and slaves throughout the beginning of America have gone through some of the most difficult hardships. From being separated from families to being stripped of their culture and telling their stories of how they survived. They had to deal with people constantly taking things away from them with nothing in return. Showing their stories and how they fought is important in learning the history of America and the people that live here.…
that Sunday morning I told my dad “I’m shooting something today.”As I got out to my stand at about six o’clock in the morning. I saw a fawn that morning but we don’t shoot fawns even if it was my first deer.Me and my dad were back in that old ground blind in Suamico that night at one o’clock. Then it was about seven o’clock getting dark we were about to leave until a doe came out of that woods. The doe looked nice like it ate a lot I put my 270 rifle on a board to rest it on. Then I put the crosshairs on his heart and BOOM! I sat right there happy as can be. Then we hear another bang Wyatt shot a deer to, I thought to myself.…
Leslie Marmon Silko’s enlightening Pueblo Indian, mixed heritage perspective in her novel Ceremony represents significant progress for the oppressed culture and identity of Native Americans. European Colonizers entered America with a society focused on exploiting all the country had to offer. Unfortunately the manipulation and deception that accompanied this society came at a colossal cost to the countries natural resources and native people. In her novel Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko illustrates the “witchery” of white society and its destructive affects on the Native American WWII veterans: Tayo, Rocky, Emo, Harley, Leroy and Pinkie. The stories of these individual characters portray the blinding destructiveness of white society; as well as the hopes and possibility of freeing mankind from the manipulative leash of “witchery.”…
My grandmother is petite and round, her hair peppered with gray. Her golden brown skin, wrinkled with age, smells of baby powder and oil. Her eyes are constantly warm, and when she smiles, it is filled with laughter. Mary Shinsato fits the image of a grandmother and more. She is also kind, funny, and wise. This essay is a tribute of the lessons she has taught that have paved a valuable path for me.…
The Cherokee land stretched through the southern appellations, the land consisted of beautiful green mountains, filled with trees, tall rock mountains and lakes with high water falls. It was a land of which no other can compare to, “Ridge”, who was born in 1771, grew up in the Cherokee lands, said, “I would willingly die to preserve them.” (2:52). The Cherokee nation had constantly been under threat with other Indian tribes and the Americans. So the Cherokee’s were rarely living in peace in their lands, Ridge who was one of the native sons and warriors, fought desperately to preserve his land. All though he and his people were unsuccessful, they never gave up; they fought until they were forcefully executed from their land.…
When I was little, my family didn’t take many vacations. In fact, we never took a real vacation. Since my family was composed of 9 children and my parents, we didn’t have extra money for that sort of thing. For us, our getaways were visits to my grandparents’ house for special occasions like weddings or anniversary celebrations - family reunion kinds of events. It was always a big deal and there was a lot of excitement building up to the trip. I was crazy about my grandmother. I could hardly wait to see her. We only lived 4 hours away from her house but as a child it seemed like it was much further.…
I love you, and I always will. Grandma, you have no idea how I constantly worry about you and Grandpa. Every day, I think about, “Are they going to die today without Christ? Will they go to heaven and be in paradise or go to hell and burn there forever?” I have been praying for your health and salvation for at least five years now. I won’t give up. I will persist in telling you about Jesus. I don’t care if you hate me or ignore me. I will keep calling you and telling you about Jesus because I love you and grandpa so much. I mostly care where you end up, in heaven or hell. In heaven, it is promised that there will be no pain, sorrow, or crying in heaven. In hell, there will be burning fire everywhere and there’ll be no escape, burning in fire for ever and ever.…
BEEP BEEP BEEP the code was accepted and the garage door opened. All five of us walk up to the door take our shoes off, making sure we have our clean socks on. We tiptoe through the beautiful brick house, trying not to ruin the surprise. Through the washing room, through the hallway, and through the kitchen we go to find grandma drinking her cup of coffee, and grandpa reading his newspaper out loud for grandma to hear. They jump out of their chairs thrilled to see us. They hug each one of us and give us bunches of kisses. No matter how old my great grandfather gets, he still feels like he has to pick me up even though I insist that he stop. We all go in the living room and sit in our usual spots me, and my little brother on the floor where grandma has set two pillows especially just for us down there. My mom, dad, and older brother sit on the couch, facing the grandparents’. Grandma always sets a big bucket of candy by the fireplace for us. For the first few hours that we are there, we all just sit around and talk about what has been going on in life since the last time we were there. For nineteen years now, we go and visit the grandparents’ about two to three times a year. Each time never telling them when we are coming, we just surprise them every time; they get a kick out of it. We wish we could see them more often, but with our very busy schedules it makes it difficult. We have tried to get them to Rockport right next door to us, which is about three hours where they live now, so we…
Write about the following memories or experiences. Share your views with the class. i) ii) iii) iv) A memorable holiday spent with your grandmother A story told by your grandmother The things you admire the most about your grandmother The difference between your mother and your grandmother…