M02 A2 - Academic Journal Blog

As we go further into Native American history for this course I am learning more about how Native American culture can influence many topics that mainstream society has brushed aside. Through time and education Native cultures and their ways may breathe some light into today’s world.

             I used a few resources for this post the first web resources that I used was from PBS but a bullfrogsfilm.com “In the Light of Reverence”. The documentary focuses on three different communities and landmarks. The Devils tower in Wyoming, the four corners area of the Southwest and Mt Shasta in California. All places are used for a multitude of outdoor activities except for the use of native spiritual reasons.

            I was only able to watch the trailer but for those two minutes the filmmakers made some interesting points. It appears that sacred lands that Natives have used for hundreds of years as a spiritual place are no longer allowed to use those lands for their religion. One of the questions asked in the trailer from a Native Elder is a person can ski and hike on these lands but we (Native peoples) are not allowed to go there and use the land for spiritual reasons. Even if you do not know the laws around the use of National parks for recreation the question asked by the elder is an interesting one.

            Using these web resources for this module gets the reader thinking of how religious freedom for all is not as equal as you might think. The director of the film Christopher McLeod states, “Across the USA, Native Americans are struggling to protect their sacred places. Religious freedom, so valued in America, is not guaranteed to those who practice land-based religion” (In the Light Of Reverence).

            My view has changed in light of the readings and web resources from this module. Up until this point I had no idea that the use of lands could not be used for spiritual reason but they could be used for every other activity.  

I attached the trailer for the movie below if you get the chance take a look it will take two minutes of your time. I not only watched the trailer but researched the web for more information into this discussion and found many interesting topics to back this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWCbYsAkGOw

McLeod, Christopher, dir. In the Light of Reverence. Prod. Malinda Maynor. 2001. Film. 18 Feb 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/pov/inthelightofreverence/film_description.php

M01 A2 - Academic Journal Blog

Over the past few weeks I have read more than a few chapters on Native Americans along with watching videos for First People of North America class here at Empire State College. In one of the videos elders in the Native American society discuss land, water and leadership amongst other things. Each individual in the video is telling a story with a meaning which includes the heritage and ways of Native life. So far the book Native American Testimony by Peter Nabokov has been the most educational for me. The firsthand account of how Native American Indians viewed the early European settlers shed some light on how the two groups differed in so many ways. The greed of European settlers seemed to fascinate many of the Natives in the stories told by them through Nabokov. The settlers wanted to change everything they came in contact with to include how and who the Natives should worship when it pertained to religion. Another foundation for the early stages of the course was Mark Suttons book Native North America. In the book he makes many observations and one that stood out to me he states,  “Europeans managed their animals in captivity and harvested them at will, and the Indians managed their animals in the wild but still harvested them at will”(15). This quote along with the readings and videos support the greed the Native Americans had to contend with in the past and today. The web resources and readings used in this module form a good foundation on how Native American culture has grown throughout the ages since the early settlers arrived here in North America. The information from these resources has changed my views concerning native communities for more than one reason but the biggest reason of all was my ignorance for the culture as a whole. Even though my great grandfather was native once he passed on his ways and his culture were lost to my family. Until I started reading and researching the culture in the first few weeks of this class I realized how much I didn’t know about my own family history and about the first Americans in this land.

The information in the Native American plenary session seemed to reinforce the topic. It also recognizes that the people who were speaking in the video found either their Native roots through various ways or somehow wanted to give back to the Native Community. One speaker Brian Murphy who lives on and grew up on the Seneca Nation happens to work as an outreach specialist helping trouble adults from that area. He states in the video that he wanted to help his people by acknowledging the problems that he has seen while on the reservation. One of the questions that he asked himself and that he asks the people he counsels is what is it to be Native American? He goes on to descried the stereotypes of Native Americans that he himself has witnessed but through education he finds the true history of his people and how to find the correct identity. What is it to be Native American is a question many people cannot answer but through education myself and others can learn more about the culture that has many things to offer this society which have gone undiscovered.

 

 

Sutton, Mark. An Introduction to Native North America. 4th. Boston, Mass: Pearson Education, 2011. Print.

 Murphy, Brian. NA Plenary Session. 2012. Video. Vimeo LLCWeb. 5 Feb 2013. <http://vimeo.com/53705437>.