Identity In Lame Deer's Alone On The Hilltop

Environmentalist Aldo Leopold once wrote, “ We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” This refers to us that land gives the power to stay safe and secure; we should also love our land. Although we practise to use it as we trait for it, but there would have been no action without land. We deal with the land as per our own way. Notably, indigenous people around the world often have very different sets of beliefs and traditions, a special bond with the land is a common factor. Indians tribe Mandan respect their the cultural hero. Whereas Momaday's return back to home reminds him of his grandmother's identity on that land.

A small town in Kentucky nestled along the Appalachian mountains, long forgotten by the outside world. The town people only have each other to rely on and will take anything to forget where they are and how horrible their conditions are. In the video, Hidden America Children Of The Mountain, the main point was to bring awareness to the situation that the people who live in the Appalachian Mountains are being faced with. A half million people are living in poverty in the mountains. Even the football star of the town lives in his truck because of his family’s poverty. When Americans hear about poverty, they think of it as far away and as something that will not affect them, they do not think about it being in their own back yard. In reality,

Throughout human existence, mankind has had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to prosper. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community. In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment during the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader is able to sense the desperation that the Cherokee endured. The upheaval of being forcefully removed from the land stripped the Cherokee of their identity. This disruption left the Cherokee confused, causing frustration to arise because they were unable to live their familiar roles. Men were no longer able to farm. Women had a loss of property and wealth. The bear symbolizes these struggles throughout this novel. Maritole explains, “The bear had once been a person. But he was not conscious of the consciousness he was given. His darkness was greed and self-centeredness. It was part of myself, too. It was part of the human being” (183). In other words, the “bear” is the personal dilemma each character is put up against during this removal. Furthermore, each character has their own personal struggles to overcome; whether that be Knobowtee’s loss of masculinity or Maritole’s loss of family. These struggles,

Identities can be ripped away from people, but love can help people to regain it and realise who they truly are. In Richard Wagamese’s Indian Horse the native children’s identities are taken from them, and not all of them find it again. Saul’s own identity as an Ojibway is taken by the residential school and the impact of unfavourable circumstances; but with the love and support of his family and friends, he finds it again. The residential school and other negative influences cause Saul to lose his identity, which is the offset for his quest to regain it with help from his friends and family.

In his story “The Lakota Way; Joseph Marshall III adequately convinces the reader to persevere through a series of stories that allows the reader to develop a personal connection with characters. Marshall achieves this by informing the reader and using formal diction. This allows his readers to experience how perseverance can have a positive impact on one’s life. Marshall teaches us that Perseverance represents a quality in human beings that allows us to be steadfast despite the difficulty. In the folk tale “The Story of the Giant,” perseverance is abundant; Marshall utilizes the skill of teaching to persuade his audience to persevere through the story. Marshall‘s unique way of writing allows the reader to take lessons from a story and influence them to use it in their own lives. From lya the giant terrorizing people to Indians having to leave their land because of the government to Marshall’s grandfather’s stories of hardship, Marshall shows his audience how the Native Americans have always had it rough but more importantly how they persevered.

The Spoken tribe, like many other Native American tribes, suffered considerably due to alcoholism, poverty, and racism. In order to combat the dire state that he is in, Spoken Indian Arnold “Junior” Spirit decides to leave the reservation and go to Reardan, a school full of whites. Sherman Alexie’s novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian paints a picture of life where racism, poverty, and alcoholism affects Arnold Spirit as he journeys through a completely different society. His decision endangers him not only in his reservation but also at Reardan where he is ostracized for being the only Indian boy in a school full of white people. Despite these dangers, Arnold is still willing to reject his family tradition and go to Reardan because he has hopes of finding a fulfilling and hopeful life. Due to his willingness to go through with his action of going to Reardan despite the hardships, Arnold is able to march inexorably towards finding a fulfilling and hopeful life. Through his perseverance of physical and emotional hardships, and his willingness to leave his family legacy behind and go to Reardan, it is revealed the extent that man is willing to go to in order to achieve his goals.

“The drink had me snared. I spoke less and drank more, and I became the Indian again; drunken and drooling and reeling, a caricature everyone sought to avoid,”(Wagamese,181). This stomach-turning quote displays what several First Nations thought their identity to be. With this in mind, to begin, “Indian Horse,” by Richard Wagamese is a somber and intriguing novel, with many thought-provoking points within the book. To illustrate this, the book follows a First Nations boy through his youth to adulthood. It is filled with traumatic events, depressing stories and even a few joyful moments. In addition, the novel takes place from around 1960-1980 throughout Ontario. Furthermore, this essay will explore several events and factors which impacted, Saul, the main character's identity.

The story starts out by explaining how the main character “William” is a Spokane Indian. But, not just a typical Indian. He didn’t live on the reservation or have any ties to any Indian Casino, instead he was his own man. William had a demanding job that made him travel quite a lot. He was away from his family too much and even though he enjoyed his job, he despised the fact that he had to be away from his wife and children so much.

Lonesome Dove is a story in the western genre written by Larry McMurty. The book was published in 1985 and was the first book of a tetralogy, but third in chronology. The book is about a strenuous cattle drive from Texas to Montana. Lonesome Dove was a wholesome and interesting book that engages your curiosity from the beginning to the end. In the beginning of the story they are in a small south Texas town called lonesome Dove, where the two main characters Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call had settled down and started a livery stable after being famous Texas rangers. The journey starts off after Jake Spoon rides into town talking about Montana and the untapped potential. That is what sets them off on their journey driving cattle from Texas to Montana. As their journey began they had many dilemmas, but I would say their first dilemma was the death of Sean O’Brien a young Irish man found with his brother Allen O’Brien when they collected the cattle for the drive. That part of the story was the first major event of the story driving fear in many of the crew. As the drive went north, so did Jake spoon, who brought along a woman by the name of Lorena Wood. Lorena is a major character in the story as she is a love interest of both Augustus McCrae, Jake Spoon ,and desired by many. The story had an interesting offshoot that involved a sheriff from fort smith, Arkansas by the name of July Johnson. This story begins with Jake Spoon who was in fort smith gambling when he got into a

The three stories “A Drug Called Tradition,” “What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona, and “The Trial of Thomas Builds-the-Fire” in a book of short story collection called: “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven,” published in 1993 and reissued in 2005, by Sherman Alexie, a Spokane/ Coeur d’Alene Indian. Those three short stories introduce us readers to Thomas Builds-The-Fire, a character who tells too much stories. Through analyzing Thomas Builds-The-Fire’s stories, we will understand why his community treats him like an outcast. The story about three proud Indian boys: It is night time, they aren’t doing drugs. Instead, they drink Diet Pepsi, and strangely, “They are wearing only loincloths and braids” even though they’re sipping on the Pepsis in the twentieth century. Because, as Thomas suggests, they “have decided to be real Indians tonight”, “they all want to have their vision…receive their true name,” and they want to “breath in that sweet smoke” (20) from the fire they built. The word “sweet smoke” gives us readers a sense of release and relief of their suppressed feelings coming from the longing to reconnect to their roots. Later, the boys become non-alcoholic, and in a matter of seconds, “Thomas throws away the beer,” “Junior throws his whiskey through a window,” and “Victor spills his vodka” (21). At the end of this story, “the boys sing. They sing and dance and drum. They steal horses” (21), thus become heroes, proud Indian heroes. Story of Thomas and

Before reading this book, I honestly knew little about Native American. I knew that many lived on reservations, but I knew nothing about those reservations. By being brutally honest, Sherman Alexie provided incite to how the everyday life of a teenage Native American is like. This book opened my eyes to the problems that Native American’s face, that I was in the dark about before.

In Sherman Alexie’s novel The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven shows the struggles of daily Native American life, which is shown through the point of view of male character. All though out the book the following three questions appear: ‘What does it mean to live as an Indian in this time? What does it mean to be an Indian man? and What does it mean to live on an Indian reservation?’ Alexie uses literary devices such as point of view, imagery, characterization to make his point that the conflict of being an Indian in the U.S. in these short stories using the following short stories “An Indian Education” and “Amusement”. “An Indian Education” uses both imagery and characterization to show us what the narrator is

At the age of fourteen, the nameless protagonist meets Old Chief Mshlanga on a walk with her dogs, a native tribal leader who used to own the whole area. The chief's pride and respect make the girl gingerly change her opinion of natives and reconsider her prejudiced vision and idea. As a result, she begins to be more pleasant towards the natives she encounters.

Art is the expression of human’s creative skill and imagination, art pass through society, and it reflects social life by shaping. Art, such as literature, dance, painting, calligraphy, and music. James Baldwin, a famous African- American author of “Stranger in the village.” He discussed the rank and relationship between the Blacks and Whites in the society. Also, Baldwin went to the village in Leukerbad, and lived with the White Europeans. This essay is about the the experience and history of him. Teju Cole was the one who had read the “Stranger in the village” and he wrote what he felt about James Baldwin’s essay. Their opinions were opposite, but I think there is no right or wrong.

Tradition is a big part of a cultural identity. Traditions are not loved nor understood immediately, however with time the importance of tradition becomes evident as it makes people unique. As a kid, serving meals every thanksgiving may feel insignificant and tedious, but as an adolescent the small amount of time spent as a family doing something annually has a lasting impact on one’s values. Frank Waters’ fictional novel, The Man Who Killed the Deer, Martiniano struggles to find a faith after he illegally kills a deer. Neither the whites not the Indians seem welcoming because he offends both by breaking the law and not showing respect to Indian ideology. The deer continues to haunt him until he understands the role of nature and the cycle of life. The poem “I Have Killed the Deer”, written by a Taos Pueblo Indian, emphasizes the importance of equality and the mystical connection with nature. Both works highlight the unique Indian perspective of nature and its contribution their identity. Both Martiniano and the Taos Pueblo Indian use nature to provide life; Martiniano’s self-centered view on the old Indian traditions prevent him from finding peace in a faith, while the Taos Pueblo Indian fully appreciates and understands his role in nature.