Authentic Indias by Paige Raidbmon Essay

1~ Even if the indias change in looks, in the hearts they are still savages

Afflicting America from century to century is the ultimate question of who does or does not hold a legitimate right to say he or she is an American Indian. Who decides identity? The white man? The Indian? Or how about the United States government? Identity of millions of individuals over time, scattered throughout the United States must be determined to some degree so that self-determination can be exercised by the indigenous people, now and in the future.

“Only one “white” was listed.”* In 1976 a suit regarding nearly 16,000 acres of land went to the federal court in Mashpee. The trial set out to determine whether the group, called the Mashpee Indians, constituted an Indian tribe. James Clifford’s The Predicament of Culture includes a section on this trial. This Mashpee section provoked questions in my mind about identity, authenticity, race, and ethnicity. With the transcript and his own court notes, Clifford describes the trial as best he can, as well as present his own argument and thoughts. Even though I can’t decide if the plaintiffs represent a tribe, the trial helped me understand the manners in which identity reveals itself.

In the book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, it talks about how Junior’s girlfriend Penelope has bulimia an eating disorder. The book said Penelope says she’s bulimic with her head held high. It has though being bulimic gives her a sense of achievement. The book makes you think that Penelope is honored to be bulimic. Then Junior said there are anorexics that are proud to be skinny and starved freaks (Alexie & Forney, 2007, p.107). With that being said, the issue being looked at for this paper is eating disorders among women of different human races.

As a non-indigenous student, I want future generations to understand that the fact that you do not live on a reserve, does not mean you cannot embrace your own Indigeneity, connect to your place and ancestry, and put effort into learning about your ancestral roots. I was feeling frustrated that I did not have that connection to my ancestors, that I did not know their struggles, their stories, let alone their names. For this embodiment project I expanded my knowledge of my own personal genealogy and developed a deep sense of appreciation for archival records, census forms, and any record at all, of life in the eighteenth century and beyond. Throughout this ongoing project, the four R’s (Reciprocity, respect, responsibility, and relevance)

Anderson’s article (2000) The Construction of a Negative Identity starts off with four stereotypical names that Aboriginal women have faced since the sixteenth century: Drunken Squaw, Dirty Indian, Easy, and Lazy. This article helps us to understand where these stereotypes come from. As mentioned earlier, the aboriginal woman used to be seen as a motherly figure who held the power of the Aboriginal people, she was pure, and one with nature. When the European settlers arrived in the sixteenth century, Anderson describes how the vision of the Aboriginal woman is as a Queen, “Exotic, powerful, dangerous and beautiful” and how this represented “American liberty and European virtue” (101). She then describes how as soon as the settlers became more familiar with the land, and wanted to take it over, the image of the queen became the image

Everyone possesses attributes that can make him/her similar to another, the same attributes that can make someone unique. No two people look the same. While there may be characteristics that make them similar, in the end, everyone has, at least, one physical trait that makes one different from another. In addition, no two people will ever share personalities which is what makes human interaction interesting. Everyone is unique. All of these attributes can affect relationships. The novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, and modern sources explore how mental and physical attributes affect friendship quality.

Identity can be deceiving. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Sherman Alexie explores this concept by following the life of an adolescent Native American boy named Junior and his struggle to find his identity. The novel explores Junior’s life on a Spokane reservation in Eastern Washington and how his transition to a predominantly white high school drastically alters his reality. Throughout the novel, Junior faces the obstacles that become evident as a result of his decision while grappling with the conflicts of teenage life and what it means to be an Indian in the United States. Only by abandoning the reservation and disregarding the social expectations that were manifested in Western society, was Junior able discover his own unique identity.

Throughout the first few chapters of the essay, Leslie Marmon Silko structures the reading in a manner that allows the audience to stay truly engaged and curious of her conflictions. She uses personal experience, cultural behavior and rich pueblo history to contribute to the reflection of her culture's internal values and pure integrity. She emphasizes the impact her grandmother Amooh, as well as other countless relatives and friends, have had on her willingness to accept her disparate appearance; while also portraying what it is to be a true and humble member of her society.

The audience discovers there are many truths between the ‘Indian communities’ that Sherman Alexie describes in his novel. One truth is the fact that in American Indian communities, inhabitants feel a loss of culture due to the mainstream items that have been introduced by the Americans when they colonised the land. These materialistic items have decreased the traditional values that the tribes learn form previous generations. Additionally, the novel can be compared to the life on Indian

One of the principle strengths of this article is the way that Davis is able to contextualize the cultural significance of both his journeys as well as the struggles faced by each respective indigenous culture he chronicles. In doing so he provides rather tangible representations of culture such as that of language and other customs that are rapidly vanishing from the face of the earth due to the forced assimilation of indigenous natives who have been made to modernize. As the article goes on to demonstrate, in many times this modernization of indigenous

Korobi returns to India with her new identity and as a better matured person. When arrives at Kolkata airport, her new gaze gave her a modern and slightly dangerous look. After she reached India her first concern was to convey the two secrets of her life to Rajat. But before she reveals the secrets to Rajat, it was already spilled by cunning Mitra, who tries to blackmail the Boses for money. Due to this, Maman misunderstood Korobi that she tries to deceive them by hiding her shameful secrets. But Korobi’s intension is not to deceive them; she doesn’t know how to tell such a big thing to Rajat over phone.

The Native American voice typically speaks with a sense of perseverant and unyielding spirit. In contrast to this commonality, the last pronounced chief of the Crow nation, Plenty Coup, reflected on life near his death and said, “When the buffalo went away the hearts of my people fell to the ground…and they could not lift them up again. After this nothing happened” (2). Plenty Coup’s statement earns a special distinction, in that he suggested that life met a terminus at this point in time. This compelling statement lays the foundation for Johnathan Lear’s exploration into the human condition, as framed in the situational context of a people whose cultural cornerstones have been removed. In analysis of Radical Hope: Ethics in the Face of Cultural Devastation, Lear ultimately begs the question: How should one cope with the possibility that one’s culture may dissolve? Giving voice to Plenty Coup and the Crow People Lear contends that, “a traditional form of life ended” (8), which is the broad thesis for the work in its entirety.

One of the oldest cultures in the world, India has been civilized for about 4,500 years. Apart of the Indian culture, language, religion, food, and arts are all major qualities. Today, India is the 2nd most populated nation with over 1.2 billion people. India is very diverse and different regions have their own definite culture. Indians made substantial innovations in architecture, mathematics, and in medicine.

I. Introduction India, country in southern Asia, south of Afghanistan and east of Pakistan. Including the portion of Jammu and Kashmir administered by India but disputed by Pakistan, India has an area of 1,222,243 sq miles . The capital is New Delhi , and the largest city is Mumbai (formerly Bombay).