Charles Eastm An Inspirational American Indian

He tells his story from experience, about the Indian heritage and traditions. Eastman's struggle conforming to the ways of the American society and yet holding dear his Indian culture. In his book “Old Indian Days” He tells the story of an Indian girl being born and her life and the duty and expectations and traditions that groom her to be a wife. He describes the coexistence between, Man and Women, the Sac and Fox tribes the Indians and the Americans , by stating “The herald of the Sacs and Foxes entered the Sioux camp, attired in ceremonial garb and bearing in one hand an American flag and in the other a peace-pipe” (Eastman, 2013, ch .2, para.31). Showing the sense of belonging to a new culture while still embracing the beauty of your roots and to have both cultures live in harmony within

In American Indian Stories, University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London edition, the author, Zitkala-Sa, tries to tell stories that depicted life growing up on a reservation. Her stories showed how Native Americans reacted to the white man’s ways of running the land and changing the life of Indians. “Zitkala-Sa was one of the early Indian writers to record tribal legends and tales from oral tradition” (back cover) is a great way to show that the author’s stories were based upon actual events in her life as a Dakota Sioux Indian. This essay will describe and analyze Native American life as described by Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, it will relate to Native Americans and their interactions with American societies, it will

"My People the Sioux" is a good literary work written in 1928. This book leaves an everlasting impression with some because it definitely intensifies the sympathy for the Indians. Luther Standing Bear, also known as Plenty Kill, portrays the dramatic and traumatic changes about the Sioux throughout their traditional way of life. As a young boy growing up, he experienced many of these hardships first hand between his people and the whites. This autobiography is quite valuable as it helps allow us to envision what really happened in the battling times of the Indians. Luther stated this quote, which to me, is unforgettable and very well said. It reads:

The Lakota, an Indian group of the Great Plains, established their community in the Black Hills in the late eighteenth century (9). This group is an example of an Indian community that got severely oppressed through imperialistic American actions and policy, as the Americans failed to recognize the Lakota’s sovereignty and ownership of the Black Hills. Jeffrey Ostler, author of The Lakotas and the Black Hills: The Struggle for Sacred Ground, shows that the Lakota exemplified the trends and subsequent challenges that Indians faced in America. These challenges included the plurality of groups, a shared colonial experience, dynamic change, external structural forces, and historical agency.

Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the “blood thirsty savage” of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the “Noble Savage,” a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate.

Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within

On a warm February morning, I had the opportunity of interviewing someone who has heavily influenced the Choctaw Nation and as a result changed multiple communities throughout southeastern Oklahoma. That person was former chief of the Choctaw Nation, Greg Pyle. Greg Pyle was born in California, but moved to Oklahoma later in his childhood. He was heavily influenced by his father who never went to college, but read him books about business, which led him to obtain a bachelors in business, and a minor in psychology at Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Despite having several achievements, including being assistant chief for thirteen years, principle chief for seventeen, and being inducted into the Oklahoma hall of fame, Mr. Pyle had a gentle, humble, and a family minded persona.

As a young adult living in Oklahoma, I had never given a lot of thought as to the portrayal of the Native American. Although, it never occurred to me that my perception of life might be different from those growing up and living with the everyday realities reservation life offered. Simply put, I was overjoyed to be amongst those who lived on the reservation and in hindsight, I realize that I was naïve as to the treatment of those I call my people. Growing up, I was always aware of my Native heritage, but truthfully that is where it ended. My grandmother a full blood Cherokee woman was content to live the life to which she had become accustom to in the white man’s world. Therefore, as children, stories of my grandmother’s childhood were never bestowed upon my brothers, sister, and I. Ultimately, leaving us to our own imaginations and with that I created the image I had readily embraced, the image of the beautiful Indian maiden.

Our nation’s history has been deep rooted in the conflict involving Native Americans, ever since the beginning of America and it is one hard to get rid of even as the days go by. The impact of colonialism can be seen in Native American communities even today, and it can only be understood through a cultural perspective once you experience it. Aaron Huey, who is a photographer, went to Pine Ridge reservation and it led him to document the poverty and issues that the Sioux Indians go through as a result of the United States government’s long term actions and policies against them. One must question all sources regarding these topics because there is a lot of biased and misinformation about Native American struggles, and sometimes schools do not thoroughly teach the truth so students can get an insight. There are also different sociological perspectives in this conflict, along with many differing opinions on how to approach the problem and deal with it. This is where ideas clash because people believe their views are right regarding how to handle it.

Anderson uses Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux to tell the story of the Mdewakanton Sioux during the Sioux Uprising of 1862. He especially focuses on Little Crow’s role as a spokesperson for his tribe. Little Crow builds relationships with his tribe, other Sioux tribes, and the United States government and is able to negotiate with them in an exceptionally

Cheryl Crazy Bull, who’s Lakota name Wacinyanpi Win means “they depend on her” is an enrolled member of the Sicangu Band of the Lakota Nation and comes from a Lakota, French and German heritage. Crazy Bull was born in 1954 and raised on the Rosebud Reservation. She has spent most of her life in the Dakotas. She is a family oriented educator and describes herself as, “a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a lifelong educator.” Cheryl knew early on the need for self determination in Indian education from her father’s painful boarding school experiences. Her father had been forced away from his family, into a school where he could not speak his own Lakota language, and was forced to learn history from a White perspective in which Native Americans

The Cherokee are perhaps one of the most interesting of Native American Groups. Their life and culture are closely intertwined with early American settlers and the history of our own nation’s struggle for freedom. In the interest of promoting tolerance and peace, and with regard to the United States government’s handling of Native affairs, their story is one that is painful, stoic, and must not be forgotten.

“The Way of a Cherokee” by Foxxy is about her memories and experiences growing up as a young child with her sister, Sierra, and grandpa. She is a Native American that has lived in a world that is different from the world her grandpa grew up in. In addition, she learned to love and appreciate nature just like her grandpa did. I can relate to her relationship with her grandpa because I have created many memories with my grandpa. My grandpa told me stories about his childhood. In Foxxy’s essay she explores the relationship between identity and cultural history through physical location, family relationships, and language differences.

On Monday, 30. February, Mark Charles gave a presentation on equality and racism and how white land owning man use their power to rule all over the world. Students and faculty who were at presentation showed dissatisfaction to Mark’s anger, passion and direction of his speech. Mark Charles is a speaker, writer, and consultant who was born in the Navajo Reservation. He is the son of an American woman of Dutch heritage and a Navajo man. His life is dedicated to understanding American culture, faith and differences among races. Charles seeks to understand American history in order to help solve problems that are devastate America. He is a member of many organizations which help Native American communities in their development. Charles also

I believe that Charles’ assimilation is thorough. Charles has lost almost everything that made him a Sioux, becoming European in all but name. From appearance to mannerisms to ways of thinking, Charles has become assimilated. As Dawes said, “You’re no more Sioux Indian than me.”