Dances with Wolves Essay

One of the themes used in the book is of racism towards the Natives. An example used in the book is of Edward Sheriff Curtis who was a photographer of 1900s. Curtis was interested in taking pictures of Native people, but not just any Native person. “Curtis was looking for the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the imaginative construct” (King, 2003; pp. 34). He used many accessories to dress up people up “who did not look as the Indian was supposed to look” (King, 2003; pp.34). He judged people based on his own assumptions without any knowledge of the group and their practices. Curtis reduced the identity of the Native Americans to a single iconic quintessential image of what Native meant to white society. The idea related to the image of this group of people during the 1900s consisted of racism in terms of the “real looking Indian”. This is not

- His attitude towards the indians is very respectful and he admires how different they do things. He also feels sorry for the indians could not understand him. In my opinion I think he both respected their customs and repelled them. I think he likes some things they do and is really against some things they don’t. If he didn’t like their customs he wouldn’t have joined them. If he repelled them then he would have killed them or not have killed them from the start

“Last Thursday evening, I watched rather helplessly as nine Indians were thrashed and battered about by just as many men in blue and white”

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,

Hollywood’s early depictions of Natives consisted of tribesmen and noble savages who are in tune with Nature. Films such as The Silent Enemy portray these stereotypes on screen with actors like Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance being shown as tribesmen who are very noble Natives. Although these stereotypes are positive, they are still stereotypes nonetheless. These stereotypes have caused

Not looking like the rest of the Indians on the reservation hampered John's ability to fit in with the Savage society. John wanted more than anything to be a part of the Indian culture, to be part of the ritual, to give his life. "Why wouldn't they let me be the sacrifice? I'd have gone round ten times–– twelve, fifteen." John asked why, but he knew the answer. "But they

When most of us think of the great Indians of the last century, we think of a thin, well-defined figure standing stern and serious. When we think of a modern Indian, we

"Their (Natives) present condition, contrasted with what they once were, makes a most powerful appeal to our sympathies…By persuasion and force they have been made to retire from river to river and from mountain to mountain, until some of the tribes have become extinct and others have left but remnants to preserve for a while their once terrible names. Surrounded by the whites with their arts of civilization, which by destroying the resources of the savage doom him to

A point of contention between critics is the depiction of the horrible torture scenes which illustrates, one might conceive, the Aboriginals barbarism. In one of the opening scenes, a contingent of French workers joke about the various ways the Aboriginals torture Jesuit Priests and Frenchmen alike, not to mention other rival tribes. An example of this barbarism is illustrated when the survivors of the Iroquois attack go through beating lines to inevitably be tortured by having their fingers removed surgically with mussel shells. Although these actions are barbaric, they are no worse than the atrocities that arguably every ‘civilized' nation during the time period committed. This being said, the film seems to make the Iroquois more barbaric than they actually were omitting the fact that they routinely practiced cannibalism.

No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.” Unfortunately Native Americans have deep roots with racism and oppression during the last 500 years. “In The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven,” Sherman Alexie tries to show racism in many ways in multiple of his short stories. These stories, engage our history from a Native American viewpoint. Many Native Americans were brutally forced out of their homes and onto Reservations that lacked resources. Later, Indian children were taken from their families and placed into school that were designed to, “Kill the Indian, save the man.” In the book there are multiple short story that are pieces that form a larger puzzle that shows the struggles and their effects on Native Americans. Sherman Alexie shows the many sides of racism, unfair justice and extermination policies and how imagination is key for Native American survival.

The different sides of the clashing beliefs meet each other with violent opposition, but it is mostly the pro-government Indians who are the violent aggregators in this film. The civil war between the two extremes seems to be more than just the pro-government Indians harassing many of the traditionalists they come along. Nadell has also come up with a different theory as why this violence continues. Nadell believes that there are “two factors [which] appear to lie at the heart of this cycle of violence: Instrumental demand and racial self alienation” (Nadell 41). The instrumental demand and self alienation can be observed in the pro-government Indians. The pro-government Indians feel the need to rely on violence in order to gain the strategic benefit of intimidation of the traditionalists and material benefits such as “kickbacks from land leases” (Thunderheart). There is also racial self-alienation between the pro-government and the traditionalist. They are both supposed to be the same tribe and same people, yet they racially discriminate against each other because they have determined that the other half is doing a great injustice. The racial self-hate only provides more fuel to the fire as the pro-government Indians continue to harass and instigate the civil war between them.

Lt. John Dunbar was lying on a hospital bed, leg totally mutilated. Barely conscious, the man over heard the surgeon say he could not amputate this mans leg as tired as he was. Dunbar didn’t like what he heard, so when the surgeons left, he grabbed his boat, and he slowly slid the boat up his mutilated foot biting on a stick to relive the massive pain.

1. The film Dancing with Wolves takes place in South Dakota in 1863. John Dunbar is

Black Hawk believes an Indian who is as bad as the white men should be killed. The white men were poisonous and liars they pretended to be friends. They followed

Genie is a wild child who found in LA on 1970, she is a very extreme case of neglected the caretaking from adult. Her father believed she is retarder She spent her first thirteen years on tiding at the potty chair and still wearing diaper, she had never see, listen, being taught of anything in her life. For the past many years she had been isolation and lack of adult care make her the way she is right now.