Heroes In Frank Hayden's Montana 1948

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

The colonization of Native American people has consequently framed Native American society as heteronormative, despite the historical inaccuracies of such a notion. The relationships presented throughout this collection range from sexual, platonic, familial and interracial. Race is "a constant presence" (14) throughout the course of each narrative. Alexie 's stories question of identity as it relates to race and sexuality across a boad spectrum. The nine stories in The Toughest Indian in the World move off the reservation to Seattle or the nearby city of Spokane. The ‘urban Indians’ at the heart of these stories are educated, middle class and sober, and outwardly at least, they are fully integrated into the dominant white society. This paper will explore the trajectory of identity in Alexie 's work and how Toughest Indian demonstates a sense of otherness of Indians in an urban envirnment. This theme is expored through Alexie 's treatment of race and sexuality as demonstrated in two stories: Toughest Indian and John Wayne.

“Indians are like the weather.” With his opening words Vine Deloria Jr. sets up the basis for the rest of his witty yet substantial manifesto, Custer Died for Your Sins. The book, which describes the struggles and misrepresentation of the American Indian people in 1960s American culture, is written in a style that changes from ironic and humorous satire to serious notions, then back again. Through energetic dialogue that engages the reader in a clever and articulate presentation, Deloria advocates the dismissal of old stereotypes and shows a viewpoint that allows the general public to gain a deeper understanding of what it is to be an American Indian.

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

Montana 1948 is about the loss of innocence and the painful gain of wisdom. Discuss.

Racism is a driving force in David’s town specifically towards Native Americans. Uncle Frank is accused of raping young Indian girls who he is supposed treat medically, Wesley the town sheriff interviews Ollie Young

One of the major ways in which the text reflects on the issue of oppression of women as well as the characters in the text is through the use of stories from First Nation families who, as we know, have been victims of oppression due to the implication of the Indian Act in 1876. From this moment, that enabled the government to see First Nations as wards of the state and ultimately have control over them. Throughout the text, we see several references to the horrible outcomes of the Indian Act such as the residential schools. One section in specific that is told through the point of view of Maria, focuses on a discussion she has with her aunt Kathy who is the niece of someone

Through out the whole book Indians were judged wrongly. To the white people, they were of no value to anybody. They assumed that all Indians were uneducated, unintelligent, and useless. In the end, Wesley’s foolish choice to not arrest his brother in the beginning caused Marie to be murdered. When Frank admits his crime to Wesley they agree that he can be kept prisoner in the Hayden’s basement. After a few days as a prisoner Frank commits suicide. Wesley is haunted by his decisions for the rest of his life. The moral of the book, is to treat everyone as an equal. Holding a grudge again one race is not going to get you anywhere, if anything it will work out for the worst. Montana 1948 is the perfect example of racism unleashing horrible truths and devastating

Native Americans were seen as less during the mid 1900’s in Montana. Frank and Wesley’s father believes that Frank should not have been arrested because it was Indian women he was raping. When Frank is explaining his side of the story his dad interrupts and says, “Something about assaulting a goddamn Indian. Since when do you get arrested in this part of the country for taking a poke at a man, red or white, that’s what I--,” (Watson, 110). Indians lived on reservation in Montana during this time so Frank’s fathers views on Indians was influenced due to his setting and Indians being seen as less in Montana. Paul’s girlfriend in “A River Runs Through It” was also an Indian. Indians were continuously seen as less during the mid 1900’s. When Paul and Norman came to a bar with their girlfriends they were asked what they wanted to drink except Paul’s girlfriend the Indian. The waiters setting influenced her views on Indians making her not want to serve them at the bar. Her views were also dependent on the fact that the server was coming from Montana where Indians were also kept on reservations and her view stayed as the Indians being less based on the

Within the justice system lays complex connotations that are either ignored or spun in a way that interprets different meanings. What is even more complex is how to guarantee justice in a society, more specifically the Chippewa society, where the legal system contains cracks that make it hard to bring justice for Native Americans. In The Round House, Erdrich explores this concept of bureaucratic intricacy that divides the United States jurisdiction and the Native American tribal lands. After Joe’s mother, Geraldine, is raped, he learns how the law not only doesn’t protect her, but also how there is no justice being served. Therefore, Joe decides to take law into his own hands and give his mother the justice she deserves. He does so by turning to the old Chippewa traditional system called the wiindigoo justice system. Joe struggles throughout the book with the law and how the justice system works. There is also an internal struggle that he doesn’t realize yet, with the image of Native American women on the reservation and how men, throughout the story, treat them. While jurisdiction plays a big part in how Native Americans receive their justice, it also boils down to how the crimes being committed against Native American women decide the fate of many characters.

The book “Lakota Woman,” is an autobiography that depicts Mary Crow Dog and Indians’ Lives. Because I only had a limited knowledge on Indians, the book was full of surprising incidents. Moreover, she starts out her story by describing how her Indian friends died in miserable and unjustifiable ways. After reading first few pages, I was able to tell that Indians were mistreated in the same manners as African-Americans by whites. The only facts that make it look worse are, Indians got their land stolen and prejudice and inequality for them still exists.

The attacks on Indians by the whites could now be excused because the Indians had murdered family members. They could kill, scalp, and rob Indians without much fear of being caught or punished. A play based on real life, written by Indian fighter, Robert Rogers, showed how two hunters happened upon two Indians. As they talked, both told of how Indians had murdered some family members, so it was logical to them to kill the Indians, scalp them and robbed them of the guns, hatchets and furs. The “victims’ furs were a fantastic windfall”. (129)

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.

These are only a handful of stereotypes that are made in the book. Alexie points out the romanticized/savage portrayal of Indians in the past century. Not only are the stereotypes made by the white Catholic Priest, but by the Natives people themselves. This illustrates that the representations have ricocheted onto the Natives themselves. They also believe they are supposed to represent the Hollywood version of Indians.

These stereotypes were strongly enforced when in The Searchers the Reverend comes to the family’s house to announce that the father is setting off with him to battle the Indians. The men are looked after, they have their coats taken off them and they are served food and drink, whereas the woman re running around after them ensure they’re satisfied, when the men set off the women collect for them there hat and give them to the men leaving. This is a perfect example of the typical housewife stereotype in a western film. The women were always the carers and the men were the bread winners, this scene demonstrates the