School Myths

America truly is the salad bowl of cultures from around the whole world. However, there is often times a dominating cultural structure that makes it difficult to attain peace among the diverse cultural groups of America. Sherman Alexie’s short story, Because my Father Always Said He Was the Only Indian Who Saw Jimi Hendrix Play ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ at Woodstock, displays the difficulty of the Native American people having to cope with the dominating culture that they are inevitably being shoved into. The main character Victor, a young boy who reflects much of Alexie’s personal traits, tells the story and struggle of his people through the

Amy Tan in the story, Fish Cheeks, implies that even though America is a country of immigrants, few of their traditions are acceptable in our culture. Tan supports her suggestion by describing christmas of the year she turned 14. The author’s purpose is to point out the irony of a country of immigrants with only one set of traditions in order to make us think about what traditions we suppress. The author writes in an earnest tone for Americans of all descents.

In what way is the “unlikely pairing of histories” at the thanksgiving celebration especially American? For many years, it has been a tradition for American to sit around the table and tell stories of the past and which we’ve overcome.

When the first European colonists arrived in 1620 on land in the New World, a disaster was forming. Arriving in what is known today as Massachusetts on The Mayflower, the settlers didn’t have enough experience surviving cold, harsh winters causing almost half of the settlers to die that had arrived on The Mayflower. This had changed in 1621 with the help of the Native people. The American Indians had started teaching the English people how to do many things including harvesting and growing crops. This help from the Native’s had led to the first Thanksgiving between the two groups. These two societies, however, didn’t remain friends. The English settlers had kicked off the American Indians of their own land and tried to make them convert to Christianity. The English settlers had also brought diseases from Europe causing many Indians to get very sick and even some die.

One of the many cultures in the 1700’s consisted of the European settlers and how they lived their everyday lives through this time period. They had multiple different religions in the colonies. The music had changed drastically during this time with their instruments, famous composers, and even the messages and dedication toward the songs. They also entertained themselves by doing a variety of crafts and games that benefited the children in the later ages and taught them different roles in society. These three topics have changed throughout the time span of 1700- 1800 and shows how they part from the European culture to create a new American culture that is represented through the Declaration of Independence and other literary works.

At the start of the film After the Mayflower: We Shall Remain, the English and the Native Americans celebrated the first Thanksgiving together in 1621. Both groups of people seemed trusting of each other and showed personal respect. At this time the Wampanoag Indians had the power and chose to use it to form a treaty with the weak English Pilgrims. The two groups shared everything and traded their assets with each other. As the film continued there was an obvious change in power to the English with more and more Puritan immigrants from Europe arriving. By the end of the movie the English decided to use their power to control all lands instead of keeping the treaty with the native people. The English “thanksgiving” at

I am Tisquantum, or as you may know me, Squanto. I am the last of my tribe. I was taken from my homeland, the Americas as a slave to Spain. From Spain, I traveled to England, Newfoundland, and back again to my homeland, near Plymouth. I am now free, but use my land, animal, and English knowledge to assist the new settlers of Plymouth in a multitude of ways; I also use my influence with the natives and the Colonists for my own benefit. Unfortunately, I died an early death, but my legacy remains today, with the national holiday of Thanksgiving (Tindall & Shi, 2013).

After Non-Native people rob Native Americans of their cultures, if not their lives, they romanticize and steal the culture that they perverted. Every Halloween, one is apt to see a handful of young women attending parties in costumes titled “Sultry Indian Princess” or “Naughty Native”. These immoral desecrations of Native American cultures disregard the rich history and customs that are woven into each garment. Such histories and customs are described in the poem “Song of the Sky Loom”:

Half of the states in the United States recognize and observe Columbus Day as a federal holiday (“officeholidays”). There has always been a controversy involving the celebration and glorification of European settlers from the Age of Exploration. This controversial subject has led to a divide between the country, and different ethnic groups. European settlers from the Age of Exploration should be celebrated in modern times because of the many societal concepts they introduced to the Native American which embarked new systems and procedures which are still practiced today. Take the Columbian Exchange as an example, this system was implemented by European settlers, and benefitted many people including the current empires at that time. Additionally, European settlers ended inhumane practices of the Native Americans, such as human sacrifice. In result of this, new concepts and beliefs were introduced to the Native Americans which aided many. In spite, of the diseases carried at this time by the settler that killed many Native American tribes, this should not be considered to be an argument, since the Spanish were not cognizant of the germs and bacteria they were carrying.

An issue in The Lessons from Turtle Island is the inaccuracy of the curriculum related to the Native Americans.“By selecting and isolating a particular art tradition, item of apparel, or celebration, they encourage non-Native children to view Indians as exotic and different, rather than helping children understand similarities among all peoples(10).” By recreating sacred Indian traditions, such as what they wear, this gives children the impression that they can become Indians if they are dressed in recreations of Native Americans clothing. Another issue addressed in early childhood education classrooms is only discussing Native Americans twice a year, Thanksgiving and Columbus Day. By isolating the curriculum for only certain months, children will lose interest after the

C. Thesis Statement: Going from what the meaning of Halloween is in America today and looking back at it’s roots, it has evolved dramatically. And just recently we have been seeing a comeback from one of those roots, but do we know it’s real cultural significance?

This chapter greatly adds to America’s history through the details of the Indians when the pilgrims arrived. The previous two chapters relate with the greed of the pilgrims and how they came to America, expecting it to be all for themselves to appreciate. When they first caught sight of the Indians, the pilgrims instantly put their laws on the natives, hence making the Indians stray from tradition to the settlers’ beliefs. The pilgrims’ main goal was to have the freedom to worship the way they wanted to. With irony, however, they forced religion upon the Indians and made them leave all of their beliefs. The Indians allowed the pilgrims to stay on their land out of respect and peace, even though they were trespassing. Surprisingly, the “pure”

Borrowing from Irish and English traditions, Americans began to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for food or money. Over time this tradition turned in to today modern “trick or treating”. In the late 1800s, America turned Halloween into a holiday more about community and neighborly get-togethers than about ghosts, and witchcraft. As the centuries changed Halloween parties for both children and adults became the most common way to celebrate the day. Parties focused on games, foods of the season and festive costumes. Parents were encouraged by newspapers and community leaders to take anything “frightening” or “grotesque” out of Halloween celebrations. Because of these efforts, Halloween lost most of its superstitious and religious overtones by the beginning of the twentieth century (Kammen).

If Americans were asked to give examples of holidays, they would most likely mention the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. These specific dates, known as calendar customs, are traditional practices that have become incorporated into culture due to “social pressure, common usage, and parental or other authority” (Brunvand 406). Each holiday has rich, historical roots, and many of the customs associated with them have been transmitted over several generations. In addition, most contemporary holiday customs vary dramatically from the date’s original purpose. In the case of Halloween, the commercialization of candy and costumes has contributed to a more family-oriented atmosphere compared to the initial

Myths serve as a basis of authority on ethical and moral issues regarded as facts, for example, why people behave the way that they do, but include supernatural elements. Myths tell the origins of the world and humankind by relating them to human traditions and understanding a societies values and norms (pg. 31). Human psychology deals with mental processes and behavior of an individual, group, or activity. Ways that human psychology affects the nature of myths and the way we tell and perceive stories is by interpreting an analysis of myths as being symbolic and, in turn, this symbolism is rooted in the human mind, behavior and emotions. Psychologists, Freud, and Jung believed that myths (e.g. dreams) are said to be symbolically expressing