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Summary Of 'Where The Spirit Lives'

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Applying Class Concepts to “Where the Spirit Lives”
Provide as many specific examples of each of the following concepts from “Where the Spirit Lives”:

Framework: How the dominant group maintains power (Both Pharr and Weber’s frameworks):
Institutional Power
Political control: laws/policies/criminal justice system
- The “Whites” lawfully took the children from their Native land
- The school creating rules forbidding native practices of the Indian children

Ideological control: control of ideas through education, religion, media, etc.
- The ideas and practices of Christianity were completely forced on the Native American people.
- This push for Christianity elaborated into the whites trying to strip the children of any Native American …show more content…

- Most of the children are physically abused as they are initially forced to change their appearance (i.e. the cutting of Amelia’s hair) and they are physically punished.
- Some of the children are also sexually abused (i.e. the young girl, who later tries to run away and dies, is assaulted by a female teacher).
- Some of the teachers are emotionally abused by the system as some were becoming overly influenced by the cruelty happening and others became attached to their students which led to an are uncertainty as to whether or not they should stand up for the children (do the right thing) or continue with the rules and practices of the …show more content…

Tokenism:
- Amelia completely abandoning her native culture in attempt to become “more white,” in hopes of becoming more “desirable” for adoption.

Johns reports that all oppressive systems change and/or end the question is how much damage will be done in the process. How do we see the system beginning to change/end in this video?

Oppressive systems can only change/end once individuals of either side (oppressed and not oppressed) consciously work towards changing the situation. Usually those that are active in the change are willing to risk their wellbeing in order to make things better for all people. The kind teacher in Where the Spirit Lives was an example of the change in the system as she was of the privileged group, but was still willing to sacrifice her job and safety in order to better the lives of the Indian children. Her actions contrast those of the many other abusive teachers and give the viewers hope that the conditions will subside and the situation will change and end in the near future.

Why the title “Where the Spirit

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