Native American Literature: Yellow Woman And Woman

The book that I decided to read was Night Flying Woman by Ignatia Broker. The tribal identity in the book was Oibwe from the White Earth Band. Ms. Broker started out the book from the present day in Minneapolis where she grew up. There wasn’t much culture to be seen, and the younger generations were getting too lost in the new world. Ms. Broker made sure to mention that she still taught her children the Ojibwe ways, and told them the stories that her grandmother had once told her. Throughout Ignatia Broker’s introductory chapter, we got a sense of the amount of respect she had for you great-great grandmother Oona, or Night Flying Woman.

Women in colonial America played revolutionary roles. They played roles that were always changing. “All men are created equal.” It’s the basis in which America was built, but what about the women? Without women, men wouldn’t have been nearly as successful. But what exactly did women do? Well, different races had different roles to play within their population(WiseGEEK).

Native American literature from the Southeastern United States is deeply rooted in the oral traditions of the various tribes that have historically called that region home. While the tribes most integrally associated with the Southeastern U.S. in the American popular mind--the FIVE CIVILIZED TRIBES (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole)--were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) from their ancestral territories in the American South, descendents of those tribes have created compelling literary works that have kept alive their tribal identities and histories by incorporating traditional themes and narrative elements. While reflecting profound awareness of

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.

History has always been biased to the significant roles of woman; luckily as time has progressed historians have begun to uncover the hidden roles women played in making critical steps in history. Jeanne L. Gillespie’s Amerindian Women's Influence On the Colonial Enterprise of Spanish Florida, does a great job bringing to light the women that made it possible for Spanish control over Florida. While the events she talks about happened a littler later than John T. McGarth’s book makes mention of, does not mean the additional information was helpful for the reading. For example, both the book and article site the support of natives to be a key point for the Spanish. Gillespie’s recount of Doña Maria and her efforts to join with the Spanish governor through peace helps establish how firm the Spanish really were in the region. The fact that Doña Maria and another tribe helped defend Spanish interests during an uprising shows the power Spain had over the natives, as put in the article on page nine, the natives who helped were treated well, which in turn allowed for relations to grow and strengthen

"An Indian Story" involves personal story from the nephew being raised by his aunt. In this story the narrator describes the life change when his mother died, and his father was remarried later in his life. He states that he didn't like living with his father, because he thought he was not receiving the attention he needed. Then he decided to move with his aunt Gretta since she didn't have any children she would give him her most attention, and raise him just like his mother would. In their Indian tribe the mother's sister becomes the new mom of the children after death, so that makes aunt Gretta responsible for her nephew. In the story "Every use" is narrated from the point of view of her mother "Mama, a big women, as she waits in the yard

Folk tales and storytelling have been prominent constituents to Native American culture since the 1800s in order to pay tribute to their early beginnings, preserve the historic truth, and allow future generations to continue their legacy. While reading this selection, “Origin of Folk Stories,” by Arthur C. Parker, it is of capable understanding as to where the storytelling had been derived from in correspondence to this specific tribe called the Seneca. Parker identifies himself with the Seneca tribe through his father’s descent and uses his Native American background as a motive in many of his writing constructions. Each Native American tribe possesses a different history and background to maintain, and storytelling is their unique way of passing on the legacy. In his story “Origin of Folk Stories,” Parker is essentially utilizing customary components of Native American culture while emphasizing a single tribe’s mythological background, which in turn suggests that each Native American tribe has their own story to tell.

Back in 1995, as a 20 year old woman, I was, absolutely, still in love with everything Disney. I was still very much enamored with the romance and fairy tale aspects of all their stories and movies. So when the Walt Disney Company released the animated feature “Pocahontas” in the summer of my 20th year, I had to see it. At the time, I thought I had hit the jackpot with this movie. “An American legend comes to life” is the tagline to get viewers interested in this movie. [1] A heroin, whom was a beautiful Indian and a love story, who could ask for more from a Disney movie, I thought to myself. Now, being ignorant of the true facts about the Indian woman Pocahontas and even about Indian culture and history itself, I took this story more

Louise Erdrich is a Native American author from Little Falls, Minnesota. Her mother is a Chippewa Indian and her father is German American. Through her writing, she demonstrates native ideas and culture. Native American themes are often present in her works. She shines a light on both perspectives of her background. Some of her works mention reservations in Minnesota and North Dakota which connects to her birthplace and where she grew up. Erdrich did not really look into her native heritage until she went to Dartmouth and they had just opened the Native American department. She delved more into the subject and started to use it in her writing. Erdrich gives readers, whether or not they are Native American or not, a look at Native American culture from the eyes of both natives and others in society. This theme is present in many of her works including: Antelope Wife and Future Home of a Living God.

One of the most common threads that can be found in Early American Literature are the portrayals of the Native American Indians. From their first encounters with the Pilgrims to the bloody “Trail of Tears”. While the literary works of art focus mainly on the voyage to the New World by the explorers and then the settlement of the colonies you will find that the Native American Indian was at the forefront of the new settlement. Most of the historical data, whether it is the written word or drawings would depict the Native Americans as brutal savages wielding hatchets and throwing arrows at the new arrivals, and then in stark contrast you will read accounts that paint a picture of Native American greeting the voyagers on the beach with food, animal skins and oils to welcome them. From the writings of William Bradford and Thomas Hariot you discover how differently the Native Americans were viewed. Each of the authors have differing opinions of the Native American’s they encountered when they reached the new land. Many embellished stories and tall tales were shared in diaries and letters penned to the eager listeners, traders, explorers, or prospective settlers of the new land. Their depiction of the Native Americans depended on any number of different influences including who financed their voyage, religious beliefs, their role in society, and their audience. One would have to agree that most of the early settlers were eager to label the Native Americans as blood thirsty

Throughout all of Native American literature there are a consistent three themes: nature, animals, and ancestors. Native Americans lived out their need for nature and show how significant they believe it is in their actions. The believed they owe the Earth everything. The Native Americans belonged to the Earth, the Earth did not belong to them. In the Native American culture there were two significant deities, the Earth Mother and the Great Spirit.

Since the beginning of the colonial process, Indigenous bodies have been seen as disposable. The dehumanization of the Indigenous body and the creation of the other, has allowed for the destruction of Indigenous Femininity. A system rooted in epistemic violence created by the colonial era. Continues to affect how Indigenous women are treated in modern societies. The demotion from “Indian Queen”, an exotic and powerful presence in colonial societies, to the “Dirty Squaw”, a figure depicted as lazy, and troublesome. Indigenous women have struggled to be seen as human people, rather than sexual object in the minds of the white settlers. A systematic dehumanization though through the process of epistemic violence. Which continues to affect how Indigenous women are treated today.

If I’m being completely honest, I didn’t read a lot of books out of this textbook. I hardly read at all this semester. These facts are probably fairly obvious due to my less than satisfactory grades, but despite the blur of words that are difficult for me to remember, there still are stories that stand out to me. These stories, such as The Unknown Citizen by W.H. Auden, The Gift by Li-Young Lee, and One Day, Now Broken in Two by Anna Quindlen have left a huge impact on events that have gone on in my life.

People express themselves in many different ways, drawing, dancing, writing and many more. Leslie Marmon Silko, born in March, 1948 is a Laguna Pueblo writer and a key figure of literature. She has written many recognized books and stories and is well known in the writing industry. She is a writer that utilizes structure elements to embrace her writing. A great book of hers is the “Yellow Women and a Beauty of the Spirit” published on December 19, 1993. This is a book based on true events of her life. She emphasizes how different she felt towards everyone else and with time, she figures out the reason was because her skin color was not like most people, white. She suffered mentally but that did not stop her it actually motivate her to write stories to teach that everyone true beauty and acceptance. Beauty was not determined by looks and appearance but from morals, honesty, and personality. Physical appearance is the least important matter and everyone should be accepted for who they are and not their appearance. It is what is in the inside that is significant everything else is unimportant. The Author from “Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the spirit” utilized flashbacks, emotions, and circular structures to effectively develop her series.

On the surface, the story Yellow Woman by Leslie Marmon Silko seems simple enough; A young Pueblo Indian woman, who is married, finds herself in a tryst with a renegade Navajo cattle rustler. However, there is a haunting depth within the words of the story, as well as in the young woman’s emotions. It begins when the young woman wakes up early one morning, beside her, the Navajo man is still sleeping soundly, “rolled in the red blanket on the white river sand.” (2541). As she watches “the sun rising up through the tamaracks and willows,” (2542) she also listens to “the water . . . in the narrow fast channel,” (2542). She decides to walk south along the river, the same way they had come the day before, noting that their footprints were marred by lizards and bug trails. What surrounds the young woman seems dreamlike, blurring the lines between the reality of everyday experiences and myth.