~~~~~~
HOW TO BRING NONINDIANS UP TO DATE
1. Consider using times besides November to focus on Native
people, since many Indians do not regard the Pilgrim's first "Thanksgiving"
with great warmth. It also tends to be prime time for transmitting offensive
stereotypes about Indians.
2. Be aware of how often the references made to Indians use
the past tense. You will probably find yourself and others doing
this on a regular basis.
FOR TEACHERS:
3. If you're not very sure about the meaning and appropriateness
of an
activity, do your homework! Know thoroughly what it
is you are teaching about before you get the students involved.
Then ask yourself, "How would I feel if a teacher did a similar activity
with my own culture or religion?" For example, kachinas are very
sacred to the Hopi people. Before you institute a "fun" activity
involving kachina masks, ask yourself how you would feel if a teacher had
children perform a "fun" pretend Communion service to teach about
Christian culture.
4. Use role play to help students put themselves in situations
that Native People have faced, and talk about their reactions.
How would they feel? What would they do? (eg., you see your house
set on fire; everything that is yours is stolen by strangers who come to
their house, school, community, claiming it for their own.)
Be very sure you know the history and traditional Native values you
are conveying and that you want the class to understand.
5. Plan current Indian activities for multicultural day assembly
programs. (Other cultures don't present activities from past
centuries.) e.g., students can construct a display of traditional
and modern houses (including apartment houses) or a display of how Native
nations fought back against colonialism from Columbus to the present.
You might want to have the class demonstrate a PowWow. This
is very tricky to do in an accurate and respectful way. "Indian"
art activities are often limited to replicating simplistic and even ridiculous
stereotypes, such as construction paper feather headbands and cardboard
tomahawks. There is a danger that having nonNative children attempt
to perform Native dances without accurate instruction will simply
be one more
of those distorted misrepresentations. Some Native people
don't believe it's acceptable at all. If you do decide to do
it, taking the class to a PowWow, or at least going to one yourself, is
a good place to start gathering information and meeting local Native
people who can help you.
6. After students have learned about the current lives of
Native people, help them answer questions like: where do Indian people
live today, and what types of houses do they live in, etc.?
What are the problems Indian people have now? Don't forget the local
Indian people. Sharing our Worlds, produced by the united
Indians of All Tribes Foundation, is a good book to use.
(Available
from Oyate books to avoid.) What is Oyate
7. Look for materials that have modern pictures of Indian
people in books, newspapers, magazines and PowWow snapshots.
WHEN SELECTING A SPEAKER
8. Invite several speakers to the class. Remember: not
all Indians know about their own history. Those who know about
their history may be unable to answer questions about other nations,
e.g., Pueblo Indians
*ask the speaker if there
is a charge, and if there is not, do
offer an honorarium if you can.
*be sure to remind the
adult(s) of the age and attention span of the audience.
*encourage speakers to
speak honestly. Ask them to tell about the experiences he and his
people or she and her people have undergone, especially in areas such as
education. Tell them about what your class has been learning.
*Don't ask speakers to
"dress up Indian" for the group. This feeds the Hollywood stereotype.
The speaker may wish to dress in dance regalia and even dance for you,
but he or she may not be comfortable doing this. It would be better
to leave this decision to the speaker. Ask him/her to bring items
of interest.
*be sure to check with
other people who have used speakers for their feedback on the quality of
the talk.
*don't forget to ask
the speaker what he or she would most like others to know.
* realize that the extent of
discrimination which this person and
his or her people may have gone through could be beyond your imagination.
The speaker may still harbor negative feelings toward the dominant society.
*encourage the class
to give a gift when the speaker is introduced.
*write a thankyou note
and encourage the class to include drawings or writings about what they
learned.
~~~~
CHECKLIST FOR ACCURACY AND APPROPRIATENESS
1. Does this book or idea tell the truth? Is it free of misleading
oversimplifications or factual errors? Does it give insight
into the
complexity and diversity of Native cultures and Native peoples?
2. Is this book, idea, or activity respectful of the People?
Would it help a nonnative child accept that "Indians are people, like me"?
Would it make a Native child proud of his/her heritage?
3. Is this book, idea or activity free of anything that would
foster
stereotypical thinking in a nonNative child?
(Note:
a good source on line is Paula Giese book review)
4. If you are considering a book, were Native people involved
in the writing, illustrating or production?
5. Is this book or activity free of anything that would embarrass
or hurt a Native child?
6. Can this material be used to enhance a variety of themes,
not just "Native studies?"
7. If I substitute my own religion, ethnic background, culture,
customs, etc. for those in this activity, would I feel respected? Or would
we find ourselves making construction paper crucifixes and "playing Catholic"?
8. Are contemporary Indian people portrayed or are the stories,
pictures, clothing, etc. used only historical?
9. Is the material free of the following: demeaning vocabulary?
Indians
talking like Tonto? Indians who belong to the "FeatherBonnet
Tribe?" Comic interludes built upon firewater and stupidity? Indians portrayed
as an extinct species? Indians who are either noble or savage? Patronizing
tone?
10. IS INDIAN HUMANNESS RECOGNIZED?
*************************************************
WHAT ABOUT THOSE MASCOTS
At a recent conference, a Cleveland resident asked Abenaki storyteller
Joseph Bruchac what he thinks of the controversy surrounding use of Indian
nicknames and mascots among sports teams, such as the Cleveland Indians.
Bruchac replied, "It's one of those examples of how
racism against Native people is still accepted when racism against no other
group is accepted within this culture."
Americans do a strange dance with illogic when it comes to the mascotizing of Native people. This is best illustrated by substituting any other culture, race or ethnic group for that of Indians, not only as sports mascots but also as symbols to sell retail goods. Imagine the Kansas City Jews, complete with yarmulkes and imitations of Hebrew chants when a touchdown is scored. Imagine a Jeep Philipino.
Imagine the Washington Niggers. I hate to even put that word into print, but the term "Redskin" is perceived by most Native people as being as hurtful and offensive as the "N" word is to AfricanAmericans. Consider for that team a logo of "Chief BoogaBooga," the equivalent of Cleveland's "Chief Wahoo," and a parody of spearthrowing as the equivalent of Atlanta's "tomahawk chop." Unthinkable, isn't it?
Some argue that no one protests the use of the name "Packers" or "Steelers" or "Oilers" (also real people) for the Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Houston teams. But those are communities celebrating their own occupational trademarks. Some argue that the Cleveland Indians were named for a Native major league baseball player (true), and that the team name therefore honors a real person. But Louis Sockalexis did not look like Cleveland's goofy logo. No, This is about caricaturing a people; hurting people's feelings. What about how Indian children feel?
So why this blind spot for a racist practice we wouldn't tolerate toward any other group? Is it because we believe Indians no longer exist? Are less than human and don't have feelings? Don't count? Aren't real? Are few in number and so don't matter? Are the source of our own guilt and must therefore be made light of, because to take this issue seriously means opening up the can of worms of our entire history? (BINGO!!)
It should be enough to say that if Native people are hurt by the
mascotizing of their people and the commercialization of their namesand
they are then it shouldn't be done. But the blind spot is instructive.
To look deeply into our reasons for ignoring their insistent objections
is to see our own pathology.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
KEY CONCEPTS FOR NONINDIANS TO UNDERSTAND
1. Many millions of indigenous peoplenations of peoples were
living here before European people arrived. The Europeans no more
discovered the New World than you would discover Spain, if you too sailed
there today.
2. Native people lived in well organized, stable societies
for thousands of years, struggling to stay in harmony with their environment,
and were not the "savages" commonly referred to in history books.
The arriving conquistadors and Englishmen did not admit the validity of
Native societies, but in fact saw them as an obstacle to "progress."
3. The achievements of the various Native nations contributed
significantly to the American way of life as we know it.
4. Indians are not and were not a monolithic, uniform "people"
but
hundreds of different nations with their own languages, cultures,
customs, art work, rituals, etc.
5. European white settlers, the diseases they brought, and
the official
policies of the U.S. government since its founding have attempted
to eliminate Indian people through slavery, genocide, recognition policies
and recordkeeping, assimilation attempts, land appropriation and removal
of Indian children from their homes to whiterun boarding schools.
Nevertheless....
6. INDIANS ARE STILL HERE
two million of them facing many of the same problems (treaty violations,
lack of religious freedom, loss of land, environmental threats, etc.) that
their ancestors did.
7. Native people hold a world view in direct contrast to that
of the dominate society. Values include: sharing and generosity over
private gain; regarding humans as integrating spirituality with all aspects
of daily life; regarding all created beings as having spirit; valuing community
and cooperation over individualism and competition; focus on the wellbeing
of the seventh generation to come rather than the "bottom line."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CULTURAL VALUES: A COMPARISON
Although these lists are somewhat oversimplified, they illustrate
the directly opposing worldviews of two of the cultures that clashedand
continue to clash in this hemisphere. Unlike many other minorities,
many Native people have never WANTED to be assimilated into the dominate
society and don't see it as viable, much less desirable.
COMPARISONS OF CULTURES
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MEDICINE
Curare, Iodine, Aspirin, Filling cavities in teeth with gold and
turquoise,
Successful brain tumor surgery, "Modern" concepts of hygiene, e.g.,
daily bathing, Ipecac
GOVERNMENT
Bicameral legislature, Democracy, Caucus, Strong influence of the
Iroquois on U.S. Constitution, Impeachment
INVENTIONS AND CULTIVATION
Corn: over 100 varieties, all varieties of beans except horse and
soy (from China), one single nationthe Incasgave the world more food plants
in use today than all European nations put together. Rubber, Wild
rice, Avocados, Lacrosse, Hockey, Toboggans, Hammocks, Snowshoes, Sleeping
bags, Asphalt, Canoes, Dyes, Fertilizer, Chewing gum, Hominy, Kayaks, Libraries,
Irish potatoes (over 79 varieties National Geographic), Squash, tomatoes,
tobacco, Vanilla, Xylophone,
Cotton, Food Preservation, Grits, Jerky, Popcorn, Peanuts, Paprika,
Silver, Sweet potatoes, Tapioca, Tar, Witch hazel, Thousands of English
and Spanish wares and half of U.S. State Names, The concept of Zero, Yams,
Pecans, Passion fruit Papaya, Hickory nuts, Beaver pelts, cocoa, catfish,
chilis, hominy, peppers, pomegranate, jerusalem artichoke, moccasins, pumpkins,
pineapple, succotash, turkey, zucchini, tortillas, passenger pigeon, parkas,
clam chowder, pyramids (Mexico), oyster stew, boston baked beans (from
the Wampanoags to the pilgrims), cranberry sauce, maple sugar, maple syrup.
Compiled from:
Rethinking Columbus,; Jack Weatheford's Indian
Givers and Native Roots and Tehanetoren's (Ray Fadden's) They
Lied to you in School (video).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~CONTINUED
FULL BOOKLET AVAILABLE
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