Final Reflections

Coming into this class I knew little to nothing about Native Americans, their culture and their past. I can proudly say that this has changed. Some of the stories I have learned have changed my perspective on the U.S. government and Native Americans. Some stories have even given me nightmares. What I took away from this class was more refined writting skills and a better understanding of Native Americans. I also had no idea that some Native Americans had ill feelings towards white people in general. Maybe I should have thought about it, but prior to this class, I had only a brief explanation from U.S. history. Overall  I had a pretty good experience this quater. Although I missed all the guess speakers, Kohl and Paco, and I was unable to attend any of the Muckleshoot events. I still enjoyed the class time and some of the projects.  

Bow and arrow reflections.

Today I shot a bow and arrow it reminded me of the video we watched in class about Native Americans who still make their own bows and arrows. I feel it would be extremely hard to make your own arrows and still be able to shoot them straight.

human responsibilities

There are allot of responsibilities we have as human beings. But who actually follows them? Sure we have the right not to be tutored and the duty to not torture each other but Somalian pirates capture and torture people on a daily basis. Of course there are billions of people in the world who don't torture people on a daily basis. But maybe we should take action towards this short of thing instead of telling people to follow rules.  

Wounded Heart

Today during class time we watched the movie Wounded Heart. It dealt with the indian reservations in South Dakota. I found it very disgusting the conditions these people have to live in. The mold and cockroachs in these people homes was extremly disgusting. It's crazy to think that this kind of thing happens right in the middle of the United States.

Tlingit Tribe

Talking about native american tribes with my girlfriend, I found out she was of Tlingit descent and her grandfather is actually 100% Tlingit. The Tlingit are in the United States and in Canada. It is very hard to define their land because they're are little reservations and their people tend to move around alot.  They are a coastal tribe and depend on the ocean for most of their food. Although they are not entirely dependent on the ocean, they also gather/hunt food from the forests.

native american stereotypes

"smoking weed, sitting around a fire and drinking alcohol" This a sentence I heard from some of my more "educated friends". These stereotypes are rampant around my close friends. Although alcoholism is a serious issue in native American tribes, I was blown away by the common stereotypes associated with native Americans. 

chapter 1

This boy is probably the most ugly thing I can imagine. Its also extremely sad that he gets so belittled and hackled that he has to resort to hiding inside. I cant imagine somebody living life like this. He may have had a normal life if he wasn't poor and living on an Indian reservation. But he is, and even in the first paragraph his exposed to a sort of racism.