ANT221 - Essay3 07-20-2015

Kip
(Clifford) Sudham

Native
Peoples of North America - ANT-221-19Z1

08/12/15

Personal
images of Native Americans.

A
personal reflection.

Essay
#3

---

When you ask what
an "Indian" is, you hear about the same; long flowing
headdresses of feathers. Blood thirsty "savages" raiding
forts, and scalping people. Totem poles, some as high as fifteen
meters tall sometimes is mentioned. Ones old enough will remember
Iron Eyes Cody the  "Crying Indian" of the 1970s pollution
commercial (Krech, Coffeekid99), (which even today strongly
influences me, not of what a native is, but the environmental
concept)  Nearly all will mention the Casino gaming, which has many
thinking that tribes are now rich, and prospering.

Much of that comes
from an effect I've termed  "Hollywooding" or
"Hollywoodized." Hollywood, with it's western obsession and
even to today, has portrayed Natives as only one type of people. Yes,
the wild west did happen mostly in the western states, where the
Plains Natives was (such as the Sioux), but because of that, people
think that "Indians" are what I wrote of. If you take into
account the accuracy of this, which is probably about one percent
true, the rest hype, you can see how this has colored  a lot of
people's ideas of the Native peoples.

However, although
Caucasian, I've been exposed to the true peoples since I was born.
The first images I had of Native Americans, was of course my uncle
"uncle" (Emmet) and his tales he told me, and the cultural
elements in his possession. I also had an "lesson" about
Natives and Hollywood with shows such as Bonanza. However, "uncle"
was there to help me though the realities and the "Hollywooding"

I can clearly
remember one day -- I believe a family get together, -- and he showed
me his knife collection. Some was very old, possibly dating back to
tribal times. He always said I could have them, but I had "to
respect them" (His words) Sadly I never gained possession of
them when he passed on, but the concept that I must "respect
them" always stayed with me. I think because he wasn't just
telling me to be careful of them, but to respect what they can do,
and the history behind them.

"uncle"
was a sprinkler maintenance and installer installing sprinkler
systems in industrial plants, and raised three children (two girls,
one boy) while in Town.

So he was
successful. However, in contrast most tribes have staggering poverty.
Which according to the U.S. Government statistics is $11,770 a year
for one person, to $40,890 for a family of eight. (2015). According
to one report, the Blackfoot reservation, the annual unemployment
rate is 69 percent, while the national level was 25 percent in the
"Great Recession" (Rodgers)

To go deeper than
just the poverty problem, we see an interesting similarity between
the Northwest Coast Native Americans, and modern people today.
According to the text book (Sutton), the Northwest Coast Native
Americans, the focus of this essay had a sizable sedentary
population, with a hunter/gatherer, and fishing food economy. Large
towns, constructed of wood, some elaborately created. These people
made true 'houses' much like today's ranch, or two stories,
constructed with wood. Some also lived in semi-subterranean homes
although they wasn't a year-long occupation as they migrated to
winter, and summer homes. These people's skills at woodworking, which
many people including Europeans, regarded as art was appreciated
highly.(Sutton)

In the centuries
before, many rights have been taken away by a government still using
the European models and thoughts. But the tide is starting to turn,
and several small victories against the Canadian, and American
governments have restored rights long removed, such as fishing, and
whaling, and even seemingly harmless things such as potlaching has
been restored. (Sutton) The sad reality is; there is a lot of
similarity to Natives of a century or two ago, there is much that is
lost, and only dedicated people who want to restore their beliefs and
desires are making a difference. Becoming what appears to be a
hybridization of modern cultures, and older.

Works Cited:

2015 Poverty
Guidelines." 2015 Poverty Guidelines. U.S. Department of
Health & Human Services, 2015. Web. 19 July 2015.
<aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/15poverty….

Coffeekid99 "The
Crying Indian - full commercial - Keep America Beautiful" Online
video clip. YouTube. YouTube, ND, 19 July 2015.
<www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7OHG7…

Krech, Shepard. "1."
The Ecological Indian: Myth and History. New York: W.W.
Norton, 1999. 15. Print.

Rodgers, Tom.
"Native American Poverty." Spotlight on Poverty and
Opportunity. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 July 2015.
<http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spotlightonpoverty.org%2Fexclusivecommentary.aspx>.

Sutton, Mark Q. "6."
An Introduction to Native North America. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn
and Bacon, 2000. 138-39. Print.

"Takelma."
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 19
July 2015. <https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FTakelma>.