Native American Multicultural Review

Native American Multicultural Collection

Introduction

My collection consists of five non-fiction selections about Native Americans. The books were chosen based on accessibility and themes of spirituality. I searched for books that would give a person who was not very familiar with Native American ideals or history a starting point into their culture. I also tried to weave titles in that had spiritual themes, or titles that I felt elevated the Native Americans and their customs to a higher platform. In general, I looked for positive books and tried to keep the focus on the here and now, although some books have sections on the past, and some books do deal with everyday realities.

Book #1

Indian Givers: How Native Americans transformed the world by Jack Weatherford.

This very well written title helps to illuminate the place that Native Americans have had in shaping world culture. In the introduction, the author writes eloquently about this mission. He makes an excellent and noteworthy point in the introduction. He writes, “Recognizing the greatness of one people does nothing to diminish the achievements of another…The ability to understand one heightens the capability to appreciate others. The enjoyment of Russian ballet can be refined by an understanding of the pow-wow dancers of the Great Plains, just as contemporary art might acquire more power when juxtaposed with the pictographic images from the Iroquois.” His words are powerful because of their universal truth; enjoying or understanding one culture can only aid understanding and compassion for another culture, or even one’s own culture.

All the chapters in the book discuss events important to history and how Native Americans played into those events, or even, how Native Americans had similar ideas or ways amongst their own people. A very interesting chapter in the book entitled “The Founding Indian Fathers” discusses the Native Americans role in helping the colonies form a “unity.” Iroquois chief Canassatego spoke at an Indian-British assembly in 1744 and proclaimed that the Indians found it difficult to navigate the different colonial administrations. He suggested that the colonies form a “union”, similar to the union like the League of the Iroquois.

Another excellent chapter in the book is entitled “The Culinary Revolution” and explains how food that was Native to the Americas (and the style in which Native Americans made them) influenced the world. This chapter is rich in detail and integrates how certain foods and spices from the Americas changed different culture’s foods. An example in the book is how the tomato revolutionized Italian cooking. This chapter also notes where certain popular Americans food started. An example is the settlers watched the Indians drop pieces of cornmeal into bear fat and thus the finished product was called “hush puppies.”

This book diversifies and mentions Native South Americans. With a chapter dedicated to drugs, the author explores how the Natives in the Andes used the coca leaves to chew on and to help alleviate discomfort from high altitudes. With the pressures of European influence, however, many of these Natives are having a hard time engaging in this action that has been part of their culture for decades. The author himself seemed to find nothing wrong in just the basic chewing of the leaf; the problem is when the plant is extracted and turned into cocaine.

This book discusses many other world issues. The inclusiveness of several different subjects along with the worldview makes this a very interesting read. It gives glimpses of Native American culture and tradition, but also puts it a world scheme, which is very enlightening.

Book #2

Spirits of the Earth: A Guide to Native American Symbols, Stories, and Ceremonies by Bobby Lake-Thom

This book focuses on interpreting Nature and becoming in touch with it. This is a very good resource for understanding the spiritual side of Native Americans. In the introduction, the author reminds the reader that the following stories inside his book are what learned from his elders; this book is not all encompassing of every Native American tribe and should be viewed as a guide, not an iron word.

The author begins then by writing about nature and how he learned to speak the language of Nature. A particularly engaging chapter is on developing symbolic and spiritual thinking. This chapter includes symbolic thinking exercises such as going out into Nature and viewing any animals around you. The authors asks the reader to then categorize the animal by certain characteristics, such descriptors include strong, fast, bold, funny, and cunning.

Another rich section of this book includes Native stories. These are particularly insightful into Native ideas, and it is very enjoyable to read what stories and oral legends the Natives have created. One such interesting story is called “The woman who feared snakes”, it’s about a woman who was originally scared of snakes, but then under the power of a snake, follows him, and they eventually have babies. The snake children ask about their human ancestors and so they set out to meet them. However, their maternal grandmother dislikes snakes and shoos them away. The mother goes home and shows the snake babies to her mother, but the grandmother still does not accept them. The morale of this story is that snakes are a bad omen, and never invite a snake in your home.

One of the most insightful parts of the book is the section on animal signs. The author lists an animal and then describes it in terms of Native customs and cultures. The bear is a good sign while the bobcat or panther are bad signs. To see these big felines means that a person is being stalked, either spiritually or physically. The coyote is a very important symbol for Native peoples and is sometimes cast in the role as the creator. The wolves have always had a respected place in Native culture. There is also a chapter on bird signs/omens and reptile and snake signs/omens. The comprehensiveness of the various kinds of animals just give this book a very authentic feel; there are so many creatures listed, and so many creature stories to go along with them, that it really does make a person think about animals in their natural habitat.

This is a great resource for a person wanting to learn more about Native American culture, in regards to the spiritual and nature realm. This book is insightful, and teaches you about Native American’s thoughts about the natural world in a highly readable way.

Book #3

Nature’s Way: Native Wisdom for Living in Balance with the Earth by Ed McGaa, Eagle Man.

This book also is about spiritual ideas and speaks greatly of Mother Nature. This book is divided into chapters, each deemed “lessons” by a certain animal. The first chapter is about observation and is entitled “Lessons from the Eagle.” At the end of this chapter, the author writes, “We northern Indians say that Creator is benevolent. We have far less fear of our Creator, it seems, than do people of other faiths. When I observe the simple towering rose bush that grows in my front yard, this flowering plant speaks to me: it tells me that Creator appreciates the kind, delightful beauty that I see presented to me on long summer days.” (p. 18.)

In the third chapter, which is “Lessons from the Lion” the author explores the freedoms of the lioness and compares them to the freedoms given to the Sioux women. The author informs us that way before women suffrage became universal or accepted, Sioux women had possession of the lodge, among other major possessions.

In the chapter about lessons from the wolf, the author describes how the Sioux respect the wolf. The author also discusses Black Elk, and his spiritual vision. The author describes Black Elk’s six powers, which includes powers from the west, north, east, south, sky and earth. The earth power is green and symbolizes Mother Earth. This chapter also details more information about the Sioux’s beliefs in a “higher power.”

There is a very interesting chapter on developing intuition called “Lesson of Orca.” The author describes the ceremony for developing “Vision Quest.” Vision questing is a person spending time alone with nature to gain insight into his or her own path. The author points out that this activity is not only a Native American tradition; he mentions how Jesus fasted and prayed in the wilderness.

Overall, this is a very well rounded resource. The author does a very good job of fitting together traditional Native American thoughts and traditions and helps apply them to our Non-Native lives. The book is also biographical; there are many sections of the author’s personal experiences weaved into stories and reflections about Native American culture. This is a fantastic book to read if one wanted reflections on the culture through one person’s point of view.

Book #4

The Wisdom of the Native Americans edited by Kent Nerburn.

This is a compilation of many Native Americans and their thoughts on various subjects. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is entitled “Ways of the Native Americans”; part two is “The soul of an Indian”; part three is “the wisdom of the great Chiefs.” This book is straightforward, but is surprising with all the insight contained within.

Because of this book’s quotes and real thoughts from various Native American tribes, it is best to select premium examples of the messages received from reading this book. From part one, a Lakota chief, Luther Standing Bear, says, “Children were taught that true politeness was to be defined in actions rather than in words…expressions such as ‘excuse me’, pardon me’, and ‘so sorry’ now so lightly and unnecessarily used, are not in the Lakota language.” (p. 15.) I found this very interesting, since so many people in our culture say “sorry” so automatically.

Part 2 is comprised of paragraphs and/or pages depicting what Native peoples feel about beauty, children, role of the elders, and an interesting description of the moral code of Native women. There is a mention of the women owning the property and being the spiritual teacher to the children. She is also head of the clan of the children, not the father. This is interesting, as other resources on Native peoples have also sustained this claim in a woman’s place in the Native world.

Part 3 is all about the wisdom of three different Chiefs. Each chief section begins with an introduction about that chief, and the words of the chief are written. Some words written from Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce clan reflect the Native American plight in the late 1880s. In his passionate speech, he recounts how the U.S. government tried to take their land after an agreement on the boundaries had been decided between government officials and his father, the previous Chief. In his speech, he also describes some of his interactions with the white man, most of such being dishonorable experiences. This real account from a Chief adds extra dimension to this book, and is a reminder of the Native people’s sad history.

This book is extremely useful; not only does it offer up Native American thoughts and ideals, but tells the story of the Native Americans past. It is important not only to be reminded of what happened to them, but also the way this book tells it, through the words of the Chiefs themselves, makes it even more important.

Book #5

On the Rez by Ian Frazier.

This book is about the author’s experiences on a reservation, the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. He is with the Oglala Sioux, and the book details his experience with this group of Native Americans. The author explains in the beginning of the book that most non-Natives considered life on the reservation “bleak”, although he never heard a Native person describe their experience that way.

He also speaks about how non-Native people want the Natives to just “get with the program”, give up their tribal ways, and just assimilate with the non-Natives. He explains, in a very detailed way, why this would be terrible if it happened.

He also writes about an Oglala Sioux Indian he met while he was writing his book about Crazy Horse. This man’s name was Le and he describes him as a mean sort of fellow who drank a lot and told exaggerated stories. One story included jumping off the Space Needle in Seattle only attached by a Band-Aid. He talks about the fact that Le and once he is a witness on the reservation, drinks a lot of beer. But mostly, it’s always the Budweiser brand. He explains the link between Anheuser-Busch marketing and Indians. He talks about how many American companies have profited from Indians drinking.

There are numerous moments in the book that mention TV and movies and the roles Indians were given in them. The author recounts that Sioux Indians get most of the roles, and/or the roles are about them. The Apache come in second place. There is a humorous part where the author and a Sioux on the reservation are discussing a film on Crazy Horse and are criticizing the movie’s portrayal of Crazy Horse making love with a woman in the middle of an open field. They also criticize that Crazy Horse’s horse wore horseshoes. This is a gross inaccuracy because not only did Indians not have access to horseshoes in that era, but also Crazy Horse being a hugely spiritual man, would never have put them on his horse, even if they had been available.

The book is very compelling, and as it hums along, taking you into these real people’s lives, it shows the reader good and the bad. My favorite part about this book is how human it makes the Oglala Sioux. It doesn’t cover them up in mysticism; the author just tells plainly, and unapologetically, what he experienced in his time with the Oglala Sioux. An excellent read if a person wants a gritty, real account.

References:

Weatherford, J. (2010). Indian givers. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press.
Lake-Thom, B. (1997). Spirits of the Earth. New York, NY: Plume Publishing.
McGaa, E. (2004). Nature’s way. New York, NY: HarperOne Publishing.
(1999). The wisdom of the Native Americans. Nerburn, K. (Ed.) Novato, California: New World Library.
Frazier, I. (2000). On the rez. New York, NY: Picador Publishing.

Scholarly Review #3: LIS a Handmaiden?

Scholarly Review #3: HEGEMONY'S HANDMAID? THE LIBRARY AND INFORMATION STUDIES CURRICULUM FROM A CLASS PERSPECTIVE by Christine Pawley

This very interesting article probes whether or not LIS has a part to play in class hegemony and whether or not this hegemony is learned by the curriculum of LIS schools. One of my favorite quotes of the whole article is actually the description of "hegemony", which by its name, sounded very ominous, but I wasn't sure of its definition or how it related to class. Pawley writes, "According to Antonio Gramsci, a powerful group achieves hegemony when it gains control over a range of values and norms, to the extent that these are so embedded in society that they receive unquestioned acceptance." (p. 127.) I like this quote so much also because it ties into the concept of this article that those in the LIS profession may not be aware that they are subscribing to the hegemony because it is so "embedded" in them.

Ms. Pawley points out the "middle class" as a hegemony, because everyone seems to be "middle class", and there is no emphasis on the upper or lower classes publicly, although these classes obviously exist. Many librarians would consider themselves "middle class" and the author makes a point about how many librarians don't even realize how their own class does affects their actions. I found this fascinating because a part of solving a problem is being aware of the problem; if the librarians are assuming that everyone else is middle class such as they, or if they just are content in their class and do not examine what it means, that could lead to class bias, or simply not an understanding or a desire to understand other classes.

Pawley also points out the lack of social awareness in LIS education. As I had mentioned in a different scholarly review, and I will touch briefly now, I feel even more validated in my thoughts that the LIS programs need more multicultural/ multi-class course offerings because the reality is that these librarians being educated are going to be out serving the public someday. Even if it's not in a public library post, there are still services to offer and people to help in academia and special libraries. Taking a multicultural course can help prepare students for real-life, or/and at least, make them more culturally aware. I feel truer in this position after reading a second article this semester that agrees with how I feel.

A really surprising part of the article was the section about the corporate world. I was amazed to learn that the Williamson Report of 1923 was basically ran by the Carnegie Corporation. While I appreciate the fact that the Carnegie Corporation donated money and efforts to help supporting libraries, the fact that the Corporation set up all the details for Williamson's investigation sounds funny to me. If the corporation was really altrusic and really interested in what libraries really needed, I believe they would have let Williamson set his own parameters for his research and see where the research actually took him, instead of setting his boundaries. Interestingly enough, Wayne State University has a mention in this article as taking money from Kellogg Foundation. I guess corporations and library schools seem like strange bedfellows, and the link should probably not exist.

Overall, I have found this article to be extremely insightful. Not only did it provide me with a few shockers about LIS ties with a middle-class hegemony, but I found the writing itself to be brisk and readable. This article is certainly a must-read for anyone interested in class issues and LIS as a profession.

References:

Pawley, C. (1998). Hegemony's handmaid? The library and information science
curriculum from a class perspective. The Library Quarterly, 68(2) 123-144.