Summary/Application 1

SUMMARY:

In her essay, Gloria Bird explores the results of colonization and the effects it has had on the American Indian culture. Specifically, Bird focuses on how language, which plays a crucial role in Pueblo stories, ceremonies and daily life, can define self worth and identification within society. Bird supports her argument with many references to her own childhood and youth, explaining how she felt a sense of worthlessness and disconnection with her heritage because she could not speak her native language like her other relatives could. Bird is hesitant to admit her insecurities at first, but ultimately she recognizes that she is a product of this colonization and everyone, regardless of race, must adapt to survive. However, Bird hypothesizes that the reasoning for the decolonization of American Indians is based on what she calls “Otherness”. Otherness refers to mechanism employed by colonizers to maintain the social structure of the world and establish a dominant and inferior culture. Anything that does not conform to the standards of conventional society, whether it be religious beliefs, ethnicity, or language, is considered to be Other. This separation of social groups and disrespect for the “inferior’s” lifestyle results in oppression and discourse. Therefore, the Others result to conformity, denying their culture and learning to live in silence.
In an effort to find a solution to this issue, Bird evaluates her own personal journey to comparison to Tayo's in Leslie Silko's novel, Ceremony. Like Tayo, she feels shameful for not being able to speak, let alone understand, Indian. However, she views this recognition as beneficial and realizes that the first step in the healing process is admitting your flaws and accepting them. Only in this recognition can self-examination and evaluation occur and this much needed shift allows Bird to liberate her mind and realize the potential of the future.
Bird continues her essay with a discussion of a process of colonization called the hegemonic phase where American Indians adopt the colonizer's way of life and beliefs. She believes, based on Silko's Ceremony, that Christianity can be potentially harmful to the Pueblo society because it forces people to care only about themselves and not the world as whole, which is a principle of Pueblo culture. It is essential that everyone works together within the Pueblo community, therefore without this, the American Indians do not know what or who to identify with. Bird also connects her theory of “Otherness” to Tayo’s struggle in Ceremony, explaining that his mixed-blood status sets him apart from all of the other Indians on the reservation and creates tension between him and many of the characters. Finally, Bird touches on one of the most important points of colonization: how American Indians are forced to accept the colonizer's language, English. Language is the fundamental building block for relationships and this barrier creates isolation and a loss of self. As a teacher of Native American students, Bird applies what she has learned during her own personal journey and educates her students about decolonization. Bird concludes her essay, admitting that although we are all colonized, we must continue to promote awareness and knowledge of the Indian language and the way of life.

Application:
Gloria Bird’s essay, “Towards a Decolonization of the Mind and Text 1", attempts to decolonize the mind of the American Indian who has been forced to deny their culture for a more structured meaningless lifestyle. In her analysis, Bird discovers that the reasoning behind this colonization is largely due to a principle known as “Otherness”, in which the colonizers force anyone who is not like themselves to conform to everything from what they believe in to how they behave. The purpose is solely to establish dominant group, which in turn, results the inferior group’s oppression and mental bondage. In her essay, Bird discusses how, in order to survive in society, the inferior group must conform and accept the colonizer’s way of life. Specifically, the Others must reject their religion and convert to Christianity and learn how to speak English. In Leslie Marmon Silko’s novel, Ceremony, the main character, Tayo, experiences many struggles because he is mixed blood, an Other. In his journey to self-acceptance and understanding, colonization threatens to destroy his morals and sense of self. Although Tayo recognizes that colonization is prominent and is pivotal to his healing process, ultimately, the American Indian culture he was raised is what he places his faith and trust in.
Tayo begins to question the colonizer’s primary religion, Christianity, early in his childhood when his Auntie converts. Although Tayo never seems to have anything against the God Christians praise, it is the idea of the religion and the implications that follow that prevents Tayo from ever conforming. To Tayo, Christianity is a scapegoat, an excuse to do, say and be whatever you want without consequences because, in the end, you are Christian and your soul is saved. Auntie claims, time and time again, that she is a good Christian woman, however, her attitude reflects differently. Auntie has always treated Tayo with contempt because his mother, Laura, had slept with a white man and gave birth to a mixed-blood child, bringing shame on to the family and people of the reservation. The only reason Tayo says that Auntie continued to take care of him after his mother left was that, “he was all she had left” (Silko 27). It is clear, however, that Auntie does not raise Tayo purely out of the goodness of her heart, or that fact that she is Christian, but because she knows that if she did not, the people of the reservation would gossip even more. Bird calls Auntie, “ a pathetic character caught in a conflict between Catholicism and her social reality”, however I do not think this is exactly the case (Bird 5). From the information and descriptions of Auntie that Silko provides us with, I do believe that Auntie is caught in a conflict, but not between Catholicism and her social reality, but rather herself and her social reality. Christianity does not affect Auntie’s views or outlook on life, nor does she strive to achieve salvation and spread the Word of God. Although not many Christians can say that they follow Christianity and live a life void of sin, at least some desire to try. However, Auntie lives her life selfishly, thinking only of her reputation and how others view her, not her entire family. Though it may appear that she is “protecting them from the gossip in the village,” Auntie, “never lets them forget what she had endured, all because of what they had done” (Silko 27). Instead of forgiving Laura of her sin and loving Tayo, forgiveness being a trait that Christians hold dear, she excludes Tayo, making him suffer for his mother’s mistake. In holding this grudge for so long, she is not saving her soul, but damning it. Bird recognizes this as well and says that, “her mistreatment comes with an understanding that it is based on his (Tayo’s) half-breed status, an alterity that she is turn becomes the victim of” (Bird 6). Auntie denies Tayo the love and affection he deserves, judging him just like everyone else is, because he is different. As his aunt and most importantly, as a Christian, she should love her all of God’s creations, regardless of what they look like, where they came from or how they got there. Bird concludes that Auntie is “trapped in captive of the negativity of her own making” (Bird 6). She is a hypocrite who cannot escape from the world she has made for herself and because of this, Tayo’s perception of Christianity is based on how he has seen his aunt behave and act towards him, which needless to say, gives him a horrible representation of Christianity.


Bird, Gloria. "Towards a Decolonization of the Mind and Text 1: Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony"" Wicazo Sa Review, Vol 9, No. 2 Autumn 1993. University of Minnesota Press. 04 Jan. 2009 .

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition). New York: Penguin Books, 2006.

Towards a Decolonization of the Mind and Text: Bird Article

Bird, Gloria. "Towards a Decolonization of the Mind and Text 1: Leslie Marmon Silko's 'Ceremony'. " Wicazo Sa Review 9 (1993): 1-8.

In her essay, Gloria Bird explores the results of colonization and the effects it has had on the American Indian culture. Specifically, Bird focuses on how language, which plays a crucial role in Pueblo stories, ceremonies and daily life, can define self worth and identification within society. Bird supports her argument with many references to her own childhood and youth, explaining how she felt a sense of worthlessness and disconnection with her heritage because she could not speak her native language like her other relatives could. In addition to using examples from her past, Bird relates her own personal journey to Tayo's in Leslie Silko's novel, Ceremony. Like Tayo, she feels shameful for not being able to speak, let alone understand, Indian. However, she views this recognition as beneficial and realizes that the first step in the healing process is admitting your flaws and accepting them. This self-examination and evaluation allows Bird to approach the topic of decolonization with a much more open mind and approach Native American literature, particularly Ceremony, without fear and guilt.
Bird continues her essay with a discussion of a process of colonization called the hegemonic phase where American Indians adopt the colonizer's way of life and beliefs. She believes, based on Silko's Ceremony that Christianity can be potentially harmful to the Pueblo society because it forces people to care only about themselves and not the world as whole, which is a principle of Pueblo culture. It is essential that everyone works together within the Pueblo community, therefore without this, the American Indians do not know what or who to identify with. Finally, Bird touches on one of the most important points of colonization and how American Indians are forced to accept the colonizer's language, English. Language is the fundamental building block for relationships and this barrier creates isolation and a loss of self. Bird concludes her essay, admitting that although we are all colonized, we must continue to promote awareness and knowledge of the Indian language and the way of life.

Mary Cow Dog's lecture/reading

Although it was oftentimes difficult to understand Mary Cow Dog and follow along with what she was talking about, I was very engaged and emotionally connected to everything she said. It did not take me long to see that Dog was a incredibly opinionated woman and had many concerns about the world we live in and the youth that inhabit it. Dog began her lecture with a autobiography, recalling her childhood and young adulthood with vivid memory. She was raised by her grandparents on account of her mother and father both leaving. She knew a life of joy and love with them, until she was sent to boarding school, where she endured harsh abuse for being an American Indian. At boarding school she was educated in Catholicism and was baptized and confirmed. She mentioned many times throughout her lecture how well she knows the Catholic church and how it saved her life when she wrestled with alcoholism and domestic abuse later in life. Although she did not understand the influence of religion in earlier life, she accepted God in her life after she realized that she needed his guidance and support. However, long before this spiritual awakening occurred, Dog joined the American Indian Movement and worked to promote the American Indian culture and help those who were oppressed and beated. She claims she "wanted to know the dignity of being an American Indian and walk proud with it" and joining the American Indian Movement helped her do just that. Dog had to learn her native language all over again, since she had been Americanized in boarding school. She says that AIM was based on spirituality and prayer always came first. AIM found that religion and prayer helped heal and gave hope to those who needed it. While in AIM, Dog witnessed many traumatic things. Many of her friends and co-workers died in the Battle at Wounded Knee, others were sent to prison and some disappeared. Dog moved to New York City and set up a defense committee for American Indians in response to the horrible events and injustices that were happening to her people. The Center for Constitutional Rights supported her group as well as political leaders, such as Ted Kennedy.
In the 70s, Dog wrote a book about her childhood and her experiences in AIM, but her book was rejected because it was "too real". After a few years, it was published and made into a movie with Jane Fonda. The book was called "The Lakota Women" which Dog said was not her choice, but the publisher's. Regardless, she is grateful that she is able to share her experiences with other and reflect on what has happened to her in the past. After seeing what happened to her friends and loved ones, she feels blessed "to be alive and proud to be a woman." She endured many hardships in her life, relying on alcohol to help her with her problems at one point in her life. She said that "everything got to be too much. Sometimes life becomes overwhelming and you just lose yourself in it". However, with the help of God and Alcoholics Anonymous, she is now nine years sober. She is a single mother raising teenagers and stressed, but realizes that it could be much worse.
Dog spoke passionately about her opinions about how concerned she is with the youth and our generation. Her son listens to rap music, which she dislikes, because she says it is not admirable to be a "gangster" and want to kill people and have sex all the time. Dog expressed how she wished that the youth would appreciate what she and others have fought for and respect themselves in the process. "We fought so we could be prideful," she said. She also said that "there is nothing for the young people to hold on to. There is no foundation." I strongly agree with all of her statements. I believe that rap music, music videos or any kind of pop culture media outlet is dangerous to our generation because it influences our thoughts and opinions. Young girl think they need to look more mature and sexy, men assume that they have to be buff and fit because of standards of society. Music has a huge influence on the youth and rap music is becoming increasing popular. Personally, I am disgusted by rap music because it is degrading to women and promotes violence. It is incredibly disrespectful and I worry about my little brother and sisters growing up in a world influenced by rap music because it might encourage them to go out and do something they will regret. I do not think that rap music affects people my age as much as it does people younger than me. Dog is correct in saying that "there is no foundation", especially a foundation that I had when I was growing up. Movies, TV shows and music were appropriate when I was growing up, but until recently, everything seems to be going downhill. Men and women are expected to look, act and behave a certain way and frankly, I am scared of how this will affect my siblings. However, I see no outlet that I can direct them to instead. Dog says that if she could she would build a multicultural center where everyone, regardless of age or color could learn." I agree that this sounds like a good idea, but I think that it would only do so much. Unless there was something like this in every city, people would not travel to this center and make that effort because, let's be honest, Americans are lazy. The ideal would be to start over and rid the world of all sinful things, but that is impossible. For now, Dog says that we can only pray and hope that things will change.

Ceremony-pgs. 58-142

We get poetic installments of the Hummingbird tale on p. 42-45, 49-50, 65-66, 76, 97, 104-105, 140 (to this point) How might you relate this story to Tayo’s?

The Hummingbird tale is that of redemption and forgiveness. The people in the Hummingbird story were punished Mother Earth, Nau'ts'ity'i, for playing around with magic and thinking that this would give life to the plants and animals. Therefore, Mother Earth takes away the plants, grass and the rainclouds and will not give them back until they have proven to her that they are worthy. The Hummingbird, Fly, old Buzzard, and Caterpillar all help the people complete various task for Mother Nature since they all felt sorry for all of the skinny hungry people. The people are suffering and need the help from the animals to get their plants and rainclouds back. They know that they have done wrong and now seek to redeem themselves in Mother Earth's eyes. Tayo is also going through a similar struggle as the people who disrespected Mother Earth. He feels guilty for not taking care of Rocky and bringing him back home safely and he also feels guilty about not staying with his Uncle Josiah to help tend the cattle. Tayo feels like he was wronged many people, especially his family. When he went to war, he felt like it was his obligation to keep Rocky, Auntie's son, safe since Auntie had taken him in and raised him when she did not have to. In returning home without Rocky, he has not only disappointed his Aunt, but also himself. Tayo struggles to forgive himself for what he is done and his story parallels the Hummingbird story in many ways. The people in the Hummingbird story seek forgiveness from Mother Earth, just as Tayo seeks forgiveness from himself and his family. In both stories, there are things they must do first before they can be forgiven. In the Hummingbird story the animals must gather dirt, corn flower and tobacco, while Tayo must get help from the medicine man, Betonie, and find out what is really wrong with him. In the end, the animals end up collecting everything Mother Earth has asked for and the people are forgiven. I see this as a foreshadowing of what is to come later in the novel. Tayo is already beginning to heal by the end of this section and come to terms with what has happened in the past. I believe that by the end of the novel he will finally be able to forgive himself and move on with his life.

We are also introduced to Josiah’s Mexican lover, the Flamenco dancer, Night Swan. What do we find out about her? What significance attaches to her character? What’s with all the blue? How does what she tells Tayo connect with elements that come up in other parts of the novel?

We first see Night Swan outside a bar that Josiah goes to one night. He gives her a cigarette and forgets his sack of beer. He returns the next day for the beer and finds Night Swann there again. She takes him upstairs to her room and after that night, Josiah spends almost every night with her. She is a dancer, a very promiscuous one at that, and captivates every man that watches her. She continues to dance even though she is much older than when she first started, but she continues to have the same effect on all men. Not only is Josiah attracted to her, but Tayo finds himself drawn to Night Swan both sexually and emotionally. She is a beautiful woman, however, there is something about Night Swan's presence that makes Tayo nervous and curious at the same time, as if she has a secret that he is not letting him in on. Night Swan has obviously experienced a very full life and her knowledge of the world helps Tayo understand that there is nothing wrong with being Indian. He tells Night Swan that he "always wished I had dark eyes like other people", but she tells Tayo that the white people are intimidated by him and he should never wish to be anyone he is not. She calls the white people "fools" who blame the Indians "the ones who look different" for what has happened in the world, instead of accepting that they are the ones that did wrong. Tayo struggles throughout the novel to come to terms with his lineage and his race and this moment in the novel is pivotal. Tayo begins to understand more about his heritage and how white people are not any better than Indians. He realizes that the blame that has been placed on him for everything that has happened in the past is not his fault, but the white men, because they refuse to see that they did anything wrong.

All the references to the color blue in the passages with Night Swan are difficult to interpret, however, I think that "blue" could relate to the blue corn that is so important in the Pueblo culture. In some Pueblo stories, there is a Blue Corn Maiden that is referred to. She is said to be the prettiest of all the corn maidens and incredibly kind and gentle. She was a symbol of the springtime and rebirth. Night Swan and the Blue Corn Maiden have many things in common, including their beauty and their willingness to help others. Night Swan could also be seen as a symbol of rebirth for Tayo, as Night Swan encourages him to not be afraid of who he is and to embrace his culture. This is a new beginning for Tayo and he only achieves this fresh start with the help of Night Swan.

The long story.poem, p. 122-128, is of how "witchery" created whites and the onslaught of Europeans and all the destruction they brought. Gloss this poem to identify how the story represents Europeans and their relationship with the world. Consider also: what is the point of Betonie emphasizing the American Indian role in the destruction? What IS his point? Why does he think it is important for Tayo to think about it in this way?

This story shows colonization from the perspective of the Indians and how they Europeans seemed barbaric and savage-like to them. The Europeans are personified as inhuman and brutal. They are careless and do not care what happens to the animals and plants or to the world in general. They have no respect for anyone or anything. They have no relationship with anything in the world, except for themselves and other white men. They are killing machines who murder and devastation everywhere. I think the poem makes a good point when it says that white men "fear the world. They destroy what they fear. They fear themselves." This statement shows that, although the white men destroy everything in their paths, ultimately, they are cowards who are scared of everything. Unlike the Indians though, they do not try to become one with what they do not understand, they get rid of it so they do not have to deal with their problems.

Betonie does mention, however, that the American Indians played a role in the destruction in order for Tayo to see that all people, regardless of race or skin color is to blame for what the world is like today. He wants Tayo to see that even though he is mixed, this does not mean that it makes him any less human. Tayo is just like everyone else because everyone else is guilty of the same crime.

Response to Ceremony pgs. 1-58

Describe, as best as you can, Auntie’s attitudes about Tayo, mixed blood, and religion.

Tayo's aunt is not fond of him, for many reasons. Mainly it is because Auntie's sister, Tayo's mother, had a reputation of getting drunk and sleeping around with white men. Everyone in the reservation knew about this, so therefore, Auntie's family was looked down upon for "Little Sister's" mistakes. To put it bluntly, Little Sister was a whore and this definitely had an affect on how people not only viewed Little Sister, but also Little Sister's parents, uncles and aunts. The people of the reservation would probably assume that Little Sister's parents did not raise her right and that they were not good Christian people. Auntie takes pride in being a "Christian woman", but having a little sister who clearly does not live a Christian lifestyle and obeys the rules of God (i.e. abstaining until marriage) made people question how Godly Auntie was as well. So, to try and compensate for the respect that the family has lost, Auntie decides raise Tayo, even though he is the product of an un-Godly relationship. By doing this, Auntie gains back the respect that her family has lost. The people of the reservation consider Tayo to be an "unfortunate burden" and caring for him was at great personal risk for Auntie and her family's reputation. Although the people continued to gossip about the family, they gained a lot of respect for Auntie because instead of turning her back against her sister and her sister's child, she brought him into her home and cared for him. This would have been the Christian thing to do, so the people admire her for doing this.

The fact that Tayo also is half-Indian, half white also plays a part in Auntie's attitude toward's him. Interracial relationships were not encouraged because the people of the reservation feared that the white people would taint their culture and beliefs. Native Americans take pride in their culture and they did not want it to be destroyed. Also, it would have been an insult to have a relationship with white people, as in the past, the white people had taken the Native Americans land and freedom away, in the process raping their land and killing their people.

Finally, Auntie's attitude towards Tayo is also affected by the fact that her son was killed in the war and now Auntie is left with no son and a mixed nephew. Tayo oftentimes feels like he should have been the one that died instead of Rocky, especially since Tayo already feels like he is worthless after the war anyway. Auntie still cares for him anyway, bringing him food and watching over him, but Tayo knows that she is ashamed of him and bitter that he returned home, not her son.

Explain, from what you see so far, how the novel represents race and racial politics.

Ceremony presents race as a primary factor of people's opinions of each other and how they view themselves compared to other races. As mentioned before in the previous question, a person of mixed blood is considered inferior in comparison to a full-blood Native American. Even though Tayo was born and raised on the reservation, the fact that he is half white offends others. Whether the people are still bitter about how the white people stole their land or they are fearful that because Tayo is half-white he may assume that he is better than all of them, mixed blood is dirty blood. Tayo's friend, Emo, constantly criticizes Tayo for being part Indian, part white, calling him a "half-breed" and frequently taunting him and cracking jokes about his race.
It is clear that the full-blooded Native Americans are considered better than the half-blooded Native Americans.

Native Americans are also viewed as being above the Japanese that Emo, Harley and Tayo fought against in World War II. Emo refers to the Japanese as "Japs" and takes pride in his collection of teeth he has from the war which we obtained by knocking the teeth of Japanese soldiers out during battle. Emo proclaims that the U.S. Army was the best and that they "butcher every Jap they we found." He also had no problem admitting to his friends that he thinks that the U.S. should have "blew them all to hell. We should have dropped bombs on all the rest and blown them off the face of the earth." These statements made by Emo create disturbing images, but they provide the reader with a hierarchy of race within the Native American culture.

"She had some horses" by Joy Harjo

In "She had some horses", Joy Harjo metaphorically uses horses to represent the struggles the female speaker is going through and the contradicting thoughts that she is attempting reconcile. Harjo uses many contrasting images to convey this throughout the poem. In the first stanza, Harjo compares the horses to "fur and teeth", an image that implies that the horses are strong and protective. Then, Harjo contradicts her previous comparison by saying that the horses were "clay and they would break". This image personifies the horses as weak. Many contradictory statements such as this one appear in the poem like when Harjo says that the female speaker has had horses "who lied" and horses "who told the truth, who were stripped bare of their tongues". In contrasting these ideas, Harjo is trying to show the instability of the female speaker and her indecisiveness.
I do not agree with Harjo when she says that the horses are neither male nor female because the impression that I get from the poem is that the horses are male. In the examples I used previously, comparing horses to men makes sense. The female speaker could have had "horses" who "fur and teeth" and others who were "clay and they would break". The same goes for having had "horses who lied" and horses "who told the truth". This poem is the speaker's internal battle about men, how to understand their ways and how to deal with what has happened to her in the past. If the horses are indeed male, the line "She had horses who tried to save her, who climbed in her bed at night and prayed as they raped her" has a very disturbing truth to it. The female speaker appears to have been raped in the past, possibly more than once as horses is plural, so she has many issues with men. What has happened in past relationships or interactions with men have been traumatizing. That is not to say that the speaker did not have good relationships with men, as she notes that some horses "danced with their mothers" or "waltzed nightly on the moon". However, even then I get the sense that there is a more pessimistic undertone that to these lines like the horse who "danced with their mothers" was a mama's boy and and the horse that "waltzed nightly on the moon" stayed out to late and never came home.
Within the poem, there are many truths that are uncovered. One in particular is how much the opposite sex can affect another person's thought process, emotions and well-being. The speaker obviously had a past full of lies and heartbreak, which is enough to make anyone second guess themselves and struggle to reconcile their conflicting feelings. The speaker expresses her final opinion of men in the last stanza when she says that she "had some horses she loved. She had some horses she hated. These were the same horses". To the speaker, the men whom she loved and hated were ultimately men and all the same. It is a depressing note to end on, since after the speaker's past, the reader wants her to be hopeful that one day she will be swept off her feet. But, the speaker concludes that, to her, all men are deranged horrible people and she cannot forgive what has happened to her in the past.