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 resort 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 in 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 in 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, he places his faith and trust in the American Indian culture in which he was raised.
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. Tayo also believes that Christians view themselves as individuals, caring only about themselves and their salvation, not the community's well-bring, like the Pueblo pagan religion preaches. Everyone is connected within the Pueblo culture and it is clear that Silko does not approve of the selfishness of Christianity and colonization that it has had on America. Pueblo culture, in fact, embodies the Christian belief of fellowship and unity, however, because it spawns from a pagan belief, it is "Other". 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 in turn becomes the victim of” (Bird 6). Auntie denies Tayo the love and affection he deserves, judging him just like everyone else does, 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.
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