S.B. '08 Stories

Hope everyone had an amazing spring break! If anyone has any stories they wanna share (about themselves) I think everyone needs a little laugh haveing to come back to school.

Paternalism

I've said this word in class a few times, but I'm not sure you get what it means.
"The attitude (of a person or a government) that subordinates should be controlled in a fatherly way for their own good." citation
"Paternalism refers usually to an attitude or a policy stemming from the hierarchic pattern of a family based on patriarchy, that is, there is a figurehead (the father, pater in Latin) that makes decisions on behalf of others (the "children") for their own good, even if this is contrary to their wishes.
It is implied that the fatherly figure is wiser than and acts in the best interest of its protected figures. The term may be used derogatorily to characterize attitudes or political systems that are thought to deprive individuals of freedom and responsibility, only nominally serving their interests, while in fact pursuing another agenda." citation

Killed the indian saved the man

what does "have we killed the indian and saved the man? mean

Turnitin.com

3rd period - the class password is 3rdperiod and the class ID number is 1965580
6th period - the class password is 6thperiod and the class ID number is 1965653

The essay test must be sumitted to turnitin.com by 5:00 Wednesday or it will not be accepted.

This is the student user help manual if you need it:
http://www.turnitin.com/static/pdf/tii_student_guide.pdf

What does everyone think about John Pai. Do you think that he wants to go to seminary? or do you think that he objects to the western way of life?

The Indolent Boys

Did anyone find any similarities or symbols in the Indolent Boys that relate to anything we have read before in previous novels, such as reoccuring "stereotypes" of Native Americans?

BME

What is your favorite part of the novel Love Medicine?

The Two Articles I Handed out in Class

Both are from jstor. So if you're at school, click on these links to get the articles, or go to www.jstor.org and search for the titles.

Corporal Punishment and the Politics of Indian Reform
Robert A. Trennert
History of Education Quarterly > Vol. 29, No. 4 (Winter, 1989), pp. 595-617

Taking the Indian out of the Indian: U.S. Policies of Ethnocide Through Education
Donald A. Grinde, Jr.
Wicazo Sa Review > Vol. 19, No. 2, Colonization/Decolonization, I (Autumn, 2004), pp. 25-32

Kyle Ridley

http://www.nativethreads.com/nativepride/profiles.php this is a pretty cool site about modern native americans

mardi gras indians

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/mardi_gras_indians_show_plumag.html

Native American Pictures

Edward S. Curtis took thousands of pictures of Native Americans of almost every tribe in North American during the late 1800's and early 1900's just before their race was about to die out. here is a link to his collection. I will warn you now, there are a lot of pictures in his collections.
http://www.curtis-collection.com/curtis/

Tree Burials

Picture from the Smithsonian Institution

Kiowa History, Language, Culture, and Legends

Here is a great link for more information on the Kiowa tribe and what distinguishes them from other Native American tribes. Check it out and let us know what you find.


http://www.native-languages.org/kiowa.htm

Kyle Ridley

Can anyone draw parallels with what we are learning about now and the Civil Rights Movements? What are some similarities with the Blacks and the Indians during their reforms?

Back to the Indian Reform...

If you were living back during the time of Indian Reform, what role do u honestly think you would play?

Momaday Quote

N. Scott Momaday stated: "I sometimes think the contemporary white American is more culturally deprived than the Indian." Native Americans definitely have suffered more and learned how to save their culture and race. How do you feel about this quote?

What would you do?

Put yourself in the Native American's shoes. They are living in a world with whites. Would you resist completely? Or would you try to accept some of their values while trying to keep your own. How would you go about doing this.

Blogging make up

In addition to your regular two blogs per week, if you blog additionally today, tomorrow, and Friday, I will forgive some of the times you didn't blog as required this quarter. You won't be able to totally remediate your participation grade, but it will help.

Balance in modern times for Native Americans

I found a article that talks about "The Indolent Boys" which states that the play is "based on an actual event, the story weaves the struggles of a young Kiowa man, John Pai, who is looking for meaning and balance in a life caught between the encroaching white man's world and the world of his ancestors, around his daily life at boarding school."  While we have not read far enough in play to see that the main idea is of balance for native americans, i am sure that this article is correct.  the theme of balance between two worlds is an underlying theme for all the pieces that we have read so far and probably a theme for most other Native American works.  To read more about this article click below:

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1030200271 

Three Plays

While I think that most people can agree that Wherrit does not truly care about the well-being of the Native American children, currently i think his motive to work at the boarding school is questionable.  Maybe he is there because he wants to seem as some sort of a samaritan or hero. Or perhaps, he has such hatred for the Native Indian culture that he wants to eradicate it altogether, and feels that the best way to accomplish this is through the brain-washing of the children.  Do you think that perhaps Wherrit could have been modeled after Pratt??  Maybe he is like Gerry from Love Medicine in that he is a character used to convey the characteristics of an important person in Native American history.  What do you think are Wherrit's motives??

N. Scott Momaday

Here is a little bit of biographical information on Momaday. I feel like his name is familliar from previous works we have studied, but I'm not sure. Does anyone know if we have looked at some of his other works?
http://www.bookrags.com/biography/n-scott-momaday/

Momaday-Prologue+Scene 1 thoughts

in the prologue it seemed to me that Mother Goodeye was indecisive, jittery, and nuts in the way she spoke of the three children though she does elude to their significant names..it just seems like shes wired. in act one scene 1 to me Gregory has some heart in him but when a good thought pops up, Wherritt is there to correct him and steer him to the dark side. I also do not understand why there is alot annoying REPETITON.

Annoyingly Repetitious..these guys should get hearing aides..pg 16-17, "acoording to Manual" is is repeated, pg 17 "warm clothing" is mentioned 5-6 times almost the exact same phrase too, pg 18 they keep telling each other "i did my duty"...pg 20 "save their souls" is mentioned 3-4 times. additional repetitious occurrences: " harms way" , "whipped", "impertinence", and "dogs"

It reminds me of the Guiness beer commercials where the two old men keep saying brilliant..brillant brillant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WqO0Q_zNKA

your thoughts?

Jim Thorpe

I know this is kind of old and doesnt really pertain to anything we are doing right now but Jim Thorpe was actually mixed of Native American and White ancestry. If you have some extra time check out this link to wiki and let me know what you think.. he's a really interesting guy


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe

What has been your favorite Native American work we've covered this year and why?

INDIANS!!!

What has changed their outlook on Native Americans since this semester started? How has it changed?

The mind of the author

After having read Love Medicine, I think it's amazing how Erdrich creates such believable and intense characters all from her imagination and keeps their personalities constand throughout the novel. I guess this would apply to any novel, but especially Love Medicine.

Make Up Test on Love Medicine

For those of you who were absent, here is the info on the make-up test:
No family tree
WEDNESDAY AT LUNCH, US 2
1) Matching section
2) ID's
3) Quotes (10 or so)
4) short essay

It is similar in structure to the test I gave in class (but not exactly), does not have any questions in common with it, and is quite fair yet rigorous.

how does gemellarity relate to the book.?

also

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~mw132201/english/themes.html

great website..

Natvie American hero or drunken Indian ?

Ira's story is like a lot of the characters own lives in Love Medicine. I think i most see Henry Junior in that when he came back from war he took up heavy drinking and shut himself off.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdNV9JX-Xi8

Favorite Characters?

What is your favorite character in Love Medicine and why?

I really like Lulu. Although she does marry out of spite, I think in other instances, she is a very strong person. Despite losing Nector, the love of her life, to Marie, Lulu remains strong. I love this quote: "'She's had the floor and half the council on it,' I heard a whispered voice say. But I paid no heed and kept my head up proud" (283). While in the courtroom, Lulu isn't taken seriously; she's mocked. Her peers point out her faults, but she keeps her head held high. I like how other people can't take away her dignity. Other people are condemning her for her promiscuity, but the one's who are pointing fingers aren't perfect either.

Blogging

If u blog on Sunday, do u still get credit for the past week?