Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community by Jeanette Armstrong

Jeanette Armstrong in this article brings up some key differences between the Okanagan views and practices in their community and the more white dominant society. Armstrong primarily focuses on the psychological variety such as the Four Capacities of Self. The idea of the four capacities of one's being and self is a part of the concept of what we are as humans and the relations of the unseen terrain we traverse as we walk the land (p.g. 463). Basically it's an idea that the Okanagan speak of in their tribe about us as individual beings that experience life forces within our bodies. The Four Capacities of self include the physical-self, the emotional-self, the intellectual-self, and the spiritual-self. These selves are the main four capacities that work together and allows us to function and experience everything and anything.

Citations

Armstrong, Jeanette. “Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan Community,” in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds), The Case Against the Global Economy. San Francisco, CA, Sierra Club Books, 1996. Pp 460-470.

Native American Identity by Perry G. Horse (Kiowa)

The nomenclature, or the devising/choosing of names, of Native Americans or American Indians is interchangeable because there is no standard descriptor. Colonisation and the spread of Christianity has affected American society so much that it is racially stratified with White dominance which has generational pressure on our Native people. Over time Native Americans have become accustomed to the ways of White America’s societal standards. This includes the identification of our own cultural identity.

Citations

Horse Perry G. (Kiowa). “Native American Identity,”. New Directions for Student Services,Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 2005. Pp 61-68.