The article Native American Identity, stratifies the author's opinions on what it means to be a Native American and how to accept the fact that Natives are declining their consciousness that should help identify one’s belonging in this world dominated mainly by white people. Horse has summarized his grandmother’s opinion into his own stating, “On the surface it seems we are indeed like them” (Horse, pp. 61). He is implying that Natives are shadows stationed behind white people formed by the sunset, which then the Natives become whole with the white majority in appearance and everyday life habits after the sun can no longer emit shadows. However, Horse believes that even when Natives have changed drastically due to assimilation, the people themselves should voice their reasons for identifying themselves as Natives or non-Natives. We can be controlled or be our own source of power that destroys negative comments on one’s identity.

Differentiating from our Native ancestors, the younger and future generations have no knowledge or reject such information on our past that links us to our purpose in this world. Just because we have adapted to this present lifestyle does not mean that Natives have neglected their tradition, but lost their sources to carry the lineage. Several Native elders struggle to read or write English due to knowing their only language, which is Navajo. For instance, my grandfather usually asks my mother to read his mail or any form of paper that is written in English. As a young Navajo woman, I think that Horse only wants people to feel like there's a need to be knowledgeable about our native tongue. Throughout my middle school years into my high school years, I am still taking Navajo classes which I enjoy because I can communicate spiritually with all Navajo connections (elders, land, animals, etc).

Horse, Perry G. “Native American Identity.” New Directions for Student Services, no. 109, © Wiley Periodicals, Inc, 2005. Pp. 61-68.

Armstrong described in her tradition, what and who connects to create the identity of someone. Using her native language to translate her traditional language into English, which is far more difficult to put into words. ‘When we say the Okanagan word for ourselves, we are actually saying “the ones who are dream and land together”’ (Armstrong, pp.461). Armstrong included personal connections to help emphasize her interpretation of identity. Creating imagery in her article using her memories of her hometown, she embodied the importance of knowing one’s tradition.

After reading the article Sharing One Skin, I agree with Armstrong’s statements on how identity is formed. “We are everything that surrounds us, including the vast forces we only glimpse. If we cannot continue as an individual life form, we dissipate back into the larger self” (Armstrong, pp. 463). Simplifying her words into my own, people and objects are what create one’s identity due to the person’s interests. Identity depends on the consciousness, to decide whether or not to follow tradition. Armstrong’s second sentence signifies that once a person who strays from their tradition, they automatically become consciously part of the world that consists of far more populated communities overthrowing our race and culture.

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.

The article, “American Indian History” provided many insights relating to the current state of the issue of Natives losing their overall identity. Not only does the author, Reyhner, describe Navajo people, but also people of different native communities. Tribes included are The Maoris of New Zealand, Native Hawaiians, and the Crees in Canada and Quebec who are fighting the dominant language forced upon them by non-Natives, which is English. All three indigenous races awakened their drive to find a solution after noticing how fewer youths were immersed in their culture. Reyhner depicts how action and having a voice is the answer to “revitalizing” native languages and the traditions.

As a young native woman who grew up in a non-traditional household, but had many opportunities to interact with my community which held Navajo related ceremonies, cannot give myself an excuse as to why my people are rapidly declining in their particular way of life. After reading Reyhner’s article, I’ve come to understand more of what and who prevents the continuation of natives cultures. It is the individual mindsets and connections to the world that will decide our motives. Reyhner states that “after visiting the Maoris and witnessing the revitalization of their language, which was largely due to taking ownership of the education of their children, Hawaiians started their own family-based immersion preschools in 1984” (pp. 2). The commitment to desiring the traditional needs for future generations can override the English language or even work with it, making children bilingual or multilingual. Other factors that lessen the growth of language revitalization are “substance abuse, gang membership, and domestic violence” and a decline in the tribe’s traditional values, including hard work and humility” (pp. 6). Hopi professor, Dr. Nicholas wrote this based on her evaluation on the Hopi children, which is what the Hopi elders notice from them. However, these issues also apply to the Navajo Nation as well.

Reyhner, Jon Allan. “American Indian Language and Culture Revitalization.” Education and Language Restoration, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2019. American Indian History, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=18626&itemid=WE43&articleId=185140. Accessed 25 Feb. 2021. Pp. 1-6.

Tsosie-Paddock’s article revolved around the importance of what belonged to our native ancestors. She completed interviews from Navajos and Hopis who experienced losing their entire culture. “Relocation” as said throughout the text implies that natives were and continue to be controlled by superiors who are not native. Majority of the younger generations called “relocatees” feel out of place due to assimilation taken over them. These people who became parents struggle with providing land to their children since the government denies such eligibility.

Related to my Senior Honors Project's current state of the issue, Aresta spoke about the Navajos and Hopis whose “overall relationship has been one of respect, accommodation, and sharing of lands prior to European American intrusion and colonization. Yet, U.S. officials and media attention have perpetuated an erroneous view that conflict has divided the two nations” (Tsosie-Paddock, pp. 2). Looking back to our native ancestors, we were one big family who helped one another when it was needed. However, relocation has broken those bonds, because access to our relatives became very distant and limited. Lands today are miles apart and the youths are failing to obtain and pass on traditional knowledge to fellow natives. One of Aresta’s interviewees, “Samatha believes the Diné culture cannot be comprehensively taught without the foundation of land, reinforcing the concept of how land and culture are intertwined. She states “We can try and teach the culture (only) so much off the reservation. Tell(ing) stories are all it becomes - we need to be there, we need to keep our way of life” (pp. 11). Samatha’s perspective is like every higher up’s idea, because after reading the first article (above), people have also relied on elders who were fluent in their native tongue to pass those teachings on before they take them with them. Reading how Aresta’s interviewees had that deep connection to know themselves as Navajos, I’ve learned of their pain which they don’t want to see their children or various native future generations go through. The current state of issue focuses on all Navajo tradition: land, language, food, clothes and ceremonies.

Tsosie-Paddock, Aresta. "Second-Generation Navajo Relocatees: Coping with Land Loss, Cultural Dispossession, and Displacement." Wicazo Sa Review, vol. 33, no. 1, 2018, p. 87+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A587973383/AONE?u=nm_s_santafeis&sid=AONE&xid=4a5ee3ee. Accessed 25 Feb. 2021. Pp. 1-25.

Stereotypes of Natives in my opinion are represented in movies, books, and drawings. From a non-natives perspective, an “Indian” is no one important nor worth understanding their cultural background to correctly identify one’s image. Frank Cushing, an anthropologist who was eager to “understand” Indians had been an example himself for Indians believing that outsiders were frauds. “During the 1870s and 1880s” (p. 7) he “decided that he would do everything necessary to make the intimate acquaintance of the people’ in order to obtain secret cultural information” (p. 7). Although Idians knew of people with intentions like Cushing, they fear that non-natives aren’t able to completely understand them in all aspects of their tradition(s).

As I stated above that stereotypes of natives occur in movies, I am referring to non-native actors who display the many false representations of our lives. “The ‘love’ Americans profess for ‘Indians’ takes shape around a core American identity that in an unconsciously configured way links with dominance. To borrow from Yi-Fu Taun’s words, ‘Affection (what I am calling ‘love’) is not the opposite of dominance; rather is it dominance’s anodyne -- it is dominance with a human face. Dominance may be cruel and exploitative, with no hint of affection in it. What it produces is the pet’” (p. 4). According to Yi-Fu Tuan’s insight, the intention of non-natives is the opposite of “love” and “understanding” for natives. It takes me back to my middle school Navajo class. In that class, my teacher spoke of how “Indians” in movies used red chalk/charcoal to paint their faces not knowing that the color red is only intended for the purpose of going to war. The knowledge actors lack lure their attention to fake information of Navajo lifestyles. Highwater, a man claiming to be Native who works in movies featuring “Indian” plays has “romanticized versions of American Indian identity” (p. 7) being the issue which “he has assumed a place for himself as the primary spokesperson for Indians, assumed it with an arrogance that belies a disrespect for American Indian communities” (p. 7). To classify myself as a Navajo while growing up in a non-traditional household is quite hard compared to non-natives because they actually do the research receiving false information. For non-natives to mock natives is being someone they’re not.

Shanley, Kathryn W. "The Indians America Loves to Love and Read: American Indian Identity and Cultural Appropriation." The American Indian Quarterly, vol. 21, no. 4, 1997, p. 675. Gale OneFile: High School Edition, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A54099681/STOM?u=nm_s_santafeis&sid=STOM&xid=27431dfe. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021.

The article “What We Want to Be Called”, stated the various answers of participants who decided which label of “native” identity best suits them. The author, Michael Yellowbird wrote, “The idea of dividing people according to a single race identity was the invention of Europeans, who socially constructed race to exclude and subordinate peoples who were not white and to privilege those who were” (p. 2). In other words, “Indigenous people” were sought to be inferior because of their major differences in lifestyle and appearance. The many labels such as “Indigeneous Peoples, Native Americans, Indians, American Indians, and First Nations Peoples” were how non-natives pictured various natives to be. According to Professor Escudero -Schafer, who is a participant in this text said, “newer, unfamiliar labels disrupt social interactions between indigenious elders and younger people '' (p. 9) due to different label preferences. It is also said that future generations are bound to use the labels they were exposed to growing up. “Four respondents feel that age is an important variable with respect to racial identity preference and that older persons are more likely to use the term “Indian” (p. 7).

The history context depicts the long lasting effects and debates between natives and people who stipped us of our identity. I think that preferences aren’t relevant to certain natives since identifying our original background traces back far many years we can’t possibly consider to be true. “The most often cited reason for the acceptance of the label is that it has been used for a long time and it is familiar to most, especially elderly, First Nations Peoples” (p. 7). I understand that as Natives, we should respect one another because we’re all being dismissed unfairly. However, the quote in my own words defines that some people may have not attempted to research their background for themselves and instead rely on older generations to speak for them. Through our indigenous peoples eyes, we consider our elders to be valuable assets and voices for situations that younger generations have no knowledge of.

BIRD, MICHAEL YELLOW. "What We Want to Be Called." The American Indian Quarterly, vol. 23, no. 2, 1999, p. 1. Gale OneFile: High School Edition, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A61402583/STOM?u=nm_s_santafeis&sid=STOM&xid=431f599e. Accessed 26 Feb. 2021.

The man who vowed to keep the Cherokee language and tradition alive was Dan Lybarger. As a Cherokee man, his devotion to teaching the culture allowed him to pass stories onto future generations. “Because first languages were oral, without a written record, thousands of years of knowledge depended on a rich storytelling tradition passed from generation to the next” (The Peoria Journal Star, pp. 2). Navajo tribes and Cherokee tribes - both indeigenous peoples struggle to regain their tradition. Lybargers students state their understanding to English writing and reading, but not of their own language. “She would like to be able to read her grandfather’s Cherokee Bible” (The Peoria Journal Star, pp. 2), a student of Lybarger’s class desired her language for reading and writing. Similar to Navajos, Cherokee people are creating eligibility for their people to feel connected to their identity.

Our differences besides trying to preserve our language depend on our motives. Our decisions on whether to or not take action on such matters will change our communities either positively or negatively. “Today, most people who speak fluent Cherokee are elderly, but enrollment is up in language classes” (The Peoria Journal Star, pp. 1). School created by the government is only for the sole purpose of allowing children to pass classes. It creates an atmosphere which tells students to pass the course only to make it in life off their reservations. Their mentality is set only on taking language courses to finish and forget them eventually. “Failure to understand language and culture facilitates discrimination and marginalization” (The Peoria Journal Star, pp. 3). The Cherokee and Navajo’s dying culture makes us targets for superiors to keep us as inferiors. Non-natives will mock us for having no knowledge of ourselves, which should not be their place to say, but it cannot be helped since we are failing ourselves.

"The gift of voices - Cherokee language classes at East Peoria church help keep tradition alive." Peoria Journal Star, The (IL), All ed., sec. CITY, 13 Mar. 2011, p. 1B. NewsBank: Access World News, infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/13601A07E5595338. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.

Native people residing in Oklahoma face the same challenges as Navajos in preserving their cultural heritage. The main lost Oklahoma natives are dealing with are their dances. “Not all the threads woven into a tapestry of a culture qualify thus as traditions. Some of our cultural life is habitual” (Jackson, pp. 3 and pp. 4). Jackson signifies that in his culture, older generations naturally dance whereas the younger generations should notice their presence, absorbing the dances’ hidden meanings. According to Jackson, common dances from his people include the names of animals. Navajo dances compared to the Oklahoma natives attend pow wows.

Under the influence of the majority, young natives became accustomed to today’s current lifestyle while avoiding who they were born for. “Traditions demand more active engagement, even if this takes the form of conscious rejection, as when a young adult, despite the pressure of family and community, prefers things foreign and new over those marked as ancestral and customary” (Jackson, pp. 4). The new world exposed to children impacts elders due to what is considered “normal” or “common today”. “Describing something as endangered is a way of both highlighting its special value (perhaps as yet not widely recognized) and of mobilizing people to intervene to prevent the loss--the disappearance--that is being evoked” (Jackson, pp. 4). Identifying as native clues non-natives of our challenges emphasizing what differentiates us. “Canadian Iroquois people involved in Longhouse ceremonies during the early 1970s, Michael Foster observed that "The notion of 'crisis' in taking up ritual roles tends to engender a pessimistic view” (Jackson, pp. 7 and pp. 8). The many issues rising in native communities drilled unhealthy thoughts into the minds of natives for being struck down for far too long.

Jackson, Jason Baird. "The Paradoxical power of endangerment: traditional Native American Dance and Music in Eastern Oklahoma." World Literature Today, vol. 81, no. 5, 2007, p. 37+. Gale OneFile: High School Edition, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A168586661/STOM?u=nm_s_santafeis&sid=STOM&xid=0f48aaa4. Accessed 12 Mar. 2021.