Native American Identity

The article talked about what it means to be an indigenous person in today’s modern-day America. How we as native people view ourselves, based on the dejected history that has happened over time, throughout North America. That we as native people adapt and change to live in the modern-day world of white culture and white privilege. That as we adapt and change we lose ourselves as native people, forgetting the roots from which we came, allowing us to be more alike in white culture.

And I too see this change, from year after year it seems we lose more and more of our identity as native people because our people are less interested. We become more fascinated by the luxuries and comforts of western society that we lose focus on what’s important. Like the article had mentioned native people have to be mindfully aware of their identity, of who they are in this world. Being indigenous isn’t for an act, it’s a way of life, a culturally rich lifestyle that has been around for hundreds of years and will continue. But as we progress into the future, the identity of native people will change, it’s the law of life. Change is inevitable, and we hope that as the future changes, we as native people will change, adapt, and overcome with tides of the future to understand our place within the world as we have known since before.

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Sharing One’s Skin

The article was a good insight into who Jeannette Armstrong is and what the teachings of The Okanagan are. The Okanagan Tribe is from British Columbia and is where her father was from. Jeannette believes in the ways of the Okanagan tradition and believes that being human is to be made of the earth. That to live in peace and harmony one must live within the four capacities of self. The first being the physical self, one part of the whole self that depends on things outside of one’s skin. The second was emotional self, being able to feel things and connect to a larger part of one’s self. The third was thinking and intellectual self, being able to create and destroy, without emotion one could be destructive of self and surroundings. The last was the spiritual self, the individual being, and the larger self. Being able to understand that some parts of us need great quietness to gain consciousness to the greater whole. This is what the Okanagan believe and say that if one loses itself and becomes displaced and doesn't find their way back they will die and perish along with their surroundings.

After reading One’s Skin I found most, if not all of it to be relatable. Growing up I was taught the way of my Pueblo Ancestors. How to respect the land was something that was taught at a young age. We as Pueblo people believe that the earth is more than just a commodity to be bought and sold but rather as a spiritual entity. We believe the earth to be magic in our creation stories, as being the perfect world, the last world. It is our purpose to live peacefully among all life and not to destroy but to create and to protect all life. I may not be from Okanagan but I do know the similar teachings of how to live a peaceful, healthy, thriving, lifestyle.

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Red Alert Introduction

Red Alert! Written by Daniel R. Wildcat, is a book that is based on climate change in the twenty-first century. In the book’s introduction pages 1-12, talks about indigenous peoples worldwide and the history they’ve endured. It mentions that throughout history Indian people have been at the feet of cultural genocide, but refuse to lose and that regardless they are still here, practicing their culture as a form of their identity as indigenous peoples. The book also mentions that we as human beings forget sometimes how to be human, and are just beings who have no respect for the web of life that surrounds us. That for us to change how we live we must become mindfully aware of what is happening around us. That we must know how our actions affect not only ourselves but also the environment around us. Daniel R. Wildcat mentions that indigenous realism is something that must be shared and taught to all people if we want to change how we live in the world. Do we want to live destructively? Or do we want to thrive? Carbon-based energy is something that many people depend on, but many of those people don’t realize just how destructive it is. As stated by Bill McKibben nearly fifteen years ago “ the most fundamental chemistry lesson of the twenty-first century is one gallon of gasoline in your automobile inevitably results in the placement of 5 ½ pounds of carbon dioxide, the major culprit to global warming.” The earth is changing and hopefully, a new era will come and our dependence on fossil fuels will end, for the betterment of mother earth.

After just reading the introduction I was fascinated by what Daniel R. Wildcat had to say about how he viewed the world. His views made a lot of sense and it was something that I could relate to as a native person living in an industrialized world. I too was brought up with the idea of indigenous realism, having respect for the earth and everything that surrounds us, being taught in my culture and my language how to care for and treat the environment with respect. To view things as living beings who are a part of the web of life, but I also find it difficult to believe that western society would want to believe in indigenous knowledge. For the past decades, indigenous people have been at the feet of cultural genocide all because of how the outside world views us as native people. They have tried to wipe our identity clean and have belittled our ways of life for years and this makes it very difficult to believe that western society is willing to change their ways of life for the betterment of all life and mother earth. But despite finding it hard to believe I also agree with Daniel R. Wildcat, that it is never too late to change, and there is always hope.

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Indian Rights and The Environment

“Indian Rights and The Environment” written by Armstrong Wiggins is an article that talks about Indian rights at the national and international level. In the article, Mr. Armstrong mentions that even in today’s modern world, western society and others believe that Indian people are a dying race, a big myth. When we as Indian people cover a good majority of the world population. Just the amount of native people in America would make up more than the whole population of Brazil, while the majority of the people who live in Brazil are indigenous people. Mr. Armstrong also mentions that even though Indian people are still here, many Indian people throughout the world are more assimilated into western society than ever before. He mentions that tribes or Indian people without land are usually the ones who are at the front of cultural genocide, being just generations away from losing their identity as native people. He also mentions that many of the pristine and green lands that we have today in the world are native land, land that is cared for, fought, and protected by indigenous peoples worldwide, Armstrong mentions that native people don’t fight for the land but rather that they are fighting for their way of life as Indian people.

After reading the article I was left with a sense of enlightenment. I felt that we as native people are determined to live the way we want to live regardless of what outside forces do to stop us. Being an indigenous person in the modern world I too see many native people who are more assimilated into western society than their own native culture. But I also see more young indigenous people who are eager to learn the ways of their culture and language, who are mindfully aware of their identity as native people and want to continue their way of life for future generations. I feel very strongly optimistic about the future of native people, we are resilient, strong, and creative people who have been around since time and memorial and will continue to be here for future generations to come. I just hope that as time passes that more people will become mindfully aware of their identity as indigenous peoples, we are the caretakers of our mother earth

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Red Alert: Chapter 1

In chapter one there were 4 main teachings, the first being “paying attention.” This lesson talked about being more mindful in the environment that we surround. Being able to be in the environment rather than become the environment. This allows us as living organisms to co-exist peacefully among culturally rich bio-diverse environments. The next lesson from chapter one was “life lessons born of experience.” This teaching reflected what we as humans already know about living on earth. It talked about how humanity has learned to live from trial and error. From the dawn of time, the first people to inhabit the earth knew how to live sustainably, they knew how to exist within their environment, being mindfully aware. The next teaching the chapter talked about was “you will have a seat at the table,” This teaching referred to indigenous peoples and how they were raised culturally. This teaching talked about how future generations will be in positions that affect not just one but the overall health of the population and environment. This lesson was reminding future generations that they too will have important roles to play. The fourth and final lesson was “a red alert of hope,” this lesson talked about how easy it is to lose hope and sight of what matters. It mentions that to go forward we must first look to our past to find the problems of our futures. Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge(TEK) is a key for the future way of life, it is something that will help our future be sustainable and thrive for future generations to come.

After reading chapter one from “Red Alert,” I gained more humility, wisdom, and insight about today’s world. The four teachings from the book were something that I could relate to as an indigenous person. I was brought up in the same teachings of respecting the earth and paying attention is something that I find very easy to do outdoors but fail to do in a classroom. At a young age, I was taught to respect the earth and everything in it because we as humans are not in control, and our time here is considered “borrowed time.” That the land and everything in this world is not just meant for us humans but all life. That we have to protect and care for things that are irreplaceable like land and water. We want to leave something behind for future generations, and yes I too have heard “you will have your seat at the table,” this reference is something that is mentioned throughout indigenous communities because we want a better future. We as indigenous peoples know that we have to protect and fight for everything in this world that life has to offer, not only for humankind but for all life and water. It is important to know where we come from and how we used to live if we ever want to live a sustainable and thriving life.

Zuni Relationships with Spanish

At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Spanish explorers and priests came to New Mexico in search of a fabled tale known as “the seven cities of gold.” To their surprise when they arrived there was nothing but indigenous people who lived in dirt homes and had no cattle. Spanish priests saw the indigenous as people who needed “saving” and so they began to convert the indigenous people’s religion into Christianity. After years of resistance from the indigenous people, Spanish rule ended in 1821 when Mexico gained independence from Spain. Now under The Mexican government, indigenous people of New Mexico were considered full citizens of Mexico and had rights that would be protected. For years after, the indigenous people of New Mexico lived in harmony until they were under a new rule again. Just after the Mexican-American War in 1846, the United States took over now present-day New Mexico and Arizona. Now under the U.S jurisdiction, the indigenous people of New Mexico were faced with new and more pressing issues that the U.S continues to introduce.

After reading the article I gained more insight and knowledge about how things used to be. I felt this article was important because we as pueblo people use treaties and agreements that were based in the past to determine how we live. Many of the treaties that we use today were made in the past, policies and treaties made between past formal governments are still being used today. Many of our land and water right treaties made by other governments while under rule are still honored today by the United States. But nowadays the United States is always putting entirely new pressures on indigenous communities, and indigenous communities are having to fight for their livelihood.

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Coeur D'alene Living

This year for SHP my topic was based on self-sufficient communities. For my research, I looked at information that had to deal with health overall. While doing so I came across an article that dealt with the overall health of the Coeur d'Alene tribe. In this article written by Rodney Frey, the people of the Coeur d'Alene tribe located in northwest Idaho, have a different style of living.

Within the article, Frey states key points about how the people of the Coeur d'Alene tribe live within the world. Through their culture and tribal religion, the people of the Coeur d'Alene tribe have a deep spatial and spiritual connection to the environment and land that surround them, a connection that the tribe has had for generations. Frey mentions “various ritual and ceremonial activities of the Coeur d'Alene serve as the means for acknowledging and giving thanks for the gifts bestowed upon the human peoples by the Amotqn (creator) and the animal peoples.” Keeping this connection strong, the people of the tribe continue to practice ceremonial rituals year after year, doing sweat lodges, fastings, song singing, and dancing are all ways they keep the spatial and spiritual connection alive.

After reading the article I felt a sense of enlightenment. I chose this article because I wanted to look at the different worldviews of people around the world.

Growing up In a pueblo community we're always taught to respect “mang auking huwe” meaning to carry respect with you in the Tewa language. In this article, I read a lot about respect and how the people of the Coeur d'Alene tribe interact daily with the environment that surrounds them. The Coeur d'Alene tribe in Idaho has shown me, healthy living can be found worldwide within culture and religion. That the way we as humans see ourselves in the world can make a big impact on how we live in it. As stated by Frey “it is traditional for the Coeur d'Alene to tell their children to be sure "never to take too much." Being mindful and respectful In this world is a good habit of healthy living and I feel the most important. It is important to have respect for the environment we surround but more importantly ourselves as humans because we respect the things we want to take care of.

Salish-Kootenai

The article written by Pat Williams talks about the importance of the National Bison Range and the impact tribes should have on the Range. The National Bison Range is located in Montana and is run and operated by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. The range is a total of 18,541 acres and is rich in wildlife, land, and natural resources that are available to the public.

The history of the range is in 1908 the US government forcibly bought the land “from the Salish-Kootenai Tribe for about ten cents on the dollar”(William). The deal was one the Salish-Kootenai Tribe wanted no part of but was forced and they got the short end of the stick. In 1988 the US congress “passed the Tribal Self-Governance Act for the purpose of encouraging Indian people to become increasingly self-sufficient, determinate, and collaborative”(William). This allowed tribes all across the states to become more self-governed and help tribes keep their homelands. The question that is frequently asked throughout the article is should the Salish-Kootenai Tribe be in charge of the National Bison Range? The author goes on to explain that he feels they should be in charge because they have held a connection to the land for generations and know best how to care for the land and resources. That tribes today are being more proactive and are advocating for land stewardship to protect their rights and identity as native people.

I chose this article to look at the Salish-Kootenai Tribe and how the tribe deals with land stewardship. Like all native communities, they value and have a connection to the landscape that is seen throughout their religion and culture. This article relates to my topic because my topic has to deal with land and resource management, the only difference is that my topic is focused on southwest tribes while the article is focused on the Salish-Kootenai Tribe. After reading the article I felt a sense of connection or reliability because I understand what it means to be connected to the environment and life that surround us. Growing up I grew up in a pueblo community where I was taught how to live in life. To have respect was the most important lesson they taught me growing up and it is something that I carry with me wherever I go.

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