1. We start the day listening to author Sherman Alexie speaking to Michael Krasney on Forum yesterday: http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201210031000
http://www.fallsapart.com/ (author's website)
Reflect on the interview, especially what he says about identity. Many of the characters we are meeting in The Dance Boots struggle with identity. What is identity per Alexie? Do you agree? Use characters we have met in The Dance Boots as a part of the discourse with Alexie.
What about his comments on colonialism? Talk about the boarding school phenomena. Where does this fit into the equation? Reservations . . . poverty . . . disenfranchisement. . . .
Respond in about three paragraphs and then comment on a classmate's post.
2. Literature Circles.You have a lot to talk about.
3. For homework, reflect on the themes in three separate stories you've read so far. Talk about 1-3 more compelling characters. Reflect on 1-3 scenes that perplex you or that you needed more information about.
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5 comments:
Tamara Qirreh
Professor Sabir
4 October 2012
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie is a Native American writer and poet. As a child he grew up on a reservation and has many views on one’s identity. He talked a lot about urban Indians and their tribal influences. He spoke about his people with such compassion and always gave them credit for what they have gone through as a culture. According to Alexie, identity is a complicated mix of politics and religion, spirituality, culture, language and ceremony. Those complicated pieces are the components that make you who you are more than the blood count in your DNA. For the most part, I agree with Alexie because one can choose who they want to be by the paths one takes in their life. Alexie himself was raised liberal and has been rebelling against conservatives his whole life. Although that way of thinking in his community growing up was very common he never believed in it.
Rosetta Egan
Professor Sabir
English 1B
4 October 2012
Culture and Identity
Author Sherman Alexie tells the audience of Michael Krasney’s radio broadcast Forum that his great grandfather is Russian, but Alexie does not identify himself as Russian. Most of Alexie’s ancestors are Native American and he identifies as a Native American. Since he is a modern American Indian Alexie is also influenced by pop culture and this connects him to his American contemporaries. Artense, in the story “The Dance Boots” by in the book The Dance Boots by Linda LeGarde Grover, does not live on a reservation but she considers herself an Indian and this knowledge is reinforced by her Aunt Shirley’s intermittent phone calls. Both Artense and Alexie believe that their Indian identity comes from cultural activities, their communities, spirituality and politics.
Alexie’s childhood on a reservation in Washington State was difficult as there is alcoholism and abuse in his family. His father is alcoholic and Alexie is an alcoholic in recovery. Alexie believes that most Native American families are living with alcoholism and abuse. Artense is married to a husband who drinks and is abusive and she is attending Community College. Her Aunt Shirley calls Artense and tells her the story of her family and people and she includes upsetting stories of the abuse the Indians suffered under the cruel decrees of the U.S. government. During the phone calls, Aunt Shirley encourages Artense to learn about Indian traditions and to dance at powwows which are ceremonial gatherings of Indian people at which the attendees dance and drum and participate in other rituals. Aunt Shirley dances at the powwows she attends and she wants to pass on her Dance Boots to Artense.
Initially Artense is reluctant to hear Aunt Shirley’s stories and does not want to learn how to dance but as time passes Artense’s Indian identity is reinforced and eventually Artense does go to powwows where she befriends other Indian women, and dances in Aunt Shirley’s boots. Aunt Shirley’s task is to pass on to Artense the knowledge of Indian culture that was passed on to her and Artense’s task is to remember the stories so she can pass on the culture to the next generation.
Works Cited
Grover, Linda LeGarde. The Dance Boots. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press.
2010. Print.
“Sherman Alexie.” Forum with Michael Krasney. KQED, San Francisco. 3 October 2012. Radio.
Dung Le
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
4 October 2012
Sherman Alexie
Sherman Alexie defines Identity as something more than just DNA. He says that identity is combination of many things, such as cultural, language, community, politics, actions, ceremonies and spirituality. He later emphasizes his point when he talked about how he embraces the American culture, but by doing so doesn’t make him any less Indian. This collates with the short stories in the “Dance Book” about how one can preserve their culture through their language. So as long as Alexie remembers his native language, embracing other cultures doesn’t change who he really is (KQED).
The boarding school movement was a way to assimilate Indians through education; the Americans believed that with education the Indians would be more productive to society, “They convinced the leaders of Congress that education could change at least some of the Indian population into patriotic and productive members of society.” (Marr 2)
On the surface it would seem that there is nothing good about the boarding school movement however, it is an escape for the more aggressive approach from Capt. Richard H. Pratt. Capt. Richard is well known for his statement of “Kill the Indian, and Save the Man,” and was had a big factor in the Indian massacre, “A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one, and that high sanction of his destruction has been an enormous factor in promoting Indian massacres” (History Matters 2).
Works Cited
“Sherman Alexie.” Forum with Michael Krasney. KQED, San Francisco. 3 October 2012. Radio.
Marr, Carolyn. "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest." UW Libraries Digital Collections. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. <http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/marr.html
Matt Dillon-Guerrero
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
22 October 2012
I whole-heartedly agree with Sherman Alexie’s view on cultural Identity. Being mixed myself I understand his view regarding who we are. I am Irish, Nicaraguan, and Sicilian. I am Irish by my mother, and Nicaraguan and Sicilian by my father. Despite such a mix, I was raised in a more Irish Catholic manner by my mother. Sherman Alexie makes a similar statement when the Interviewer asks him about his Russian heritage. He responds with the simple answer that he is “not Russian”. He goes on to say that he does not speak the language, he has never been to Russia, nor does he have any familiarity with the Russian people.
This is similar to me with my Nicaraguan heritage. I am only somewhat familiar with the culture and the language of this nation. The only time I was introduced to this was when I was spending the weekend with my father during his weekend in the Mission District of San Francisco. I guess what I am saying is that although it is in my blood I will never be Nicaraguan. This is very similar to Mr. Alexie’s statement that he was not Russian when he was asked by the interviewer about what it is like to be among other nationalities a Russian/Native American.
I believe that we are what believe ourselves to be. For instance an individual could have been adopted by a family of a different “race,” and depending upon how the individual is raised it could lead to a complete assimilation of that culture. What I mean by raised is that if the family does not include the child in events that are very important to a culture then most likely this will not lead to the child being fully assimilated.
Marr, Carolyn. "American Indians of the Pacific Northwest." UW Libraries Digital Collections. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2012. <http://content.lib.washington.edu/aipnw/marr.html
October 8, 2012 9:13 PM
Anonymous said...
Matt Dillon-Guerrero
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1B
22 October 2012
I whole-heartedly agree with Sherman Alexie’s view on cultural Identity. Being mixed myself I understand his view regarding who we are. I am Irish, Nicaraguan, and Sicilian. I am Irish by my mother, and Nicaraguan and Sicilian by my father. Despite such a mix, I was raised in a more Irish Catholic manner by my mother. Sherman Alexie makes a similar statement when the Interviewer asks him about his Russian heritage. He responds with the simple answer that he is “not Russian”. He goes on to say that he does not speak the language, he has never been to Russia, nor does he have any familiarity with the Russian people.
This is similar to me with my Nicaraguan heritage. I am only somewhat familiar with the culture and the language of this nation. The only time I was introduced to this was when I was spending the weekend with my father during his weekend in the Mission District of San Francisco. I guess what I am saying is that although it is in my blood I will never be Nicaraguan. This is very similar to Mr. Alexie’s statement that he was not Russian when he was asked by the interviewer about what it is like to be among other nationalities a Russian/Native American.
I believe that we are what believe ourselves to be. For instance an individual could have been adopted by a family of a different “race,” and depending upon how the individual is raised it could lead to a complete assimilation of that culture. What I mean by raised is that if the family does not include the child in events that are very important to a culture then most likely this will not lead to the child being fully assimilated.
Works Cited
“Sherman Alexie.” Forum with Michael Krasney. KQED, San Francisco. 3 October 2012. Radio.
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