Poor Sarah: Saved by God or Chained by Christ?

Poor Sarah was one of the most moving pieces of Native American Literature I have ever read. The story touches on a high controversial idea that people are saved by converting to Christianity. I grew up in a Catholic household, so my relationship with Christianity was quite intimate. In my experience with the Christian faith I noticed several different types of worship. The most common is much like the people surrounding Sarah, they go to church and call themselves Christian but fail to see the evil around them everyday. These people are incapable of righting wrongs because they do not see the wrongs as wrongs. Then there are the Christians that see the wrongs, these people don't always act upon their realizations of wrong doings. This is the narrator of the story, she acknowledges that Sarah is not being treated with the respect by fellow Christians, but does nothing. The third kind of Christian I came in contact with are so busy living a "Christian life" that they do not think of their own misfortunes. Chrisitianity aims for the last type of Christian as the prototype for all Christians. Marx says that religion is the opium of the people, meaning that religion blinds us to our own misery by vesting us in an afterlife. Sarah is the third kind of Christian. There are benefits and costs to be this type of believer. One benefit would be that the individual could escape an unavoidable life of misery. But, escaping misery is not a way to rectify and change the status quo causing the misery. The formula of life given by Christianity to its followers does not allow the individual to confront evil in this world. Christianity encourages its constituents to "rise above" and "WWJD," this is great and all but does nothing for the here and now. In my opinion Sarah needed to focus on the here and now, that is where her problem lies, not in some paradise that is set in some imaginary place in the clouds. Does Christianity benefit its disenfranchised converts or does Christianity just perpetuate their problems?

Comedrama: A Quick Thought

The fictional story Hard Riding uses comedic relief to strategically frame their issues for a more accepting message to the reader. This frame allows the reader to open their receptors so that the message is better understood and easily digested. The placement of comedy in a moment of complete sincerity allows the audience to receive a message without guilt. The comedy in Hard Riding is also used to show incompetence in the opposition and to take away its credibility.
I got in a large argument with my roommate a while ago and her logic was so counter to my own that I started laughing. I did not quite know how else to react and after a little she laughed to. But, this laugh was not your typical that-is-funny laugh, it was I am going to lose-control laugh. This tension quickly diffused in an "agree-to-disagree resolution." Who knows how much further the argument would have gone had I not laughed in that sincere moment. Since then we have laughed about the argument and come to understand each others' view points.
The author of Hard Riding is doing essentially the same thing I did, they are laughing at their opponent in an effort to break them down for a better understanding of their experiences.

Brave Bird Lookin' Good

Mary Brave Bird is an amazing figure of survivance. Her ability to comprehend both worlds, that is her heritage and the "modern" world, is superior to Apess and Boudinot. She and Boudinot were both educated in white schools, but Brave Bird after her formal education to immerse herself in her native culture. She and her husband were intrical parts to the survival of peyote ceremonies in the US. Brave Birds understanding of the two different ways of life comes pout in her tone. She knows that what AIM is doing is not completely right but, every one is so fed up with the government's broken promises that they have to show the government they are serious and not to be f***ed with.
Do you think that she is comparable to Apess or Boudinot?
One more thing, I love the part of the reading where wavy gravy shows up. Wavy Gravy lived out in California, he toured with the Grateful Dead and used to party in a clown suit. They actually still throw parties on his property. GO GRAVY!!!!

Female Native American Writers

I cannot help but to disagree with the notion that the use of anecdotal evidence by female Native American writers is of any less value to the survivance of Native American peoples. Numbers, charts, and graphs can only say so much. The numbers that Boudinot used to try and convince the government to give him money did not reflect the human element, it reflected the mechanics and proficiency of their community. Boudinot's style of argument may very well have given Native Americans more business and economic competence in the government's eyes, but it did not raise the respect for Native Americans as individuals, who think and feel just as everyone else.
Autobiographies have profound effects on readers in more emotional and personal ways. Anecdotal evidence, used in the right way, can remind us that we are all basically human beings and may even create a parallel between the readers life and the storyteller's. If this occurs there can be major influence by the storyteller. In the case of Winnemuca she is able to create a child's view of the white man and then shows how the changes with more immigration. No doubt, there was some aspect of her story that people connected with at least at some primitive level. This connection changed their view of Winnemuca, therefore anecdotal evidence in Native American writing is good for survivance.

Hope it works

Name Explanation
Hello everyone, I chose trails of thoughts because this is what this blog will be a trail of my thoughts concerning NAS 5 and Native American culture. I used trails because trails are not permanent and without maintenance and proper care they can disappear. My thoughts are never permanent and are always being shaped by my environment. I am sure that my feelings and knowledge of Native American culture will be much different at the end of these ten weeks.

Popol Vuh
I found the Popol Vuh very interesting, I love the style of story telling, the ideas of humbleness, the dark endings and irony. In lots of ways it is like many other creation stories. Being "raised" a Catholic, I cannot help but to see a parallel with the Bible and the trickery of Satan and Eve. But, there is a fundamental difference in the effect of the trickery on human existence. In the Bible, Eve is tricked and suddenly all people are damned with original sin. In the Popol Vuh the animals trick the gods, due to their arrogance. This suggests a truly equal respect for man and animals and gods. In western culture people are not raised to view animals as having intelligent thought as they are in many eastern and Native American cultures.