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!!!!
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I definitely think that Bravebird is comparable to Apess. Why wouldn't she be? Women have always been disregarded in movements. Everyone underestimates the importance that women have in any historical event. In almost every instance in history, a large historical movement has almost always been led by a man. Now, if I totally misunderstood your question and you were referring to Bravebird's message, then I think her message is different than that of Boudinot and Apess. They all had common goals of fighting for rights, fighting to have a voice. Buuuuut Bravebird is different and you noticed that. Bravebird embraced cultural rivitalization and cultural ties, but Boudinot seemed to distance himself from that. Bottem line is Bravebird is comparable to Apess and Boudinot.
ReplyDeleteI think Brave Bird is definitely comparable to Apess, as both were very direct in their assertions. However, I have to say I like the Apess text much more than Mary Brave Bird's. Apess develops a strong voice and supports his accusations with facts, while Brave Bird just seems to make blanket statements that are suspiciously distinct, almost like she didn't think of them herself. I can't say that she wasn't interesting to read, but I'm doubtful on her survivance position at the moment. I've written this a lot today...does anyone else feel the same way? I don't know why, Brave Bird just seems really fake to me. Not as in someone else wrote her work, just more like she has nothing new to say. You make a really good point though!
ReplyDeleteNot everyone loves Brave Bird. Even within the AIM movement and the Native community in general, she has received a lot of criticism. She says herself that she was too young and shy to speak up when she was with AIM, and so people lament that she has become "the voice" of the movement when she wasn't as big of a player as some other people. For example, we didn't see her in the WSR film that we watched, which is interesting.
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