For week 7 we were to write about things we found interesting about our classmate's blogs.
The one thing I found most interesting was that a lot of my classmates, like myself, have never heard of John Trudell. First off, I do not know why I have not heard of this man before; He is one of the most influential activists in our country's history and it is a shame I have not heard of him before. I go back and forth on my next point because I am 1. glad to see that I was not the only one who was not aware of such an important man 2. almost ashamed to no have been aware. I feel this plays a role in the public education system of America. I feel there is a fear of admitting to mistakes colonists have made against Native Americans and by not teaching students accurate information about Indians is a subtle way of hiding a type of guilt.
I noticed a few classmates had written about mascots as well. Being a pretty faithful sports fan, this was a topic I was/am very interested in. I think there is a "line" that divides the positive and negative feelings towards Native American referenced mascots. Personally, I feel that mascots of native descent should be allowed under circumstances such as asking a tribe for their permission and going through some type of class/seminar in order to learn certain traditions, influential people of the tribe, and their culture. Under these terms I feel that a lot of current controversy would/could be eliminated.
Lastly I read a blog that talked about how "we see" Native American Indians. He talked about how imperceptive we become when reading a piece of work Native Americans and how we apply certain standards and expectations to the work as well. We as Northern Americans become racists/prejudice in a sense because of the fictitious ideas that have been placed into our heads, but if we are dealing with an author's piece that is of "white" decent standards and expectations go unmentioned. I agree with my classmate that this occurs numerous times. Not only does this happen with Native American writers, but with any other non-white race. White Americans can be so obtuse...no wonder everyone makes fun of us...
