A Note on *Black Elk Speaks*

The most striking images from the opening of Black Elk Speaks come from
the chapter describing his extraordinary vision. He starts out with a
disclaimer stating that the following text is not a story and then begins
telling a tale filled with unbelievable occurrences. He speaks frequently
of animals speaking and changing form, of trees sprouting out instantly
from the ground, and of dying things coming back to life. At first I was
unaware that this was a dream, and I questioned the fact that this book is
intended to be autobiographical. He speaks of this great vision as
something that has indeed happened to him yet the events that occur are
physically impossible as we know it. Not until the end of the chapter did
I realize that this vision occurred during a dream while Black Elk was
deathly ill.

After realizing this vision occurred only in Black Elk’s mind, I was
astonished at his ability to recall the events so vividly. Even though he
had this dream at the age of 9, Black Elk is able to reiterate the events
down to exact words that the “Powers of the World” had spoken to him. The
entire chapter is covered with colorful adjectives and not a single
detail is left out. Black Elk describes every color, every number, and
every event so vibrantly that I question his ability to recall the vision
so accurately when it occurred during a state of comatose.


In the next chapter, Black Elk reassures the reader that even he is
surprised at how much of the vision he can recall. The images often
reappear in his head and he often tricks himself into thinking that he is
in this alternate universe. As he gets older, he is able to draw further
meaning from the vision and better understand the events that happened.
Although Black Elk was able to fully recover from his illness, his
perception of reality was forever changed. I think that this was a
defining moment of his life and it was likely a large contributing factor
for Black Elk becoming a tribal leader and a famous Indian author.

~A.A.

Discontinuity in Winnemucca's Accounts and Actions

Although Winnemucca’s novel is a chronologically ordered account
of her life experiences, there is a lot of discontinuity in her accounts,
causing me to pause a lot to contemplate why she left such a breaks
between events. For instance, when she saved her father and his tribe
from the Bannocks, they learned that the Bannocks discovered their
attempt to escape and followed them, capturing Egan’s tribe and attempting
to retrieve her father’s tribe. Sarah, then, left them to call for reinforcement
and assistance from the General in order to save them. However, Sarah
does  not mention whether the general’s soldiers saved her father’s tribe
in time before the Bannocks captured them, leaving us to question the
condition of her father and their tribe. She does eventually mention
- though indirect and very much later- the condition of their tribe.
Why does Sarah hold back such important facts and wait to tell them
much later? Does she divulge the facts as they come to mind?

Certainty, the discontinuity is conveyed through her many “distractions”
or changes in her journey. Initially given money to go to Washington D.C.
to advocate for a better agent and to tell of the suffering of her people, she
sets off, only to find herself unable to travel any further due to a war. Then,
abruptly, she agrees to help serve as a translator to the U.S. army and
provide any services required by them. What happened to her initial
promise to her people then? Has she told them of her inability to travel to
Washington D.C.? Later on, after the war, they ask her to go to Washington
D.C. again for similar concerns and needs. It seems as if they always have
to raise concerns about their people and to constantly remind her to
tell the white men.

In addition to the discontinuity of her actions, she lacks a lot of information
in several events, leaving many events unexplained and almost blank. For
example, after agreeing to help the U.S. Army, the man that has been
traveling with her and paying her to take his little girl along with her travels
proposes to. The proposal was definitely unexpected and very peculiar
because she does not reveal any prior experiences with him or account of
him during their journey. What was their relationship like? Obviously, it was a
close relationship since the daughter was very attached to her. So why didn’t
she include their experiences in the journey that may have contributed to
his actions?

~J.L.

Power, Greed, and Betrayal in *Life Among the Piutes*

Throughout the of remaining book, Piutes goes through this fluctuation of
acts of kindness and acts of harshness by the white people. Many of the
agents assigned to the Piutes have all treated them horribly and are
consumed by greed. However, Mr. Parrish, a good agent, is introduced in
“The Malheur Agency.” He is the only fair and sincere agent that the Piutes
loved and wanted because he gave them food, money, and education.
When he left, Mr. Reinhard was assigned and abuse of the Piutes is
seen again. This theme of abuse of power by the agents is not only directed
towards the Piutes but also directed towards the government. The agents
deceive the Piutes by using the government in order to benefit themselves
(“put money in their pockets”). The phrase “Big Father in Washington told
me to tell you” is, often used as a reason to do whatever the agents wants.

Winnemucca is a perfect example of taking on the male gender roles in the
“Bannock War” by travelling, speaking on Piutes behalf, and being named
as “Chieftain.” The idea of Winnemucca being her grandfather in the
beginning chapters is further illustrated. On page 151, there is this portrayal
of Winnemucca when she was a little girl through the character of Morton’s
little girl. This scene of her having to leave and the little girl crying in
order to talk to the white people is almost the same as when Winnemucca
was a little girl and her grandfather went to CA.

There is this theme of betrayal in “Bannock War” when Oytes becomes part
of the Bannock and when  Native Americans not only start killing white
people but also any Native Americans who are involved with whites. I
can’t reallyblame Oytes and his men under the circumstances of being
abuses, starved, and death of family members. However, the most
horrifying scene I think would be on page 182-183 where Egan was cut
into pieces and his wife being scalped by Umatilla Indians.

I can understand why  Winnemucca people would think that she sold
out them out. Sometimes I feel as if all she did when her people suffered
was translate. She didn’t really say anything that would help the Piutes
other than the translation of what the Piutes said themselves. She was
very “obedient.”  Not until page 239, near the end of the book, does she
actually confront Mr. Wilbut and say something about the treatment of
the Piutes. Although she got a letter saying that the Piutes will be treated
fair, it seemed as it never happened. In a way she married a white man
and kind of just left her people.

Warfare and Mourning in Captain Truckee’ Death

This section had some interesting parts in it. Structurally, I thought
that the description of how the white men had been gambling and had
killed the two Indians for money was a little out of place. The chapter
starts out with Captain Truckee, takes a slight detour to the story of
the white men gambling, and then returns to center on the grandfather.
For me, it was a little awkward. I also thought it was interesting that
the man who was taking care of her grandfather before his death was a
doctor and not a medicine man, although the doctor speaks of entering the
Spirit land as well as entering into Heaven. This points to the idea that
the grandfather had taken it upon himself to absorb some of his ‘white
brother’s’ ways. This is really random, but I also thought that the idea
of the Spirit land itself was really cool. I’ve never heard of a religion
in which there is no punishment or reward for the good and bad done
during someone’s life.

The grandfather’s death itself was also notable. The narrator’s distress
at her grandfather’s death was of course understandable, but it was also
a departure from her stoicism and anger at having to encounter the white
man on his behalf. She even says  “I had father, mother brothers, and
sisters; it seemed I would rather lose all of them than my poor grandpa.”
To her, Captain Truckee was not just a grandfather but a “great man”; he
was what bound together the tribes and was her foundation. His delusion
kept her family moving, and with his death so died the veneer of
friendship with the whites. In addition, the mourning by his family was
also touching, even if unhygienic.

The chapter ends with descriptions of two different wars. In one, the
whites take prisoner two young Indian girls and tie them up in their
basement while feigning innocence. This is not the first time that whites
have preyed on young Indian girls in the story, and the young Sara
Winnemucca must have had even more reason to be terrified of the whites
after hearing such stories of kidnapped girls. After the girls’ tribe
takes them back and murders the two white men, they are called
bloodthirsty savages and a war begins between the Piutes and the whites.
The Piutes are “victorious”. In the next battle sequence, the Piutes wage
war against an enemy tribe that dug holes in order to capture tired
Piutes at night in order to eat them. They end up chasing the remainder
of the enemy tribe into a cave and setting them on fire, after many
attempts to have them assimilate into their own tribe. I’m not sure what
the connection between these two tales of warfare is. Perhaps the whites
are supposed to be compared to the bloodthirsty cannibal tribe in the way
that they as a country literally feed upon the land and wealth of the
Indian nation? Either way, the very last paragraph was littered with tiny
facts and reminiscences that were abrupt after a long winding story. I’m
not sure if the idea of her having reddish hair on her head, as well as
on a dress, is supposed to be significant here, and if so in what way?

Final Research Paper Assignment

Hello Everyone:

Below you'll find the prompt for your final research assignment of the semester. The same instructions will be distributed on paper in class this Friday.

Draft Due Date: April 23rd
Final Due Date: April 30th

Project Length: 8-10 pages

For your final research project pick two of the autobiographies that we have read (or will read) and compare them. Your topic/thesis may examine a common or convergent theme in the two texts. Use your thesis to clearly structure your argument, and be certain to provide evidence to support your claims.

You are also required to incorporate no fewer than three and no more than five outside sources for this project, to be cited in the style guide of your choice. We will discuss how to better use these sources in Friday's class, as well as how to annotate these sources in your bibliography.

If you have any questions, about the prompt or the bibliography, please let me know in class, via email, or on the comments section below.

Good Luck!

A Note on the Ending of *American Indian Stories*

The ending of Zitkala-Sa’s American Indian Stories, starting with the
chapter of “A Dream of Her Grandfather” heavily emphasized the
influence and negative effects towards the Indians from the
bureaucrats and white men back east. For most of the novel, Zitkala-Sa
shares many important stories about herself and her Indian heritage.
Both “The Widespread Enigma Concerning Blue-Star Woman” and “A Dream
of Her Grandfather” continued that theme of sharing oral tradition and
Native American Folklore. The first story was about a dream she had
about her Grandfather who died in Washington and gave her a gift in
the form of a vision for her people. The vision included a picture of
a village and the people rejoicing. This dream of her instilled a new
belief of hope, but I understood this dream as a vision of what her
tribe once had, and was now ruined because of the white people.

The second story focused on the Blue-Star woman who made a deal with
her nephews in order for her to own land. However, as the nephews made
a deal with the U.S. Government, the land given to Blue-Star Woman was
taken away from other Indians. Trying to help out his people, the
chief of the tribe whose land was taken away decided to write a letter
to the bureaucrats. Unsuccessful, he was tried for attempting to burn
down an agency building and sent to prison. For upon his release, he
had to give up half of his land. These stories provide evidence of how
even when supposed “good actions” were being enacted to help Indians,
the whites were really deceiving the Indians and taking more away from
them.

I believe that at the end of the novel she may have brought this
influence of the white man into a greater microscope in order to
perhaps inform the audience about the continued hardships that Indians
suffer from. The last chapter is titled “America’s Indian Problem” and
describes different scenarios of how the government has slighted the
Indians. For a while, I didn’t understand what Zitkala-Sa was trying
to have the reader get from reading her Native American Stories. After
finishing the novel, and reading the last few chapters, I believe
Zitkala-Sa was trying to inform people of the wrongdoings of the
whites by sharing her own experiences and maybe providing call to
action for people to try and make a difference in the future.

~R. G.

A Note on "Blue Star Woman" and Deception in Zitkala Sa's *American Indian Stories*

Obviously, there is a lot of deception between the white settlers and the
Native Americans, mostly coming from one side. The story of the Blue Star
Woman nearly exemplifies all the deception that the whites used to swindle
American Indians. Blue Star woman is poor, does not have any land, and
does not have an identity that states she belongs to a tribe. Since BSW
has no family, no one is willing to help her. Sadly, BSW is easy prey for
anyone who even pretends to help her, such as the two "nephews."

The two "nephews" deceive BSW quite easily into giving them half of her
land once they are able to get it for her. How they do get it from the
Sioux is unknown and probably further due to deception. The fact that it
is not mentioned in the story is a bit deceiving in itself. Did the men
deceive more people in order to get the land and make similar deals? How
much influence with the U.S. government did they really have to help a
little old lady get some land? All the reader knows is that BSW is awarded
a plot of land on the Sioux reservation.

The fact that the Sioux had to give up land to an unknown lady is
deceiving too because it is strange that they did not know the woman -
assuming she lived close by. When the chief of the Sioux was sent to jail,
he saw a dream of the Statue of Liberty's torch touching all Indian
reservations. He believed this was a good thing because light is a good
thing normally. However, his dream may have deceived him. The light was
white, which could represent the influence the white people are having on
the natives. The Statue of Liberty obviously appears friendly, but so did
the white settlers at first. The chief interpreted the dream as a good
omen, but it could have been a warning of things to come.

And it was a forewarning. The "friendliness" occurs when he is released
from jail and all rejoice. However, the trick comes when the two "nephews"
appear and tell him of the agreement they made to surrender half of their
land in exchange for the chief's release. Why would two American Indians
betray their people like that? Was the dream really a warning? How did the
two nephews get the land for Blue Star Woman?

A.L.

Tone and Female characters in Zitkala Sa's "American Indian Stories"

This section of Zitkala-Sa's autobiography seems to be a continuation
from the shift of her personal experiences to that of oral tradition and
Native American folklore. The folklore in this section in particular, however,
emphasizes on individual female characters: the warrior's daughter,
the woman who dreamt of her grandfather, and Blue-Star woman. The
women in the stories all share unique qualities that seem to separate
themselves from the typical stereotype of vulnerable and weak Native
American females. For instance, all of the females acquire independence
to some extent, a characteristic that seems to highlight only a few Indian
women in Indian communities. In "A Warrior's Daughter", the female inherits
her father's courage- if courage was a heritable trait- and boldness,
managing to rescue her lover as well as murder the man who
captured her lover. In the account of her heroic actions, the readers
see a reversal in gender roles, where her lover is deemed feminine-
being "numb and helpless, staggers nigh to falling" and she is
characterized with masculine qualities- "The sight of his weakness
makes her strong. A mighty power thrills her body...Tusee lifts him
upon her broad shoulders" (Zitkala-Sa 69). Accustomed to the
traditional depiction of Indian males being strong and able, it is
interesting that in this tale the male does not seem to contribute
to his escape at all and the female is the one who "carries him
away into the open night" (69). The unique reversal in gender
roles overrides the stereotype and reveals the power that Indian
females hold that is largely unaccounted for in Indian culture.

Although the woman who dreamt of her grandfather and the
Blue-Star woman do not exemplify as much courage as Tusee,
they are still very independent for Indian woman, but differ in
the tonality of their stories. The woman in "A Dream of Her
Grandfather", a political character representing the Sioux nation
in Washington, has a dream that seems to predict a prosperous
and hopeful future, a mystical feature in Native American belief.
In some sense, the woman's dream does come true since the
readers see in Blue-Star Woman that the government gives
some land to people who claim to be of Indian descent. This
bitter sweet reimbursement of the American government for
taking Indian lands marks the rise of other problems, where
people who do not have records of their identity are not given
land or land is taken from some Indians to give to new Indian
people claiming land. For instance, in the story of the Blue-Star
Woman, Blue-Star Woman seems to be a victim targeted by
tricksters of their own people- her nephews- in pursuit for land.
The tricksters- who are Indians themselves- that take advantage
of the traditional Indians' lack of knowledge of the American ways
to gain their land marks a bitter ending to Indian culture since
younger generations do not acquire the cultural values of respect
and of assisting those in need. Aside from revealing Indian stories
that uphold independent females, Zitkala-Sa uses the tones of the
stories to suggest the fall of the Indian tradition to American culture.
What other purpose might there be for Zitkala-Sa's order of the stories?

~J. L.

A Note on Gender Reversals in "A Warrior's Daughter"

“A Warrior’s Daughter” was a little different from the other stories we’ve
experienced among the autobiographies we have read.  Maybe because
we went from male authors to a female author that this story seems
unusual.  Different points of views may be expressed as the gender
changes.  A woman experiencing life in a Native American tribe is quite
different from that of a man.  Their roles in life are completely different
as seen through the depiction from all the autobiographies that we
have read.

Zitkala-Sa’s “A Warrior’s Daughter” was a little different because it
expressed a more romantic, love-story kind of style.  In addition, it
was also different in that we experienced a woman entering into a
masculine role.  The woman of the name Tusee conjured up bravery
in order to save her “lover” seemed very heroic, but different because
it was done by a female.  In past readings, especially with *The Life
of Black Hawk, *it was always the men killing other men, never a woman.
Also, quite surprisingly, she outsmarted a man and went as far as
killing him too.  I just felt that this was out of the ordinary and a much
displaced gender role.

At the end of the story there is an interesting juxtaposition.  The sentence
goes, “the sight of his weakness makes her strong” (69).  Generally, the
association is usually male with strength and female with weak, but we
see it switched here.  It was a woman that embodies this masculine
concept—strength.  This sentence just stood out to me because the
idea of strength and bravery isn’t too common among women of Native
American tribes. We experience courage, bravery, and strength among
the warrior men as seen through our other reading, *The Life of Black
Hawk*, but not too much with women.

Understanding that this was written by a woman, maybe we are experiencing
a sense of women empowerment by Zitkala-Sa.  To see a woman
outsmart a man and even kill him, to see that a woman can express the
strength of her passion seems to be very empowering for women.

Any thoughts?

~H. N.

A Note on "The Trial Path" and "A Warrior's Daughter"

With "The Trial Path" and "A Warrior's Daughter" we get our first two folk
tales that include war between Native Americans. What is also interesting
to note, is the fact that both stories put a strong emphasis on the role
as a father in Native American society. From what Zitkala-Sa has told us
she grew up in a time period when Native Americans were becoming
somewhatAmericanized. Many of the younger Indians within her tribe were
actuallycoming back wearing the "white man's clothing". Her mother even
began to let go of some of the basic Indian ways of living, and adopt some
Americanstyles of living. With this said we have to wonder where exactly
these stories are coming from, and what the significance of these stories are.

What really struck me was how much these two stories emphasized the
fatherrole in Indian society. In one story the father is the deciding factor of
what is to happen to the young man that murdered his son. In the other
story the father is the keeper of his daughter and deciding who is worthy
to court her and who is not. Perhaps this is Zitkala-Sa's way of trying to
convey what she missed out growing up as a child. Perhaps she saw the
role of a father in Native American society as important to the growth of
young Indians. These are just my inferences but In any case, this is
something to think about during the next class.

Something else I noticed in the story of "The Trial Path" is how the horse
was named "Ohiyesa". The name "Ohiyesa" must have some sort of
significance within the Sioux Indian culture, because Charles Eastman was
also known as "Ohiyesa". Both stories also emphasize love and courtship.
The family of the slain son find forgiveness and end up loving the
murderer as their own son. In "A Warrior's Daughter" the woman is so in
love with this man that she enters enemy territory and finds the strength
to save him from captivity. We also have to wonder if this similarity
between these two stories means anything. Did Zitkala-Sa intend to
emphasize the strength of Native American emotion? Again we have to
wonder within the context of her life what the significance of these stories
are, or if it's not that then maybe she finds it significant for her readers to
learn.

~D. A.

A Note on “A Dream of Her Grandfather”

After reading “A Dream of Her Grandfather” I came to realize that false
hope was common feeling Native Americans experienced. Although, this
section was only two pages, it has had the most impact on me. Native
Americans have fought for what little they have acquired, and it is still
evident that the present generations are still in pursuit for what
belongs to them. Zitkala-sa describes her grandfather as a Dakota
“medicine man,” whom was one of the first to be involved in the affairs
concerning the tribes in Washington D.C. She describes his efforts as
“humanitarian,” and once she grew up she followed in his “footsteps.” She
fought long and hard for the welfare of her people, but as we can see
today, they never got what they deserved.

This dream that Zitkala-sa describes was “eye-opening” for me because it
showed how no matter the circumstances, Native Americans always have
hope. In this section the granddaughter dreams of a cedar chest, from her
grandfather, but it was absent of what she had hoped were the treasured
relics that she once looked upon and coveted. Instead she found something
more remarkable, a vision. I found it interesting that as she gazed upon
the “vision” it grew more real to her to the point of exceeding the
dimensions of the chest. The vision was of a “circular camp...astir with
Indian people,” who stood around and listened to the chieftain crier. He
proclaimed to the people, “Be glad! Rejoice! Look up, and see the new day
dawning! Help is near! Hear me, every one.” I found this uplifting, but I
also discerned that this was false hope that the granddaughter felt.

In my opinion, Native Americans needed this hope, to get through the
tribulations they faced. After reading the last section “America’s Indian
Problem,” clearly Native Americans were always one of the government’s
last thoughts. The administration was clearly inadequate, and continues
to be to this day. Yes, measures have been taken to improve reservations,
but that isn’t enough. This false hope that Zitkala-sa generation had was
necessary to spark the need to fight for their rights. They needed to
have faith that everything was going to work out in the end, if they
didn’t it is possible to think that everything that has been done for the
Natives, despite how limited it had been, may not have happened. I have
many friends that live on the Yurok reservation, and from what I have
seen many have lost hope that there will be better times. It is true,
they are continuing to fight for rights to what is inherently theirs, but
do they see a “new day dawning,” any day soon; no they don’t. Much of
this hope has been lost, but my question is can it be restored and was
hope really needed for the past generations?

~A. Z.

A Note on “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” in *American Indian Stories*

From the second I turned the page to start the chapter titled “The
Soft-Hearted Sioux,” I knew that something was different. At first I
wondered why the segmentation of the chapter was accomplished
with Roman numerals as opposed to summarizing headlines.  After
reading the first paragraph, I thought it was kind of strange that the
author all of a sudden has a father in her life, and soon after, it
appeared that the author had changed sexes. This obviously was
not the case, but it definitely caught me by surprise that the author
would start talking about someone else in the first person point of view
in the midst of her autobiographical novel. Does anyone know the purpose
of doing so?
    However, while reading this chapter, I was immediately able to draw
connections to Zitkala-Sa’s life. This boy who she speaks of also spent
his early years of life as a customary Indian, but left home to go to a
white missionary school against the will of his parents. As he was
getting educated, the boy found himself becoming more and more
accustomed to the white man’s ways while further distancing himself
from his Native Indian culture. The skills and knowledge he was obtaining
was valued in the eyes of the pale faces but worthless in the eyes of his
family.
    Upon his return home, the boy was met with the unfortunate news that
his father was dying. His purpose was to spread the Christian faith to his
old tribe and initially he had an optimistic view of the outcome.
However, he soon came to the bitter realization that after all his
schooling, he had nothing to show to his parents. He impressed no one.
Even his own father at his deathbed said to him on repeated occasions:
“My son, your soft heart has unfitted you for everything!” “Your soft
heart will let me starve before you bring me meat!” Sure enough, that is
exactly what happened. The boy was initially content in his decision to
leave his family and go to school, but in the end, (as his parents
foreshadowed) it failed him completely. Although this story was a sort of
digression from the rest of the autobiography, I feel that Zitkala-Sa
inserted this piece in order to convey that she may have made the same
mistake. After she was unable to finish college due to sickness, she was
scared to tell her mother because she would have blamed her misfortunes
on the white man’s “papers.” She further states that “such a rebuke from
my mother would have been unbearable, and as I felt then it would be far
too true to be comfortable.”

~A.A.

A Note on Returning Home in *American Indian Stories*

Zitkala-sa’s writings in “Retrospection” particularly stood out for me. After visiting her mother, Zitkala-sa makes a startling realization about herself. She has completely discarded her faith, her connection to the natural world, friends, family, and her people. She reveals, “For the white man’s papers I had given up my faith in the Great Spirit…I had forgotten the healing in trees and brooks…my mother’s simple view of life…I had been uprooted from my mother, nature, and God.” Working with the “civilized” white people, she has lost her substance. Zitkala-Sa has left her nest, ventured out into the outside modern world, only to realize her true wish to reunite with her roots. Interestingly, she sees herself as “a cold bare pole I seemed to be, planted in a strange earth.” This image of a pole being planted in the earth is very indicative of
what is going on for her. Zitkala-sa, having separated from her home on the reservation with her people, has lost her roots and her branches. She has morphed into a cold modern pole. All she is left to ponder with is the idea that perhaps her life is not “real life,” but more like a “long-lasting death” where she doesn’t quite belong in either her old world or the “civilized” world.