Blog 5

    I really enjoyed reading chapter 3 in House Made of Dawn. There were a couple things that surprised me and were really sad. The general story Benally tells of what Abel goes through is heartbreaking. I feel like this is just one instance of so many Native Americans that were relocated. The fact that they didn't have lodging ready for those that they relocated and offered to them to stay in the basement where people got sick was horrible. What Abel went through with all the torment from Tosamah and Martinez was depressing. Not just that it happened but that he internalized it and to go through it at all. Tosamah is also a Native American but seems to enjoy pushing people's buttons and getting under their skin. Martinez on the other hand is a cop. It sickens me to hear what cops did to these people.

    What I liked about this chapter were the stories that Benally remembers from before, describing the reservation he grew up on. I was thinking about my paper and the way he describes things is amazing. I could imagine these places I've never been to. Also, some of the stories reminded me of when I was little. I think it was mainly the way he described things, like waiting for a hot drink to cool when you're little. By repeating when I was little so many times in this story it really out me in the mindset of when I was little and could feel the excitement he was describing. Another thing was that I grew up in the LA area so when he was talking about Santa Monica and Westwood I knew where they were, I've been to these places. 

Blog 4

I want to talk about the poem "The Significance of a Veteran's Day" by Simon Ortiz. In this poem Ortiz talks about how he is a veteran, that his people are veterans. Not to the wars fought by the US as we normally associate with Veteran's Day, but to colonization and internal colonization. They have survived "insignificance" as he puts it. They have been put behind the curtains of history, meant to disappear, but they have survived. They are Veteran's of a silent war to make Natives disappear, to attempt to make them extinct. The colonizing people have said and shown that they believe Native Americans are insignificant and Ortiz is showing that they have survived this and that they are not insignificant. He is taking an American holiday, one that celebrates being an American, and uses it to show what the American people have done and that Native Americans are veterans to their war to rid of them, that they are still here.

Blog 3

     I know we talked about the Alcatraz Proclamation in class, but I wanted to talk about a certain section.I thought that this next section was really fitting. "Further, it would be fitting and symbolic that ships from all over the world, entering the Golden Gate, would first see Indian land, and thus be reminded of the true history of this nation. This tiny island would be a symbol of the great lands once ruled by free and noble Indians." I know it is partly sarcastic but it shows the truth as well. After everything the government did to the Natives it is only fair that they should have such a significant location to remind everyone what happened. I think that it would be a good reminder to show all that the Natives have gone through to the world. I also think that this would have been a great opportunity for the start of the ideas that would later be expressed by Linda Tuhiwai Smith. I feel that this is one of the main starters to the movements that is still going on.

Blog 2

In class we mentioned a little bit about the colors mentioned in both creation stories. They are repeated many times in both stories. In the Dine bahane the colors are black, white, blue and yellow, in the Popol Vuh the colors are black, white, red, and yellow. They are only off by one color which I find interesting. Also, red is mentioned in the Dine bahane repeatedly as well, but that was dismissed as a mistake. Looking at these colors I realized they were the primary colors, then black and white. You can get to any other color and even any other shade of all the colors. You can create with these colors and make new ones. It's almost as if it's the creation of the possibility of creativity. Except for the problem with that is that in each creation story, one of the primary colors is missing as a main and recurring color.

Blog 1

    We didn't really get a chance to talk about Victor Montejo's "Sculpted Stones" in class this week. There is an overall sense of hope in this poem. It goes through how the Mayans were lost in time and "forgotten by men" but that "after thousands of years...[they're] still on [their] feet." They're still here, proud of who they are even through all that has happened. It seems to me that the tone might not only be hopeful but defiant as well. Even though they were forgotten, they've always been here, alert and "vigilant among the silken cobwebs of time" as if waiting for the day they were to make their move. People have made the assumptions that these ancient people have become "extinct" but they have been here all along and have made it through everything thrown at them.

Post 1

     Nyani is thee Swahili word for baboon. I chose this name because a couple years ago I was hanging out with some good friends of mine and we were watching videos on how to learn Swahili. I just liked the way the word sounded before I know what it meant. It reminds me of those times with my friends and puts a smile on my face when I think about it so I decided to choose this name as a reminder to smile. Also, fun fact: baboons form large troops governed by a complex hierarchy.