I really don't have any questions for Robert but I would like to
have heard a missionary man/woman speak about their impression of the
Native Americans at the time. What they were told to do and why the
methods used were chosen. I think Robert's story must be balanced by the
story of the mission's attempt to assimilate them into a very advanced
culture. To paraphrase the late (& great) Carl Sagan -- the track record
of less advanced cultures is not promising. The fact of the matter is
that their culture closely resembled primitive man around the dawn of
"civilization". Our advanced culture would have killed them all had we
not attempted to assimilate them. Resistance is futile. I don't agree
however with the idea that a culture must be buried to be assimilated. I
think our method was flawed. We lost an opportunity to mesh our
technological culture with a spiritual culture to the benefit of all
mankind.
I don't see any direct similarities to Silko's books but it does give
insight to some of the characters reactions in her books.
I think Silko wrote Storyteller as a way to expose many people to the
stories and myths of her people without having to verbally contact all
of the people. It was a way for her to expose people to a method of
storytelling and recording data that they would not have otherwise been
exposed to. I'm not certain that she was looking for anything more than
to tell her story so others could know her and her view of her people.
This will not change what I read. As an engineer I read purely for
entertainment. I prefer science fantasy books and will not switch.
However, I appreciate the insight into the Native American view of the
"coming of the White Man". I do not agree with their interpretation of
why we came and what we meant to do here but I find a kinship with their
treatment of nature. I think their views of our culture are primitive and
misguided by prejudices that they learned by their elders. The stories
past on their history but also their prejudice. I could fill twenty
screens with the holes in their interpretation and the ineffectiveness of
the methods incorporated to assimilate them, but I won't drag this on.
Suffice it to say that their inability to separate the intentions of our
culture from the actions of some of its people is a stigma that they must
overcome to maximize the benefits of this culture.
And that our culture's arrogance is going to kill it if we don't laern to
absorb and not assimilate, to combine not conquer.
I have learned a great deal from this class and although I didn't have the
time to truly enjoy it I will always have it in the back of my mind. I
have laerned yet another way to look at things and another approach to
solving problems. I will apply much of what I've seen here toward my
career.
And Dr. Day, I'm sorry I don't seem to "Flow" to you but it flows
perfectly from me. Perhaps your technical writing is out of place here?
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