Your assignment: find some information about one or more of the following, give us link to site, and briefly discuss importance of what you have found in relation to novel. Youtube info also welcome--put up link.
1. Roundhouse
2. Sweat lodge
3. Ojibwe
4. Chippewa
5. Anishaabe
7. mythologies, folklore of Chippewa nation
8. rape and Native American women
9. doodem
10. Native American land and jurisdiction issues
Special note about our blogs: these count for 20% of your grade as per our syllabus. If you don't the blog by deadline, you cannot make it up, so please do the blog!
(homework)
Mythology and Folklore of the Chippewa Nation – The Wendigo
ReplyDeleteAs noted from the attached link, Wendigos are humans who become such monsters due to greed and cannibalism. This creature plays a role in the story that Mooshum recounts to Joe (179 -187). However, it goes beyond just being a creature to fear in the story Mooshum tells. Akii, the supposed wendigo only becomes a wendigo in the eyes of everyone after her husband with his traitorous heart convinces the men of the tribe that she is becoming one. The event that led to her becoming an outcast from the tribe can be seen as a woman desperate for her children, her baby to survive in a time when food has become scarce doing anything to protect her children. The story links itself to Joe and his mother and maybe foreshadows the events of the novel. At a future point, maybe Joe’s father will ask Joe to give up on his mother but Joe will refuse to and continue to search for a way to get justice for her. In the end, Akii had to save Nanapush from the trap he fell in due to his own devising. An interesting thought to wonder about is that in maintaining that the story foreshadows Joe’s adventure, will his mother save him from a trap he creates himself?
http://www.native-languages.org/windigo.htm
Niko--thanks for this exciting research about the wendigo--and especially for the connections you are thinking about. There will be another child and mother in the story soon so I am wondering if that will be a connection too!
ReplyDeleteUpon my research I fell upon an article titled "Chaw Se' Roundhouse (No. 1001 California Historical Marker)." The article gave some insight about this specific Roundhouse. How it's the designated place for ceremonies and social interactions, almost like a holy sanctuary for these Native Americans. It's a historical marker for California, because it was constructed in 1974 and has been a place for traditional celebration among the Natives. To correlate this to "The Round House" by Louise Erdrich, since this place is seen as a holy place where people on the reservation to come and feel safe similar to "a church" according to the article. It is an insult, almost a slap to the face for such a crime to be committed in such a highly valued place. It almost purges any power and feeling of security and blessing it once had. Stripping it's strong traditions and culture, similar to Joe's mother who was stripped of her power, comfort, and bliss. According to the article, the Roundhouse is available to the public only ONCE a year and otherwise considered a sacred place that is closed off to the public. This leads me to assume perhaps of course this person defied these laws and was a trespasser/intruder, or perhaps he's a Native to their reservation. . .
ReplyDeleteSite: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/content/chaw-se-roundhouse-no-1001-california-historical-marker/sie0F812CCBF1B126EA7
A topic that I chose to write about is the rape and domestic violence faced by the native women , it had not occurred to me hoe often native women would be attacked and it is being perceived as normal . The video that I chose had intrigued me because it occurred in the Ojibwe reservation , Minnesota and it also shows what the native women felt about what was happening . Most of them had a goal or idea that they refused to end up like their mother or family member , they did not want their children to ever experience that so they would find ways to educate their children and do their best for make sure they never have to experience the same trauma and hate that they felt growing up .
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TzguMqHkFU
Another video that found pretty interesting is this video where a women is being attacked by individuals in the streets verbally because she told them how whites are not welcome in her land. The way they treat her it is a if she was a prostitute selling her body on the corner but reality is that she was just expressing her thoughts and emotions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SDvMtUCuM8
The roundhouse was the center of village religious activities and a place of gathering for spiritual ceremonies in Indian villages. Most roundhouses were earth-covered, but after contact with non-Indians the majority were built with split-wood shake roofs, as they were easier to maintain.This roundhouse has a roof of incense cedar bark, a roof-style that probably did not occur before contact with non-Indians. The main entrance is on the southeast, facing the morning sun.
ReplyDeleteThe roundhouse is used for ceremonial activities by members of the local Indian community at various times of the year. Typically, four men dance around a fire to the beat of a chanter. A round house is very sacred and a place where people can connect to the spirit world. A roundhouse can be used to aid the villages problems act as support in bad times and a place for magical happenings. https://youtu.be/Wmzc8Q1fLF0
I did my research on the Ojibwe people. I found a video on Youtube that explains the 7 Sacred Teaching of the Ojibwe's (also referred to as Aaniahaabe). Firstly, they are very spiritual and rely heavily on the guidance of the elders. They look to elders as examples of a way of life. The 7 sacred teaching are associated with symbols.
ReplyDelete1. Respect symbolized by the buffalo (it gives every part of its being)
2. Love symbolized by the eagle
3. Courage symbolized by a bear
4. Honesty symbolized by Big Foot * the narrator mentions the significance of your word and reflects how a handshake symbolizes what a contractual agreement is today.
5. Wisdom symbolized by a beaver
6. Humbleness symbolized by a wolf. The acknowledgement of a higher power.
7. Truth symbolized by a turtle. This teaching incorporates respect, love, courage, honesty, wisdom and humbleness.
In my culture, like the Ojibwe's elders are fully respected. We do lean on them for advice and remedies.
http:// youtu.be.sASjfNI_IDO
Sweat lodge is a structure where a purification ceremony practiced among Native Americans. One’s mind, body, spirit and heart are purified by sweating with steam from which vaporized water on the heated stone. But these days, people who believe in spiritual power also practice it all over the world. Its shape differ from each tribe but many of them are dome-shaped structure, the entrance faces to east, and the fire pit is digged in the middle where heated stone is put in it.
ReplyDeleteFor Native Americans, every procedure has specific meanings. Each day begins from east with the rising of Father Sun, the source of life and power, dawn of wisdom and the sweat lodge symbolizes mother’s womb and the earth is our mother. Also the fire heating symbolizes eternity and beginning a day of a new spiritual. Before entering the lodge, participants bring some tobacco to offer to the sacred fire because they believe the smoke from the tobacco carries their request to the Great Spirit. The sweat ceremony has typically four sessions, called rounds and each round has a purpose.
The first—recognition of the spirit world
The second—recognition of courage , endurance , strength , cleanliness , and honesty
The third—recognition of knowledge and individual prayers themselves
The forth—spiritual growth and healing
Reference:
http://www.barefootsworld.net/sweatlodge.html
It is said tobacco or cigarette was birth in ancient American civilization for the purpose of rituals and ceremonies. Considering this fact, it makes sense that Joe and his friends smoke at the age of 13 and adults around them don’t upbraid for it much.
I went to the Native American Museum but I couldn't find something related to the topics. Only one thing it will be useful is tribe distribution chart in north east of America.
Here's the photo
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-Q15Ckh9eSHWGRBRkFsNGxDZzlGcENzb0g4SFkxUkhHcTI0/view?usp=sharing
Mythologies, folklore of Chippewa nation.(http://www.native-languages.org/chippewa-legends.htm)
ReplyDeleteI will Mythological figures and try to show you why it connects to the story from my point of view. First, Ayaash, a hero that fights monsters presumably Joe. Aayaash is said to be responsible for the world fire when the earth is both destroyed, and reborn. I say this because there is a lot of symbolism with the fire in the novel. he is the one that takes care of Randal's sweat lodge, the fire that the evil man ( Windigo) tried to laid upon Joe's mother. I realized that whenever fire is involved, the evil man appears. Randal told Joe when the sweat lodge exploded that he saw someone looking at him and that it did not look good, was that the Windigo? Maybe they work like fire and water, Joe being the water, or the man that takes care of the fire (Like the sweat lodge).
A doodem (p. 133) is the Anishinaabe word for "clan". This word first appears in The Roundhouse when Joe is asking Mooshum how he can get his luck. According to Wikipedia, some important, or notable clans are the White Crane clan, the Loon clan, the Bear clan, and the Eagle clan. Joe belongs to the Crane clan. These particular clans define who you are in the community, and the relationships that you had with other members of the community. If you are in a clan, it was most likely inherited. If it was not inherited, a "medicine person" would help you find out what it was, according to No Unsacred Place. Jonhston states that doodem or totem has a deeper meaning than just a clan; a doodem is "... that from which I draw my purpose, meaning, and being", (Johnston, Ojibway Heritage, p 61).
ReplyDeleteLinks:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anishinaabe_clan_system
http://nature.pagannewswirecollective.com/tag/doodem/
http://comingofagebetweenojibweandusa.blogspot.com/2014/05/north-american-indian-boy-girl-quests.html
This last link touches on what a doodem is and mentions key points/scenes in the The Round House when it is mentioned.
Research
ReplyDeleteDoodem- It means clan but as I looked on some websites it has no clear exact meaning. It can be totem or clan.
http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/doodem-nad
Rape and Native American women-
According to the article, a Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to fall victim to some form of sexual assault in their lifetime. In one article I had read earlier, many of the women do not experience the justice they deserve due to the fact that the rape mostly occurs by a non-indian man. When this happens the tribal police cannot prosecute them and the U.S. will rarely do anything about as well. They also said 1 in 3 will be raped from the time of twelve years old in their lifetime. It’s very disturbing to read that this happens to Native American women. The last quote of the article caught me as it says,”almost a lawless community”, due to the way tribal police have little leeway with non-indians and the U.S. does seem to care to act to help Native American women receive their serve of justice.
http://dartcenter.org/content/sexual-abuse-native-american-women#.VZu6UZVRHIU
http://www.justice.gov/ovw/tribal-communities
At the start of The Round House Joe reflect on the inability of some non-natives to understand that native land “ exists because our ancestors signed legal transactions” ( pg 52). This seems to hint at the sovereign nature of reservations, however, as Joe--and the reader--soon find that this isn’t always the case. The problem lies in over a century of various laws, congressional acts, and even a supreme court case or two all meant to limit Native American power on their own land. One law that is explicitly mentioned is Public Law 280. As an adult Joe’s reflection on a law that had long since lost its power before he was even born shows how such legal injustices continued to linger in the minds of the people and shade the dynamics of native and non-native law enforcement practices ( ref. pg 142). Essentially, Law 280 gave six states “all civil and criminal jurisdiction over native land within their borders” ( FBI). This is controversial for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that the reservations, in theory, lie outside if US control and should not be subject to US law. One argument for continued interference at the state level has to due with the presence of non-native US citizens on the reservations. In the supreme court case Oliphant vs Suquamish Indian Tribe (1978) the highest court ruled that because Congress did not give natives power over non Natives this group falls outside their jurisdiction. The court, along with Congress, has amended their stance somewhat but for the most part the United States’ position towards the sovereignty of these nations is steeped in backwards thinking and fear. Fear in that by giving Native Americans the ability to try non-natives on their land that for the first time the gaze of the “other” will be reflected upon those in power ( reversal of the binary opposition).
ReplyDeleteArticles of interest:
FBI timeline of Native Criminal jurisdiction
https://leb.fbi.gov/2012/may/indian-country-and-the-tribal-law-and-order-act-of-2010
Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliphant_v._Suquamish_Indian_Tribe
Atlantic article that is relevant to portions of Linden's speech
http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/02/on-indian-land-criminals-can-get-away-with-almost-anything/273391/
A sweat lodge is almost like sauna but used for ceremonial purposes across Native American lands. The hut is normally constructed of natural material but in the "Round House," Randall's sweat lodge dome is "bent and lashed together saplings," draped with military tarp. The significance of this spiritual realm varies but, in Native American territories, its deeply rooted in prayer and song. The ceremony is strict giving respect to the spirit world. Regarding the tradition everything and everyone has a purpose in the sweat lodge: for example: Randall seemed to have trained for some years to become a "Trainer" for how direct he was in instructing Joe, and Cappy as the fire holders. The entire set up (sweat lodge), though comical in the book, seems to be very scared, with spiritual with healing properties.
ReplyDelete"Crying For a Vision: The Native American Sweat Lodge Ceremony As Therapeutic Intervention"