Dine bahane The Navajo Creation Story trans. by Paul G. Zolbrod

Because we are learning about the lives of all different indigenous people, "The Navajo Creation Story" has interesting parallels to contemporay life views. I am currently reading "Dine bahane'" in my mythology class. This creation story is in a way similar to Christian views and values depicted in the "Bible." For example, The Creation Story explains how a man and a woman come into existence. The story tells that a white ear of corn is blown into life with the wind into a male and a yellow ear of corn is transformed into a female. The wind created the life of the first male and female and that proof of ancestory is apparent in the lines of our finger tips. From those people ancestors were born. Is this not parallel to the creation story of Adam and Eve, and the procession of ancestors from them? Other religions and creation stories have parallels to the "Dine bahane'" and the "Bible" as well. If this is so, why is it so hard to allow indigenous people today to freely practice their religion and beliefs without being persecuted against. For example, in the movie we viewed,"KANEHSATAKE: 270 Years of Resistance" the rights of the Mohawk tribe were defied because the local community wanted to build a golf course on their sacred burial grounds. Why would such a religious holy site be desicrated in such a way. Should the people of the community who support the golf course as well as the government not feel sympathy for the Mohawk tribe? Would they not feel persecuted if their own cemetaries were boldozed for the construction of an amusment park? Why are people in America not more passionate toward the culture of Native American people when that culture in many ways resembles their own?

Don't Let the Sun Step Over You by Eva Tulene Watt

Ch. 7

Six Families at Chediskai
• Eva and her family stayed in Chediskai, while many families came and went around them.
* meeting different people all the time would teach a person lots of patients, but sometimes frustration will leak through. P. 166
Each Corn was Like a person
• Farming was the family’s means of income and sustinence. They got up early every day to do their duties.
* Eva notices her mother treats the corn not just as sustenance but almost as a part of the family by the way she shows such care for it. P.167
Lots of Turkeys
• Fun memory of barbecuing corn. The turkey come and sneak some.
* Even when you are doing serious things like cooking something can always go wrong, but it is best to make humor out of it.
Old-timer Beans
• Eva’s brother finds a cave that someone has lived in and finds beans there. He takes them to his mother, and she plants them. Eva compares the beans to an old timer beans because of the way they grow.
* certain types of foods are passed on through trial and error, and observation. They were curious about the beans, so they tried growing them.
I Shot the Deer
• Eva goes on a hunting trip and shoots a deer
* At that time on the reservation Native Americans were allowed to hunt what ever they wished when ever. Also, it was not looked down on in their culture to have a woman hunt.
Salt Banks
• Eva and her family got their salt from a salt cave. Two white men came and destroyed the cave
* the cave is sacred to the family. The white men died in the cave and tainted it.
An Ice Box at Chediskai
• The family builds an ice box to keep their food fresh
* cultures innovate and become successful.
A Food Cache at Spring Creek
• the family digs a hole and crafts a water tight basket that is large. They create a storage of food in it.
* cultures innovate and become successful
Not Many People had money
• They only got money for selling livestock
* money was not an object for native people. They helped each other survive by living off the land.

Ch. 8

Come on Down
• Eva’s step father takes care of the horses despite his lack of sight.
* animals know a person by their voice
Taming horses
• Charley Marley tamed the horses and had several methods in doing so
* taming horses along with other farm tasks seems like a difficult task to most but Eva makes it seem easy.
A Blue Donkey
• The donkey named Blue only lets one person ride it. A lady put her granddaughter on Blue while Eva’s mother was on the donkey and it bucked the girl off.
* some people do not head a warning.
What particular stories can you connect to?

How do these stories influence the family’s lives?

discussion on "Women and Change at the U.S.-Mexico Border" ch. 1 & 2

Women and Change At The U.S. Mexico Border

1. Women at the Border Foundations and Frameworks by Ellen R. Hansen and Doreen J. Mattingly
• Feminist scholarship: Women are portrayed as “active agents” not “passive victims (3).
• U.S. Mexico border- How is it perceived by native people in Mexico? How is it perceived by Americans (4)?
• The border is considered by native people as a division of space, and they often ignore its presence in their daily lives (4).
• Drawing of parallels between the division of space and categorizing people as “Mexican” and “American.” Both of these ideas “obscure” rather than “reveal” information (4).
• By definition, a border is, “a political boundary between two countries. (5)”
• Within the border a lot happens…1. people identify themselves 2. agencies are created 3. settlement is established 4. economy and politics arise and begin functioning (5). Are there any other results of the border?
• The main result following the establishment of the border was the initiation of the Border Industrialization Program in 1965 (5) What did this program specifically do?
• In 1994 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) changed the economy of Mexico, and the number of women employees has dropped significantly (6).
• NAFTA divided the economy while the earlier establishment of the U.S. Mexico border divided the land physically (6).
• Economic contrast: low-wage jobs and reduced government spending on the Mexico side of the border. Also, lower waged jobs were offered on the U.S. side as well as lowered government spending. Non-citizens from Mexico were specifically targeted on the U.S. side (7).
• Women were primarily left out of the decisions made concerning politics and economy. As a result of the oppression they suffered they empowered their “feminist scholarship” and began actively engaging in their own social justice (9). How did the women begin activism?

2. The Unsettling, Gendered Consequences of Migration for Mexican Indigenous Women
• Thesis of chapter: “changing lives of indigenous immigrant women.” (19)
• Why did families in Mexico migrate? “…residential relocation, more diverse economic opportunities for women, educational benefits for young girls, generational shifts in values and practices, and the criminalizing of some culturally accepted partriarchal practices.” (19)
• Migrating to another land or country had a huge impact on a woman’s sense of identity and their way of life (19).
• Quote on page 21 gives a sense of agony in being torn from one’s roots.
• Parallel between place and a person’s identity both are a form of (21) geography. Place is a physical geography and a person often links their identity to the geography of the place they were born in.
• The migration of indigenous people from Mexico due to the economy changed gender roles by establishing a “rural-rural migratory pattern” for boys and a “rural-urban” pattern for girls (22). Linked to idea that men should accomplish the hard labor while women do the domestic tasks involved with the household.
• As a result of the gender division women were left to do double the work. Including house hold labors and working in the fields to bring in extra money. page 24 quote

"The Five Sexes: Why Male and Female Are Not Enough" By Anne Fausto-Sterling

Several issues arose as I was reading "The Five Sexes: Why Male..."

First, Some people view a person's sexuality as a choice, and some see it as a person is born that way. This idea can be applied to the Berdaches described in "Changing Ones." The women and men describe their lives as not being out of place or defying the norm. They lead the lives they chose, whether a man completing women tasks such as cooking and making clothing or a woman fights as a warrior. both the men and women in these examples are seen as switching gender roles, and would be discriminated in western society.

The Berdaches are not segregated into categories as the "herm," "ferm," and "merm" are in "The Five Sexes: Why Male..." Therefore, according to most Native American societies sexuality is not categorized, and being gay isn't defined as a particular sex.

In our society, however, sexuality is highly defined, and one must decide a label for his/her self. The 'normal' label in American society is 'straight.' If anyone is any other sexuality besides straight they are considered obscure. "The answers seem to lie in a cultural need to maintain clear distinctions between the sexes." The cultural need to define a persons identity allows the majority of the population to connect with each other and help define who they are as a person. The majority of the population wants to be reassured that they are part of the 'norm.'

However, A person's "sex" can be defined in many many ways, but it is truly up to that person to decide how they feel. The article describes how people try to conform the minority to fit the norm when doctors intervene and catch 'deformities' at birth and have methods of 'correcting' them, but is a person not born how they are supposed to be?

This article, "The Five Sexes: Why Male..." brought to mind a book I have read on the same issue of sexuality and specifically pseudohermaphrodites, called "Middlesex" This book highlights many of the areas Anne Fausto-Sterling addressed in her article.

Synopsis of "Gender in Inuit Society" and "Conquest"

Gender in Inuit Society

Men and women in the Inuit society hold vastly different roles than those of men and women in modern American society. For example, it’s acceptable for men to have more than one wife, however, if a woman is caught having an “affair” she is frowned upon. Also, Inuit women must be submissive to men. This is apparent in their culture at an early age, and is seen through girls receiving more privileges than boys.
Therefore, in order for the Inuit society to function they must follow through with their cultural norms by dividing the men’s and women’s roles. However, in the social aspect of their culture men and women are equal in status.

“works cited”
Guemple, Lee. The Arctic: Gender in Inuit Society. University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.

Conquest

Andrea Smith depicts the realities of how Native American women and Native Americans were treated. Native Americans in general were treated with disrespect and were thought of as “dirty” people. Women were seen as lesser than both men and white men. Native American women were demoralized and dehumanized when they spoke their opinions. For, example, women were taken from their husbands and raped by white men while the husband had to sit outside the house and wait.

"Works cited"
Smith, Andrea. Conquest: sexual violence and American Indian genocide. South End Press, 2005.

"Many Tender Ties" Introduction

Native American women had a huge impact on the growing western culture during the mid-1800's. They helped society in the west grow by being involved in the Hudson's Bay Fir Trade Company. They immersed themselves in many ways including marriage with European men, and traded for items such as cooking pots, and wool for clothing. By marrying the men they increased the population and by trading for the domestic items above they made their everyday tasks easier.

The ways in which the Native American women participated in the Fir Trade in the west benefited both the Europeans and the Native American people. The Native women realized this and enjoyed bettering their lives, and living harmoniously with people (Europeans) who had invaded their land.

Therefore, peace was seen as a reward for the Native American women who perhaps knew that if they didn't create "tender ties" they may be in for turmoil between the Native Americans and the Europeans.

"Unsettling Settler Societies" Introduction & CH 5

Several feelings about early American culture came to mind when I read these chapters. For example, the American people are greedy. The fact that they targeted people of different cultures (specifically African Americans) to be slaves, and then later discriminated against them for being different shows greed.

Why are people seen as a negative part of society if they have a different culture, or appearance?

Review of Indian Women as Cultural Mediators by Clara Sue Kidwell

Native women were of great importance to the European culture. They helped keep their people safe by providing services for Europeans they encountered. For example, Pocahontas was John Smith's mistress and Sacagawea was the leader of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Therefore, Native women of any land should be recognized for the ways in which they have helped their people.

Review of "Native Women's History in Eastern North America before 1900"

Racism was prevalent early on in American culture. Captain John Smith is a good example of a racist who saw differences in culture as negative. He observed the Powhatan indians dividing their labor rolls, and assumed the women to be doing the majority of the difficult labor. This idea that Indian men are "idle" while women are worked to death was carried on into the 19th century and soon led to Native Americans being called savages.

Native Americans are apparently not savages however, American views at the time led to that idea because American men viewed themselves as superior and more able bodied than women. Men in the late 18th century and into the 19th century did not give women any responsibilities, unless they were lower class, and then had no choice but to work.

Women were not made to work because they were viewed as delicate. Therefore, men took on the laborous duties and provided income for the family. If men were lacking in their duties they were considered lazy like the "savages."

Some men however, did want to live lives like the "savages," so they were "lured into the wilderness. John Smith accused these men of "living idle among the savages." However, the men who went into the wilderness to live their lives like the Native Americans were probably seeking refuge from the confining way of life provided by the English colonies. The English colonies of the time were governing people with rules and constraints while Indians live a life in order to survive day to day. Native Americans differ in that they do not have a strict government, but provide guidance to their tribes as needed to coexist. This functional and uncontrolling way of life probably seemed ideal to the average Joe living in the English colonies in the 18th-19th century.

The view John Smith portrayed to the English colonies at the time can be contrasted with William Strachey who provided a more humane division of labor among the Native Americans. He did this by discribing the women as accomplishing the more simple tasks such as gardening while the men assumed the daunting ones such as hunting. Strachey is correct in his observations on division of labor, but still gives a negative feeling to them.

Again, this way of life practiced by the Native Americans is not lazy, savage, or negative whatsoever. In fact it is quite the opposite, it is successful for many reasons. The reasons for why it is successful is because men are more skilled hunters and women are equiped to stay close to home and care for children. Therefore, men can go away from the home for a period of time in order to do their part to provide for the tribe, while women stay home care for the family and farm.

Native Women in the Labor Force (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

Women have a history of being the majority in unemployment rates. In fact the number of women who were employed was behind by 10% in 1990 (http://www.popline.org/docs/1289/142224.html). However, in the future what are now the minorities (black, Hispanic, and Asian) may become the majority in the work force due to about 80% of the white employees leaving because of age and health (http://www.urban.org/).

The increase in non-native employees is facilitated by an influx of immigrant workers, approximately 50% in 1997 were Latin American And 25% were Asian. (http://www.popline.org/docs/1289/142224.html). An increase in young migrant workers early on will help replace the native born employees who are no longer able bodied.
Not only will non-natives replace the ill and dying but also lower class native born able bodied citizens.

In fact, by 1997, most immigrant women worked in financial, business, health, and other professional services (http://www.popline.org/docs/1289/142224.html). The employment of immigrant women instead of native-born women proves that if any one person can overcome a language barrier then they can be employed in another country. This also proves that culture is not a barrier when hiring workers in America. Therefore, when labor is needed the reasons why a specific person is being hired needs to be assessed. For example, will they work for a lower wage? Can they work for an extended contract? Etc. These questions and others often arise when non-natives are hired rather than native Americans making this a highly political issue.