Reflection 16

This week the class continued reading "Ceremony" while doing other assignments during class. On Monday we discussed the book which I always enjoy because it helps me understand what I am reading. On Tuesday we had a work day and got to read for our homework that night, or catch up if anyone was behind. I was where we were supposed to be in the book so I got to work on the homework for that night. I love work days like that because it gives me time to relax and work on whatever I need to get done for class. There was a lot of reading assigned for those three days so it made me thankful that I got to read in class. The reading that was assigned was long but it was given three days in advance (assigned Tuesday and due Friday) which I like because it gave me time to read and place it on my own time instead of being required to read a large amount in one night. I was smart when planning the reading and read a quarter of the reading in class. Later that night I read another quarter plus some so that I was already more than half way done with the reading. Then, on Wednesday night I felt like reading a lot so I read until there were only 5 pages left that I needed to read. Finally, on Thursday night I read the last 5 pages and was on track for Friday.

In class on Thursday and Friday we watched a documentary called "Reel Injun" about how natives have been treated in films throughout history. I liked the documentary because it was very well put together. The music always went perfectly with whatever the people were talking about, so it added to the emotion that the film gave the viewer. It also changed because some parts were sad and made the viewer think about how wrongly natives have been treated, but then directly after someone would make a funny remark that cheered up the viewer. I think it did a fantastic job in showing how natives have been treated. In the beginning, natives were portrayed as something completely different than who they actually are. It showed them wearing headbands, which hardly any tribes wore, and was English spoken backwards which made them sound satirical. In every film early on natives were always portrayed as the evil killer that killed everyone they saw and were heartless about it. As time progressed, natives became drunks or stoic. They just stood there and would not express any emotions no matter what was happening. Then, Marlon Brando had a native woman reject an academy award for him because he wanted her to talk about how wrongly treated the natives were in film. After that incident, natives were portrayed much better and many films were made by natives. Now, there are a number of films that portray natives correctly, as well as the documentary I just discussed which shows how the portrayal of natives has improved up to now. I enjoyed the film and think it's very educating. My only critique for this week is that we have done a huge number of reflections. We did a reflection last week about what we did, Friday on what we thought of the documentary, and now this weekend about how the week. It makes it difficult to write these, especially this week because Thursday and Friday we watched the film and then had to write a reflection about it. Now we have to write a reflection about the week and that only leaves Monday and Tuesday, however Tuesday was simply a work day, so that only leaves Monday to write on this post. I decided to write about the film again, but it just feels repetitive because I already wrote a reflection about the film. Other than that, I enjoyed the documentary and the work day on Tuesday.

Reflection 15

Throughout this week, we read and did assignments based off the book "Ceremony". On Monday the class wrote down information that is helpful to start reading the book. We learned the names of all the major characters and how they are related. Then, we read some of the novel as a class to see how to book was written and to have any questions answered. I enjoyed starting the book together as a class because it allowed me to understand how the book was written and to learn where the book started because otherwise I may have been confused. Then, on Tuesday we were assigned an essay to write about the pages we read Monday night. I think we should have discussed these pages first because I had a few questions about the reading. We didn't talk about the quotes that we underlined or what they meant. I was unsure how to write the essay, but figured it out. Then after writing the essay we had time to work on the reading for that night which I am glad about because there was a lot of reading and it benefited me to start reading early.

On block day we discussed quotes from the book and what they meant. We also got our questions answered about what we were reading which helped me to understand the book. Discussing the book helps me to understand how the book is written as well as what certain sections mean. Also, other students point out quotes that I forgot to highlight, or didn't notice when I was reading which helps me annotate better. Finally, on Friday we didn't have much time to discuss the book because of a short class, but we continued to discuss the book and get questions answered which helps. We were assigned reading over the weekend and are going to continue discussing it next week.

Reflection 14

My notes aren't available anymore because I turned them in to get graded, so I'm going to use my memory to write a reflection post. At the beginning of the week the class was around the middle of the movie, "Dances with Wolves". Dunbar was awakened by buffalo running near his cabin so he immediately rode his horse to the tribe to tell them even though they were in the middle of a ceremony. The tribe was surprised but after that became very good friends with him for telling the tribe about the buffalo's. Then came the scene where they were hunting the buffalo. I am happy to hear that they didn't actually kill buffalo, but the 'dead' buffalo were robots. It impresses me hearing that the crew spent weeks preparing for the scene because it is very dangerous to chase buffalo around like that. The scene was shot beautifully and definitely showed what it may have been like when natives hunted buffalo.

In the end of the movie, another rival tribe is coming to attack the tribe. Dunbar finds guns hidden in the ground and gives them to the natives. The battle ends very fast because the natives shoot and kill the members of the rival tribe. The scene was well shot and captures a battle cry because in the end, a tribe member does he final yell before being killed which may be similar to what happened during battles between tribes. Then, the natives run from the white men because they are getting closer and will kill the natives when they arrive. In the ending scene, the natives find a place to settle and Dunbar leaves with Stands with Fist because he doesn't want the white men to find him and kill all of the tribe. The final scene also evokes many emotions because a member of the tribe is yelling bye to Dunbar and is saying that he will always be friends which shows a lot of emotion. Overall, I enjoyed the movie and think it helped me to understand tribes much better.

Native Study

Kiowa Tribe

The Kiowa tribe originally lived in upper Yellowstone and Missouri area, but then moved down to form an alliance with the Crows. After the alliance they were forced away by the Cheyenne and Arapaho to the Arkansas river. When arriving at the Arkansas river, they met the Comanche who claimed all of the land to the south, which led to a war between the two tribes. Finally, the two tribes made peace and the Kiowa became part of the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867 and the government assigned them a reservation in Oklahoma in 1868 where they continue to live today. 

The current chief of the Kiowa Tribe is Gui-pägo, meaning 'Lone Wolf'', however his title is disputed by Ahpeahtone. Ahpeahtone is regarded as the last traditional chief of the Kiowa tribe. Ahpeahtone traveled to Fort Washakie to find religion guidance from the Northern Arapahoes, but they sent him to the Paiutes in Nevada. After returning home to his tribe, Ahpeahtone became a Methodist and established the Kiowa Hospital in Lawton, Oklahoma. After his death, Ahpeahtone was inducted into the National Hall of Fame for Famous American Indians in Anadarko, Oklahoma. 

Ahpeahtone:

Gui-pägo:

Ute Tribe

The earliest Utes came into the United States and stayed along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The Utes may have been the reason that Anasazis moved into sandstone caves because much of the ruins of the Anasazis culture are found throughout reservations of the Southern Utes. When the Utes tried leaving their mountainous area to get food in other places they were fought by the Arapaho, Cheyennes, Kiowa, Apaches, Comanches, Sioux, and Pawnees in the east and northeast, the Navajos and Apaches in the south, and the Shoshones, Bannocks, and Paiutes in the west and northwest. Therefore, the Utes had to remain in the mountainous areas and continue to libe in Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico today. 

Chief Ouray is one of the most well known chiefs of the Ute tribe. He became chief when his father, who was the chief, died. Ouray believed that that war with the whites would end the Ute tribe so he decided to make peace with whites by traveling to Washington D.C. and meeting with President Rutherford B. Hayes where they created a reservation for the Ute tribe. After Chief Ouray died, Chief Sapiah became the official treaty negotiator and chief. In order to create more treaties, he learned English and chose the name Charles Buck, however he became known as Chief Buckskin Charley. He helped rescue children and women that were abducted during the Meeker massacre and became a very well known chief. 

Chief Ouray:

Chief Buckskin Charley:

I already enjoy the beginning of this semester because we are studying films. It is really interesting as we watch "Dancing with Wolves", to see how the director used the film to create different emotions in people. In the beginning of the film the high ranking officials are standing together at the top of a hill looking down on everyone, which shows that they have power because they are above everybody else. I also learned about the Christ pose which symbolizes sacrificing yourself for something bad in order to become something good in the end. When the general opened his desk a bunch of bottles made noise hitting each other, and even though it did not directly show the bottles, through knowledge you can infer that it is alcohol and the general must be an alcoholic keeping them in his work desk. As Lieutenant John Dunbar was listening to the general his face was half lit and the other side was in darkness. Through discussion I found out that symbolizes having experienced many things that people should not see, such as people getting killed in war, which shows that Dunbar may have PTSD. I also really enjoyed learning about the long/establishing shots. As Dunbar was riding to his station there were many shots that showed the huge prairie he was in. These shots are used to show the setting, as well as create a happy, good feeling emotion in the viewer.

In the beginning of the film I learned a lot about how camera shots affect the viewers emotions, specifically lighting, camera angles, and costumes. However as the film progressed I learned more about actions that the actors perform which create emotions in the viewer. As Dunbar was resting after riding his horse through the prairies he began stroking the grass with his hand because he felt connected to the Earth. Later, a native was feeling the grass as well. Even though it did not happen at the same time and the viewer may not realize, it creates a connection between the two humans. They both felt the grass which connected them to the Earth and showed that they may want to return to home. It also makes them appear peaceful because they aren't ripping the grass out, but calmly stroking it. Even though the natives may battle against the whites, these scenes show that both Dunbar and the native are humans that are connected in a way. The next parallel that I noticed was when Dunbar went to introduce himself to the natives for the first time. Dunbar was wearing his uniform because he wanted to dress as nicely as he could in order to have a good first impression with the natives. At the same time, the natives dress in their nicest outfits as well when they go to meet Dunbar. Even though their nicest clothing may be different, they both attempt to dress nicely in order to have a good first impression when meeting the other person, which connects them in that sense. Later in the film I noticed communication complications between the natives and Lieutenant Dunbar. Dunbar was used to waving at people to say hello to them, however natives do not do that and may even find it rude to stick your hand out at them. When Dunbar waved, they were confused and it caused communication difficulty between them. Finally, when the natives were sitting down to meet Dunbar he offered them sugar to put in the coffee he made them. It was a nice offer, however neither of them realize what that symbolizes. In countries that make sugar, the workers are often a minority that is treated poorly. At the same time in other areas the white people treat natives as a minority and treat them with disrespect. Although it was nice to offer the sugar, Dunbar was making a connection that the natives are treated poorly similar to the workers that make the sugar, however he did not realize that's what he was doing.