Thursday, April 07, 2005

bow to me! / Paha Sapa

So this morning, after typing a 337-word paper in 20 minutes, all of which was about how Native Americans have been repressed by big bad White Men and Their Corporations and Governments ever since the White Men stepped foot on Native American Territory, I was rethinking my life; maybe I should be a lawyer. I gotta say, I'm getting pretty darn good at saying whatever the teacher wants to hear, even though every time I take one of her tests, write a paper for her, or share my comments with the class, I end up wanting to throw myself out the window and think I'm doomed, since liars go to hell, because it's just a load of crap; it's not what I really think. It wasn't until this class that I realized how racist some Native Americans are -- it's enough to make goosebumps scamper up my arms.

A paragraph from my 20-minute, typed before I could see straight this morning, paper:

To add horrific insult to injury, Paha Sapa is the location of the most monstrous, immense tribute to four white men: Mount Rushmore. As one Native in the film spoke, “Every cubic inch of [the Black Hills] is sacred; carving any of it would be like putting graffiti on the Tabernacle.” White men and White governments, supposedly embracing religious freedom for all, limit Native religions; it seems the government is trying to, by either limiting or cutting off Native access to religious sites, wring their religion out of them. White men seem to have forgotten why they migrated here in the first place: In 1620, seeking a place where they could worship freely, without interference from the government. Not only have they forgotten, but they are treating Natives as the Whites were treated in Europe before they moved here; but where is there for Natives to flee this religious persecution?

5 comments:

JCL said...

See, that is the difficulty I am finding in this stoopid pop culture class. I just can't force myself to spew out how the gays, lesbians, women, and young black males are persecuted in this country. I am probably going to near-fail this class because I'm such a stinker.

Anonymous said...

See, Jenni, I've realized over the past couple of years that I have to force myself to spew out whatever it is the teacher wants to hear. I absolutely hated myself at first, and still, after nearly every class in which I have to do that, I call my Dad and fume and vent for a solid ten minutes. But, you know, I realized that, to me, for an A, it's worth it.

Anonymous said...

Ew. Yuck. I would take a lower grade any day to better form my own opinions than to conform to someone else's. That's hardly education.

a

Anonymous said...

I have my opinions; I just don't state them in class.

Anonymous said...

but yeah, it sucks.