3. Nature
In “A Map to the Next World”, Joy Harjo uses mapping to show where
their territory is and what belongs to them
She wants these people to have a better life to have a new world
Wants to make sure these people understand that you have to be independent
Confront the things you are scared of
4. Nature continued…
In “Impressions of an Indian childhood”,
Zitkála-Šá (Z) tells the story of a young
Indain girl who’s life was about to change.
This girl is very curious about a lot of things.
She is curious why her mother never wants
her to talk about why she cries
Zitkála-Šá is trying to emphasize that it is
important where you come from and that it
is also important for you to know where you
come from.
5. Nature continued…
She also is curious when she learns about her culture and legends of where she
is from.
“ After the warrior's story was finished, I asked the old woman the meaning of the
blue lines on her chin, looking all the while out of the corners of my eyes at the
warrior with the star on his forehead. I was a little afraid that he would rebuke me for
my boldness. Here the old woman began: "Why, my grandchild, they are signs, –
secret signs I dare not tell you. I shall, however, tell you a wonderful story about a
woman who had a cross tattooed upon each of her cheeks." It was a long story of a
woman whose magic power lay hidden behind the marks upon her face. I fell asleep
before the story was completed.”
6. Nature continued…
She also loved making beads with her mother
“Always after these confining lessons I was wild with surplus spirits, and found joyous relief
in running loose in the open again. Many a summer afternoon, a party of four or five of
my playmates roamed over the hills with me. We each carried a light sharpened rod about
four feet long, with which we pried up certain sweet roots. When we had eaten all the
choice roots we chanced upon, we shouldered our rods and strayed off into patches of a
stalky plant under whose yellow blossoms we found little crystal drops of gum. Drop by
drop we gathered this nature's rock-candy, until each of us could boast of a lump the size
of a small bird's egg. Soon satiated with its woody flavor, we tossed away our gum, to
return again to the sweet roots. I remember well how we used to exchange our necklaces,
beaded belts, and sometimes even our moccasins. We pretended to offer them as gifts to
one another. We delighted in impersonating our own mothers. We talked of things we had
heard them say in their conversations. We imitated their various manners, even to the
inflection of their voices. In the lap of the prairie we seated ourselves upon our feet; and
leaning our painted cheeks in the palms of our hands, we rested our elbows on our knees,
and bent forward as old women were most accustomed to do.”
This shows that she was proud of where she came from and was not afraid to show it
7. Religion
Harjo states that religion is an important factor
to the future
Your religion defines you
It tells who you are and what you believe in
Even though others may not believe in the same
things that you do, that’s okay. Everybody has
different values and beliefs
The only thing that matters is that you stay true
to your self
“We must matter to the strange God who
imagines us as we revolve together in the dark
sky on the path to the Milky Way.” (pg.45)
8. Religion continued…
In “Impressions of an Indian
Childhood”, the red apples
symbolize temptation
These apples are forbidden but they
look gorgeous and tempts people
into sinning
The missionaries are tempting the
children to leave their own culture
and be a part of the white’s culture.
9. Religion continued…
Z’s religion is quite different than Christianity
In Z’s religion she is not used to having an evil present whereas in Christianity the
Devil is present to tempt us into doing the wrong thing.
Z is not used to being tempted
The concept of sin is not really an idea in Z’s religion so she is not used to being
afraid to do something wrong and being punished.
“I never knew there was an insolent chieftain among bad spirits, who dared to array
his forces against the Great Spirit, until i heard of the white man´s legend” (p.29)
10. Survival
Joy Harjo emphasizes a lot about survival
Assimilation is a factor of survival
“We can’t easily see that starry road from the perspective of the
crossing of boulevards, can’t hear it in the whine of civilization or taste
the minerals of planets in hamburgers. But we can buy a map here of
the stars’ homes, dial a tone of dangerous love, choose from several
brands of water or a hiss of oxygen for gentile rejuvenation.” (pg.45)
Despite everything that is changing, there are good things happening
you just have to search and find them
Survive something you weren’t supposed to survive means..
Feel like you have a need to push forward because of what happened to
you or your family in the past
Make sure we keep surviving by surviving the things that our ancestors
could not survive
11. Survival continued…
In “Impressions of a School Aged Girl,” Z is very excited about finally getting an
education but it is not at all what she expects
Everyone is not treating her with respect
She is forced to cut her hair
Her hair has a greater meaning to her than others therefore the cutting of her hair
symbolizes the loss of her culture
“I cried aloud, shaking my head all the while until I felt the cold blades of the scissors against
my neck, and heard them gnaw off one of my thick braids. Then I lost my spirit. Since the
day I was taken from my mother I had suffered extreme indignities. People had stared at me.
I had been tossed about in the air like a wooden puppet. And now my long hair was
shingled like a coward's! In my anguish I moaned for my mother, but no one came to
comfort me. Not a soul reasoned quietly with me, as my own mother used to do; for now I
was only one of many little animals driven by a herder.” (Chapter 2)
12. Survival continued…
She feels out of place and does not know where she
belongs
She does not feel like a complete Indian or a complete
“white”.
She is sort of in between
She blames her school period in the East
However she decides to return to school
She decides this because she needs to gain respect from the
palefaces.
She knows she needs to survive in order to gain their respect
13. Closing Remarks
I feel that all three of these points are major themes in indigenous literature
Our religion is an important factor
Everyone has their own beliefs and values
We should honor and respect everyone's beliefs
Just because one is Christian or Jewish does not mean they are any different
Where we come from does define who we are
We should not be afraid to show who we are and where we come from
We should take pride in showing off our culture
We are who we are and we should not let anyone take that away from us
14. Closing Remarks continued…
The future is right around the corner
We should not be afraid to try new things
Always try your best
Look for new things because that can lead to something great
Have to work hard in order to achieve something
Confront the things you are scared of
Understand that you don’t have control over your destiny, you have choices, and
those choices can lead you on the right or wrong path
