Last Blog - ceremony

     I felt that ceremony was a great up until about three-fifths into the book. I was really drawn to the ideas she put forth such as Rocky trying to assimilate because I feel I am doing the same thing. And I could really relate to the story, however, as the novel progresses she really dove into ideas and culture, that I believe, only her people, and scholars who study this matter, would understand. I think that this is great if the book is intended for her people, however, I feel that it kinda 'sucks' for us who are not wholly familiar with the culture and are left puzzled at some occurrences in the book.

     Was the second girl that Tayo slept with married? I thought I read in the book she was, but I am not sure. And if she is, it doesn't seem like it was a problem that she was married and having sex with Tayo in the book.

Ceremony Reading

I can relate to this book and I feel that every single Native American should read this book. It really encompasses and brings so many fears and doubts to light. How can one be happy when they are fooling around with a woman, and then she finds out one is native american, and she screams and faints. How much can that damage who one is, how does one recover? how do you fight against a world that thinks you are inferior and 'repulsive'? A world that does not want you around. All the native americans felt american when they went to war, they were treated somewhat equally. It was like a dream for them. And they drank away their culture and who they were. I can really relate to Rocky because he is learning to be 'white' he is going to school, he is learning, he believes more in the books of the scientists than that of his own family. I am exactly the same. I want to belong. I try to live my life and forget my culture. I am studying because that is how you win in the 'white man's world.' , but it means for many sacrificing their culture. I wonder if this is worth it. This Native American predicament that we are learning about and is still occurring has really opend my eyes to how tragic it all really is.

fear poem

I really enjoyed Joy Harjo's poem because I could really relate to it. I have lived in fear all of my life but I am changing that, just as Joy Harjo did in her poem. In truth, the only reason we are afraid is because we let ourselves be afraid. I am so glad that I came to this realization at the start of college. Here is an example in her poem:
     "You have choked me but I gave you the leash.
     You have gutted me, but I gave you the knife"(Joy Harjo).
I grew up scared of different races except my own because my mother told me that every other race was racist. I did not understand when I was little, and I wish she explained to me, that there will always be racists in every kind of race, but that is not the whole story. There are bad people and there are good people in all races. We cannot judge all people of one race by the acts of one individual. This has been my favorite reading assignment we have had.

The emergence

I thought that this reading was very interesting and also very strange. The story talked about the origin of sexual lust and I found that interesting. I wonder if this big flood that occurred in the fourth world can be connected to the flood in the Bible. I also wondered if the old man in the story who had a grey beard was referring to Noah. These stories are very delightful to read because they explain how things came to be, for example the reason we have pubic hair was because of the coyote. In the text it said that the pubic hair made the penis and vagina more attractive. I would disagree with this. lol.
   It seemed to me that the women needed the men more than the men needed the women. The women missed the men so much that they tried crossing the river and drowned in the process. The men did not attempt to go across the river. I do realize that lust was not the only reason for crossing the river, the women also needed food. This makes the women seem more dependent on men.
    Where is love in this story? Is sex their only reason for them wanting one another?
    Saying that the penis and vagina shout for each other is a good way of describing sexual lust.

Why I chose this title for my blog + paragraph

     I chose this title because I used to tell people that I was Native American and that "Running Feather" was my name. People would often believe me because I look kind of Native American-like since my father is an indigenous person from Peru. I realize that by doing this I am being disrespectful to Native Americans and their culture.

     I felt a strong connection to Miranda's text when she wrote about speaking up and being a minority. When she analyzed the white college student's viewpoints and her own. She wrote about how minorities are generally quiet and shy. I feel that I fit into this category. In part I do not want to speak because I do not want to be judged. I do not want my actions to be taken as from being "Mexican." I want to represent only myself, but I feel that I in part speak for my "race."
     I feel that it is interesting to note that "self-hatred" is associated with minorities. I can relate to this as well. I did not like how I looked or what my culture was. I believe this is because I wanted to assimilate to the world around me. I wanted to be like everyone else, so I put my culture aside.