Cultural Representation in Native America
According to chapter four, Native American religion has become a commodity today because people have taken advantage of the practice of shamanism in order to capitalize on the potential monetary benefits that come from it. People are assigning themselves “leadership roles” but are really just vying for control and exercising their hidden agendas (Sutler-Cohen 45). Knowledge and spirituality are thus transformed into profitable commodities run by businesspeople instead of true natural healers. By saying “You can own grandma’s songs,” Sutler-Cohen is referring to the practice of taking Native symbols and religious icons and transforming them into trendy or profitable items, like sports team logos or CDs (Sutler-Cohen 53). The practice of corporate shamanism can come at a cost to both Native and non-Native American communities because it takes away from the natural and spiritual experience that was intended originally by shamanism. Whiteley, the example from the textbook, uses corporate shamanism to make money and collect a “hefty stipend” from speaking engagements (Sutler-Cohen 44). According to Sutler-Cohen, people who claim to be “corporate shamans” are engaging in “their own brand of capitalist behavior” (Sutler-Cohen 45). This means that they are still tying in their corporate interests when shamanism is supposed to be about the natural, non-material experience of spirituality.
According to Melissa Nelson, oral tradition and history is so important to cultural preservation and revitalization in American Indian communities because losing this tradition means that these groups would lose their culture and identity as well. Preserving oral tradition and oral history is the best way to preserve the Native American identity, especially now in a world that threatens to consume this identity and assimilate it into American culture. Nelson states that there are many challenges that come with using the word “traditional.” Firstly, traditional stories are used to teach lessons to younger generations, but many current generations do not care to listen to the stories, or simply do not listen, and therefore they do not absorb these traditions (Nelson 98). In addition, she argues that it is hard to distinguish what is still considered traditional among the stories that are told today, as these modern stories “span from the sacred to the profane” (Nelson 99). A piece of gossip should not be placed in the same category as a story that has been passed down through generations for centuries.
Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, are still being challenged by being in the United States while still being descendants of Mexicans, because they have lost their cultural hegemony and have become indefinite and lacking of concrete identity (Alarcon 120). Most Mexican people refuse to give up the term “chicano” because of what it represents for them as a culture (Alarcon 121). Alarcon uses the term “Tracks of the Native woman” because she argues that women of all tribes, regardless of their Aboriginal origin, have the same issues to face in regards to identity and culture. Regardless of ethnicity, Indigenous women are part of many contradictions that make it hard to define a clear standard for their own identity or what constitutes their group identity (Alarcon 122). I think that Latinos should be counted as Indian Americans on the United States consensus because this is technically what they are. Indian American simply refers to the fact that these are the Indigenous groups. Indian groups are only called “Indian” because of a geographical error. It has nothing to do with their physicalities, or their individual heritages, and is only meant to refer to the fact that they were “native” to the land before explorers got there. In this same sense, Mexican people were the natives of their land before Cortes and the others got there. Therefore, they should be considered with the same regard as the other Native American tribes and other groups that were subject to conquest at one point in time.
The survey on contemporary Creole identification suggests that many people are proactive about the inclusion of American identity in definitions of the Creole community today. The survey results show that the majority of Creole people believe that they should be allowed to identify as both Creole and Native American, by a significant majority (Jolivette 168). Many Creoles identify strongly with their French roots and do not wish to get rid of this identity, but they also see themselves just as strongly as Native Americans (Jolivette 168). In addition, none of the Creole people surveyed believed that they should only identify as one thing, whether it is Native American, white, or black. According to chapter 12, Creoles have dealt with racism and identity politics through maintaining a strong identity within the group. During the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, Creole people were largely affected, as they identified with many ethnic groups that were subject to racism during this time period (Jolivette 185). The movement caused them to struggle in self-identification and placed limits on the various identities that the Creole people had (Jolivette 185). By maintaining strong internal relations, the people of the Creole group supported one another and allowed for self-identification to flourish, even if no one was able to see this who was not a Creole. Creoles have worked to preserve their identity as both Creole and American Indian by strengthening the ties within their own group and paying respect to their distinct heritages from all identities. They have always united with one another by various aspects of their culture, including food, games, dress, dance, clothing, and music (Jolivette 185). By focusing on the cultural elements that bring everyone together, the Creoles are ignoring racial division and eliminating any ethnic divisions that people might feel within the group, which has led to a stronger identity.
When Sutler-Cohen uses the term “mixed-race outcasts,” she means people whose ethnic background consists of a multitude of origins and identities. She says that mixed-race outcasts are “rooted in exile from all sides” (Sutler-Cohen 134). These are the people whose parents have come from a multitude of places and have found various groups to identify with, creating a collection of sorts. She does consider herself to be an outcast because her Jewish, Native American great grandfather had moved around various countries, collected various identities, and married an immigrant, resulting in her own lineage (Sutler-Cohen 134). I agree with her when she states that one’s ethnic identity can be a result of privilege because many people during certain times would have been more favored if they were thought to be white. She states “if you could pass as white, you did” (Sutler-Cohen 133). Throughout history, white privilege has been a dominant ideology in politics and human rights, and many people would have attempted to pass as white if they looked even remotely caucasian. She also states that many people argue that an ethnicity or ethnic identity is not necessarily tied to a physical place (Sutler-Cohen 134). Instead, it could simply be a location that one feels the strongest connection to, or feels very spiritual about.
Works Cited
Textbook.
