Theory into Practice

     I was bad yesterday.  Ok, well, 'bad' in the sense that I actively engaged in a discussion that caused my students to question everything about our reading curriculum.

     Along with this course, I am taking LLSS 532, The Reading Process.  This past week we have been focusing on critical literacy and I found myself reflecting on Critical Race Theory.  This aligned with my students' reading selection of 'Go West!' an expository piece about how railroads helped settle the desolate southwest...

     We started a discussion about how inaccurate that statement is.  One student even pointed out that the events in the article occurred after their ancestors began settling near Abiquiu and Cimarron.  This then led to a search through our textbooks to take inventory of who is portrayed in the stories.  Sadly, the students were not surprised that none of our main selections contained Native American characters.  There was one paired selection, The Storytelling Stone, and that was it.

     This coming week we will be conducing research into pieces of literature that have Native characters that we could possibly read in place of the basal curriculum.  Our major hurdle is convincing the principal and the instructional coaches.

Chapter 4: Fools Crow and the Nineteenth-Century Blackfeet, pt. II

            Though indirectly, this chapter’s discussion of Fool’s Crow has brought up an issue that I have been struggling with since becoming a teacher in Dulce over four years ago.

            Fool’s Crow is a piece of literature that is historical fiction.  Though the characters and plot are made up, it is based on actual events.  One of these events is the Baker Massacre that occurred on January 23, 1870.  I have linked the Wikipedia page above because I feel it isn't appropriate at this time to review the events of that horrific day.

            The story, like many other pieces of Native American literature deal with issues of subjugation, assimilation, and many other atrocities committed by the culture of power since first contact in 1492.  These are topics that should never be ignored, nor glossed over, by teachers of students of any culture.  Here in lies my issue as a teacher of Native students.  Who am I?

            As many of you know, I am Anglo.  Born in Aspinwall and raised in the Borough of Etna along the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, PA.  I come from a tight knit blue collar, Irish family.  My family came to this country at the start of the 1900's, well after the Jicarilla Reservation was established in 1887.  However, I am still perceived as a member of the culture that committed the acts briefly mentioned above.  That is not my issue.  This is something that I have accepted as an inevitability, and moved on from the perceptions of my background.  My issue is who am I?

            Though I do not associate with the culture of power, I am perceived to be, so who am I to teach literature that discusses these topics?  I have only been living on the reservation for four years so I only have a snapshot of the lives of my students, so who am I to lead a discussion about the hardships of reservation life?  I have had no family members that have struggled with addiction, so who am I to present poetry and literature that addresses these problems?

            These are highly sensitive topics that need to be addressed.  I would be doing my students a disservice if I ignored them.  But who am I to do so?  What right do I have?  Through the years I have made friends with and discussed my concerns with tribal members who understand my issue.  The most common answer I receive is that these things should be discussed at home, but not ignored in school.  There is no clear cut answer to this issue.  I will just continue to do the best that I can for my students and hopefully come to an understanding on my role as an educator.

Chapter 4: Fools Crow and the Nineteenth-Century Blackfeet, pt. I

            Due to the length of this chapter and the importance of the content that it contains, I have decided to split it up into two segments.

            The chapter begins with the author providing an example of a piece of Native American literature that he uses quite frequently, Fools Crow by James Welch.  This novel is a piece of historical fiction that provides a glimpse into how life was like for the Blackfeet and their neighboring tribes during the nineteenth century.  During Goebel’s summary of the book, I skipped a lot.  I plan on reading the book when the semester ends and I hate spoilers.  If you would like to read a summary, one can be found here.

            Instead of what the novel is about, I chose to focus on the novel’s intent.  The book reflected heavily on themes common throughout many Native American texts.  The most important portrayed is that, “…being an adult means accepting responsibility for one’s own actions, taking a role in civic leadership, and giving back to one’s community” (48).

            This is a notion that not many outsiders to Native communities may be familiar with.  The way Hollywood has portrayed Native communities and customs has been off the mark to say the least.  Goebel reminds the reader that they should discuss issues of masculinity and warfare in regards to Blackfoot traditions because of movies and television.  In fact, a point that was made that caught me by surprise was that except in extreme situations, individuals were not forced to bend to the opinion of the chief or the majority.  Coming from a culture where we elect our representatives and then are at their mercy, I found this to be fantastic while becoming overwhelmed with jealous rage.

            Goebel also reminds the reader that student’s should be allowed to apply their own understanding and experiences to Native American literature so as to draw comparisons.  To me, this reaffirms the point that Native literature should not be viewed as a separate entity that we read in November, but a piece of American literature.  Period.

            The author mentions that Fools Crow, like most Native literature, is a gateway to issues such as manifest destiny, racism and the (im)morality of warfare.  In my next post I will focus on how literature can and should be used to address sensitive subjects such as these. 

Chapter 3: Early Native American Poetry

so much depends

upon

a red wheel

barrow

glazed with rain

water

beside the white

chickens

            To start my post about early Native American poetry, I decided to share my all-time favorite poem by William Carlos Williams.  This poem frustrated so many of my friends in high school, yet I am as entranced, dumbfounded, and filled with excitement today as I was over a decade ago.

            I still cannot understand Williams’ intent, and I don’t think that I want to.  I tend to shy away from online analyses because I enjoy the mystery in trying to unravel the imagery.

            One of the reasons behind my adoration for this poem is because of the meaning I find each time I read it.  My understanding tends to vary depending on my mood, my surroundings and other factors.  Perhaps though, the most significant issue related to this poem is the memory I have of debating it with my mother.

            We are very similar my mother and I, but we sharply disagreed when it came to this poem.  I remember the satisfaction in flustering her with my interpretation and her walking away because for the first time, I felt like she viewed my as an intellectual adult.  Since then she has ‘schooled’ me multiple times on other poems and works of art, but the memory of that debate is what makes this poem special.  Early Native American poetry is rooted in meaning making events such as this but, “…no body of American literature receives less attention in our classrooms.” (29)

            Poems, like songs, carry spiritual, religious and cultural meanings. Particular tribal groups would create and use poems for specific purposes.  Goebel provides a list of categories that many of these poems fit into:

·       Religious songs

·       Hunting songs

·       Medicine songs

·       Dream songs

·       Lullabies

·       Gambling/game songs

·       Personal achievement songs

·       Love songs

·       War songs

·       Social dance songs

·       Honor songs (30)

The author then goes on to express various ideas on how to read Native American poetry for non-native classrooms. 

            As a teacher in a Jicarilla Apache school, introducing the meaning behind the poems may appear to be a task that carries little value as the students are well aware of what the poems are used for.

            An idea that I did take away from this section was an activity that looked into the elements found in Native American poetry.  Some of the elements listed below can be found independently or with others depending upon the meaning or the author’s intent.  The most common elements are:

·       Repetition and parallel structure

·       Concrete natural images

·       Conciseness of sentence length and length o song

·       Frequently reflect a spiritual commitment, even in humorous songs

·       Imply a tribal, public audience that already understands context

·       Avoid the personal intellectualizing of much European and American poetry (33).

            At this time, I must be completely honest.  Until this chapter, I was grossly unaware of culturally relevant poetry as a form of literature that could be used in my instruction; partly because I have little to no exposure to it and partly because of my ignorance to its existence.  The chapter ends with a quote that sums up my sheepish feelings, “If you have an idea in mind of what ‘Indian Literature’ is, I suggest you reconsider” – Wendy Rose (37)

Chapter 2 - First Encounters and the Language of Race

This chapter, as you can probably surmise from the title, deals with the ever controversial Christopher Columbus and his policy of eradication and subjugation. 

It’s true that his policies and the policies that followed directly influence my students today; however, I found that this chapter dealt more with the definition of ‘race’ and Columbus and his perception in society than impact on language and reading, so I have chosen not to spend too much time on it in this blog.  The notes I took from this section belong in a history blog more than a literacy-oriented web log.

The following chapter on Native American poetry is much more interesting and relevant, so I will focus more on that in the next posting.

Chapter 1 Teaching Native American Literature: Reflections and Responsibilities

In this chapter, Goebel presents a series of questions that all teachers must ask before they introduce Native American literature into their classroom.  The questions are grouped into sections such as, “Why do you want to teach Native American Literature?”, “How should I select appropriate Native American Literature for the classroom?”, and “What are my responsibilities in the classroom when teaching Native American Literature?”.

The most important piece I took from this chapter is the re emphasis on the idea that, “…educators need to do some serious self-reflection about their own motives and beliefs” (3).  If I were to start using Native texts just because my students are Jicarilla Apache, I would be way off the mark on what I could actually accomplish.  My motivations have always been rooted in exposing my students to the stories of their cultural ancestors as well as stories from other tribal groups in the area.

By introducing other tribes’ stories, a discussion could occur to show that though they are unique individuals growing up in Dulce, they are not alone on this reservation, and there are similar themes among the stories groups of people throughout the country.

An issue that I can see going forward with this book is its intended audience.  The author appears to be writing this guide for teachers of non-Native students, who want to introduce Native American literature into their classrooms.  In this first chapter, Goebel spent time reiterating the point that a teacher must first understand a culture before introducing their literature.  This is my 5th year in Dulce Elementary and I do not claim to be an expert on the cultural history on the tribe.  I do feel that through my interactions with the tribal elders and various community members that I may accurately align literature to the needs and beliefs of my students.

Introductions

     First, thank you for taking the time to read these entries.  I am looking forward to your comments, concerns, criticisms, whatever it is that you would like to share with me.  This is a blog that I have used for two previous courses.  I included a picture of the cover of the book as a guide point for you to know that anything below the picture is from another class.

     For the past five years, I have lived and worked on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Dulce, NM.  My first four years were spent as a first grade teacher and this year I have moved up to the 'big kids hallway' and am teaching third grade.  I am originally from Pittsburgh, PA and come from a family of Irish immigrants.  Though I have lived in the community for a number of years, I will always be a cultural outsider. 

     Part of my overreaching goals as a teacher is to try and include as much culturally relevant and appropriate materials into my reading instruction.  This has proved to be a difficult task to undertake.  As the author of my text Bruce A. Goebel states in the introduction, "...crossing cultures is not always easy" (xi).  It is difficult but I  feel that it is necessary.

     I chose this text in the hopes of gaining insight and understanding about how Native American literature can be viewed from an instructional standpoint not only for myself, but for y students own cultural understanding.

     As the reading teacher for three third grade classes, I have been struggling with meaning making this first 9 week period because we utilize what I consider to be inconsiderate texts (citation to follow).  Before I can even begin to introduce the Common Core skill of the instructional period, I must first activate background knowledge that doesn't always exist.

     It is my hope that at the end of this book I will have a better understanding of how to utilize Native texts  in my instruction as well as developing some tips and tricks as to introducing m students to the aesthetic side of reading.