Journal #15 Sarah Winnemucca: What I Can Do!

QUOTE:

“Oh, for shame! You who are educated by a Christian government in the art of war; the practice of whose profession makes you natural enemies of the savages, so called by you…and seizing the welcoming hands of those who are the owners of this land, which you are not” (Winnemucca 511).


SUMMARY:

Winnemucca is confronting the settlers (the people responsible for the horrible and tragic state Native Americans are put in) about the hypocrisy of their “great civilization.”


RESPONSE:

After reading this section of Life Among the Piutes, it seems like Winnemucca so eloquently explains exactly what is happening to her people and her land. She makes me want to start a movement or a rally, but then I change my mind. It’s so hard for me to read texts like this because I become torn between wanting the true inhabitants of North America to own the United States, and the idea of “what’s done is done.” I think everyone needs to read original texts from the Native American perspective though, and especially texts like Winnemucca’s, because she explains things simply and straightforward. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me to be reading Native American literature too, because it helped me decide that I at least wanted to vote for whatever Native American tribes are pushing for in this election.

I already voted for “Super Tuesday” because I’m a permanent absentee ballot voter, and I paid attention to the propositions regarding Indian Gaming Casinos. I actually don’t really care about what California gets out of these propositions; I just want Native American tribes to be happy. I looked up exactly what each proposition would mean and who is paying for each proposition to be advertised, so hopefully I made the right decision.

I guess a part of me feels guilty when I read about what was done to the Native Americans, but then I have to remind myself that I had nothing to do with it. I think possibly the best thing most people can do, is to know the true history of this country and to be aware of what is happening now in comparison to the past.