Week 8: Microlectures

     Microlecture #2 exposed me to a lot of new Indigenous art and literature that I had not yet seen. It is not often in our history classes that we discuss the actual culture of the Indigenous tribes that we learn about. Even when we do, it is more so about their religion and societal structure, from my experience, than any art or literature they actually produced, and what it may mean. The texts are very different from the books we use today, containing pictures drawn on animal hides and other materials. It was also neat to learn the cultural context behind some of the works, and what made them significant to the people that made them. 

    This tied into There, There in a few ways. I think the discussion of Indigenous stories and art has been mitigated and largely ignored by United States and the people that came to inhabit this land. There is a clear theme of story-telling being crucial in the novel. Dene Oxendende's commitment to telling his people's story reflects this history- one where Indigenous art is hardly discussed or appreciated. Appreciating a culture's art is one of the first steps to affirming their importance. A lot of art deals in tradition and even societal struggles of the people that create it, so when we ignore a certain group's art and story, we ignore their struggle and their cultural presence and humanity. I think this is part of the theme of There, There, at least so far.

Comments

  1. Gema Sanchez GamezNovember 13, 2022 at 8:49 PM

    Hi Jaylen, I also agree that discussing art is crucial to understanding a specific culture. Art really allows us to think critically about the values of a culture and also introduces us to a variety of materials that represent the home of a specific group of people. I'm looking forward to seeing the theme of appreciation of art in the rest of "There There".

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  2. James MaddenNovember 13, 2022 at 9:35 PM

    Hey Jalen! I agree that in history classes, the curriculum tended to focus more on a group's religious practices and beliefs and/or societal structure rather than the literature that was produced by the group. I like your point that by ignoring a group's literary art and tradition, we ignore their human existence. I've never thought about it from this perspective and it makes me reconsider why the Native Lands Acknowledgement that we often hear at Santa Clara is important.

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  3. Griffin JonesNovember 13, 2022 at 10:27 PM

    I agree that the art we got to see and understand in micro lecture 2 was really interesting. I also think that the idea of text in forms other than writing is something that hasn't really been exposed to me. Of course I have seen cultures using pictures to depict stories but the idea of simple knots in strings as a form of record keeping blew me away.

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  4. Eloise DanielloNovember 13, 2022 at 11:52 PM

    Hey Jalen! I totally agree with what you were saying about how Native literature and art is never really talked about. So far this year, other than in this class recently, I've only learned about Native history in my religion class in the context of Christianity and how it affected them. I'm excited that we're getting more exposed to it now and I'm going to try to really absorb this content.

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  5. AnonymousNovember 14, 2022 at 2:37 AM

    Your focus on art in Native American culture resonates with me, as I too believe that art is truly the best way to understand a culture. Moving forward I will definitely keep this potential theme in mind, and also will make sure to reread Dene Oxendende's chapter.

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  6. Paulos HabtewoldNovember 14, 2022 at 10:03 AM

    Hi Jalen, I also have not been exposed to Native American literature or art before taking this class. I also really like the connection you made behind story telling in There There and the methods we learned in the second micro lecture about how Native Americans used to pass down stories.

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  7. Critical Thinkers and WritersNovember 15, 2022 at 9:44 AM

    You are so on the right page about the importance of storytelling in this novel: it becomes a way to preserve a tie to the past, to each other, and to their cultures, even as those cultures change and adapt while holding onto the past.

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