Friday, April 09, 2010

HUM 221: In class Friday, April 9

If you weren't here Wednesday, please take a minute to read over Wednesday's post and comments. They'll get you ready for our class discussion today, which will be partly on line.

If you *were* here, please take a minute to re-read it.

Then we'll go over Luci Tapahonso's poem "In 1864." Be ready to post comments to this blogpost on the following questions, which are variations on a theme you're familiar with by now:
  • What is your response to the poem? What stands out? Why? Quote a passage or two.
  • How is your response conditioned by: (a) your background, taste, etc.; and (b) the historical and cultural background we went over in class?
  • To what exent, in your opinion, is the poem is about the Navajo experience? To what extent does it transcend cultural boundaries?
Here is a link to the Wikipedia page on Navajo (Dine) history.

16 comments:

Unknown said...

1. I liked the poem. I couldn't help but notice that the poeple lived in trailers. "He stayed in his pickup camper, which was connected to a generator.
The crew parked their trucks together and built a fire in the center." It doesn't seem like these people were very wealthy.
2. The Navajo lived in New Mexico. The only way that I can relate to them is that I have been to Arizon before, and the landscape is similar there. It is almost all dessert.
3. I think that the Navajo had to move to New Mexico because the new settlers moved to the east coast. This forced the Navajo to move out west.

Lucas Baugher said...

1. i liked the poem. "Kit Carson and his army had burned all the fields,and they killed our sheep right in front of us. We couldn't believe it. I covered my face and cried. All my life, we had sheep. They were like our family." That is a sad passage. Its strange to think that this actually happened.
2.The Navajo were natives of New Mexico. I have flown over New Mexico but I have never visited that state so I cant say that I have anything to relate to these people of N.M.
3. The Navajo people have been through a lot. They were pushed and moved by the whiteman and they had to go and find new land to live on. This passage is somewhat eye opening just because of all of the things these poor people had to deal. With all of this adversity that they went through, they still prevailed and some of them are still around today.

jessica_handy said...

I though the poem was very sad. Because of the way they killed the pregnant women & how the young children drowned. Its very disturbing to me. I liked the quote: "We will be strong, as long as we are together." I tend to be an emotional person, and cry during sad movies/books. Thats why i responded this way, the poem kind of pisses me off.

Unknown said...

I thought it was sad, becuase of the pregnate woman and what they did to the children. I cant really relate to the Navajo except that I have been to Arizona and the weather and land is basically the same, but thats about all. I think they were forced to move to New Mexico because of the incoming settlers.

dave maziarz said...

1. i thought it was a good poem...but it was a very depressing poem but i still thought it was good.
2.the navajo were from new mexico, ive never been so i cant relate.
3. the had to move there because all the new settlers settled in the east and pushed them out to the west

Shakeria said...

i liked the poem. i like the fact that the man never forgot what happen to him and his family when he was a little boy.He heard the voices wavering and rising
in the darkness. He would turn over and pray, humming songs
he remembered from his childhood. The songs returned to him
as easily as if he had heard them that very afternoon.
He sang for himself, his family, and the people whose spirits
lingered on the plains, in the arroyos, and in the old windswept plants.
No one else heard the thin wailing.

i cant relate to what they went thru from personal experience but i can thru my ancestors.
they were forced to move by the government.

mikefleshman said...

1. i liked the poem as well. i think it is sad to think of the cruel acts that the Navajo indians had to watch.
2. the navajo lived in new mexico. i cannot really relate to them besides the fact that i have spent a short week in Arizona which is like New Mexico.
3. The Navajo people were forced to move west because the white people moved in the east and forced them out.

Anonymous said...

I liked the poem. kinda made me feel like home when i saw the pickup camper.

They lived in NM. The desert is all the same. from goin to AZ for our trip i kno that most the scenes are the same.

I think whites forced the navajo to leave their homelands and go elsewhere

calenevill said...

I liked the poem. It reminded me of my friends and our good times. "While the younger daughter slept, she dreamt of mountains,
the wide blue sky above, and friends laughing."
Some of it is sad but the good outways the bad. i cant really relate to them since i havent had the hard times they have. All of this in turn led them out west to settle in New Mexico.

Kyle K. said...

1. i like the poem but it was really sad. they killed pregnant women!
2.i have only been to arizona never new mexico so i cant relate.
3. the navajo indians were forced to move to new mexico when settelers pushed them west.

Tara Proctor said...

1. The poem was alright, kind of boring but not too bad. “We couldn't believe it. I covered my face and cried. All my life, we had sheep. They were like our family. It was then I knew our lives were in great danger.” This seems very sad that they forced the Indians to change their ways of life, not fair.
2. I think it is sad because I would never want to be forced to move away from my home and then forced to change my way of life just because other people think I should.
3. It is about a Navajo experience but it can also transcend the boundaries of cultures because we can all sympathies with these people. They were rounded up like animals and forced to change everything they have ever known. Their history could have been completely lost.

Chris Day said...

I liked the poem overall. It seemed as if the Navajo were on the poor side. Not a l.ot of money, and they lived in campers.

They lived in NM. During the baseball trip to Arizona, i felt as if the landscape would be very similar in NM. With the cacti and the mountains all around, just like a desert.

The Navajo, I believe, did not move by choice. They were forced out of their homeland and into NM.

logan eader said...

1.the poem was had a very sad mood to it but it was good. "Kit Carson and his army had burned all the fields,and they killed our sheep right in front of us. We couldn't believe it. I covered my face and cried. All my life, we had sheep. They were like our family." this caught me off guard because it was very harsh and it was hard to believe that people like us would do that.
2.the Navajo lived in New Mexico, and i really dont have anything in common with them other than flying over New Mexico to get to Arizona.
3.i think that the Navajo didnt move to New Mexico-they were forced by the white men.

Michael D. said...

I liked the poem. I liked how it is a conversation of oral tradition between a mother and a daughter. She states that “My aunt always started the story saying, ‘You are here because of what happened to your great-grandmother long ago.’” This shows that oral tradition is still in the Native American culture.The woman is refering to her aunt who told her this story. The poem does a good job of showing the cruelty and harshness of the long march. She states that “Some army men pulled them behind a huge rock, and we screamed out loud
when we heard the gunshots. The women didn't make a sound. But we cried out loud for them and their babies. I felt then that I would not live through everything.” This really shows how the march really was and how at times the Native Americans didn’t know if they would get through it or not. Their survival as a culture shows how strong the Native Americans were. I also liked how the attitude/tone of the poem shifts from sadness and weakness to encouragement and strength. Although I cannot relate to this experience, I can understand the strength they must have needed to overcome such a journey.

Cait131 said...

The poem was just very sad to me. Almost depressing to be honest. The killing of pregnant women and the kids drowning was just horrible. I did like a certain quote though, the one that states, "We will be strong, as long as we are together". It talked about the Navajo living in New Mexico, and I can't relate to anything like that. A lot of the newer settlers decided to settle in the east and forced them out to the west.

Michael Hayes said...

i agree