The power of fiction

I am really enjoying the turn we have taken in regards to our reading assignments. I feel like there is something that fiction is able to do that non-fiction can't. I find myself preoccupied, when reading non-fiction, with facts and history. I get caught up in wondering if something really happened that way or if the truth is being distorted, etc. However with fiction it is much easier to let go of all that baggage. There are no rules and no criteria to fit in. Some things can be true and others can be made up but they all work together to reveal a theme or greater purpose.

I especially liked Requiem for a Leg. I think the strength of the piece comes from the absurdity of fighting over a dead man's leg. In one way it is just ridiculous and in another it draws attention to the complete injustice and blind ignorance that Native Americans have had to deal with on a constant basis. Because it is fiction it has the ability to really focus on purpose and the reader doesn't have to worry about the truth of its assertions.

Water and Autonomy

I get alot out of the stories from our reader but seeing "Water and Autonomy" gave me an entirely new perspective on what we are learning. It was similar to watching "We Shall Remain" because it allowed me to actually see what was happening and to put it into a real context as opposed to just making things up in my head. "Water and Autonomy" really connected with me and, I think, since it was filmed entirely by Zapatistas and people living in the village, it had a really personal feeling. The simple shots of landscape, household interiors, and family routine made it humanizing and is very effective at de-stigmatizing. It seems like if this could be circulated to a wider audience perhaps it would help with the negative preconceptions that alot of people have about the Zapatista movement and even native peoples.

Ishi

I was particularly affected by the story of Ishi that was told in class the other day so I decided to do a wikipedia search to see what would come up, and whether or not it was parallel to what was said in class. Most of the things that I found especially troubling (Ishi being put on display, being viewed as a sort of zoo animal, being forced to recite his stories to death) are all absent from the article. I am honestly not surprised that the most offensive things about Ishi's story are not readily available to the public. This seems to fit with what I have been seeing as my Native American knowledge increases. I find, while talking to friends and thinking about how little I know about the subject, that no one has been taught any of this in school. How is it possible that all of this information, that the atrocities that have occurred are just omitted from textbooks and class discussion? Most people have a vague understanding of what happened to the Native American people, that there was genocide and that many were killed, but the extent of the inhumanity is forgotten. I told the story of Ishi to my friends at a dinner party a few nights ago and everyone was as upset and dumbfounded as I was. No one had any idea that such a thing had happened so near in time and place. This really made me realize the importance of this class and of the Native American Studies department at Davis. If public education will not teach the facts then it is up to individuals to spread the knowledge.