Native American Literature Essay

This piece of literature, Superman and Me by Sherman Alexie, reflects what it means to be an Indian in todays culture written in first person. Alexie utilizes memories from his childhood to develop his thesis reading and writing saved his life and allowed him to overcome pauperism and be successful. They were an Indian family and his father owned an enormous amount of books. He learned to read at an early age with a Superman funny book. He writes about the stereotypes of Indians expected to be stupid and fail in the non-Indian world.He, on the other hand, declined this pity and refused to fail he was a smart Indian that read as much as he could. He grew up to be a writer and visited the schools unfailingly to save the lives of Indian children. The resolve of this member is to improve the lives of Indian children. LaFarge, Oliver. Myths that Hide the American Indian. Historical view point. New York John A. Garraty, 1991. 3-5. Print. In this essay, Oliver La Farge writes about the true civilization of the American Indian in Myths that hide the American Indian. Europeans made inferences without understanding them. La Farge describes the impact of the white mens negative perception of Indians as ruthless, faithless, savages, drunken, and lazy good-for-nothings. The some important influence the Indians had on western civilization was their political economy where they had unmatchable ruler. Later, England formed a constitutional monarchy. All in all, this articles purpose was to illistrate the Europeans views of Indians as savages was wrong they were merely advancing to civilization.The World on Turtles Back. McDougal Littell Literature American Literature. Evanston, IL McDougal Littell, 2008. 34-40. Print. The World on a Turtles Back describes the world before land, creatures, or people. The Sky-World consisted of multiple gods, a great ocean, birds of the sea, fish, creatures of the deep, and most importantly the Great Tree that grew right in the middle. T he author states that a couple was expecting a baby in the Sky-World the man went to fetch some bark from the roots of the Great Tree.He accidently dug a hole with the Sky-World and his pregnant wife fell through capturing a piece of the barks root. The woman planted the roots, and as she walked around the earth it grew into nurturing food. Later, the lady gave support to a baby girl, and when the girl got older she had twins. the right handed-twin appe ard to be god-like, while the left-landed twin comply with the devil. Both twins possessed their own powers however one twin would use it to perform kind acts, and the other used it to pursue evil. They fought till the end, but both had to exist to maintain balance in the world.The purpose of this story is to show there has to be evil in the world to balance with the good. Momaday, N. Scott. The behavior to Rainy Mountain. McDougal Littell Literature American Literature. Evanston, IL McDougal Littell, 2008. 52-58. Print. N. Scott Momadays The Way to Rainy Mountain utilizes imagery to enhance the impact of his deceased grandmothers life and old customs while he makes his journey to her grueling in Rainy Mountain. Aho, Momadays grandmother, belonged to the last tribe that migrated to North America.The Kiowas made a legend that explained that seven sisters form the Big Dipper. Aho honored the sun by attending the Kiowa Sun Dances. Prayers kept her memory since she was always praying even when she died. Momaday believes his grandmothers death was whole and eternal for her to have lived and died in the same go under Rainy Mountain. The purpose of this story is to inform the reader about the cultural history of the Kiowa Indians. Tempus, Allie. A Tribal Tragedy Suicide Rates Soar Among endemic Americans New America Media November 29 2010 Posted. Web.Native Americans suicide rates are evaluated in Allie Tempus, A Tribal Tragedy. They have the highest rate of all other cultural and racial groups. The suicides are traced back to their mental health, including depression. Poverty and family issues resulted in depression which led to drug and alcohol use. Many users experienced an abusive childhood and off to drugs to alleviate the pain. Native Americans involuntarily lost the balance in their lives as their traditions and customs died out, but today there are prevention efforts made to wither suicide rates.The purpose of this news is to inform the reader about the history and hopeful future for Native Americans suicide rates. Popick, Jacqui. Native American Women, Past, Present and Future. Lethbridge undergraduate Research Journal. 2006. Volume 1 Number 1. Jacqui Popickss Native American Women, Past, Present, and Future is an informative article that evaluates the different generations in the life of a characteristic Native American woman. In the past, women were treated equal and with respect because they have the power to give life.In present day, a drastic changed occurred because wo men face sexism, racism, and they are not generally respected as well as before. The Bill of Rights finally gave women their rights after a long, hard battle but that was not enough. As time progressed, Native American women initiated programs of awareness, AIDS, suicide, violence, prevention, and education to renew lives and overcome the feeling of hopelessness. The purpose of this journal is to show a comparison of the treatment of Native American women in the past and present, as well as goals for the future.