I thought that the micro lecture on settler colonialism was very interesting. I knew about some of the information Michelle covered, but not all of it. My biggest takeaway from the micro lecture was the constant oppression Native American individuals and tribes faced from the United States government. I think that this history impacts the lives and stories of the characters who populate There There because they, as Native American individuals, are faced with the lasting effects of Native American oppression and its impacts on their community. Something I didn't know about before watching the micro lecture was that about 750,000 Native Americans relocated to cities after facing pressure from the United States government following the Indian Relocation Act of 1956. I knew Native American reservations had been reduced in size and moved by the government, but I think I had simply, and naively, assumed that Native Americans who lived in cities wanted to live in cities and went there by free will. This put the concept of an "Urban Indian" in a new context for me. Tommy Orange explained that an "Urban Indian" grew up in the cities and might have felt more at home there rather than on a reservation. This idea made sense to me, but I am now thinking about this with the negative relocation of Native Americans in mind. It's strange to think about, attempting to put yourself in the shoes of There There characters, how your relationship with you ancestors is impacted by being forced off of land your ancestors had lived on for a long time. I'm not exactly sure how to explain my thoughts about this, but I hope that made some sense.
Hey Audrey, you bring up some great examples and refreshers in this post. I agree, learning about the relocation act was one of the most impactful pieces of the micro lecture. I had no idea that many Native Americans had to be relocated.
ReplyDeleteIt was also shocking for me that 750k people were relocated. I liked that you noted the long lasting effects of Native oppression, especially considering how many instances of oppressive laws and events there were.
ReplyDeleteThat is an interesting analysis Audrey. I see a parallel between this situation and that of newly freed African Americans following the civil war. There is no denying that Europeans created an abysmal situation for those people, which is still reflected in many ways today. However some white people advocated for relocating newly freed African Americans back to Africa. Despite the fact that they were born into a bad situation, America was still their home and forcibly relocating them yet again would be completely wrong. This may be what Tommy Orange was alluding to when he wrote about Saddam Hussein's Quran written in blood.
ReplyDeleteI think that urbanization of Native Americans is really terrible, but really interesting. There was an attempt by the government to take away the land that they thought was the holding the Native American people together and force them into the cities where they would feel out of place and dissolve. However, the Native Americans proved that it is not the land but the people that make the communities and formed a new evolved sense of what it means to be Native American. It is a story of oppression, but also of inspiring resilience.
ReplyDeleteThe forced assimilation that Native Americans faced is a really uniquely awful situation in our history. As someone whose family has only lived where we do for two generations, I really couldn't grasp the idea of losing my homeland. There, There has done a great job at describing the thoughts and feelings of the people who lost their homeland. I liked your observation on the "Urban Indian", and I had similar thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGreat discussion here!
ReplyDeleteHey Audrey! I really like what you are saying here, and I had a lot of the same thoughts watching the microlecture. Obviously, I was aware that Native people in America definitely faced a lot of oppression and discrimination, but it surprised me as well how much of it came from the hands of the government and not just society.
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