A little flashback from the beginning of the year when we spoke about The Heart of a Chief by Joseph Bruchac. Every week I read Post Secret and I came across this particular picture and it reminded me of the discussions that we have had in class about stereotypes. I found it interesting in this picture that there is an Indian wearing a ceremonial outfit with a head dress. Either this is a really offensive post because this particular person is not Indian and when they think stereotypes this is what they think of; or this could actually be an Indian girl or boy who does not fit into the stereotypes of being an Indian. I find all of this very interesting and it made me ponder what we spoke about in class about The Fighting Illini and their mascot. Maybe this particular person has the same feeling as that woman did in that video that we watched. I thought you all might want to take a gander at this post and let me know what you think about it as well!
2 comments:
Jen,
I love this picture and your post. I immediately looked at it thought that the author of it was an American Indian who doesn't fit the stereotype. I first found it really interesting that you thought the author could have just used an Indian image. This was interesting because I realized I was making judgments without really realizing what the picture could be of. That being said I find it interesting that this girl fins it hard to have an identity. The reservation I went to had incredibly high teen suicide rates. It would be interesting to study the effect of Native American teens sense of self and the suicide rate. Then see how stereotypes affect of what they think about themselves.
I saw that same picture on post secret and it completely took me off guard. It made me really sad to see that this one person feels like they must fit their life around a false stereotype that has been carried on for years and years. Life is so different for Native Americans now. It is up to those such as a the author of this card to prove those who carry this stereotype on. I know it's hard, but this person should try to be proud of who they are and what they are a part of.
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