As I explained in class on Thursday, I want you to read There There at your own pace, as much as you can by the end of the semester. But I won't give you any questions or reading assignments, It's totally up to you if you want to finish the book, read most of it, half of it, etc. The Final Exam will use this book as a source, so be sure to at least read some of it, since that will help you respond to the conversation.
Instead of questions, I'm going to give you the Final Exam assignment on Tuesday, and we'll do some in-class writing based on some ideas in the book to get you started. We talked a bit on Thursday about definitions of the term "Indian," and how difficult it might be to define yourself when everyone in the world has their own idea of who 'you' are. This is especially true for Native Americans, as their racial identity has been used and appropriated as team mascots, TV and movie villains, and even to sell tobacco. If the entire world uses you as a caricature and a stereotype, why might it be difficult to discover or own your own identity? The book talks a bit about the difficulties of being native in the 21st century, as well as the historical legacy that we read about in poems such as "38" earlier this semester.
So start reading, see what you think of the book (which I think is really good) and we'll talk more on Tuesday!
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