American Indian Stories :: essays research papers

It was approaching dusk as the conspicuous line of dark vans entered the reservation. These vehicles setd the endeavor of furnishing transportation for about 30 members of a Cleveland area youth group, whose military commission was &8220to bring good news to the badlands. In short, the group was ministering to the Indian children of the suffer Ridge Reservation, which was in close vicinity to the essential wonder form in the foothills of &8220the badlands. The trip became a tradition for my church and I travelled there on three separate occasions. Each year, the team authentic a welcoming that could be described as anything but inviting. In fact, the first year the trip fell on the Fourth of July and as we drove in, our vehicles were bombarded with fireworks. I could never really grasp why we were so despised. After all, our intentions were commendable. The matter became clearer after I read Zitkala-sa&8217s &8220American Indian Stories. Within this text, a Native American ex presses her beliefs that actions similar to ours serve merely in altering culture. The main character&8217s culture had religious beliefs long before the white man presented his ideas. Essentially, the Sioux religion was establish on character. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact beliefs of the group because of the deficiency of information. nonetheless from the text, some aspects can be gathered. First, it appears as though everything in nature is believed to retain a spirit. Zitkala-Sa is observing the flowers and personifies them, assuming they are possessive of a spirit by saying, &8220Their quaint round faces of varied hue exchange the heart which leaps with glad surprise that they too, are living symbols of omnipotent thought. (102) Everything natural was incorporated into their religious beliefs. Thus, the people receive refreshment of the soul done companionship with the outdoors. The narrator describes a spiritual experience as, &8220to seek the level lands where grow the wild prairie flowers. And they, the lovely little folk, sooth my soul with their perfumed breath. (101) The Indian girl turns to nature to have her spiritual needs met, which is reflective of the style of her people. Thus, although the concept of spirituality as the white man understood it was non incorporated into the Indian culture, the Natives did, in fact have a religion, and kept up(p) universal beliefs and practices. With the introduction of the &8220paleface into the Indian culture, he brought with him different ideas about religion, which undoubtedly created tension.