Vizenor's Trickster

I have one issue with Vizenor, and I think most of the class agrees--the Trickster in the Tales is not necessarily/hardly ever not cruel or unkind.  Most of the Tricksters are cruel, in our moral sense.  Coyote tricks his wife and sleeps with his daughters (an unforgivable act), Iktomi kills his best friend (Stone Boy), Old Man Napi takes advantage of a limping Coyote, thinking he can trick him.

Cherokee Forgiveness as the Sublime

I was registered for another Arts 310 accredited course this semester and I talked about why I thought that Cherokee Forgiveness, or any step in a forgiving direction from the American Indians, could be considered the "Sublime".

First, the Sublime as I discussed it is a philosophy or a way of interpreting art.  It means is “to elevate or exalt especially in dignity or honor” or “to convert into something of higher worth”.  I argued that in the face of the atrocities experienced by the American Indians that it truly shows how they have taken something awful and turned it into their exalted honor and dignity and ultimately makes this forgiveness of true higher worth.  

above is a picture of the Carlisle Boarding School

above is a sculpture piece titled "End of the Trail".

Cherokee Visit

My experience in Cherokee was fantastic and I want to go back soon. 

We drove through the Soco mountain passage, which was incredibly beautiful.  The roads were winding, the trees were green, the open spaces were incredible.  The sun shone on different parts of the mountains through the clouds and made it look like a quilt, or an animated scene from a Disney movie.  My car protested, being a 200k mile old Volvo station wagon with a standard transmission (stick-shift), but after a lot of coaxing it seemed to cooperate. 

Driving through Maggie Valley was an experience.  I knew that Maggie Valley holds an annual biker rally and I wasn’t expecting it to be so over-the-top gorgeous.  It is absolutely beautiful.  It was green and kind of exuded life.  It was difficult to focus on driving with so many beautiful, natural sights surrounding my car on the highway. 

I saw a lot of funny road signs on the way.  For instance: Santa’s Land.  A theme park; with a Rudolph Roller Coaster of some sort.  Fun Fact: it is also a zoo.  

The first place we visited was the Cherokee Heritage Museum, which was very informative.  I hadn't been to a museum in a while so it was nice to have that experience of looking and learning and visualizing all at once.  I really enjoyed it.  

The gift shop was a treacherous place where money just lifted itself out of your pockets.  I fortunately managed to escape with only purchasing 2 pairs of socks (much needed), a Cherokee Museum mug (Mugs are addictive), and a dream catcher key chain to replace the beaded lizard my sister made for me 4 years ago.  All in all, it was successful and I felt like I walked away with cool stuff that would always remind me of my visit and a wealth of new knowledge.

After that we drove to the Kituhwah Mound.  That was beautiful.  The grass was long and green and off in the distance some flowers were growing that looked kind of like queen anne's lace.  We walked around the mound, to show respect.  It was awfully depleted, due to plundering over the years and general disrespect of those who don't care about these kinds of things.  I felt like a little kid running through the grass after the group.  It felt good to be out there in the field with the feel of the sun and the breeze and the grass.  I felt closer to the surrounding area.

Finally, we visited the Casino.  The presenter, a tallish lady with light red hair, gave a good description on what the Casino does and, get this, they like to hire fresh out of college students--hint hint all of those that need a job soon!  But seriously, it seemed like a pretty cool set up that benefits the tribe and contributes back to the community quite a bit if they can.  I, however, was with one of the groups that was separated. We ended up, after weaseling our way up the VIP elevator entrance to the top floor, getting some Indian Tacos.  They were delicious.  If you did not try this, you missed out.  Trust me.  

Overall it was a good experience.  I enjoyed it, learned, and ate a lot.  

Cherokee This Week

This week our class is going to visit the Cherokee reservation in Western North Carolina.  I'm excited to see what a successful reservation is actually like.  We have talked so much about the innate poverty that comes with living on a "rez".

Part of me is expecting the Hollywood Indian but I am hoping for something more realistic, something true, something to write a lot about.  I want to see that these are people and not a commodity.  That's what I'm hoping for on this trip.