Module 3: A Conversation With Vine Deloria, Jr

I reviewed the resource that expanded on the Tree of Peace and the significance of the natural world in Haudenosaunee worldview. However, that was simply the written version of the video we were asked to watch in Module 1 of Oren Lyons being interviewed by Bill Moyers. So I also reviewed the resource of Vine Deloria who wrote the forward to our Native American Testimony text for this class. The video of Vine Deloria, Jr. was one of my favorite videos to watch, right along with the video of Oren Lyons. I kept seeing the name “Vine Deloria, Jr.” in readings, and did some research to figure out that he was a writer and a Standing Rock Sioux. But it is one thing to read about someone and another to actually watch a video of that person. In the video, Deloria mentions points out that white collective consciousness forgets easily and will only uplift one person from each minority group (A Conversation With Vine Deloria, Jr., 00:09:50 - 00:11:10). He says that there is a cycle—around every twenty years, white people feel guilty and then decide to listen to one or two people from a minority group. Then they forget and do it all over again.

I believe both A Conversation With Vine Deloria, Jr and the Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper interview with Bill Moyers were selected because they provide much-needed context to what we have been reading. Both are also academic sources. A Conversation With Vine Deloria, Jr was part of a series called “Words & Place” by the University of Arizona, an accredited academic institution. The Oren Lyons the Faithkeeper interview was conducted by Bill Moyers on his show—which is a show known for deep-diving into histories of people. Though, I have to say, as much as I loved the hearing Oren Lyons speak, I was not fond of Bill Moyers. His interviewing style was off-putting for reasons I am still struggling to put into words.

The information I have read so far (for this latest module) has not changed my view of native communities. I am honestly still blown away by what we learned in Atlas of Indian Nations. Module 3 has been insightful in that I am learning about the activist movements that many Native people undertook during the 60s, which is honestly so cool to read about. As a Black person, I know a lot about the Black Liberation Movement, and it was eye-opening to read about the American Indian Movement. Before this module, I had come to the conclusion that the Native peoples of the Americas are profoundly resilient. I still resolutely believe this.

Work Cited

A Conversation With Vine Deloria, Jr. 1978, http://streaming.oia.arizona.edu/clientFlashABR/play.php?clipname=/perm/glogoff/a_conversation_with_vince_deloria_jr/web.smil&align=left&autoplay=on&banner=none.

Comments

  1. EnriqueJuly 21, 2019 at 3:19 PM

    Hi Amelie,

    It’s interesting how in your last paragraph, you spoke about your roots as someone of African American decent. A few years back, I decided to take a Native American course as an elective instead of African American studies because I wanted to learn more about my roots and upbringing. I’ve been exposed to our country’s history, slavery, racism, and various other civil rights movements, but yet to be exposed to anything regarding me, my background, and my roots. Further, I feel like one of the voices in Nabokov’s literature applies to me where the voice says “I am particularly sensitive to it because I am part white” (Nabokov PG-411). The reason being is because although I have Spanish blood and my skin is of lighter complexion, my roots are also of Mexican decent. In other words, I take offense if someone was to speak in a derogatory manner regarding any indigenous member of a tribe just as much as it was to be directly referred to me.

    Work Cited

    Nabokov, Peter. Native American Testimony: a Chronicle of Indian-White Relations from Prophecy to the Present, 1492-2000. Penguin, 1999.

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