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Bad Indians By Deborah Miranda Summary

1007 Words5 Pages

Throughout history, there have been many literary studies that focused on the culture and traditions of Native Americans. Native writers have worked painstakingly on tribal histories, and their works have made us realize that we have not learned the full story of the Native American tribes. Deborah Miranda has written a collective tribal memoir, “Bad Indians”, drawing on ancestral memory that revealed aspects of an indigenous worldview and contributed to update our understanding of the mission system, settler colonialism and histories of American Indians about how they underwent cruel violence and exploitation. Her memoir successfully addressed past grievances of colonialism and also recognized and honored indigenous knowledge and identity. …show more content…

First of all, “Dear Vicenta” is written from a first-person point of view. This creates an intimate perspective that makes the passage more straightforward and easier for readers to understand the characters’ personalities and views. It also helps readers to see themselves “in” the story and thus become empathetic since first person narrative allows readers to listen to the speaker’s voices and feelings. Secondly, Miranda used a personal but serious tone in the passage. Using a personal tone makes the passage more emotional and thus fosters a connection with readers. Using a serious tone, on the other hand, helps readers realize the significance and seriousness of the issue, sexual abuse, being addressed. Last but not least, Miranda used anaphora in the passage. “I hope for the basics: I hope someone was there for you when you ran home. Someone to hold you. Someone to help you clean yourself. Someone who comforted you after the nightmares. I hope nobody told you it was your fault. I hope some old lady cussed out Father Real in front of the gossips” (Miranda 25). The beginning repetition of “I hope” and “someone” shows the speaker’s great compassion and sincere wishes for Vicenta. A pathetic but brave woman like her is worthy of admiration and should serve as a good model for future generations to resist oppressive acts by standing

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Bad Indians Chapter Summary

948 Words | 4 Pages

The period of missionization was known to the Spaniards as a time to mold the Indigenous people into the spitting image of what they wanted; cultivating the Indigenous people into civilized, Christian practicing beings. However, through the eyes of the Indigenous people this period was considered to be the end of the world – an end to the world they came to know so well. Settler colonialism introduced a cruel and brutal world upon the Indigenous people, especially for Indigenous women who were targeted by the priests to fulfill their needs of lust, during the period of missionization. In the book, Bad Indians, author Deborah Miranda finds a captivating way of presenting the brave story of Vicenta Gutierrez, who fell victim to the priest on the mission and spoke up about her traumatic event, through the literary genre of a letter. Using the letter as her literary device, Miranda vividly illustrates the sexual violence brought upon Indian women and how the priests used rape to establish power on the missions had a dehumanizing effect on these women.

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The author moves the history onto another trajectory by investigating the connection between native identity and politics to protect their way of life. Dowd states that tribal religion interconnected with “Indian politics.” Investigating the Pan-Indian movement, Dowd offers historians with a new inquiry, which questions the importance that native religion had in forming an identity in resistance. Examining memoirs and journals, Dowd argues that the visions of the prophets “received revelations” that promoted the nativists’ resistance against Europeans. Dowd reexamines Brown’s argument by focusing on how accommodationists merged native and European traditions together.

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In the last chapter, chapter 21, Miranda is clinging to every last bit of hope she can get. She is just about to give up when the last strand of hope appears, floating around on a yellow flyer. On page 332, Miranda wrote, “But it was yellow. I had to have it.” Miranda chases the yellow paper with newfound strength, doing everything she could to grab it.

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