The story “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese has a huge connection to nature. The storyteller ‘Saul Indian Horse’, is Ojibway and a big part of his culture is nature. His family, which consisted of his mother, father, brother, and grandmother, were very close and connected to each other. They all lived together at God’s Lake and had a huge connection with the land. Even just 2 chapters into the book, we see the connection Saul's family has with nature and their land, especially his grandmother.
Teachings of the Tree People, the work of Bruce Miller documents Skokomish culture and the wider effect of indigenous knowledge slowly vanishing as the elders with knowledge passed down from previous generations have begun to die off. It is explained how the three people are the Skokomish ancestors, Bruce Miller’s ancestors. The documentary makes its way through the four seasons from spring to winter following Bruce through the community of friends and family he has made over the years and it slowly becomes apparent that not only is this a documentary about a Skokomish tribe elder sharing his knowledge, but these moments of his life, of friends and family, are memories, the film is in his memory. In this essay I will connect topics of displacement
The changing world they face threatens not only their way of life but also their very existence, as they must find new ways to adapt and survive in a landscape that is rapidly changing. The community's connection to the land is demonstrated through their use of traditional hunting and gathering techniques, as well as their reliance on the teachings of their Elders and the wisdom of their ancestors. Through their shared exploration of the importance of the natural world in Indigenous culture, both works highlight how Indigenous communities have historically been connected to and dependent on the land. They also reveal the devastating impact that colonization and environmental degradation have had on Indigenous communities and the broader ecosystem. In this way, both "Moon of the Crusted Snow" and "One Native Life" demonstrate the urgent need for Indigenous-led efforts to protect and steward the natural world for the sake of Indigenous peoples and the wider
Annie Dillard’s essay “Sight into Insight” emphasizes how one must live in the moment and not sway towards others opinions in order to gain accurate observations on a situation. She uses nature as a prominent theme in her essay to represent the thought of looking past the superficial obvious in order to go deeper to where the hidden beauty rests. Dillard wants the reader to realize in order to observe clearly you have to live in the moment and let go of the knowledge you think you know on the situation. Dillard uses the example of her “walking with a camera vs walking without one” (para.31) and how her own observations differed with each. When she walked with the camera she “read the light” (para.31), and when she didn’t “light printed” (para.31).
As Lisa sits near a fire pit while camping she says,“Our fire was a tiny orange dot against the deep black that reached right up to the thick splatter of stars. The Milky Way arched from horizon to horizon, a dusty, glowing path” (115). Robinson’s imagery buries the audience in her beautiful description of the night sky, and her vivid illustration shows the grand perspective which Lisa thinks of. Indigenous people often view themselves as an extremely small part of what makes the universe whole, and this view is important in learning the Indigenous teachings of humility and wisdom. Lisa’s appreciation for the vastness of The Milky Way is a depiction of the Indigenous worldview that each person is a part of something bigger.
As time passes the connection between humans and nature is drastically decreasing; humans have developed the idea of being the most powerful form of life on earth. In the passage, Hidden Lessons, by David Suzuki, readers can perceive and understand the author’s message clearly through the use of purpose and form. The purposes of Suzuki’s passage is to educate the readers about the severity of humans losing connection with nature, raise awareness towards this issue, and he uses the form of persuasiveness to prove his point.
In “Seeing,” Annie Dillard presents her observations and thoughts about the act of seeing and how it impacts our perception of the world around us. To connect with the essay, I try to relate my own experiences of seeing to the ones described by Dillard in her essay. One way I do this is to pay closer attention to the details in my surroundings and take the time to appreciate the beauty and complexity of the natural world. Dillard describes the act of seeing as a way to “worship” and appreciate the intricacies of the world, and I can try to adopt this mindset in my own life. Additionally, I can connect with Dillard’s essay by reflecting on the role of perception and how it shapes my understanding of reality.
In the Iroquois nation’s creation myth, “The World on the Turtle’s Back,” they highly respect the natural, again, not only because it is all they knew but it is because that is all they had. To better respect nature, they told myths to
Ever take a walk after a stressful day and feel a sense of calm? Many do not know it but being in, or even simply viewing nature has the power to heal the mind and body. Within the novel Indian Horse by renowned indigenous Canadian author Richard Wagamese, there are numerous instances of when he illustrates the healing power of nature and the connection humans have with it. This essay will discuss how nature heals, how Wagamese describes the connection between humans and nature, and some of the examples in the novel of when nature heals.
The harsh reality surrounds the fact that as time and technology advances, the separation between people and nature increases as well. Louv, in his rhetoric from Last Child in the Woods (2008), argues why the separation between society and nature is distressing.
In his passage from “Last Child in the Woods,” Richard Louv uses various rhetorical strategies in order to make his audience more supportive of his argument. The passage discusses the connection, or really the separation, between people and nature. On this subject, Louv argues the necessity for people to redevelop their connection with nature. His use of tone, anecdotes, rhetorical questions, and factual examples all help develop the pathos and logos of his piece.
On the other hand, A Navajo Emergence Story and Iroquois Creation Story from First Peoples, takes the audience on a journey into the world that was “an interior process of imagination”
Many people who go into nature always see it as something beautiful and aesthetic, but they never see the other side to nature. Humankind’s connection with nature isn’t a real one. They always look at the bright side of nature but are blind to the true dark side of nature. JB MacKinnon’s article “False Idyll” (2012), reveals that nature is not just flowers in a field but can also be the survival of the fittest. He backs up his claim by talking about nature through anecdotes and expert’s research.
Conspiracy theories are built from the foundations of rumors. They are sometimes called “quasi-theories” (Ch.3, pg. 53). The purpose of conspiracy theories is to help people bring order to a chaotic event. To do so, conspiracy theories also use accepted societal beliefs to lay the blame upon a given party and divide the participants. Commonly, conspiracy theories are used to separate people into an ‘us’ and ‘them’ category.
Reflection on the 5-Days Journey to Become a Better Listener Throughout the 5-days practice of active listening and basic attending skills in daily conversations, it was easiest for me to practice empathy. I found it easy to perceive the situation through others’ eyes and perspectives in order to capture the accurate meaning when I was nonjudgemental and listened attentively to others. As a result, I was able to develop empathic rapport in which I accurately sensed and understood others’ concerns as well as feelings as compared to when I conversed without empathy, allowing my presumptions to affect my interpretation of others’ meaning due to the need for others to agree with my worldview. Besides that, I was able to practice basic empathy, which is the second level of empathy where I paraphrased
