ipl-logo

Similarities Between Inconvenient Indian And Film Dances With Wolves

1443 Words6 Pages

The novel Inconvenient Indian and film Dances with Wolves, two distinct works of literature that examine Indigenous history and culture, both make it clear that there are cultural barriers that could limit understanding and appreciation across various tribes. The film Dances with Wolves and the book Inconvenient Indian offer different perspectives on the cultural barriers that exist between Indigenous peoples and non-indigenous settlers. Cultural barriers refrain from the obstacles and challenges that arise from differences in values, cultural backgrounds, norms, communication styles and or beliefs. Both the book and film depict various perspectives emerging from the cultural and historical context, especially among individuals from different …show more content…

One significant example when King explores the background of history and culture context and the impact of sharing stories better understand what occurred in the past and is now looked at as history. “Most of us think that history is the past. It’s not. History is the stories we tell about the past…” ( King pg 2-3). This quote is understood that history is not a collection of objective facts or events, but most definitely a product of stories people tell about the facts. Stories individuals tell are shaped and communicated by cultural biases and inequality, which can impact the way others understand historical events. King’s quote considers the ways cultural barriers and powers others to recognize the subjective value of history and inclusive knowledge of the past. In similarity to Inconvenient Indian, Dances with Wolves presents a different perspective of a historical and or cultural barrier. Towards the end of this film Dunbar partially mentions to the troop that there are not any hostiles. While in his mind the Union Soldiers are misguided and simply seeking to destroy and disrupt the live well-being of the Sioux tribe. “There are no hostiles.” (Dances with Wolves 226). In understanding, this quote thoroughly shows the historical judgment creating a barrier of liking between Dunbar …show more content…

“I was thinking that of all the trials in this life there are some that matter most. It is the trail of a true human being. I think you are on this trail, and it is good to see” (Dances with Wolves 214). This quote exemplifies Dunbar’s new understanding and appreciation of Sioux culture by acknowledging the language and the context during this quote. As with ‘Dances with Wolves', ‘Inconvenient Indian’ also emphasizes the importance of empathy within cultural understanding. In chapter 2, the author Thomas King gives a handful of examples of comparing the whites and the Indians, an American man named Cooper had admitted the strengths and weaknesses for both the Whites and Indians. “Sure, Cooper admitted that Indians were better in the wilderness than Whites, and that Whites were better with a rifle than Indians…” (King pg 29). Such a quote acknowledges the value and giving of different cultures. Cooper’s statement explains how the differences can create further opportunities for mutual respect and friendly learning. Throughout the film Dances with Wolves and book Inconvenient Indian these two quotes best describe the overtake of respecting cultures and gaining empathy, resulting in an immense change and progresses an appreciative

Show More
Related

Reel Injun Sparknotes

776 Words | 4 Pages

In the documentary, Reel Injun: On the Trail of the Hollywood Indian, directed by Neil Diamond, he investigates the progression of how cinema has portrayed the Native American. They begin with the early classic films that first were made up until recent times. The image of the Indian has been portrayed in several ways and films had typically created misleading depictions of the Indians. What was created in these films are often stereotypical and what many people today believe to be true. Throughout the documentary, we see many themes being presented and these are themes of how the image of Native Americans were viewed as the “bad guys” during some early films and how they evolved to show how they were really just human beings.

Read More

Bad Indians By Deborah Miranda Summary

1007 Words | 5 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.

Read More

How Did Edward S. Curtiss Impact On Native American Culture

499 Words | 2 Pages

These images have directly impacted the sub-conscience idea of an Indian, and are the reason many Natives struggle with re-defining their

Read More

How Did Christopher Columbus Wrong The Americans

1225 Words | 5 Pages

Before the creation of Americas, there was numerous tribes flourishing on this vast great continent. Tribes held dearly to the beliefs of the land; every animal, stream and mountain holds a powerful meaning and connection to their ancestors. Raised fierce warriors to conquer neighboring towns that lasted for generations that used their knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and science to grow crops in the harsh environment, navigate through their territory and communicate with other tribes miles away. Sadly, when Europeans sent settlers to North America, the natives were viewed different in every way and eventually considered savages. I will be discussing three different tribes to prove how wrong the Europeans were.

Read More

Identity In Hilary Weaver's 'The Big Game'

282 Words | 2 Pages

Hilary Weaver argues in her piece of writing; that identifying indigenous identity is complex, complicated, and hard to grasp when internalized oppression and colonization has turned Native Americans to criticize one another. Throughout the text, Weaver focuses on three main points which she calls, the three facets. Self-identification, community identification, and external identification are all important factors that make up Native American identity. The author uses a story she calls, “The Big game” to support her ideologies and arguments about the issue of identity. After reading the article, it’s important to realize that Native American’s must decide their own history and not leave that open for non-natives to write about.

Read More

Comparing The Characters In Michael Blake's 'Dances With Wolves'

526 Words | 3 Pages

Character Development Essay What was the difference about what people thought of the Natives, then how the Natives really were? “ Dances With Wolves” was written by Michael Blake, and takes place in the 1840’s, after the Civil War In upper Texas when Natives were still rampant, and rumors still spread. The book is about a Civil War Lieutenant who develops a relationship with a band of Lakota Indians. Attracted by the simplicity of their lifestyle, he chooses to leave his former life behind to be with them.

Read More

Indian Horse Sparknotes

993 Words | 4 Pages

“If we want to live at peace with ourselves, we need to tell our stories” (3). In Richard Wagamese’s novel, “Indian Horse”, a man named Saul Indian Horse is introduced and he tells his story. He faces a lot of hardships on his journey, including racism, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. He is exposed to violence multiple times. Saul’s experiences help readers understand what it is like as an Indigenous person growing up in Canada.

Read More

Native Americans In John Dunbar's Dances With Wolves

368 Words | 2 Pages

In Dances with Wolves, we are introduced to two different types of people living in America post Civil War. We see the Native American and the “White Man”. The movie begins with a group of honest and peaceful white men and the savage and untrained Native Americans. At this point we get exposed to the typical stereotypes we would normally see in these groups. We are then introduced to John Dunbar, an open minded white man who often exhibits the contrast between the crude and violent and the peaceful and thoughtful men.

Read More

Tribal Mentality In Sebastian Junger's Tribe

1258 Words | 6 Pages

The primal instinct of human beings is still felt unconsciously in modern day. The inner workings of modern society’s human psyche and the tribal mentality of the early colonial Native Americans, clash and create conflict. The tribal mentality that Sebastian Junger describes in his novel Tribe seems to be inescapable once experienced. Junger explores the mindset of the Native American and portrays it as irresistible.

Read More

Dances With Wolves Stereotypes

1792 Words | 8 Pages

Additionally, while it may be argued that these comments are subconsciously projecting a racist and problematic ideology against Indigenous people and culture, they also signal a denial of the possibility of intercultural relations (Lake, 1997). However, as justified by Lake, Dunbar’s transformation is not as radical as it is made to seem; but rather, his transformation can be attributed to an incorrect designation as his identity does not change, but rather he finds a new expression in a different context (1997). On another note, this dissatisfaction with Dunbar’s "assimilation" in some way offers a discussion regarding historical cultural assimilation and the overall critique of losing one’s own culture, tradition, and language. With that being said, through this depiction of cultural assimilation through Dunbar’s immersion in Lakota culture, the audience is left to reevaluate and reconsider the stereotypical judgments regarding different cultures, and may even encourage a greater understanding and acceptance of the complexities of Indigenous cultures and experiences. From a personal standpoint, Dunbar’s acceptance and embracement

Read More

Examples Of Decolonial Perspectives On Native American Civilizations

823 Words | 4 Pages

The build up of these colonial stances and its subsequent mistreatments led to increased political, economic, and social challenges towards Indigenous communities, such as poverty and loss of land, that overall puts the Native Americans in a bad spot with less to no advantages at rebuilding these descriptions from European-centered writers. Unlike his derogatory language, James criticized “friend of the Indian” philanthropy for efforts attempting to “civilize” Native Americans and suggested listening and learning from the Indigenous communities instead. In the same line, Vizenor speaks on how the Federal Indian Policy should be created upon a foundation of respect to Native Americans’ histories and cultures molded by the insider experiences, eventually helping to provide an alternative approach that honors the Native American identity, unlike archival writings such as Captivity and Adventures of John Tanner (Vizenor,

Read More

Dances With Wolves Analysis

1097 Words | 5 Pages

The film Dances With Wolves is a moving, culturally significant American western film produced in 1990 and directed by Kevin Costner, who also plays the lead role of John J. Dunbar. It portrays a fictional account of the relationship between a soldier and a tribe of Sioux indians. In the beginning, Dunbar is an injured soldier who accidentally makes himself a hero while trying to commit suicide by riding his horse in front of the enemy. When given a choice for where he wants to be stationed he requests the frontier, because he wants to see it “before it’s gone. ”While stationed alone at Fort Sedgwick in Dakota territory, he befriends the people of a nearby Lakota tribe.

Read More

The Iroquois Creation Story

1106 Words | 5 Pages

They are often labeled as uncivilized barbarians, which is a solely false accusation against them. This paper aims to address the similarities between Native American beliefs and the beliefs of other cultures based on The Iroquois Creation Story in order to defeat the stereotype that Natives are regularly defined by. Native Americans are commonly considered uncivilized, savage, and barbarian. Nevertheless, in reality the Natives are not characterized by any of those negative traits, but rather they inhabit positive characteristics such as being wise, polite, tolerant, civilized, harmonious with nature, etc. They have had a prodigious impact on the Puritans

Read More

Oral History In The Holocaust

1072 Words | 5 Pages

The word “history” is a term defined as the study of past events, associated with someone or something. With it comes an overwhelming amount of documents, records, and physical artifacts collected and housed for society to dig through, in order to properly evaluate and learn from the past. Many times when written history is presented, it has been edited and re-edited by a secondary source writer, rather than composed by actual witnesses, which proposes a problem; that of the interjectory of the writers own interpretation. Lost is the authentic perspective or narrative from an actual person of a past event. Recorded oral history preserves the viewpoints of individual voices, whether wealthy or poor, having personal knowledge of past events through spoken assessments, recollections and

Read More

Analysis: Coming Of Age In The Dawnland

975 Words | 4 Pages

Science journalist, Charles C. Mann, had successfully achieved his argumentative purpose about the “Coming of Age in the Dawnland.” Mann’s overall purpose of writing this argumentative was to show readers that there’s more to than just being called or being stereotyped as a savage- a cynical being. These beings are stereotyped into being called Indians, or Native Americans (as they are shorthand names), but they would rather be identified by their own tribe name. Charles Mann had talked about only one person in general but others as well without naming them. Mann had talked about an Indian named Tisquantum, but he, himself, does not want to be recognized as one; to be more recognized as the “first and foremost as a citizen of Patuxet,”(Mann 24).

Read More

More about Similarities Between Inconvenient Indian And Film Dances With Wolves

Related Topics

Open Document