Summary Of Leslie M. Silko's Ceremony

After reading a little about Simon Ortiz I come to find the connection and passion for literature with his essay Towards a National Indian Literature: Cultural Authenticity in Nationalism. Simon grew up in his Mothers homeland located near Albuquerque, New Mexico speaking the Acoma language fluently until he was punished in school for speaking his language at the age of six. He has always liked hearing the elders and tribal leader’s stories, which earned him the nickname “The Reporter”. Although he enlisted in the Army he was discriminated and put to work in a uranium mining industry which in return was ruining the land, that experience become a new start in life to protest against land erosion. Ortiz wrote about how Native American authors

Silko “Ceremony speaks upon the very process by which story, whether in oral or written form, substantiates life, continues it, and creates it.” The story is about a mixed blood Indian named Tayo that went away to World War II and comes home like many others feeling lost and incomplete. With the journey of finding themselves in the beginning they believed that ‘witchery’ from colonialism was the cause of not being able to learn traditional and cultural ways. The real reason that Tayo was really able to find himself was through ceremony of story, tracing it, rebuilding, and creating stories. It’s what makes native peoples culture authentic is the use of stories whether it be about family origin, hunting grounds, what vegetation was good to eat, medicines, and many other things that were taught in story forms of how they came to be and why. I really do believe that stories are made to help us humans beings explain reasons for everything. Even religions have their own stories and every single race around the world that at some point has come from a tribe that had stories of their own. Stories are what make us different then animals and plants, that don’t have the ability to speak for themselves in a way that could be heard easily. Although I could say that extinct animals have made a story for themselves, like Doo Doo’s and Dinosaurs through archeologists and scientist with their theories and hypothesizes. I couldn’t agree more

I went to the Symposium they had here at Northwest Indian College and they spoke about how tribes in Ecuador made a law for the river to have a voice, and are the first to have a law for a river ever. With just that high impact of Indian culture can help sustain and save the earth and all that live on it from greedy people who destroy and take for personal gains. With being able to share and gain from one another as such a diverse cultural and religious world there is so many teachings to be taught and learned and most of all accepted between one another. With keeping stories alive with writing and oral literature there is no reason to accept only one groups believes and that is why so many tribal members have kept their believes alive and well because stories are a valuable thing. They even make music for us all to enjoy. And most importantly native American authors know the importance to advocate for others in need and be that warrior in writing or speaking to fight for every single persons issues and rights and be heard and preserve it. American society isn’t about one religion or just the government to run and only worry about one class rank, we are called a mixing pot for a reason and a place for freedom for a reason. And that should be retaught and