1. Reading “The Earth on Turtles Back” was very interesting for me to read. Growing up in a religious background, I had only known the traditional and religious story of Adam and Eve. This piece I found much more beautiful. I personally, do not have much religion in my life and choose to believe in the natural and scientific. It drew me into this piece more with my background. I loved that there was nearly no mention of humans or God creating things, but animals and nature. There were animals and nature far before the creation of humans, and I found it very interesting in this that they aided humans. I think of the Skyworld as a Native tribe as the animals described are traditional for Native culture and setting. It is true that Natives have a strong connection with animals and nature. I loved the connection that this story brought together. How muskrat risked his life for the creation of Earth and turtle sacrifices his freedom to hold the world. I know there is much deeper literary meaning behind this story, but I want to examine it from a surface level through this post. I thought the detail was just enough, concise but carefully chosen. I could picture the scenery, the animals going one by one into the water, and the marks left on turtles’ back from muskrat. I also enjoyed the wording of the piece itself, there was no confusing analyzing to do for deeper meaning, the piece simply told the story. I would want to write a creation story similar to this. Not one with a God or religious connotations, but one that is appreciative of animals and the natural world before humans.
2. The poem that really stuck to me through the readings was “Evolution” by Sherman Alexie. I found it both moving and easily interpreted for its meaning. I did some research into the character used in the poem “Buffalo Bill” or William F Cody and his impact on Native culture. He had completely appropriated and stripped the Natives of what their culture is. This was through his shows that would include Natives, but only ever as the bad guys. He made them look like aggressive people, ones that would kill and rob. This is very unlike what the actual Native tribes were like during these times. I found it angering that he took culture and history for entertainment value, and I can feel it through this poem. The line “Indians pawn their hands, saving the thumbs for last, they pawn their skeletons” really impacted me. Meaning that the Indians were stripped of everything, their culture, their home, and their lives. Selling the parts of their bodies and their thing would be a means of survival. Buffalo bill is not a righteous figure in this poem. A man that is famous for this exploration and explanations of the “wild west”, but in reality taking the homes of Natives. He takes everything from the Natives in this poem and then turns it into a museum. Complete appropriation and stealing of culture to make it into profit. I find that Alexie does this to portray what much of America has done to the Natives. I believe a lot of what Buffalo Bill found and did throughout the West in history has had major impact on the perception of Native culture today. He antagonized them while taking their livelihood. Other factors of this poem that I liked was how easy it was to read. I struggle with poetry sometimes when it has complex wording but deeper meaning. It’s hard for me to understanding always what the connotation and meaning is behind words. This piece directly showed the issue without having to go into much detail. It was concise with wording, but depicted a full story of years of history.
