Jessicas # 6

So this portion of the reading starts off with the discretion of Gallup. Gallup demonstrates how the white people are above the Indians. They all work in the same town and perform the same work but the white people are still superior to Indians. The town is part of the motif of how Indians strive to be equals to the white people and join in their world. The passage talks about how the Indians are basically disposable. The white people pay their Indian workers poorly and treat them unfairly but the Indians just take the abuse. Also I found it interesting that even the Indians demonstrations of their traditions and culture are profited from the White people. The Indians create traditional foods and artifacts to be sold and they come together to perform their traditional dances but the white people are the ones that are profiting. The only thing that the Indians have that the white people don’t is a strong tie to their roots and culture and the white people even take advantage of that and I strongly believe that it is wrong. I cannot tell if the boy the author is talking about in Gallup is Tayo or someone else. I don’t think it is because I think the boy is too old to be Tayo because Tayo went to live with Auntie at age four and this boy seems older, but maybe not; I just cannot tell. How Tayo sympathized with the couple who were begging shows that he might relate to their situation so the boy could be Tayo. The reader learns that Josiahs cattle were stolen and it sounds like he died looking for them. I think Night Swan killed him, just because I want her to be bad and she left town right after he died. The reader learns about this medicine man named Betonie. He is super weird and not very traditional. He says some pretty deep words of wisdom about how culture has to adapt to the changing times or it will die away. I completing agree with this statement because the reason why we have traditions and why the Indians have their ceremonies is to fit the needs of the people or ourselves. Since we as a people are always changing are traditions have to change with our bodies and mind. Betonie seems to be helping Tayo by just being there for him but he does not really do any huge thing to help him. He has not danced or has given him medicine, he just keeps talking about all this random stuff so Tayo just wears his heart on his sleeve and he is like look at those people and Tayo just keeps telling his problems and Betonie is not even listening. I think that Betonie lives near the poor and drunk Indians living on the side of Gallup because he wants to support them with his presence. He being there causes them to think about their culture. O and I almost forgot Betonie says about how white people are not to be blamed because Indians brought on the evil. Yup tired so explain that in next blog!!!!
Quotes:
“The sun was above them now, in a deep blue sky like good turquoise” (pg 115)
“The cheekbones were like the wings of a hawk soaring away from his broad nose” (pg 119)