African History

Zuni Lucero and Simon Ortiz make compelling points in their papers. They talk about the differences in the two cultures. How they changed schools and saw both sides of their ever changing world at a young age. How being integrated into a white community changed them, and how they felt some what of an outsider going back to their native communities. Threw their writing they can elaborate and share these experiences to those of us who have only one culture to fit into.

We all can relate to changing schools or even starting school for the first time. One who has never experienced this can only imagine being of a different culture, speaking a different language, looking differently and being the “new kid.” Lucero best describes this when she states, “Made conscious of the “otherness” of Indians, my world began to divide into a world of Us and Them.” Ortiz tells about her struggle in school to not speak a language he was accustoming to. “Children in school were punished and looked upon with disdain if they did not speak and learn English quickly and smoothly.” (30) He also uses the words “corporal punishment” and “ostracism” to describe the feeling, and possibly real, threats he lived with if he did not abide by the rules being forced on them. (30) This would be more than enough for any one to rebel, but he did not. One thing that stood out in his description of what he was enduring was the love he had for language. He states, “I loved language, the sound, meaning, and magic of language.” (30)

Lucero connected with me she was telling about her adventure of seeing snow for the first time, and the different structures of the houses for what she was use to in her community. If one had not seen a paved road in their life, it would be a strange site. (30) The thought of what these people endured should enrage most of us. Think about our children being called “stupid Indian/savages.” There would be some one fighting in the street or some one suing some one else. Who could these people fight, an entire nation? Who would they sue, the government? It has