So I have been doing some research on the American Indian figure I am presenting and I’m pretty excited about what I am finding. I don’t want to say too much about him, but he is known as “Red Jacket,” and was an Iroquois chief back in the late 18th to early 19th century. Everything about this guy reminds me so much of John Trudell and the way he fought for American Indian equality. I found a quote from Red Jacket which states,
“Brother, we do not understand these things. We are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion, which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us, their children. We worship in that way. It teaches us to be thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other, and to be united. We never quarrel about religion.”
After reading this quote, all I can think about is the phrase, “live and let live.” Why should American Indians be forced to convert to Christianity when they hold the same ideas of peace and respect? It seems like the overall message is the same in both religions. They teach to be “thankful for all the favors we receive; to love each other, and to be united.” This ties into the notion of imperialism because the colonists did indeed make an effort to replace American Indian culture with their own. That being said, people like Red Jacket and John Trudell are inspiring because they stood up for their beliefs and created a sense of hope. I look forward to presenting on Red Jacket and will leave you with one last tidbit about his life. He was known as a tremendous public speaker and his native name is “Sagoyewatha,” which translates to, “He keeps them awake.” I will certainly do my best to keep you awake on Monday.
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I think that quote was interesting as well, but I see it in a different light. I see Red Jacket as being snide and giving a dig to those white people because the settlers would quarrel and have wars about their religion when it was supposed to teach peace and kindness. Also, the settlers were obviously cruel and merciless, and therefore went against everything that most religions believe in. I really find this quote to have a strong message to colonists to leave men alone, so I do agree with your "live and let live" phrase. I can't wait to be kept awake with your presentation!
ReplyDeleteRyan - I have to say I really enjoyed your presentation. I think it was well-thought out and I liked your connection to John Trudell.
ReplyDeleteThe part I like about that quote is that religion is passed down generation to generation. I can imagine that Red Jacket had a peace to him when he spoke. He simply is stating that although the Christians believe that their religion is important because it was given to them by their forefathers, the American Indians' religions are just as important because they do were given to them by their forefathers.
I'm glad I went first when we presented because I really did not feel my presentation was all that good. I really like the idea of a Native American put on trial for witchcraft who talked his way out of the whole mess. It makes me wish I had the ability to go back and hear what he said. Any man who can turn a bunch of religious zealots around is someone we could all learn from. It is a shame he did not have more success with the Manifest Destiny fanatics.
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