I wrote an essay on conflicts between Native and American conflicts with references from the book Green Grass Running Water. I was wondering if someone could edit my essay and just give me proper feedback on where my strengths were and where my weaknesses were?
Conflicting Nations: A Duel of Cultures
"Any fool can know, the point is to understand" - Albert Einstein. The ability to understand is a crucial element for it determines the outcome of events. More often we fail to understand, and when we do, we tend to result in conflict; conflict over who's right and who's wrong. Consumed by our selfishness to state that there must be only one right and others wrong, we fail to live in harmony at the idea of multiple truths. This conception is the base of conflict between Native Americans and British settlers (the Whites) as they both try to prove why one is greater than the other. In Thomas King's novel, "Green grass Running water", King establishes that conflict between Native heritage and White heritage is evident through their inability to understand each other's culture, beliefs and popular culture.
To begin, King shows the conflict in culture through the hypocrisy of the white man towards Native heritage. Throughout the novel, characters of White descent are commonly found insulting the Native culture and its background. Insulting the bases of their god:
"I heard the natives believe god is a trickster dog"
"It's actually a coyote"
"Did you know, god spelled backwards is dog, is that why you guys have everything backwards?"
(King, Pg.300)
And their style of living: "Tell me, how is it that you manage to live in tents, wearing only leaves" (King, Pg 300). In the real world, statements like these were enough to enrage a native crowd, but what made it worst for them was the white's inability to see that their religion has just as many "flaws". King brings up these flaws in his novel through four Indian characters who on their travels encounter biblical figures from white culture. In doing so, King points out the hypocrisy in the White community's view of Native American spirituality as primitive. (Reference to God, 2012). When one of the Indians "Thought woman" is introduced to the story, she says: "I believe I will have a bath, says thought woman. That is one good idea, says that river, and that river stops flowing so thought woman can get in" (King, Pg. 231) This passage serves as an allusion to when Moses parted the red sea in order for Jews to escape. King comically narrates this scene in order to persuade the reader the inaccuracy in "parting water" to enter it. The other Indians also meet biblical figures such as Noah: "It all started when the water rose, says Old Coyote. The water rose, and we had to get into Noah's canoe" (King Pg.147). Virgin Mary: "Mary, says A.A. Gabriel. And he writes that down...sign here, says A.A Gabriel...virgin verification form" (King Pg.270). And Adam and Eve: "First woman falls into a garden. A garden in which two adults live" (King Pg.84). These allusions by King are all used to describe "flaws" in white culture the same way white culture has found flaws in the Native's. Therefore, the White culture by insulting stories in the Native culture just as absurd as theirs, they define the conflict in culture between the two sides.
To continue, King also demonstrates the early conflicts between Native Americans and the whites through their difference in beliefs. The whites refuse to believe in native heritage and laws thinking they are childish and don't pertain to them. During a sun dance of the Native (a religious ceremony), the taking of pictures is strictly prohibited. Aware of this fact, a white man regardless pulls out a camera and begins taking pictures. When the natives see this, they head towards the man to remind him of the rules:
"This is our sun dance, you know"
"No," said the man. "I didn't know. I thought it was a Powwow or something."
"No," said Orville, "It isn't a powwow. It's our sun dance."
"Well, I didn't know that."
"You can't take pictures of the sun dance."
"Well, I didn't know that"
"I have to ask you for the pictures you took."
"I was going to take pictures of your littler powwow, but I didn't"
(King, Pg. 139-140)
In this context, King demonstrates how the typical white man views the native traditions as a joke; disrespecting their ethics and their ceremony. As the story continues we discover that the man did in fact take pictures, but refused this statement because he wanted to sell them for a profit. When his car gets surrounded by Natives, the man's wife gets concerned towards their safety and blurts out: "Give them the pictures, Bill! For God's sake, just give them the pictures!" (King, Pg.140). This passage dictates that the white man didn't care for native heritage and their rules, thus dignifying the conflict between Native Americans and the Whites.
Lastly, King demonstrates the conflict between Natives and the Whites through popular cultural and common literature. Throughout King's novel, characters read novels or watch films that feature stereotypical cowboys vs. Indians plot. (Guide to Green grass Running water, 2012). "Eli opened the book and closed his eyes. He didn't have to read the pages to know what going to happen...there would be a conflict between the whites and the Indians...and the Indian in the end, would be killed...western writers seldom let Indians beat the whites" (King, Pg.199). In this passage King demonstrates the typical books published featuring Indians. The book would follow a storyline portraying the Indian as the bad guy, a barbarian, who refuses to live by the rules. This phase in the literature world put Indians at a conflict with the Whites, the Natives had never shown any acts of disgrace or barbarian yet were still accused of them. These novels also placed a stereotypical mindset into the heart of the Whites, for reading enough books with the same story had convinced them they were true. In addition, King also points out the role of the cinema in raising conflict. Midway through the novel, all major characters find themselves watching an old western film titled "The Big Trail". The plot is the same, Indians are defeated in battle and the Whites are victorious. King then upends this stereotype when Bill Bursum (A white descendant) plays the film the next day but the ending has been changed to show the Native's victorious. (Guide to Green grass Running Water, 2012). Bill Bursum, appalled by this ending, curses the film and crushes the tape. King uses this scenario to prove that "Indians defeated, Whites victorious" has become a traditional ending favored by the media. By putting the Indians on the "bad guys" side of the cinema and in the literature world, the conflict between Whites and Natives is definitive.
Overall, In Thomas King's novel "Green grass Running water", the conflict between Native Americans and British settlers is evident through three realms: culture, beliefs and popular culture. Through the White people's inability to accept Native culture despite similar flaws in both, we witness culture conflicts. By the two side's inability to respect each other's beliefs and ceremonies; belief conflicts become evident. And lastly, by imputing false stereotypes in novels and movies, the popular culture conflict takes notion. This lack of understanding between the two cultures, not only set conflict for generations but also coursed history to a path of injustice and mutiny.
