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Until recently, many Native Americans have never been able to record what has happened to them in the years past. What the white settlers depicted of them is very much different than their version of what really happened in years earlier. Being able to finally express and tell others can alter the way that we view our records of history. When other people tell the stories of Native Americans, they add their own flavor and spice instead of telling the readers and society the plain untouched truth of what really happened. If we had the plain, unaltered truth, then maybe our views on Nave Americans would be different that what they are. We would not see them as savages, but as another culture that is worthy of our time to explore and learn more about their heritage, language, and religion, as we have with other cultures and societies. Only then can any one person learn anything about any one culture. Native Americans have been singled out for many years, and it is finally their turn to tell their story, so that we may understand them better as a culture. With each book, James Welch’s Killing Custer and Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water, we finally can put into perspective, their story and their life, with the help of these writers and many more writers like them, who want to express what really happened to the Native Americans and how it has affected them today. King is critical of the fact that the native world view has taken a backseat to Judeo-Christian perspectives and of stereotypes perpetuated by Holly wood and Western literature, which still often portray noble savages, uninterested in or incapable of assimilating in white society. They are better seen with their animal skin clothing, pottery pans, and in their teepees. Besides trying to straighten out or by “fixing” these misconceptions, King is trying to help Native Americans recover their cultural identity. It also addresses the fact that North America’s original inhabitants have, for the most part, remained outside the dominant history, literature, and popular culture produced today. King has a gift, which lies in his ability to entertain, educated, and ridicule, without being resentful or caustic. In many Native American cultures, ceremonies of sacrifice and renewal are an annual activity used to promote community and individual well-being. In the novel Green Grass, Running Water, Thomas King suggests that when one is able to fully accept one’s own self and/or cultural traditions, a renewal celebration or regeneration of the spirit may give the individual’s life direction and/or guidance in previously misguided areas of their lives.
Approximate Word count = 1705
Approximate Pages = 6.8
(250 words per page double spaced)
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