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When your friends look like dorks

While being in that museum, I felt our Nations’ artwork and history has been taken away.  It became unbalanced.  An abomination. They take our things and they’ve stored it within chores and shunned it to the public.  Have you seen the museums write articles on how native people can get their stuff back through an intensely long process?  How are we, native people, suppose to claim our ancestors’ beautiful headdresses, powwow dance wear, and their earned eagle feathers?  Joe told us the history behind everything; about every item and how people earned them.  There was never any words in the reservations spreading about how we can get those important stuff back.  It’s very aggravation how our people could use those things and how we need them to tell our later children the stories of each artifacts.  The historian didn’t know the story of each item and where it came from.  I feel cheated of our history because everything needs a history behind it.  You can’t just take these goods from tribes and nations just to put it up behind glass displays without our consent.  The only thing I interpret as “polite” from these doings is that they handle each and every thing with care.

Although a college education is immensely important to me, I take my culture with stronger seriousness. In my understanding, our native culture may be able to be accepted in few colleges such as Pitzer College, but how many are there in each state?  Sure our people can go to regular and more “white” colleges, yet, we wouldn’t be fully accepted.  Of course there are going to be those people who will see our culture and rituals as weird and strange.  There is going to be those racist statements made within those colleges but that’s what makes us strong.  If we survive these few obstacles, then what could stop us?  We have the courage and bravery to do these things; we just have to find it.  We will always be the opposing ones which people may consider us as strange, however, that is what makes us unique.  Our people and families are one of a kind. We are independent and we don’t need things to shape us into whatever people want us to see.

Today, I had a talk with David Zachary, one of our teachers.  He lead me to a better understanding into what type of career I may most be likely able to do veterinarian work but I should still keep an open mind.  About a year ago, my father introduced Nikola Tesla into my mind.  Tesla once said, “Let the future tell the truth and evaluate each one according to his work and accomplishments.  The present is theirs, the future, for which I really worked, is mine.” The way I reflect on this quote, it reminds me that I have that future to look forward to.  If I really worked hard to get that positive reinforcement, I can accomplish countless things.  Signing Out~ Joye

Tlatzohkamate to tata Bingo. Taha to huehue tlayekantzi ihpan Pitzer Native Summer Pipeline ihka Rose Henry. Tahame no palehuia pan in tonahlle ihka mate kuakon nemiameh in Pomona College Museum of Art.

Uncle Bingo. You inspired us all today when you walked into the room that was ever so delicately prepared. Room temperature controlled. Gloves on the hands of the Caucasian anthropologist. Sweat on her temple. She was just about to present something to a ‘buncha Indians’ she knew nothing about. However, she had purpose. Good intentions stirred. Walking in, you raised your hands and gently caressed that medicine jacket. Her eyes widened. Her heart rate swiftly swelled. Twice its normality it was, now. Your act demonstrated OUR purpose. You taught her that our people’s presence isn’t simply that of an artifact sitting in a refrigerated room. We are not their test subjects. We are not ancient pieces of stone to simply be glared at. We are living, breathing, epidermis yielding souls who know how to honor our every existential moments. We want our “artifacts” back, for we see them as more. Our people deserve to have their ancestor’s clothing, just as much as we deserve to remain buried. We do not go uncovering their graves and hanging up their army jackets as war spoils in our museums. Simply put, WE ARE PRESENT AND WE WANT OUR MATERIALS RETURNED.

Native culture can go hand in hand with education in many ways like if you want to study your culture or if you want to protect it. You can go to college and become whatever you want and then go back home and work for your tribe to make  it a better place. I know many people who have went to college and came back to better their tribe. I know my brother is going to school in Kansas and I think he is on his last year this year but after he gets his degree he is enlisted in the army so he will be doing his four years as an engineer. I personally would like to do that but the field i want to go in wont benefit my tribe but i will certainly try. I want to do everything i can to better my tribe.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/mediacommunity

1) I thought It was pretty cool to see the medicine jacket because I never seen one up close and gotten to observe It. It even gave me the chills at one point. I was kinda upset to because the person that was showing us all around didn’t really know much about any of the artifacts.

2) The thing that I’m looking into is child development and the way it can relate to college is if there is a kid who is taught who they are at a young age it is better then waiting for someone to tell you who you are or let the society tell them who they are.

3) Today was interesting because I was touched that one of the elders gotten to have an unforgettable experience at seeing some old artifacts. I also liked when I gotten to see how other tribes made things different.

Today we went to a basement museum, filled with hundreds of Native Artifacts. At first I was so amazed at how much the curators of this small storage space had collected all of these ancient pieces from so many different nations. It was shocking and the artifacts were so amazing I was speechless for the longest time. After our little field trip Bingo mentioned that it was sad that they were kept there, being watched over by people that weren’t the owners or the tribe of the late owner, and that they should be returned. And they should, the curator said that if anyone had proof that these pieces belonged to their tribe or their ancestors then the museum would give them back. These artifacts below would be my favorite, not only because of their Native heritage but because of how beautiful they looked when I went on a tour by myself. I have more pictures but i like these bowls and pitchers more because of their designs.

Native Culture and College Education can go together, they have created majors and minors about the Culture of aboriginals and Native Languages if you go to a native college. Plus, when I’m in school there is not a day that goes by that I don’t talk about Native American Culture.

My day was great and I didn’t close my eyes once, well maybe to blink but that was it. The basement storage that held Native Americans past’s was amazing even though everyone had sad thoughts on how these artifacts were found or collected. We had a presentation in the Western U class and I can honestly say that my group and I did great! It was easey peasey lemon squeezy.. now we just have reflection and then bed!!!! 🙂

1)  This is my favorite artifact from the Pomona College Museum of a very special woven basket. What makes it special is that someone took a lot of patience and love to not only weave the basket, but to add the feathers and shells around the top of the basket. This basket is for someone of a high honor. Although I admire the work of art, it really does make me wonder why this special basket that has a lot of time, love, and history in it, is just sitting down in a basement of a college museum? What happened to the owner? How did the college get ahold of this artifact?

2) I think that yes, Native culture and college education can go together, as in learning our language, and our ways. Just like how spanish, french, italian, and many more cultures are in college education. So why can’t Native culture be included in schools?

3) My day was very, very, very eye-opening. I’ve been to many Native American museums and I’ve seen a lot of artifacts from many different tribes around the country but I never thought about how they got there, why they’re there and if its right that they are there. I’ve never ever thought about those questions until today when we went to the museum with Bingo, (Joe Thorne), and how he was asking the lady about how the college got the artifacts and if they were given to them or not. After that, I began to realize that its not right that museums around the country have our culture locked behind glass, displaying them for people to see and not knowing the significants behind the artifact. I think that we, the new generation, should do something about this, put an end to museums making money off of what they took from us, and acting as if these works of art are history, extinct, gone, when in reality we are still here, we still make these beautiful objects, they are still alive, we are still here. So I vow to bring my opinion on this topic back to my community and make a difference, have my community realize too, that having these personal belongings rot away in a basement is not right. They should be in their home, their land, and their territory, where they belong. ❤

1. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mediacommunity/19732891406/in/photostream/

When I entered the pomona college museum I felt really happy. The reason I felt happy was because it was good to see and know that not all of our history is lost. The artifacts that I saw today resembled our people and their souls. I can truly say I felt their presence there with us. It was beautiful seeing that today and I can not stress that enough.  Nonetheless, seeing those artifacts there got me sad as well. It hurt me to see that besides the artifacts that were displayed in the room, there was plenty more artifacts in the next door room that were just locked away. They were being treated as if they were test animals. It is truly unbelievable, the amount of sacred artifacts that what stored away. Hundreds of artifacts that told the stories of many native american tribes. We were always told stories about the artifacts we saw today and probably never imagined to ever see such things. Of course it is appreciated that they treated the artifacts with such cautious and care, they even put on a glove before touching anything, but we would appreciate it even more if they return those artifacts back home.

2. Of course native culture and college education can bind together. Thats what education is for. Native culture is history and present, so why not teach native culture just like how US history is taught. US history is only few hundred years old, native culture has been around for thousands of years. An example of native culture and college education coming together is Pitzer College. I love how they take into consideration the culture of native american tribes in their education.

3. Today was a really impactful day for me and for all of us. It was a mixture of emotions, ranging from happiness, to sadness, to disappointment, to hope. After the pomona college trip we were able to reflect on it along side Bingo and Rose Henry. Before anything else, I want to thank Bingo and Rose Henry for their bravery at the Pomona College. I can only imagine the overwhelming emotions they experienced after seeing all of their ancestors and their own stuff locked and in a way hidden in a room. It takes great courage and I thank them for that. I really enjoyed the time that Bingo came into the museum because he shared with us more than anyone can about the artifacts that were present. I don’t know what was more exciting to see, Bingo touching all the artifacts or the face the woman made every time Bingo did so. It was truly an amazing experience to see being share the history of the artifacts that not even the woman knew about. It was an amazing day.

1) This was my favorite artifact from the Pomona College Museum. It is a medicine mans jacket. It was my favorite because I want to become a doctor someday, so I have a special connecting with anything with some sort of connection to any form of “medicine”, rather it be something indigenous, western, or simply anything that heals someone physically, psychologically, or spiritually. But seeing all these “artifacts” made me sad. Because in reality these aren’t artifacts. They’re the belongings of people, people who are alive and thriving to keep their culture, and still all these pieces of clothing, baskets, satchels, and other items are sitting in the basement of a college where few individuals know they are there. Sadly, the people working there didn’t know much about the artifacts themselves. If we didn’t have our elders there, we probably wouldn’t have learned much of anything because they were the ones to tell us the stories.

2) Native culture and college education can go alongside each other just fine. This can be done just fine as long as the cultural protocol is prioritized significantly. This is because I believe that much of the education in this country is very western, which can have many conflicts with the way that native culture is taught. The education system of many colleges must first be decolonized before it is ready for full blown education along side native culture.

3) Anyways, about today. Today was the first day that I awoke and felt that I actually got a good nights rest. Theatre today was mostly about vocalization, the practice of which helps with self-confidence significantly. The highlight of the day was of course the museum. That brought up so much to talk about, which I mentioned already. Besides that the lasagna today was great, and I’m really looking forward to tomorrow.