Wilma Mankiller Module 5 Blog Post

I think that these sources were selected because many of them offer personal accounts of actual people from varying tribes.  A good academic source does not necessarily have to be a refined one.  I would actually argue that a good source is an unfiltered source.  As in, the person compiling the data and recording the interactions between people often put their own personal spin, which could corrupt the information.  With technology, we have the opportunity to actually see first hand without any sort of medium, other than recording devices, to see and hear people, which is incredible. 

Wilma Mankiller is a Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief.  She is a well spoken and articulate individual.  A point that she would like to stress is that she does not speak for all Native people, but she has an interest in all the different tribes.  The native people are deeply intertwined with the natural world, which she and other indigenous people revere.  The native people, particularly the Hopi and the Iroquois both have prophecies that describe that they world will end when the people no longer know how to care for it.  Ms. Mankiller shows off her interests in both science and history which she uses to describe how the earth is suffering at humankind’s hands.  She asserts that native people are closer to protecting the land because of the stories that their cultures are known for telling.  She also stresses that each native community is unique and that each community has unique subdivisions as well, but that the media does not help protect the uniqueness of their people.  Ms. Mankiller asserts that native people will certainly survive anything thrown at them, which includes: war; famine; massacres; loss of land; and loss of tribal ceremonies and traditions.  She states that no matter what, the tribes have not lost a sense of identity and responsibility.  



I am having an issue posting responses to other students so I will include my posts here:

Response to Sharifa


I like this source because it is a live example of an individual that is passionate about fighting for the rights of the Native People as a whole.  Most of the sources that we have been using during the course have focused on historical events and those sources were often written down at the time that they occurred.  Perhaps I am spoiled because of the advancement in technology that we have because the fact that we get to watch Wilma Mankiller seems like it should be the norm.  The benefit of a source such as this is that future generations that want to learn about the Native people will get the opportunity to watch the source deliver the content as opposed to reading information that was put on paper. 



Response to Chris Kane



I agree with your sentiment that writing in a blog offers the feeling of freedom.  I find that even when I am using evidence to support an argument or opinion I have in an essay, I am bound to what the facts say rather than being able to interpret what is actually happening at a particular point in time.  I think the delivery system for the information is not as dry as the discussion posts which demand that you cite all sources when presenting information.  I think citation is important but being able to conjure up historical information without necessarily knowing the source is important as well. 

Comments

  1. Malgorzata SiatkowskaDecember 13, 2018 at 6:00 PM

    I think that we are very lucky to listen to voices like Wilma Mankiller. I just hope that the lectures like this one would be presented in the classrooms starting from the elementary schools. The issues presented in Mankiller's speech touched the important issues considering environment, but also stressed the indigenous people's unity, connection with the Nature and their identity that still stands strong despite the past tragic events.

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  2. Yakira KellmanDecember 13, 2018 at 6:22 PM

    I also thought it was really important to see Wilma Mankiller say she could only speak for her own experience. Something this course has taught me is the tendency I (and others) have to lump all native peoples into one group. Emphasizing her individuality reminded me what improvements I can make going forward as I continue to learn about indigenous lives across the globe.

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  3. Francine WilburDecember 14, 2018 at 4:47 PM

    That is a great point you make that an unfiltered source makes for a better source. I really found the videos and personal accounts much more interesting then just reading a book. I feel that listening to a person talk about, even those excerpts out of Nabokov made grasping some concepts just that much easier.

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