Growing Up in the Southwest: Native Culture

     I thought it might be relevant to share my experience growing up in Southern New Mexico, an area deeply infused with Native American culture and historical significance. I grew up in Deming, NM between The Gila National Forest and the Mexican border, west of the White Sands Missile Range.


In my hometown, there are Native families that carry the traditions. Pueblo murals are everywhere and Native artifacts make up most of  our little museum. There are highly publicized Pow Wows just a few hours north of us. The cliche "Indian" symbolism really is everywhere, for the sake of tourism. There are the casinos, and the occasional blocking of the Interstate by the Reservations for political reasons. Most of the people that live in New Mexico, though, tend to understand the importance of the People that used to live there freely.


In Elementary School, we recited the Pledges to the US Flag and the New Mexican Flag every morning.

                                                 

                                                              "I salute the flag, 
                                                      Of the State of New Mexico,
                                               The Zia Symbol of perfect friendship.
                                                        Among United Cultures."



    The Zia is a symbol of the Sun. You can see the significance of the number four in the Zia symbol. There are four groups of four sun rays. In elementary school we learned that the Circle represents life and and the rays represent the directions (North, South, East and West) and the seasons. We also learned that the rays represent many different cultures coming together, connecting in the circle of life. I found a blog post that goes into the symbolism in greater detail is you are interested.


    A lot of people in the area, like anywhere, claim to be partly Native. The thing about New Mexico is that the culture is deeply alive in the people. Many of Native descent still show some interest in their culture (heck, even the snowbirds at least like to wear "inspired" jewelry and clothing). In the fifth grade we had a classmate whose brother took part in sun dances and other Native American rituals. He came to class and shared his experiences, which included piercing the skin of his chest with bone, tied by leather chords to a pole and pulling until the strings (or his skin) broke. He also told stories and sang for the class.

The Storyteller is an iconic image that I grew up with. The stories are a central part of Native American pride and history, so the Navajo and Pueblos both make statues like this one, sand paintings and dolls to represent the importance of the storyteller in their culture. Coincidentally, here in Ohio I have a 92 year old neighbor. Her husband was from Albuquerque and she has a case of these dolls in her home and his grandmother's handwoven rug on her wall-proof that the cultural pride runs deeply.

The Kachina Dolls are Hopi, which are more identified with Arizona. However, the Native Americans didn't recognize our state lines, and Tuscon is about three hours from my hometown. Kachina Dolls were originally meant for ceremonies or for learning, not for play. They represent ancestors, important figures in the culture, etc. Now, you can buy a Kachina doll easily online or at any touristy "trading post" in the Southwest.

Zunis, Pueblos and all the Pueblo Tribes, Mimbres, Navajo, Sandia, Apache, Hopi...the list goes on. There are twenty two native tribes of New Mexico. When I think about the sheer number of people that were corralled in the Four Corners it still shocks me. It was unnatural to force so many tribes and nations in such a small area.

It's hard to explain if you haven't been there, but New Mexico is very alive. The Native culture persists on some level today, though it obviously is a shadow of the past, as well as an infusion of our time and old symbolism. There are still remnants of the past, large and small. The Gila Cliff Dwellings are like a fossilized village etched in the sides of the Mountains. On a smaller scale, it isn't terribly uncommon to find arrowheads and small shards of pottery in the desert where I grew up, as well as fossils on the rock that bring a lot of visitors every year.

So, that's a kind of wordy post about my experience with native American culture. If you are interested, I included some links. If you ever have a chance to visit the Southwest I highly recommend it, there's nothing quite like it.

Gila Cliff Dwellings
Navajo blog and Creation Story
The Mimbres "Indians" (from my area)
The Trail of Tears

Native Wilderness

Native Americans use wilderness in their tales to represent many themes and ideas. They lived closely with nature and had deep respect for the creatures and the landscape. This respect and communion with the earth is evident in the roles played by creatures, plants and earth in their tales.

     The Pima and Iroquois creation tales have many differences, but carry similar themes. Both peoples describe creation with respect to their natural environments. The Pima of the Gila River mention grease wood, coyotes and buzzards, the sun and moon. These all are elements that are prominent in the southwest. If you have been to the southwest, you will understand how amazingly close and bright the stars and the moon seem there. The Iroquois of the  Great lakes and Hudson River talk about great water beasts, fruitful vegetation  and a turtle. Both tales discuss darkness and light,

My definition of wilderness, a place untainted by civilization, a great journey,etc. can be compared to these stories. I don't think they are exactly the same, but they aren't in disagreement either. I think the indigenous people of the Americas were much more connected to the land than I am capable of understanding. They speak of the earth and of wilderness as people that live among it. As much as I love nature, I am separate from nature, so my perception is naturally different. 

An interesting thought, as an aside, is the Iroquois tale's discussion of the bad mind and the good mind. The good mind "continued the works of creation" and " appointed thunder to water the earth by frequent rains, agreeable to the nature of the system." The bad mind "attempted to enclose all the animals of game in the earth, so as to deprive them from mankind. . ." I thought that was interesting.

The Question of Wilderness

A newcomer stands on a crowded subway platform below the streets of New York, frozen in an effort of heightened senses.

Nearly 265 miles west, a group of recent high school graduates humps a trail in Appalachia, each carrying only a backpack and a map.

Near the foothills of their journey, a breeze blows wildflower seed across an untouched  prairie. The prairie itself is teeming with life held in a state of balance.

Another 400 miles west, a diverse group of people sort through the words of those who came before them, slowly stepping over and around new applications of old ideas.

Across town, a WWII veteran lies in a bed at the end of a hallway. Quiet to the world, he wanders inwardly through the rubble of France, wishing only to be with his first love. 

     Wilderness, by definition, is as vast and varied as the natural world.  During our first class, we discussed our ideas about what wilderness consists of. I personally defined wilderness as a place untouched or unaltered by civilization. Natural wilderness cannot be staged, as in a park. It isn't without order, but is the ruler of its own order and a form of law that sometimes even holds humanity within it's subjugation. 

     Despite it's vastness, there are pockets of literal wilderness all around us. We can see this by looking out the window of our homes or classrooms. Consider the sedum that blooms this time of year or a stand of cone flower, alive with the buzzing of bumble bees and hover flies. Below this superficial layer of activity, easily seen by any passerby, the system continues. Aphids engage defensively in battle with the lady beetle along the stems. Ants farm the honeydew and insects burrow at the soil level to continue their species into the next season. Roots forge subterranean paths around pebbles and through vole tunnels in search of mineral sustenance. It all exists in our front yards, dangerous and beautiful, yet contained in our carefully controlled civilized world.

In contrast with my ideas about natural wilderness, I learned that wilderness can really exist anywhere as a frame of mind. Some of us view wilderness as an unfamiliar place in the modern world.

                                       Is wilderness only a place? I dont think it is.

Wilderness is also an unchartered journey. It may be a lack of mental stability, or a sense of being lost. It is a great obstacle. It is what we wade through, climb over and come to understand as we find our way home.

Welcome

Welcome to A Literary Wilderness, the blog I've created for my American Literature class at Sinclair Community College! The running theme of the course is "wilderness" and I look forward to getting lost in the literary world of early America.