Frontier Grit by Marianne Monson

Author:Marianne Monson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2016-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

The tug-of-war that Zitkala-Sa endured was uniquely born out of the times and culture in which she lived, and the intensity and pain of it echoes to this day. Certainly there are still many ways in which individuals find themselves pulled by competing loyalties. In the United States today, 6.9 million people identify with two or more races. Eighty million people (twenty-five percent of the population) are first- or second-generation immigrants. With this in mind, we can understand why there is both the longing for and idealization of home, coupled with a growing attachment to the new: a disconnection from both frequently becomes the result.

It’s difficult to read Zitkala-Sa’s work and not feel compassion for her struggle. As a highly intelligent person, her desire to stay connected with her own disappearing culture seemed irreconcilable with the allure of a society that fed her artistically and intellectually; the fact that the same society perpetuated crimes against her own people must have rendered a harsh contradiction. I admire her bold use of the very skills taught by her oppressors to fight for the halt of continued abuse.

Today, of the remaining 5.2 million American Indians and Alaskan natives, 29.2 percent live in poverty—a higher level than any other racial group. One bright spot is that history books now more fully acknowledge this horrific chapter of U.S. history.

A continuation of the debate that raged during Zitkala-Sa’s life regarding what should be done to remedy the converging of two worlds remains much more difficult to answer. Sometimes the only response is to stand in grief, mourning the loss. Zitkala-Sa struggled to know how best to deal with the society that had dealt out such treatment—did she embrace it because it educated her? Or reject it because it severed her from her dwindling people? She vacillated between both in a tortured emotional journey. Feeling like she hadn’t accomplished nearly enough, she died unaware of how influential her life truly was, how very remarkable her gifts and accomplishments. She is a reminder to speak your truth and tell your story. Your own identity is worth fighting for, and it can be manifested in a way that reflects your own beliefs.

Today, U.S. communities remain as diverse as they have ever been—at times we view this as a modern development, but a closer look at history reveals that in fact the diversity has always been present, though the specific cultural makeup has changed over time. Regardless of our background, we may hesitate to reach either way across that cultural divide—to speak with neighbors down the street from Syria or ask an acquaintance from Guatemala about his or her life. We may hold back, afraid we will say something wrong or find we have nothing in common. However, it seems to me that the most dangerous, divisive weapon humanity holds is an inclination to define a group of people as “other” and thereby justify treating them as less. That spirit of divisiveness is almost always the true culprit behind war and poverty and genocide, wielded by dictators and bullies alike.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.