Final Paper

Since my group project was about Wyatt Earp, I decided I that I would base my paper on how Earp is regarded throughout history a famous, violent lawman but I plan to explain how he tried very hard to be a pacifist in almost all situations, contrary to popular belief. I think Earp is a very interesting man who has influenced change in law enforcement during his time period which has led to other changes in law enforcement over time. I plan to argue how he was justified in having to act violently in certain sitiuations.

Presentations and Paper

The group presentation I related to best was the group who presented "Tombstone". Tombstone is also another film based on the Earp family and the biggest difference between the two films is our film, "Wyatt Earp", has more of a documentary feeling to it because it portrays and focuses on all aspects of Wyatt's early life as well as his later accomplishments whereas Tombstone has a more Hollywood film that gives informative information on the Earp's but not as much as our film. For my paper, I am really at a standstill on rather writing about the Earp's or making an argument on the violence that law enforcement had to use in the West was justified.

Group Project 2

Thus far, me and my group member have already put together most of our powerpoint presentation and are currently still deciding which video clips to incorporate into our project. Today we will decide who will present what apsect of the project and conclude our deciding on our vidoe clips. Also we will conclude our point of view on the cinematography of the film and decide how we would like to expose it to the class and what makes it different from other Western films.

Group Project

With our last group meeting me and my partner put forth alot of strong ideas to start our project. We have started deciding on what movie scenes are best in our best interest to include in the project and we both agree that Wyatt Earp is not a traditional western. We also have began to narrow down our themes with, Wyatt's ability to not go looking for a fight despite his reputation as well as his thirst for justice that very could well be justified given the time period in the film. We are going to explore the camera work behind the movie, which is excellent, and compare the gun scenes with other more traditional westerns seing as this film has quite a bit of gore and violence.

Wyatt Earp: A Force To Be Reckoned With

For my project, my group will be viewing the feature hollywood film, "Wyatt Earp". The film portrays the life of legendary lawman Wyatt Earp and follows the many exciting up and downs of his life. He is extremely close with his brothers and throughout the whole movie they work and live together as a cohesive unit with Wyatt always being the head of the family. The movie has many historical references but the most interesting of course is Wyatts participation in the famous gunfight at the OK Corral. My favorite character in the movie, as well as the most diverse, is Doc Holliday. Doc is dying of tuberculosis and is heavy drinking, crazy comical figure that gives viewers a nice change of pace from Wyatt's serious demeanor. The film depicts what life was like for law enforcement in the West and it also portrays on of the most famous gunslingers of all time, Wyatt Earp. Excellent film and I would recommend for all action lovers.

Iowa Review

This interview with Alexie definetly showed me that he is more outspoken than I originally thought. By all means he has earned the right to be so but I just never imagined that he had such strong opinions on certain subjects such as others writing about a culture that has been "colonized". I do agree with his point of view to a certain extent but I do not like how he says some of Americas literature about Indians written by non Indains is an "outsider" book. I do realize that there is some truth to this thinking but how can he honestly say that when America's and his culture are so closely intertwined? Certainly there is some Native American literature that is inaccurate by Indian standards but their is just as many that are accurate, regardless of who has written them. It is possible and probable that their were many people who understood the Indian culture perfectly in the western era of our country whether they were white, hispanic, african american or european because surely all of these ethnicities had people who's lives were closely intertwined with Native Americans which therefore gives them the right and perogative to write about Indian culture.

"This Is What It Means To Say Phoenix, Arizona"

This story by Alexie gives the reader a very descripitive picture of how difficult and trying life is on an Indian reservation. The story forces you to focus on all of the negative aspects of Indain life on the "rez" such as extreme poverty for everyone and the excessive loss of their tribal traditions and culture. I found myself wondering, as the story was coming to an end, what was the reasoning for his father leaving. I can relate to the trials he was enduring but Alexie nevers gives the reader this piece of mind. It was evident to me as the story progresses this reservation was a lot like what we have been talking about in class in the sense that there is alcoholism and poverty everywhere not to mention the sense of a lost culture to the world. Thomas is a colorful character throughout the story who carries himself and thinks like his ancestors before him. His telling of his visions begin to make Victor realize that even though there culture is struggling, there is always a turning force to guide them at all times or as Thomas says, "Nothing Stops, cousin".

Fleur

"Fleur" by Louise Erdrich was a story a little hard for me to grasp. I did not understand if it was Native American folklore or if the story holds some historic reference. Fleur seems to have a spiritual dilema in which she is a very beautiful girl but needs nor wants a mortal man although she does bore a child at the end of the story. I believe Fleur has supernatural powers inherited through her bloodline as the story tells us, "Power travels through the bloodlines, handed out before birth". Fleur could possibly have blood flowing through her veins that comes from powerful ancestors and her "powers" may be used in order to get some sort of reprieve for her people or her justified revenge on "outsiders".

Truganinny

Rose's poem "Truganinny" is a depressing but enlightening story of a woman who paints a picture of Aborigines, her culture, being forcibly removed from their lands and in the process many lives are lost not to mention their culture and traditions being stamped out fore she is the last full-blooded member of the Tasmanians. The poem speaks of her struggling to relay to others how tragic their situation truly is and how desperately she wants to die at peace in her own lands. The story reminds me of how Native Americans struggled with the same injustices. This poem really hits home when she speaks of her dead children with their eyes gone gray. This paints a vivid description of the repercussions we see time and time again with forced colonization.

Eagle Feather Fan, The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee and The Earth

Eagle Feather Fan is a poem that speaks of eagles as one of the most strong and beautiful animals in the world. He is passionate about the eagle as a symbol of his own life and even goes as far as to say he draws "power" from the eagle. It lead me to wonder if perhaps the eagle is a huge sacred symbol of his culture. The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee I think is speaking of his people who have survived many obstacles in life but are still at one of with themselves and as one as a people together. Almost like a tribute to his culture and history, a way to show his pride and to let others know that they are delivered. The Earth is my favorite poem of his. It feels like it is being spoken from a true Native American but at the same time it is directed to all of mankind. He claims in the poem that the blood of the human race is deeply invested in the Earth and his thinking process makes sense. This poem was the easiest for me to relate to and I think this poem can be related to from many cultures and different types of people, which is why it is my favorite.

Angel of Geese and Before An Old Painting of the Crucifixion

Angel of Geese is a poem about loss and having no hope. I believe Momaday is speaking of personal loss in his life as well as people of a paticular culture who have expierenced the loss of many citizens. The poem is a depressing but interesting one. Before An Old Painting of the Crucifixion is a poem of Momaday that I believe is speaking about the feeling of despair and how the strength of this feeling devours all positive aspects of life. I am not sure however if he is speaking of his own father.

How to Write the Great American Indian Novel

Alexie claimed in order for an great American Indian novel to be written the story had to have an Indian woman who was beautiful and loved a white man, or a white woman who loved an Indian man but pretended not too. There must be one murder, one suicide and one attempted rape. I believe Alexie is being dark and humorous towards American mainstream mass media that has given our culture these negative depictions of Native Americans. I think he wants to let America know it is not funny or moral to depict his culture the way our media and Hollywood does.

Crimes Against Humanity and Note to a Culture Vulture

"Crimes Against Humanity" is an really interesting outlook on major athletic teams using Native American culture as mascots for their teams and if it is appropriate or not. I am an avid sports fan and this argument is intriguing because the writer makes some valid points such as it is degrading to Native American culture and that it is offensive for Americans to actively take place in the "tomahawk" chop cheer at the Braves game because it negatively depicts Indians as a people. I certainly can understand frustration from Native Americans but I have to disagree with the author. I stand with the owners of sport teams and propose instead of Native Americans thinking ngatively about the team names maybe they should look at the situation as the teams honouring their culture and past. I know we are supposed to be "politically correct" but I mean honestly, give it a rest. Athletics is America's pastime and so is their logos and nicknames, which I do not see most of them changing in the future. " Nota to a Culture Vulture" by Adrian Louis is a dark yet humorous article I think that might be directed to Alexie Sherman or another Native American writer. Louis is writing about his hatred of how Native American culture is disappearing and how the author of the book he just read finally realized his Native Americna race was noble and tragic. Louis basically degrades the author of the book but it is puzzling because at the end of the article he states he liked the book a little. More background is needed in order to understand Louis's process of thinking.

Thomas McGuane

"Cowboy" by McGuane was an interesting story and it reminded of the feature film, "Open Range" because of how the relationship was between the old man and the younger man. Over time, like "Open Range", both men began trusting each other and started to enjoy working together on the ranch. I believe the reasoning behind this is mainly that both men thought of themselves as the last of a "dying breed", pertaining to the life of the cowboy, which forged a strong but unlikely bond between the two of them. I really enjoyed how McGuane portayed the old man's character in particular because that is how I enviosioned an old cowboy of that era, hard headed and set in his ways. I particularly enjoyed the old man's comments about how you would never catch him help feeding a frenchman's mouth, words spoken like a true American cowboy. One of the issues I had with the story was why did the author not try and make more of an effort to give more background on the brother and sisters history?

Cormac McCarthur

"Blood Meridian" was an interesting excerpt and one I did not fully understand it at first. One of the most interesting aspects of this excerpt to me is how Cormac uses his words to paint an extremely vivid picture in the reader's head. For example, Cormac describes a child's lifeless body in a church with two buzzards perched on it, among with many other bodies in the church, and I felt like I could envision this scene in my head as if I were watching a movie. To me, Cormac depicted Native Americans as savages and barbarians. While there is not much background on the characters one can imagine the characters must have had some injustices done to them by Native Americans. Some of the scenes from the excerpt depict Native Americans murdering whole villages, children and women not withstanding. Therefore, I found myself wondering why Cormac would paint such a negative image of Native Americans and what was his reasoning for writing such a descriptive and violent excerpt.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Part 2

After watching a second installment of the film I have to say this is definetly my favorite film we have watched so far. The most interesting aspect that I want to discuss is the character Tuco. We now know Tuco has a brother who, ironically, is a priest. I think this is a interesting aspect because it demonstrates the hardships that citizens had to endure in this time period. According to Tuco, where him and his brother grew up their were two choices of a career. Either one became a priest or an outlaw. Now if you could put yourself in their shoes im sure you would say that's a helluva choice. It makes me speculate maybe Tuco is not such a bad guy but rather a good brother in the sense that he made his choice so his brother never would have too.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

I personally really enjoy this film and I have watched it numerous times before this class. But I can now totally see the differences with John Wayne westerns and westerns like this film. This film is the first of its kind because of one big difference. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was one of the first films to actually show a cowboy firing his weapon and killing an adversary in the same frame. In John Wayne films if you pay attention you will never see Wayne fire his weapon and the camera follow his shot until it strikes home. I appreciate this Clint Eastwood western mainly because it changes the whole genre perception of Hollywood westerns and is just so more realistic to me, all because of different camera angles and shots. I found it interesting how many close-ups were shot at the actors which is another pivotal contribution to this film. I really enjoy this perception of the American cowboy in this film due to the fact this is how I envisioned the west in my mind.

Five Quotations for my Argument

I hve decided to write my essay on the dime novel California Joe, The Mysterious Plainsmen. My argument is while the American settlers in the West were certainly no angels, most people choose not to see that some Native American tribes simply looked at the settlers as plunder and spoils of war. Many settlers and their families suffered unneccassirly from attacks from the Native Americans. One quotation I feel was important in the book pertaining to my argument is in chapter three when Joe states, "They don't harm me. I harm them." Joe is referring to how the Indians are scared of him. On a different note, the reader can also guess that Joe has had previous troubles in his past caused by Native Americans. Another quotation I feel is important is in chapter six when Joe states, "It dont seem exactly right to shoot them, when they wont shoot back, thinking I am a spook; but they'll report mighty soon that I was coming from the pale-face camp, and then they won't believe I am an evil spirit, so I'd guess I better kill 'em." This quote to me is chilling considering that Joe was just a teenager and had no trouble thinking this dilema over. It also proves to me that the settlers were forced to think in military ways because the Indians cared not whether they intended good or harm. A particular quote that jumped out at me was in chapter twelve when Joe stated, " Holy smoke! The dead folks did scare me for a minute." He was referring to his discovery of a row of corpses in a cavern which he was chased in to by Indians. This makes me feel like Joe was hardened from his violence with the Indians because he dealt with finding the corpses like it was an everyday affair, which is troubling. In chapter thirteen Joe states, " I've started in putty well myself in the killing line, and I may have a graveyard as big as Kit's, when I get to be away in my years." Joe is talking of a man famous for killing Indians and yet again we see how coolly Joe talks of killing Indians. It makes me think how could such a young boy have such a heartfelt hatred of this culture. My last quotation is in chapter sixteen when Joe yells to the Indians in battle, " Yell away, you red devils! but here we go and no none to head us off." In this quote, Joe is mocking the Indians, even as dire as his situation is, and is also boasting he will escape. This shows me that even in life threatening situations, some settlers hatred and distaste of Native Americans stayed with them to the end. Were their feelings justified pertaining to the Indians threating their way of life? Were the settlers wronged by Indians for other reasons than protecting their territory? Could a young boy been drove to leading a life of violence from past expierences of Native American brutality on immigrant and American pioneers?

Dear John Wayne and About John Wayne

I found it interesting to know that John Wayne is not his real name at all, his real name is Marion Robert Morrison. I find this intriguing because he does not come across as the type of person to change anything about themselves, especially not his given name. I also found it interesting later on in his career that he not only acted but produced some of his movies with his own money, which I think is rare among todays actors.

John Wayne Interview

John Wayne comes across as a tough, gritty kind of man who has been around the block a couple of times. I did not know he was a graduate of the University of Southern California and that he was so involved in campaign elections and politics. The most interesting aspect of the interview to me was his opinions on Native Americans. Wayne believed that it wasnt present day Americans fault that our forefathers decisions werent the best in treating Native Americans. He goes on to say that while there many right and wrongs committed by both sides the fact still remains we won the claim to the land and while the Indians being compensated is not a bad thing, the question he raises is what about the government compensating the pioneers families who expierenced losses caused by the Indians?

How to Play Indians

This excerpt is basically talking about how the future of Native Americans is so dire that a young Native American, in order to improve his social status, must appear in a Western movie depicting an Indian brave in battle. Of course, Eco is poking fun at how Native Americans were percieved by others. He thought the way the movies were depicting Indians were giving them a false reputation and basically a false interpretation of the way a young brave fought in battle. In his opinion, he thought it was ridiculous that some people actually believed that an Indians mustang couldn't outrun a stagecoach or how the "white man" could so easily pick up an Indians trail. I think Eco was trying to make a point refering to how the movies depicted Indians was not true and Hollywoods version differs from the real life occurences of the West.

John Wayne

I do not have a vast knowledge as far as John Waynes career goes but I do know he is probably one of the most decorated western actors in the history of our country. His demeanor in the movies I have seen is generally regarded as the typical tough, gritty cowboy that most people associate cowboys with. I also know he made a ton of movies because I have seen some of his movies where he is well in his fifties, if not sixties. I have also seen him act in old war movies , not just westerns. I expect his movies to have a problematic storyline with him being a deciding factor in the outcome, as most stars in movies do even today.

Sherman Alexie: Tonto

Alexie writes about his hatred of Tonto because he feels like movies and mainstream culture depicted Indians as some things that were just not true. He didnt like Tonto because in a sense he felt like he had to live up to certain expectations such as falling in love with a white woman and being brave in a fight. As a person, he claims he was none of these things. He didnt like to get in fights and never kissed a white woman on the neck. He tried to explain that being an Indian youth in America was often tough because of some shameful movies, songs, etc. He didnt feel like America knew or cared about the true Native American culture.

The Lone Ranger

The episode starts off with six Texas rangers being set up and massacred. One ranger survives, the Lone Ranger. He is nursed back to health by his Indain friend Tonto, who he saved when both of them were boys. The clip basically depicted how the West was corrupt and filled with violence not only with bad men but "lawmen" who were corrupt. The Lone Ranger comes off as a tough, griity character who doesnt seem to be afraid of confrontation for the good of a cause.

Dime Novel Topic

I would write about how Joe may have a been a young and sort of disturbed boy at first, but his will to survive and to protect what he thought was good was second to none. You understand early on in the novel his will to survive was unrivaled by most on the frontier and he was extremely crafty when it came to making the best of his possessions, which was a main key to survival back then. He really had no problem with killing Indians, so I would also try and touch on the fact maybe his childood trauma involved Indans and explore that route pyschologically.

Group Discussion on Dime Novels

Our group had some of the same interesting views on the novel as each other. We all thought it was funny how Joe never really spoke at the beginning of the novel but it seemed that he would never shut up towards the end of the book. We all also agreed it was ironic that Joe survived so many battles and adventures but died on his front porch while cleaning his rifle. The most interesting topic discussed was how one could connect the Indian and settlers struggle to the movie Avator because of the government invading a different culture and land that isnt theres.

Review of California Joe

Towards the end of the book you begin to truly grasp how much mental and pysical strength this boy had. Many times in the book he was faced with daunting tasks such as participating in Indian skirmishes sometimes outnumbered fifty to one. Yet I am not sure if Joe was haunted from a childhood trauma or just really loved adventure and pushing his limits. The boy somehow always pulled through no matter how drastic his situation was. When Joe made his way West people began calling him California Joe for he became a "gold guide". I think this is ironic for Joe because all throughout the book he really had no interest in money. I believe his death was fitting for him, like Wild Bill, because both were assinated and usually men like that not only meet their deaths violently but accept their violent deaths without fear.

California Joe, Chapters 3,4,5 and 6

In my opinion I believe the immigrants began to realize, once Joe rode into their camp, that he was not a, "spook" but just a seventeen year old kid. They described his clothes as more or less battered and patched up fragments from what seemed to be other peoples clothes because none of his outfit really fit him. Joe warns the group that the Indians were laying a trap for them and offers his help with a counter attack plan. The group quickly realizes that the boy is skilled in the ways of war and take his advice without question. I thought it was really smart how Joe incorporated the young boys and women into the battle plan. He believed that by doing this it increased the chances of the groups survival and furthermore I thought it was cool that the groups women and boys had no problem participating in the attack. I also learned that Joe is skilled in the art of scalping which really is no surprise considering he seems to know the Indian ways extremely well.

California Joe, The Mysterious Plainsmen

The book starts off by describing some immigrants who were heading West that had pitched camp for the night. Some of the men ventured out into the prairie to hunt some of the wild game when they saw a mysterious, beardless man dressed in all black on a snow white horse. He was armed with a black rifle that layed across his lap. Since the group's guide had died a few days earlier, they asked the "Phantom Rider" for directions to make it back to their encampment. While he never allowed the group to approach him, or talked, he led the group safely back to their camp. In chapter two, the story begins with a note that carried a warning that was delivered overnight to the camp. The note warned the travelers that they were on the wrong trial and they trusted him, he would lead them the right way. The group began following a trial of stakes and concluded it could only be the "Phantom Rider" guiding them because the trail of stakes were made by a single horseman. As the second night came and went, a second note was delivered to the camp. It explained that they were making the right decision to follow the new trial. Some in the camp feared a trap was being set but most believed they were making the right decision to follow the new trial. On the third night, much to the dismay of some women, the rider in black appeared in the camp.

Phillip Deloria

One thing I took in from the this handout was D.H. Lawrence's opinions about Native Americans. He believed that white Americans needed to either destroy the Indians or to assimilate them into a white American world. Americans wanted to feel that the continent was completely theirs but they knew only the Indians could teach them the ways of the land. But even in spite of this, Lawrence believed the Americans basically had to destroy the Indians for total control of the continent's landscapes. What I took away from the Boston Tea Party was the Indian disguises were used not neccessarly as a way of maintaining secrecy as it was to cast blame on a third party. Of course it was all a way of poking fun at the British by depicting a picture of Mohawk Indians that traveled hundreds of miles to dump Boston's tea into the harbour. The noble savagery that is reffered to in the handout in my opinion is talking about how whites admired the Indians because of their way with dealing with their land from a spiritual standpoint. But at the same time the Americans needed that land so they could call the whole continent home

Charlot

Charlot spoke out against the "white" man trying to tax his people, known as the "Flathead" Indians. He questioned why the white man thought his people should pay them for things that were given to them by their God and forefathers. Charlot spoke of how in his expierence with the white man all they did was steal, lie and murder his people while he claims his people in the beggining showed the white man kindness. He believes the white man will always just take more and more from his people.

Frank L. Baum

Baum believed that in order to provide safety for pioneers the remaining Native Americans must be annihilated while they were vulnerable from the death of Sitting Bull. This is an extremely inhumane view by Baum made towards the Native Americans. He considers the "whites" the masters of the American continent, even though the Native Americans were obviously there first. He also goes onto say that Americans should not regret their extermination and I completely disagree with this view. I would hope most Americans would believe that this way of thinking should never be implemented.

Noble Savage

In English, the term noble savage first appeared in a herioc play called, "The Conquest of Granada" in 1672 bt the poet Dryden. The concept of a noble savage is believed to be created by the Greeks and Romans. The Earl of Shaftesbury believed that humans have a moral sense that is natural and is based on feelings resulting from a religion. In 1906, a Russian explorer named Vladimir Arsenyev wrote a memoir that was based on a life of a Siberian Nanai hunter who saved the lives of Vladidmirs companions on many occassions in the wilderness of Manchuria. But the Siberian was unable to adjust to life in the city. I believe the reason behind this is because, like the concept of a noble savage, tribal people were at one with nature and were naturally innocent unlike western civilization.

Gertrude Simmons Bonnin

Bonnin described her mother as often a sad and silent woman. She described white men as a sickly sham and only the bronzed Dakota as real man. Bonnin hated the "paleface" who made her mother cry. The white man had killed her uncle, sister, and father. Bonnin loved evening meals because that was when old legends were told. When she was eight, missionaries came to her village to take away Indian boys and girls to the East. Her mother, after some time, agreed to let her go to the Eastern land with the "palefaces". There were eight Indian children who were going East with the missionaries. Although Bonnin's mother knew hardships would have to be endured if her daughter traveled East, she also knew the "palefaces" would increase in numbers very soon on the prairies and for her daughter to succeed in life she would need to be an educated woman. Therefore her mother allowed her to go East because she knew it was a neccessary evil.

Resonse to Helen Hunt Jackson's excerpt

The Helen Hunt Jackson excerpt was a sad and compelling story about the Poncar Indian tribe. She explains in depth about the failure of the United States government to uphold their treaty promises to the Poncars. The Poncars were considered to be gentle and peacable Indians. The United States first treaty was made in 1817 with the tribe and was basically a treaty of friendship. Another treaty was made in 1825 which required the Poncas to reside inside the United States territorial limits and the United States right to regulate all trade with them in exchange for the United States protection and benefits. The United States did not provide the tribe protection or provisions as promised and did not extend money to them as the government promised. Around 1863 the tribe was starving and falling under attacks from U.S. soldiers and other Indian tribes. The government was no help. Through all this trouble, the Poncas remained loyal and peacable to the treaty. Men, women, and children of the tribe were being murdered for their very few provisions and belongings in the open prairie and on the reservations. The murders were being commited by not only other tribes but also United States soldiers. I am ashamed of the government's lack of caring and lack of upholding the treaty with the Poncas. The Poncas expierenced many horrible life threatening situations such as starvation and murder because our government allowed it.