Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
September 28, 2007
Journal #5 Norton Anthology
Quote:
"After we had dismissed the Indians in peace and thanked them for their toil in or behalf, the Christians subtly sent us on our way in the charge of an alcalde named Cebreros,attended by two horseman."
Summary:
This seems to be the culmination and the end of De Vacas stay with the Native American tribes. Here De Vaca is bidding farewell to the Native American tribes and asking them to rebuild their towns. To which the tribes, only if the Christians let us.
Response:
It seems unsuitable for such a great and helpful man to be taken away in shackles as is the case in the above quote. The Christians I assume are taking De Vaca away in shackles because of his fondness for the Native American tribes. The Christians live by an ideology that all men are created equal and all men should be treated as they would want to be treated. Yet we see that throughout the writings of Columbus and De Vaca we clearly see that this was not the case. It must be somewhat frustrating and upsetting to people of the Native American culture that not much of their history or their enslavement is taught about throughout the ages. Up until just before I had taken this course I can Honestly say (although I am embarrassed now) that I did not know of the hardships of the early cultures in America's history. By reading the Norton anthology and Loewen's book my eyes have been opened wider than they have ever been before. It is refreshing to know that after all these years one can still learn something new about a subject that one thought they were at the least familiar with. Along With De Vaca I feel a lot more sympathy for the Native American culture. Its disheartening that in his time De Vaca was arrested for trying to teach people the power of racial equality.
To finish off my thoughts about De Vaca, I completely agree with Scott when he brought up his idea about making a movie about De Vaca's life. Imagine just how moving and powerful a well written screenplay could be adapted from the journals of this man.
Friday, September 28, 2007
The poetic De Vaca
Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
September 28, 2007
Journal #4 Norton anthology
Quote:
"We had come from the sunrise, they from the sunset;we healed the sick, they killed the sound; we came naked and barefoot, they clothed, horsed, and lanced; we coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given, while they robbed whomever they found and bestowed nothing on anyone."
Summary:
De Vaca is summarizing what the two sides of cultures did to each other. He is closing out his journals writing about the hardships that the European explorers brought to the existing tribes of America. He is also stating how the tribes reacted to the actions of the European explorers.
Response:
This is a very powerful and beautifully written quote. Although I cannot take the credit for picking it out of the assigned reading. I do not know her name but a fellow classmate was the one that brought this quote up in our classes Wednesday discussion. I just think this quote really sums up just how De Vaca felt about the Native Americans that captured and later took him throughout his stay in their tribes. The story of De Vaca reminds me greatly of the conservationist Dian Fossey because like De Vaca she lived with a group(in her case gorillas) to study them and later make people aware of their possible extinction. As I said in a previous blog I find it incredible that De Vaca was able to see just how valuable and human the Native Americans were. For him to campaign for the Native Americans truly show s just how great a man he was.
Now to add to Wednesdays discussion of the above quote, I read the above quote and am struck by just how flawlessly and beautifully De Vacas' s words flow off the page. The compare and contrast technique that he uses for the Europeans and the Native Americans really helps drive home his point. "We coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given", this sense of commitment to do right is what proves that the Native Americans were not a people to be enslaved but rather a people to be celebrated and respected. This goes for all the races of people that were enslaved during the times of heavy European exploration. This quote also shows the complete assimilation of De Vaca into the Native American culture. His use of the word "we" shows how he actually views himself; as a member of a Native American tribe.
English 48A
September 28, 2007
Journal #4 Norton anthology
Quote:
"We had come from the sunrise, they from the sunset;we healed the sick, they killed the sound; we came naked and barefoot, they clothed, horsed, and lanced; we coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given, while they robbed whomever they found and bestowed nothing on anyone."
Summary:
De Vaca is summarizing what the two sides of cultures did to each other. He is closing out his journals writing about the hardships that the European explorers brought to the existing tribes of America. He is also stating how the tribes reacted to the actions of the European explorers.
Response:
This is a very powerful and beautifully written quote. Although I cannot take the credit for picking it out of the assigned reading. I do not know her name but a fellow classmate was the one that brought this quote up in our classes Wednesday discussion. I just think this quote really sums up just how De Vaca felt about the Native Americans that captured and later took him throughout his stay in their tribes. The story of De Vaca reminds me greatly of the conservationist Dian Fossey because like De Vaca she lived with a group(in her case gorillas) to study them and later make people aware of their possible extinction. As I said in a previous blog I find it incredible that De Vaca was able to see just how valuable and human the Native Americans were. For him to campaign for the Native Americans truly show s just how great a man he was.
Now to add to Wednesdays discussion of the above quote, I read the above quote and am struck by just how flawlessly and beautifully De Vacas' s words flow off the page. The compare and contrast technique that he uses for the Europeans and the Native Americans really helps drive home his point. "We coveted nothing but gave whatever we were given", this sense of commitment to do right is what proves that the Native Americans were not a people to be enslaved but rather a people to be celebrated and respected. This goes for all the races of people that were enslaved during the times of heavy European exploration. This quote also shows the complete assimilation of De Vaca into the Native American culture. His use of the word "we" shows how he actually views himself; as a member of a Native American tribe.
The civil rights leader Cabeza de Vaca
Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
September 28, 2007
Journal #3
Quote:
"...I overtook four of them on their horses. They were dumbfounded at the sight of me, strangely undressed and in the company with Indians. They just stood staring for a long time, not thinking to hail me or come closer to ask questions."
Summary:
At this point in de Vaca's journey he is in search of the Christian explorers that are believed to have found their way to the land that he is on. Along with him de Vaca brings along Castillo and Dorantes. They find the men on horse and tell them to bring the party to their captain. Their captain is Diego de Alcaraz.
Response:
De Vaca begins his life changing experience as a passenger on Narvaez's expedition to Florida as a provost marshall and treasurer. After many wrong turns and unfavorable weather, the expedition lands on the coast of Florida. Here they are met by hostile Native Americans who give them signs that they are not wanted anywhere near them. Disillusioned with how poorly his expedition is going Narvaez makes barges and eventually becomes stranded on what is now Galveston, Texas. Here is where De Vaca's journey really begins. He passes his first years as a prisoner of various Native American tribes.He is not alone, along with him is his two Spaniard survivor Dorantes and Castillo and also Estevanico a black slave.
De Vaca Spends an immense amount of time living alongside the Native Americans in their tribes and watching and recording their customs. De Vaca becomes so like the Native America\an tribes that he begins to wear their clothing, consists of them being nude with a little deerskin in vital areas.
The reason I feel it is important to bring up this quote is to point and and examine just how humane and unlike all other European explorers De Vaca was. The contrast between him and Columbus just absolutely baffles me. How hard is it for one man to completely go against the norm (at that time) and do what he did. In essence De Vaca becomes one of the very first civil rights leaders. After seeing his fellow European enslave hundreds of Native Americans he decides to go back to Spain in order to help bring awareness to what is going on in America. The importance of this quote shows the high level of commitment that De Vaca had to helping end the Enslavement of the Native Americans. De Vaca would spend the rest of his life fighting for the very people that helped him and his men survive all those years. For De Vaca to believe what he did is truly honorable. A Federal holiday should not befall on Columbus but rather on De Vaca.
Before
After
English 48A
September 28, 2007
Journal #3
Quote:
"...I overtook four of them on their horses. They were dumbfounded at the sight of me, strangely undressed and in the company with Indians. They just stood staring for a long time, not thinking to hail me or come closer to ask questions."
Summary:
At this point in de Vaca's journey he is in search of the Christian explorers that are believed to have found their way to the land that he is on. Along with him de Vaca brings along Castillo and Dorantes. They find the men on horse and tell them to bring the party to their captain. Their captain is Diego de Alcaraz.
Response:
De Vaca begins his life changing experience as a passenger on Narvaez's expedition to Florida as a provost marshall and treasurer. After many wrong turns and unfavorable weather, the expedition lands on the coast of Florida. Here they are met by hostile Native Americans who give them signs that they are not wanted anywhere near them. Disillusioned with how poorly his expedition is going Narvaez makes barges and eventually becomes stranded on what is now Galveston, Texas. Here is where De Vaca's journey really begins. He passes his first years as a prisoner of various Native American tribes.He is not alone, along with him is his two Spaniard survivor Dorantes and Castillo and also Estevanico a black slave.
De Vaca Spends an immense amount of time living alongside the Native Americans in their tribes and watching and recording their customs. De Vaca becomes so like the Native America\an tribes that he begins to wear their clothing, consists of them being nude with a little deerskin in vital areas.
The reason I feel it is important to bring up this quote is to point and and examine just how humane and unlike all other European explorers De Vaca was. The contrast between him and Columbus just absolutely baffles me. How hard is it for one man to completely go against the norm (at that time) and do what he did. In essence De Vaca becomes one of the very first civil rights leaders. After seeing his fellow European enslave hundreds of Native Americans he decides to go back to Spain in order to help bring awareness to what is going on in America. The importance of this quote shows the high level of commitment that De Vaca had to helping end the Enslavement of the Native Americans. De Vaca would spend the rest of his life fighting for the very people that helped him and his men survive all those years. For De Vaca to believe what he did is truly honorable. A Federal holiday should not befall on Columbus but rather on De Vaca.
Before
After
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Christoopher Columbus, the man you thought you knew pt 2.
Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
September 27, 2007
Journal #2 Loewen Ch.2
Quote:
"...the Indians were well built and of quick intelligence they have very good customs...Later when Columbus was justifying his wars and his enslavement of the Indians, they became cruel and stupid a people warlike and numerous,whose customs and religion are very different from ours."
Summary:
The above quote shows just how quickly Columbus changed his attitude towards the Native Americans. One moment his is writing in his journal about how intelligent the Native Americans are and the next moment he is saying how stupid and "savage" they are. Columbus uses this attitude as a justification for the enslavement of the Native Americans that he "discovers".
Response:
The idea of Native Americans being "stupid" and warlike is not a new stereotype. Of course Columbus did not have televisions and comic books that glorified the Native American as a vicious warrior. He did have his journals though. Columbus uses his journals as a way to make himself feel like he is doing he right thing by enslaving the Native Americans. As stated in Loewen's book Columbus uses a simple psychological concept known as cognitive dissonance. This is the idea that we will, in our own mind, give a person or group of people a negative and completely false image so that we feel better about treating that person(s) as we please. It is a tragedy when you think about and read just all the inhumane treatment various cultures have been through over hundreds and thousands of years. The Native Americans were the earliest slaves that have lived in this country.
With this said I have to bring up author an that I read last year for an English course here at Foothill
. Sherman Alexie wrote a book titled, The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in Heaven. Throughout the whole book the image or stereotype of the "savage Indian" is brought up. Alexie seems to struggle with this concept because of the heavy use of this image in the book. It appears as a very predominant and negative image. One essay question we were asked to write about was whether or not the use of this image helped or hurt the Native Americans. I always thought that Alexie, although a brilliant story teller,wrote to many negative stories about his experiences on the reservation he lived on. Thus to me his stories hurt the image of the Native American. What I am trying to get at is that Columbus may have been the primer that set off the mistreatment of Native Americans.
This "warlike" people are truly a peaceful culture. The European explorers that came across these "warlike" Indians were treated for illness and given food and shelter. They also repaired the boats of explorers that had shipwrecked, such as Francis Drake. Lewis and Clark were only able to make their trek across the United States because of the help of numerous tribes. I love how Loewen points out how American textbooks fail to point out just how helpful the Native Americans were.
English 48A
September 27, 2007
Journal #2 Loewen Ch.2
Quote:
"...the Indians were well built and of quick intelligence they have very good customs...Later when Columbus was justifying his wars and his enslavement of the Indians, they became cruel and stupid a people warlike and numerous,whose customs and religion are very different from ours."
Summary:
The above quote shows just how quickly Columbus changed his attitude towards the Native Americans. One moment his is writing in his journal about how intelligent the Native Americans are and the next moment he is saying how stupid and "savage" they are. Columbus uses this attitude as a justification for the enslavement of the Native Americans that he "discovers".
Response:
The idea of Native Americans being "stupid" and warlike is not a new stereotype. Of course Columbus did not have televisions and comic books that glorified the Native American as a vicious warrior. He did have his journals though. Columbus uses his journals as a way to make himself feel like he is doing he right thing by enslaving the Native Americans. As stated in Loewen's book Columbus uses a simple psychological concept known as cognitive dissonance. This is the idea that we will, in our own mind, give a person or group of people a negative and completely false image so that we feel better about treating that person(s) as we please. It is a tragedy when you think about and read just all the inhumane treatment various cultures have been through over hundreds and thousands of years. The Native Americans were the earliest slaves that have lived in this country.
With this said I have to bring up author an that I read last year for an English course here at Foothill
. Sherman Alexie wrote a book titled, The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in Heaven. Throughout the whole book the image or stereotype of the "savage Indian" is brought up. Alexie seems to struggle with this concept because of the heavy use of this image in the book. It appears as a very predominant and negative image. One essay question we were asked to write about was whether or not the use of this image helped or hurt the Native Americans. I always thought that Alexie, although a brilliant story teller,wrote to many negative stories about his experiences on the reservation he lived on. Thus to me his stories hurt the image of the Native American. What I am trying to get at is that Columbus may have been the primer that set off the mistreatment of Native Americans.This "warlike" people are truly a peaceful culture. The European explorers that came across these "warlike" Indians were treated for illness and given food and shelter. They also repaired the boats of explorers that had shipwrecked, such as Francis Drake. Lewis and Clark were only able to make their trek across the United States because of the help of numerous tribes. I love how Loewen points out how American textbooks fail to point out just how helpful the Native Americans were.
Christpher Columbus, the man you thought you knew.
Gustavo Quintero
English 48A
September 27, 2007
Journal #1, Loewen Ch. 2
Quote:
"Christopher Columbus introduced two new phenomena that revolutionized race relations and transformed the modern world: the taking of land, wealth, and labor from indigenous peoples, leading to their extermination, and the transatlantic slave trade, which created a racial underclass.
Summary:
Loewen is stating an argument in this quote that says Columbus is not the hero and great man that most students grew up studying. Columbus' actions led to the systematic breakdown of Native American culture and lives, along with the creation of early slavery.
Response:
The first thing I want to say is just how thankful I am that I enrolled in Scott's class. From the first two days of class I can already tell that I will learn and read about a great deal of relevant, insightful, entertaining and eye opening topics and material. Believe it or not I was sadly, now a days, one of the few students still in the academic environment that did not know who the real Christopher Columbus was. When we did the cocktail party our very first class meeting I quickly realized that I was still in the shadows regarding who the real Christopher Columbus. After a short class discussion about Columbus I began to slowly see just how false the image of Columbus is. One comment that caught me off guard during the cocktail hour was made by Chelsea (I think) "Christopher Columbus was a tyrant." I did not know what to say. The Columbus I knew sailed from Spain in the mid 1400's in search of Silk, spices and gold. He then "Discovered" America in 1492. Here, thinking he had found India, he named the inhabitants he saw "Indians". Boy was I clueless. Like I said before I have been completely in the shadows for some 10 plus years. The real Columbus was a man who did not discover America, he stumbled upon it. Nor was he in search of silk and spices. He was as greedy as they come, he was in search solely of gold. He was also horrible to the Native Americans by enslaving them and by forcing them to work in minds in order to give him all the gold he demanded.
One of the most striking things Loewen mentions in his book is the "Tribute System" that Columbus had set up. Columbus upset with not being able to find gold on Haiti set up a cruel system so that he would receive gold. The Native Americans were told they had to pay tribute to the Catholic Sovereigns, and by paying tribute Columbus meant by paying him either a hawk's bell of gold dust or 25 pounds of cotton. So for three months the Native Americans would spend all their time gathering up the "dues". After three months Columbus would collect the "dues" from each Native American, thereby giving that person a coin. These tokens were to be worn around their necks. Those with expired coins would have their hands cut off.
Who really knows about these atrocities? I bet if a survey was taken amongst high school students and adults with the above scenarios and the following question, Is the above paragraph a true example of Columbus's Practices, the overwhelming majority would answer no. Its just amazes me just how evil this man really was. The worst part is that this man has a Federal holiday in his honor, that is observed by the United States. Everyone should take time to read this book in order to open up their eyes to the atrocities that this man created.
One last thought I want to end with; As Scott pointed out how strange is it that we have a federal holiday for a man whose own country does not have a holiday for?
P.S. This is my first time using a blog so I apologize for the lack of images. Once I get more comfortable with posting on a blog I will make sure to add some visual and maybe audio aspects to go along with my thoughts and responses.
English 48A
September 27, 2007
Journal #1, Loewen Ch. 2
Quote:
"Christopher Columbus introduced two new phenomena that revolutionized race relations and transformed the modern world: the taking of land, wealth, and labor from indigenous peoples, leading to their extermination, and the transatlantic slave trade, which created a racial underclass.
Summary:
Loewen is stating an argument in this quote that says Columbus is not the hero and great man that most students grew up studying. Columbus' actions led to the systematic breakdown of Native American culture and lives, along with the creation of early slavery.
Response:
The first thing I want to say is just how thankful I am that I enrolled in Scott's class. From the first two days of class I can already tell that I will learn and read about a great deal of relevant, insightful, entertaining and eye opening topics and material. Believe it or not I was sadly, now a days, one of the few students still in the academic environment that did not know who the real Christopher Columbus was. When we did the cocktail party our very first class meeting I quickly realized that I was still in the shadows regarding who the real Christopher Columbus. After a short class discussion about Columbus I began to slowly see just how false the image of Columbus is. One comment that caught me off guard during the cocktail hour was made by Chelsea (I think) "Christopher Columbus was a tyrant." I did not know what to say. The Columbus I knew sailed from Spain in the mid 1400's in search of Silk, spices and gold. He then "Discovered" America in 1492. Here, thinking he had found India, he named the inhabitants he saw "Indians". Boy was I clueless. Like I said before I have been completely in the shadows for some 10 plus years. The real Columbus was a man who did not discover America, he stumbled upon it. Nor was he in search of silk and spices. He was as greedy as they come, he was in search solely of gold. He was also horrible to the Native Americans by enslaving them and by forcing them to work in minds in order to give him all the gold he demanded.
One of the most striking things Loewen mentions in his book is the "Tribute System" that Columbus had set up. Columbus upset with not being able to find gold on Haiti set up a cruel system so that he would receive gold. The Native Americans were told they had to pay tribute to the Catholic Sovereigns, and by paying tribute Columbus meant by paying him either a hawk's bell of gold dust or 25 pounds of cotton. So for three months the Native Americans would spend all their time gathering up the "dues". After three months Columbus would collect the "dues" from each Native American, thereby giving that person a coin. These tokens were to be worn around their necks. Those with expired coins would have their hands cut off.
Who really knows about these atrocities? I bet if a survey was taken amongst high school students and adults with the above scenarios and the following question, Is the above paragraph a true example of Columbus's Practices, the overwhelming majority would answer no. Its just amazes me just how evil this man really was. The worst part is that this man has a Federal holiday in his honor, that is observed by the United States. Everyone should take time to read this book in order to open up their eyes to the atrocities that this man created.
One last thought I want to end with; As Scott pointed out how strange is it that we have a federal holiday for a man whose own country does not have a holiday for?
P.S. This is my first time using a blog so I apologize for the lack of images. Once I get more comfortable with posting on a blog I will make sure to add some visual and maybe audio aspects to go along with my thoughts and responses.