Buffy, the Unlikely Artist - Essay Example

your Buffy – The Unlikely Artist Introduction It is the universal experience in many of the societies that native tribal women rarely create a mark for themselves in the psyche of a nation where they belong. One would not expect an orphan and born into a native aboriginal family to become a celebrity. If the person is a woman living in the USA, the chances are that much less given the emphasis the male-dominated US society places on education and mainstream upbringing on one hand, and the myths that prevail. My topic relates to the 69 year old Canadian-American woman Beverly Sainte-Marie, nicknamed Buffy, who defied that generally accepted notion to become a popular artist, an icon and an activist. Born in Piapot reserve into the Cree Society in Saskatchewan, Canada, Beverly Sainte-Marie was orphaned as a child, moved to Maine, Massachusetts, USA upon adoption, and rose to fame as Buffy Sainte-Marie, defying all odds and popular notions (Buffy, cshvof.com/buffy). The popular myths that natives in the Americas and elsewhere, have been by and large eliminated in the process of colonization or that the remaining few are converted to main stream culture, or that they are alcoholics confined to reserve areas, etc. are all just that - myths with little or no evidence. The rise and stardom of artists like Buffy Saint-Marie is a pointer of the opposite. The unlikely artist The Cree aboriginals spread over wide geographic areas of Canada and the USA and are considered a warlike tribe although they were friendly towards the British and French traders, (your last name) 2 according to Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia (infoplease.com). Numbering about 200,000, they have always been active in protecting their cultural interests and identity as an independent group with its own language and customs. According to the encyclopedia, they have successfully opposed colonization of their territories in the form of economic development through hydroelectric power stations, mining, logging etc., and have secured a negotiated settlement for a significantly reduced project, financial assistance and above all, recognition that they are an independent native nation. These successes point to the capacity of the Cree people to fight for their rights uncompromisingly. Buffy Sainte-Marie belongs to this illustrious native group. She received her formal education in the USA and moved to Hawaii in the 60s as a resident, where she continues to live today although her work demands her frequent travels to the mainland. Her academic training in the formal US schools did not prevent her natural leanings towards her native cultural ethos, of which she became more aware as she grew up and moved into an aboriginal family, as her biography points out. Thus, Buffy became the true product of native creativity, aided and assisted by the formal education and opportunities of the mainstream US society. In spite of her dual citizenship of the USA and Canada, she is proud to be a Canadian, as she informed the Ottawa Citizen in an interview in 1993. The most popular myth about North American natives is their excessive drinking. Alcoholism has been prevalent from the earliest days of the contact of the settlers from the Europe to the present day (Encyclopedia of North American Indians). The popular notion that came into wide acceptance on this basis is that the natives can not handle alcohol as well as the White Americans; that they resort to excessive drinking to overcome their loneliness confined as they are to reserved areas; that the ‘savages’ of the earlier centuries and their (your last name) 3 ‘uncultured’ behavior is attributable to their drinking habits etc. (ibid). The report under reference debunks this notion giving evidence of the introduction of alcohol into the native societies by the settlers themselves, of the significantly varied drinking habits of natives of different regions etc. In sharp contrast to this popular notion, Buffy Sainte-Marie achieved stardom as an artist apart from being an activist, in spite of being a tribal and a woman. Speaking to the Beat Magazine, London from her home in Hawaii last month, she said, “I live on a goat farm in the mountains. Im raising 27 goats and two horses and a kitty cat. Plus Im on the road with a rock n roll band...”– a complete opposite of a rock star and a celebrity and much less an alcoholic (Buffy Sainte-Marie, Beat Magazine). Buffy was acutely aware of the neglect of the artistic or other achievements of native people, especially the native Americans and her lament can be gauged from the lyric, “Sing about your ebony African queen/Sing about your lily-white Lili Marleen/Beauty by the dozen, but the girl of the hour/Is your Native North American prairie flower”. It is equally true that her activism did not begin or end with rights of tribal people. She is a much more evolved personality as can be seen in her other lyrics like, “Now That the Buffalos Gone" and "My Country Tis of Thy People Youre Dying”, both exposing the cause of natives, "Universal Soldier" about war, and "Until Its Time for You to Go", a romantic number. Brookeman brings a great deal of clarity into the issue of myths surrounding native people and their masters by dealing with the essentially different cultural/political background of the two as represented by ‘economic individualism and liberal democracy’ of the Whites vs. the unity of ‘religion, art and activity’ – in other words ‘synthesizing and integrating efforts’ of the (your last name) 4 Reds (Brookeman, C). Hollywood movies and their largely negative portrayal of Red Indians have been partly responsible for the false popular cultural impressions about the native people; since these movies are seen in many countries, the stereotype half-naked Red Indian with feathery headgear and war cries was created and sustained, which is a far cry from their real culture. Brookeman points out that without doubt there have also been attempts to eliminate the separate identity of the natives and to assimilate them into mainstream. Notwithstanding such developments, native people survive in large numbers, maintain their cultural identity, fought and secured social justice and rights, according to Brookeman. Buffy Sainte-Marie is a product of this struggle as well as the ability of the Western democratic system to self-correct. Conclusion Cultural diversity and discrimination is not unique to the North America just as the struggle of the under-privileged to make their voice heard in the corridors of power – political, economic, social and cultural. Different societies are facing one form or the other of divergence, and therefore discrimination. In popular perception, the US women have achieved gender equality while their counterparts in the Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, have not. But both are myths in as much as the former is still a male dominated society while in the latter, women are as empowered as men to pursue education and professional careers. In Saudi Arabia gender equality is not as important as in the Western societies, and the greater emphasis is on the stabilizing influence of women in homes in bringing up children and exercising a measure of control over adult males in order to protect the welfare of the family as a whole. As in other parts of the world, modernization is making a significant change in Saudi Arabian women in sending them to attain formal education without losing traditional values. (your last name) 5 The life and achievements of Buffy Sainte-Marie is a testimony to many things – the native talent that is not the privilege of any one race; the rise of an unlikely artist and the environment which enables such successes; the pride of a native in her/his achievements and the resolve to continue to keep the flag flying high in order that more and more of her tribe (literally) may showcase their talents under the sun. I am influenced by her achievements in such a way as to appreciate the good progress of women in my own country. (your last name) 6 References Brookeman, C. “The Native American Peoples of the United States”. Available from: http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/brookman.htm [accessed December ]. “Buffy”. Available from: http://www.cshvof.com/buffy [accessed December 4, 2010]. Buffy Sainte-Marie, Beat Magazine, November 16, 2010. Available from: http://www.creative-native.com [accessed December 4, 2010]. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Available from: http://www.infoplease.com [accessed December 4, 2010]. Encyclopedia of North American Indians. Available from: http://www.bibliobase.com/history/readerscomp/naind/html/na_001200_alcoholismin.htm [accessed December 4, 2010]. Mason, L., and Denig, E.T. as quoted in Infoplease.com. Available from: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmnations1.html [accessed December 4, 2010]. Read More