Spirituality in American Indian Stories - Admission/Application Essay Example

Spirituality in American Indian Stories Zatkala-sa (originally known as Gertrude Simmons) is the first Sioux woman who wrote the stories about her tribes. In her autobiography called “American Indian Stories.” Here in this autobiography she tells about the lifestyle of the American Indians including their belief, their spirituality and their attitude. She also describes the “Edenic” (a sacred) life which the author was living in her childhood. The spirituality which she exposed was groomed in the existence of nature, family and tribes. In this spirituality Nature God is dominant. This is also a story which depicts the picture of duplicitous Christian missionaries and the treatment given by them to the non American communities. It’s a cultural and spiritual fall of Dakota under the constant attack from the harsh world of Non American White People. The stories are written by the writer with elegance and simplicity. The author listened the story by an old lady of their tribe by lying her head in her mother’s lap depicts the picture of a traditional Indian family who played a role of a warm and loving shelter under which there is no place for hypocrisy. The reference of the Lakota mythological figure of Iktomi is very significant his stories reveal the oral tradition which was transferred from one generation to the next one. Thus the spirituality was taught in a very gentle and loving manner to the young Dakota generation. A blend of Christan mythology and her tribal tradition which influenced the upbringing of the writer is seen when Zatkala-sa compares herself and her friends with the nymphs. Nymphs are the supernatural figure basically in Greek mythology. “We shouted and whooped in the chase; laughing and calling to one another, we were like little sportive nymphs on that Dakota Sea of rolling green.” (The Beadwork,) Zatkala-s’s life suddenly changes when she went to the missionaries’ school to the East land. Here she has compared the missionaries with the Satan from the Garden of Eden who through their astuteness deeds ensnare eight years old girl and took her away from her Dakota paradise and with the false promise of the apple tree. In Parts IV and V of "School Days," she intensely portrays the nightmares of a very innocent girl, a nightmare of the palefaces devil and the bitterness she felt when a schoolmate died with an open Bible on her bed, listening to the "superstitious ideas" of the paleface woman taking care of her. In part V the author portrays the strong beliefs of her tradition when she was forbidden by her mother by warning her never to eat the fruit. It is because of a strong belief of having an Indian skeleton in its roots. “Never pluck a single plum from this bush, my child, for its roots is wrapped around an Indians skeleton. A brave is buried here. While he lived, he was so fond of playing the game of striped plum seeds that, at his death, his set of plum seeds were buried in his hands. From them sprang up this little bush." (V, The Dead Man’s Plum Bush, “Impression of an Indian Childhood”) It is vivid picture of the concept of rebirth which is the very important part of spirituality. While telling about the customs of the tribe of author she tells us how keeping long hair is necessary in their tradition. “Our mothers had taught us that only unskilled warriors who were captured had their hair shingled by the enemy. Among our people, short hair was worn by mourners, and shingled hair by cowards!”(II, “Cutting my long hair,” “The School Days of an Indian Girl.”) But they are cruelly cut by the pale faced people i.e. the missionaries. Here long hair is the symbol of the liberal spirituality of the Dakota which is threatened by the parochial religious attitudes. The bitter experience, which the author got in her childhood compel her to hold a grudge against the Christian missionaries. Even her mother has the same resentment when she says, “"My daughter, beware of the paleface. It was the cruel paleface who caused the death of your sister and your uncle, my brave brother. It is this same paleface who offers in one palm the holy papers, and with the other gives a holy baptism of firewater. He is the hypocrite who reads with one eye, Thou shalt not kill, and with the other gloats upon the sufferings of the Indian race." Then suddenly discovering a new fire in the bluffs, she exclaimed, "Well, well, my daughter, there is the light of another white rascal!" (III, “My Mother’s Curse Upon the Settlers.) The Dakota spirituality tells that we can experience the existence of the Lord in the “in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty waters, and the sweet breathing of flowers.” (Great Spirit) She always experiences the Loving Mystery of Nature and for her the real God lies in nature and not inside the walls of churches, mosques, or temples. Go back to Nature and find God there. It is always their in the nature as well as in the minds of human being. He never exists in any restricted frame. He will be there. He is everywhere. He is in every beautiful thing. He is there in every art and creativity. If you want to experience him try to peep deep inside in human mind and He is omnipresent then why to depend upon the hypocritical mindless missionaries to reach to him? This is the message of Indian spirituality which reflects everywhere in Zatkala’s autobiography. Read More