tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post8471372449645225593..comments2024-02-01T13:07:47.576-06:00Comments on Linda Rodriguez Writes: Literary Mystery Novelists—Tony HillermanLinda Rodriguezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-68248559991831003212012-05-01T19:36:14.066-05:002012-05-01T19:36:14.066-05:00Jim, thanks for stopping by. I'm slow getting ...Jim, thanks for stopping by. I'm slow getting back to you because I've been on the road and haven't had internet access.<br /><br />I don't think there's any doubt that Hillerman's portrayal of the Navajo is authentic. He took a lot of time and effort to make it so. The concern has been whether in doing so he appropriated the Navajo culture. The majority (and I am one of them) feel he is not, but a very small minority believe otherwise--and they have genuine concerns, as we've discussed here.<br /><br />There are numerous aspects of the various Indigenous cultures of this continent that are beneficial and bring harmony. Respect for silence is certainly one of them. And as you say, it's quite likely that the majority culture isn't willing to recognize these beneficial aspects unless brought to their attention by one of their own. You may understand, though, that many Indigenous people might not feel it their duty to "mitigate the excesses of the majority culture," since they have tried for centuries now to show them the simpler, more natural way.<br /><br />I agree with everything you say about the loss of quiet reflection and silence in our modern mainstream culture.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-10603364888892498742012-04-26T21:02:29.091-05:002012-04-26T21:02:29.091-05:00Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the oppor...Thanks for sharing your thoughts and for the opportunity to do the saem. I'll first acknowledge that Hillerman's books have been a valuable support during stessful periods of my life. Whether or not they are an authentic protrayal of Navajo culture, his works have opened to me the possibility to an alternative to the over-stimulation rampant in my life. At least where I live in the DC area, nearly every restaurant now has a television in the dining room. Even more frightening is that the last four doctors' offices I've been in all have TVs in the waiting room. Is there no time or place in our culture for quiet reflection, for, God forbid, silence? I love the silent periods during conversations in Hillerman's books. Perhaps it takes an author from the majority culture to recognize, appreciate and effectively communicate the practices of another culture that are most effective at mitigating the excesses of the majority culture.Jimnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-35688397612961580752012-04-04T13:43:08.659-05:002012-04-04T13:43:08.659-05:00Aho.Aho.Reinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-83175178316713892962012-04-04T13:23:40.567-05:002012-04-04T13:23:40.567-05:00Reine, this is a troublesome issue in Indigenous c...Reine, this is a troublesome issue in Indigenous circles but also in Latino, Asian American, African American, even Jewish circles. The biggest problem is that it's tied not only to the problem of appropriation of culture but assimilation, as well. There are always those who stand against outside society in a protective circle and then there are those who open completely to that outside society. Neither is completely wrong. Neither is completely right. It's always a balancing act trying to negotiate between a mainstream societal (usually colonial) culture and our own with the double aim of individual survival and protection of our culture.<br /><br />What I find the saddest about the extremes you describe (which I have seen myself) is that these kinds of actions can create a competition for who is the most Indian Indian, the most Latino Latino, etc., and ultimately the accusations of "You're not REALLY Indian/Latino/Asian/whatever." Truly divisive.<br /><br />I think it's important to realize that this is pretty common behavior among peoples who have been colonized and whose cultures have been seriously threatened, if not actually partially destroyed or erased. With stakes that high, people will find it hard to tolerate differing beliefs about the best way to protect and nurture their culture.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-2595113511752249412012-04-04T12:14:20.313-05:002012-04-04T12:14:20.313-05:00Linda, I was very pleased to read your blog about ...Linda, I was very pleased to read your blog about Tony Hillerman, because of the issues you raise. Over the years I have noticed that, not only was there a split on these issues within "the academy" but there was a bigger split between the local indigenous community and the indigenous "visitors" in the local universities. I tried to negotiate both roads while counseling at my local Indian center and going to grad school nearby. In the end it cost me dearly in terms of the larger community, but it brought me much closer to my local community. I understand these issues of identity exist for good reason, yet I believe it is harmful to be so divided. As you say above, "There is no way around that." I struggled in courses where professors did put forth such ideas that people "... can only write about the culture they were born and raised in." There is one in particular I will not name, because I don't want to spread poison. She indoctrinated many indigenous students of the academy to divisiveness and drove away many non-indigenous who might have been bridges to respectful understanding.<br /><br />I know that anything that touches identity is a potential grass fire, and I know there is good reason behind that. The attempt to protect identity too often leads to division, because the other is so often defining through exploitation.Reinenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-92109195650253461982012-04-04T10:11:32.987-05:002012-04-04T10:11:32.987-05:00Reine, thank you for your thoughtful consideration...Reine, thank you for your thoughtful consideration of the issues involved. This is a thorny problem for Indigenous and other communities. There's no way around that. And so far, many of the writers from outside those communities who've written of them have not done it well. This appropriation and exploitation of cultures leads to justified anger on the part of the communities so exploited. I believe, however, that we must not allow that anger to lead us to say that people can only write about the culture they were born and raised in. Instead, we must use that anger to fuel efforts to educate writers on how this can be done well and with respect.Linda Rodriguezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11913741596693442469noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3051850324215622990.post-37930768808015325332012-04-04T01:54:50.485-05:002012-04-04T01:54:50.485-05:00I always enjoyed Tony Hillerman's books and th...I always enjoyed Tony Hillerman's books and thought he was respectful in his writing and the way he consulted with the elders and the Diné People. Like many issues in the Native community there is a split. It will be better as more indigenous people are published authors of such books, but sometimes it seems like the community is working at keeping the tradition of consensus in all things, including the writing of fiction, so I worry about the confrontation of the community with the individual. It can be harsh.<br /><br />If the individual is not to speak for the group, I think that the group should consider how they might be disrespectful in speaking for the individual, be it with words or action. As the circle holds all beings and all events that come around to meet again, for all time and through all space, it places each being in the center of the universe - wherever they might stand.Reinenoreply@blogger.com