Tangent to the Present...

Thus far I’ve explained how this whole adventure started for me.  There is still much that has transpired between choosing the tribes in my story, learning more about them and today.  Suffice it to say, I have already invested quite a significant amount of time in this project, mostly in researching and printing from the internet and then studying that information.  I am currently reading an old book on the Cheyenne, called “The Cheyenne Indians: Their History and Ways of Life, Volume 1” by George Bird Grinnell.  I am only about a quarter of the way through the book, but it has already done a great deal in helping me understand and get to know these amazing people.  Besides this book, I have its second volume and another by John Stands in Timber to read as well. 

As a people in general my impression is that they seem to have a great sense of humor, a deep devotion to family and community, a strong sense of morality, and a strong balanced character; things taught from a very early age. Each day as I read a portion of this book, my respect grows and I can only wish that history could have been different, but I can hope that the future will only grow brighter and brighter.  There are many things here that the white man could learn from, then, and still today.

I think one of the things that right now I am coming to see as the most misunderstood, is the “warfare”.  And I say that not just in relation to the Cheyenne and Crow, but to the native tribes in general.  I believe I understand it better, and have a wholly different perspective on it than before. It is not at all the blood thirsty, always vengeful, thievery portrayed in literature and theatrical arts.  That seems wholly a white man’s application of their own cultural beliefs, never mind the highly likely intentional misrepresentation to make one look superior over another. I ask you not to forget that people are people, they have families who love them and rely on them, and can’t afford to lose them.  The previous being said, I do not feel yet, that I can express the true nature of it all; such as to do the subject justice.  So for now, I withdraw further comment, except to say this: even if you are inclined to believe the portrayals rather than researching and understanding it for yourself, I ask you to consider your own ethnic background and I venture to suppose that you will find the portrayal you find so easy to place on another, fits your own distant history a might bit better.  I do not think that there is any race or culture that can look back, or even presently, and not find this type of warfare.

On another subject, let’s talk language.  I cannot explain why I feel this, but I feel that you somehow have a better sense of a culture when you understand its language.  As of now, I know three languages, at various levels of proficiency.   They are, in order of proficiency, if not order learned, English, German and Spanish.  I tried at one time to learn Russian, but learning a new character set and language proved too challenging for the time I had to invest in it.  Tonight I decided to brave learning some Cheyenne.  I say some, because I do not believe that without the ability to interact with someone well versed in a language, one can learn it to great fluency.  You need to hear it spoken to pick up the correct tones and pronunciation. However, I did order a CD set and downloaded every PDF document the Chief Dull Knife College website had on the language, as well as some others available on their partner site.

And so off I set to learn even more… am I spreading myself too thin?