And So We Walked- An Artist's Journey Along the Trail of Tears

              

                                 And So We Walked- An Artist's Journey Along the Trail of Tears

A couple of weeks ago I went to the Indianapolis Repertoire Theater to see And So We Walked- An Artist's Journey Along the Trail of Tears written and acted by Delanna Studi which according to the IRT website we are to "Join Cherokee actor and artist DeLanna Studi as she explores her personal and cultural identity while traveling the Trail of Tears with her father—and her family spirits. This one-woman play probes the complexities and conflicts that the Cherokee Nation still wrestles with today, almost 200 years after their forced relocation. Past and present intertwine with dreams, history, and legend in this frank and moving memoir of doubt and discovery."

I told you a while back that I'm on a journey to learn more about Native American history and culture. As an american there are parts of our history that we are not being taught and Native American history is a big part of it. I knew this play was going to give me background about an event in our history and even though I read some of the material resources and went to a talk before the play about the trail of tears nothing could have prepared me for the emotional ride I went through watching this play was.

DeLanna Studi does a wonderful job painting a picture for us about her struggles with identity while she works to connect with and be a prideful and powerful Cherokee woman. She talks about her relationship with her family and it paints an important portrait of what are the values of the culture.
She related a story where one of her teachers was teaching them about the Cherokee tribe and she said they were all dead, that the Cherokee tribe was no more. DeLanna was very upset with this and she shared this with her father who went to school the next day and had a chat with the teacher about it. Eventually they advocated for the district to stop teaching students that. I encountered something similar when I taught The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.

Students believed that all Native Americans were extinct. All they knew about Native Americans was that they lived in Tee pees, wore moccasins and haunted buffalo. Before we even began reading the novel I made sure to give them background information on Native American history through videos, interactive activities and presentations. We also learned about who Sherman Alexei was and some of the issues currently impacting Native Americans but it was hard finding resources to use to teach them. I wanted them to understand that Native Americans were not a thing of the past. Many students didn't know about the process of assimilation Native Americans went through or what reservations even were. Let alone the current issues that Native Americans struggled with or different aspects of their cultures like pow wows.

Part of it was that my own knowledge of Native American history, literature and culture was extremely limited and there was no curriculum created for this text. I was also looking for articles that talked about some of the issues currently affecting Native Americans that were appropriate for my 8th grades but I couldn't find any.  That's actually when I realized that I needed to go through a process of educating myself about Native American history and culture if I wanted to be culturally responsive and respect to them. I wat to honor Native Americans for their contributions to our country. This will be a lifelong process but I believe it will make me a better teacher and a better person.

I had never seen a play that is a one person show heavily reliant on dialogue as  I have a penchant for the dramatic and over the top. It was powerful to see her portray her father and her grandmothers using different tones and mannerisms. Our ancestors and parents are within us , they are a part of us and this play made me realize how important it is to stay connected to your roots and realize that. "The blood remembers" was a phrase often used in the play to highlight the connections between our history, ancestors and our own lives. Growing up in the USA away from home and having a scattered and distant family I've forgotten that. I yearn to connect with my own roots and history. How can I really know myself if I don't even know where I come from?

The best stories are those that have universal meanings and this isn't just about the trail of tears or Native Americans. It's about what it means to be good, about knowing your history so you don't repeat it and about understanding how our ancestors are a part of us and that we cannot escape our own culture and history. The history of Native Americans is the history of every American and we need to learn it.