Literary Analysis Essay on The Heartbeat Of A Wounded Knee, The Sharpest Sight and Crossing Bok Chitto

Introduction

"The Heartbeat Of A Wounded Knee" is a story written by David Treuer that was concerned about the American frontier in the late 19th century. It takes into account the war that witnessed in Lakota, where a lot of lives were taken. There is the killing of many Indians which, made other tribes to think that it was the end of them facing out of the earth's surface. However, the author creatively articulates to prove that the Indian population has not yet vanished, with a good number of them already thriving both in the 20th and 21st centuries (Treuer, 2019). The author portrays Indian life to be similar to other tribes and has played the same role in shaping the modern world.

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From the story, it true to deduce that it is the wish of the author to revise the image of the Indian long prevalent presence in American literature. It is the author's historiography as the vanishing American tribe, violence and conflicts, wars, intermarriages whose destiny is to disappear, and a race that is also compromised by diseases (Treuer, 2019). Treuer's perspective is the ultimate survival and resiliency of the Native Indian American community.

Treuer appreciates this relevance of the contributions of previous historians and believes that since the Wounded Knee massacre in 1890, Native Americans, through resilience, have overcome destruction and despair. In this way, they can carve out a unique place in the United States. Treuer points out that the U.S government did everything possible to vanish the original Americans through violence, physical removal, and forced assimilation, especially the Indian tribe, but was all in vain.

Treuer accounts for contradictions of being Native American in his book. He has no wish to deny his Ojibwe identity just like other native people who have fought to remain Indian and Americans, but in their terms (Treuer, 2019). Indians suffered through Orwellian that were charged with erasing any nativity in them and the loyalty of their children. Later, came the "gift" of citizenship in 1924, then integration of inhabitants into a more significant population. All these brought survival for the American Indians, and the population increased to more than two million today.

Native Americans introduced gambling which was later supported by tribal leaders across the country, selling tobacco tax-free led to upgrading to casinos. Expansion of Indian gaming was allowed because of court rulings; therefore, the state increased legal gambling for all citizens, thus current lottery mania.

In conclusion, Treuer identified that Indians continued to live on as ghosts more than relics of a once happy people. They lived on investing in and doing their best to change the American character. From the above, it is right to deduce that the book shows a conviction that is bold enough to prove that cultures of the United States are not dead, and similarly, the civilizations are also not destroyed. Instead, the two are evolving rapidly and creatively just like they have always been doing in the past.

"The Sharpest Sight" by Louis Owens

The story of this book starts with Sheriff Mundo Murales of Amarga, Calif, seeing a corpse of Attis McCurtain floating down the river. He was his childhood friend and Vietnam buddy. This story helps in understanding the American Indian novel through Choctaw and Cherokee destinies. The book tries to identify the mysteries that are difficult to solve between the two communities about the actions of the federal government of the United States. The town of Amarga was filled with betrayals and violent crimes, forcing people to leave (Owens, 1995).

It is a fascinating Indian American novel written by Louis Owen's "The Sharpest Sight" filled with magic and truth. The book encompasses the art of traditional storytelling re-expressed in modern terms. It is so unfortunate that when it comes to native cultures, America is so unappreciative and ignorant because it is unfamiliar with their lifestyles, as depicted through the book. The Choctaw story is not about Choctaw Famers but a peaceful village of Cheyenne and Arapaho families that get slaughtered at sand creek.

It was the Sioux who were involved with Custer at the little bighorn. There were Sioux great warriors known as Geronimo. There was also a sitting bull and crazy horse in one of the three districts by the name "Moshulatubbee" was the great leader of Choctaw. It was the Choctaws who were the first to leave their ancestral homeland in Mississippi as instructed by the U.S government (Owens 1995). They were given direction to an Indian territory now called Oklahoma, and this was the policy of Andrew Jackson. The above shows how difficult it was

Choctaw, which was the third-largest tribe for Native American people, has not enjoyed any recognition ever since because of what happened during their long journey to look for a place to settle in what is known as "The Trail Of Tears." "The sharpest sight" openly provides the reader with that inside look over the traditional cultural values in a world gone that was slightly screwy. According to the author, the book, more importantly, takes into account and affords those who prefer the truth. The book gives a wonderfully encounter as depicted by the events that chronologically take place.

For instance, in September 1830, the Choctaw tribe of Indians arranged a meeting with the representatives of president Andrew Jackson on the banks of the dancing rabbit creek (Owens, 1995). The tribes surrendered all their riches and the fertile ancestral homeland east of Mississippi river to the united states; this was in exchange for a portion of the then wilderness now Oklahoma for their settlement. Therefore, the author shows the role played by the government in influencing the stay of the communities in the United States.

"Crossing Bok Chitto" by Jeanne Rorex Bridges

"Crossing Bok Chitto" is another book written by Jeanne Rorex Bridges about a Choctaw girl called Martha and her brother Tom who lives with her family and another tribe on one side of Bok Chitto River. The book is concerned about the effects of slavery in society and the dangers it can impose on individuals if not taken care of. The girl dares to go on the other side of the river bank to look for food on behalf of her family. It shows how courageous she was despite the dangers that she was putting herself under the whole process.

Martha went too by crossing the river to the other side using a secret path of stones under the water surface. She found the blackberries but got lost when she encountered a mysterious slave church (Bridges, 2006). A kind slave gets the girl and escorts her back by his son, little Mo, Mo shows her a secret path.

In this story, Bok Chitto divides the Choctaw nation from the slaves on the other side of the river. As outlined in the law, when a slave escapes, he is not to be followed by the owner, and thus, he or she is assumed to be free when on the other side of the river bank. The setting of the story is at the Bok Chitto River, which runs through Mississippi (Bridges, 2006). This book discloses a part of Native American history, not well known, which is of helping runaway slaves.

Tim tingle explains his visit with a tribal elder who pointed out a home where some other folks were helping run-away slaves. He was also taken to where he could see a Choctaw wedding ceremony such as the one in "Crossing Bok Chitto." As such, the book can be said to show the essence of friendship and bravery about helping others do what everyone else expects to be right even when it is dangerous.

References

Bridges J. R. (2006). Crossing Bok Chitto. A Choctaw Tale of Friendship and Freedom. Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books.

Owens, L. (1995). The Sharpest Sight (Vol. 1). University of Oklahoma Press.

Treuer, D. (2019). The heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the present. Riverhead Books.