I am writing to express my own personal thoughts and images when it comes to describing Native Americans and Pacific Islanders. Admittedly, after a short while, I have come to realize that what I would consider useful, thoughtful insight about Native Americans and Pacific Islanders is very limited. After attending Tuesday’s lecture, I’ve realized that most of my knowledge comes in the form of “received wisdom.” Meaning, that the knowledge that has been passed down to me about these groups of people was believed to be true, but in actuality was not true, and instead was often stereotypical. My knowledge of Native Americans and Pacific Islanders stems from a combination of “received wisdom” and personal experience.
When it comes to describing Native Americans, I do have some personal experience, as well as “received wisdom.” I was raised in Northern Minnesota, and I lived about 20 minutes away from the Fond du Lac Reservation. Personally, the biggest association with the reservation that comes to…
First, the amount of factual knowledge that I have about these groups of people is very small. While, on the other hand, the “received wisdom” that I have is overwhelming, and is ultimately resulting in a stereotypical mindset that I didn’t know I had. Second, I’ve realized that if I am this misinformed about Native Americans and Pacific Islanders, then many other individuals throughout the United States may be just as misinformed as I am. Overall, I have come to be more interested in learning more about Native Americans and Pacific Islanders in this course. I feel a great sense of ignorance and embarrassment when it comes to reflecting on these two groups of people. My goal in this class is to improve my understanding of other indigenous people, which will help to erase stereotypes that have been unfairly placed on Native Americans and Pacific…