Diversity of Native American Nations and Simon Ortiz's Legacy
This paper examines two interrelated topics: the diversity among Native American nations prior to and following European contact, and the life and literary work of Acoma Pueblo poet Simon Ortiz. The first section discusses the complexity of Native American identity, tribal membership criteria, the devastating impact of European-introduced diseases, and the displacement of indigenous peoples onto reservations. The second section focuses on Ortiz's autobiographical essay "The Language We Know," exploring how forced English-only schooling created cultural dissonance and how Ortiz's writing inspired Native Americans to reclaim and preserve their heritage rather than assimilate into mainstream American culture.
- Introduction to Native American Identity: Complexity of defining Native American identity and membership
- Impact of European Settlement on Indigenous Peoples: Disease, displacement, and reservation life after European contact
- Simon Ortiz and the Native American Renaissance: Ortiz's background, schooling, and literary significance
- Cultural Dissonance and the Struggle for Identity: Ortiz's writing on assimilation, heritage, and community impact
- Conclusion: Legacy of diversity and cultural resilience in Native America
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper successfully connects a broad historical overview of Native American diversity with a focused literary case study, showing how individual experience reflects larger historical forces.
- It uses Simon Ortiz's autobiographical essay as concrete evidence to ground abstract claims about assimilation and cultural loss, making the argument more personal and persuasive.
- The paper maintains a clear, compassionate tone throughout, allowing the subject matter's emotional weight to reinforce its analytical points without becoming overtly sentimental.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates the technique of moving from macro to micro analysis — beginning with broad historical and demographic context about Native American peoples as a whole, then narrowing to a single author's life and work to illustrate how those larger forces play out at the individual level. This zooming-in structure is an effective way to make sweeping historical claims feel immediate and human.
Structure breakdown
The paper is organized into two main content sections. The first addresses the definition and diversity of Native American identity, the effects of European contact, disease, displacement, and reservation life. The second centers on Simon Ortiz — his background, education, cultural dissonance, and the lasting impact of his literary work on Native American communities. A references section closes the paper in APA format.
Introduction to Native American Identity
Prior to Europeans' first contact with Native Americans, there was a great deal of diversity among the different tribes. Many people today still have "Indian" ancestry, yet there is no single definition of what makes a person an Indian. For the U.S. Census, for example, anyone who claimed to be Indian (Native American) was counted as such, whether they were actually Indian or not (Warren, n.d.). The membership criteria for different tribes are also unique, and no two tribes share the same specifics for membership. This makes determining whether a particular person is Native American very difficult, because he or she may meet the criteria set out by one tribe but not by another.
It is also important to note that the term "Native American" encompasses more than just Indians. It includes other peoples indigenous to the United States, such as Alaskan Eskimos and Native Hawaiians (Warren, n.d.). These are distinct groups from Indians, but all of them fall under the broader title of Native American.
Impact of European Settlement on Indigenous Peoples
When the European settlers arrived, they began moving through the continent, taking the land they wanted for their settlements. The Indians who were there at the time resisted this, and many of them were killed. However, the largest killer of the Indians was not the weapons of the settlers, but the diseases and germs the settlers brought with them from their native countries (Warren, n.d.). Many of these diseases were entirely new to the Indians, who had no prior exposure and therefore no immunity. Many died, and it took considerable time before any significant level of immunity developed among the surviving population.
Some Indians chose to befriend the settlers, and they worked and lived in relative harmony — but there was still a relentless push for more and more land to be taken from the Indians for settler use (Warren, n.d.). In the end, most Indians were confined to reservations, while the settlers created generations of Americans who came to occupy the country and the majority of its land.
Simon Ortiz and the Native American Renaissance
Simon Ortiz belonged to the Acoma Pueblo tribe and was a significant figure in the Native American Renaissance. He is widely respected both within the Native American community and as a poet in the broader literary world (Ortiz, 1987). He spoke Keresan while growing up and attended Indian schools, as did most children in the tribe. In the seventh grade, students in those schools were no longer permitted to speak their native languages and were required to use English exclusively. This policy was designed to assimilate them into the prevailing culture so that they could be more readily accepted by the wider American public.
By placing Native American children into the mainstream culture, educators believed these students would benefit socially, even as they lost a significant portion of their heritage (Ortiz, 1987). Cultural dissonance became a defining feature of Ortiz's life, as he witnessed the changes in himself and his peers as they were compelled to become more like mainstream Americans and less like the Native Americans they had always been (Ortiz, 1987). This tension became an important and recurring theme throughout much of his literary work.
Conclusion
The diversity of Native American nations and the cultural pressures imposed by European settlement left lasting marks on indigenous identity and literature. Through an examination of tribal membership complexity and the biographical and literary contributions of Simon Ortiz, it becomes clear that the struggle to maintain cultural identity in the face of forced assimilation has been both a personal and collective challenge for Native American peoples. Ortiz's work stands as a testament to the resilience of indigenous voices and the enduring importance of cultural memory.
References
Ortiz, S. (1987). The language we know. In B. Swann & A. Krupat (Eds.), I tell you now: Autobiographical essays by Native American writers (pp. 185–194). University of Nebraska Press.
Warren, B. (n.d.). Who is an Indian. Cherokees of California. Retrieved from
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