Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
You have made an assumption that lower on the totem pole indicates lower status.
Questions That Run Through My Mind (what there is of it)
- Thread starter Addie
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
You have made an assumption that lower on the totem pole indicates lower status.
Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
The majority of Native Americans I've met on the Four Corners region of UT-AZ-NM-CO were on the lower scale of being educated. They may not have been aware that there is a continent called India.
Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
Thanks for clearing that upI've never been in America. I only know what I've read and seen on movies!
Funny how wrong TV can be.
Telling Native American "races" is much like telling "Asian" races by appearance. I suspect most people think there is some look that be correlated to some tribe or some Asian country/ethnicity.
It's not that easy, and movies don't even have a clue. Particularly in earlier times the movie producers hired white people and dressed them up in wigs and "Indian" costumes. I suspect fewer than 5% of the Hollywood movies got it right, probably even less.
Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
Actually it is often the case that non-Native Americans need permission to visit "Indian" lands. For example, Monument Valley on the Navajo Reservation, limited areas are permissible for non-natives to visit during the day (there is an officially designated area), they cannot remain after sunset until sunrise, and there are other on-reservation lands that are not permitted to visit even in the daytime without a Navajo guide.
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Totem poles are items of the Northwest tribes. The top of the pole was usually a Thundrbird. The pole told a story of a family or incident. A successful hunting foray. The addition of a long awaited child. The least member of the hunting party was depicted on the bottom of the totem pole. Usually a youngster allowed to go on his first hunting trip. He carried their food or equipment.
As far as my grandfather and father, they were of lower status according the the powers of society that be. When you live it, you know it.
Greg Who Cooks
Executive Chef
Totem poles are items of the Northwest tribes. The top of the pole was usually a Thundrbird. The pole told a story of a family or incident. A successful hunting foray. The addition of a long awaited child. The least member of the hunting party was depicted on the bottom of the totem pole.
You sure about that? I recall you said your heritage was from the Northeast.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
buckytom
Chef Extraordinaire
agreed, addie. they were of the pacific northwestern natives.
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Totem Poles tell a story of a great event in the life of the tribe or a family.
Snip 13
Master Chef
Figured as much. It's the same with South Africans. People either think we are all black or white with Khaki clothes and lions as pets and they assume we can't speak English properly
I've never owned any Khaki clothes ( those are to make tourist look stupid ), we have game reserves so wild animals don't roam freely and SA has 11 official languages and people from all cultures. Guess that's why we're called the rainbow nation!
I never believe movies.
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Figured as much. It's the same with South Africans. People either think we are all black or white with Khaki clothes and lions as pets and they assume we can't speak English properly
I've never owned any Khaki clothes ( those are to make tourist look stupid ), we have game reserves so wild animals don't roam freely and SA has 11 official languages and people from all cultures. Guess that's why we're called the rainbow nation!
I never believe movies.
As a child I thought everyone in Africa ate any and all wild animals for their meals. I thought you had to go out and hunt for every meal. Fortunately in the fourth grade we started with social studies and we learned about the geography of the world and people of different nations. I also thought ALL of Africa was just jungle and there were animals hiding ready to jump out at any person nearby and eat them. I had a very scary mental picture of Africa.
Snip 13
Master Chef
As a child I thought everyone in Africa ate any and all wild animals for their meals. I thought you had to go out and hunt for every meal. Fortunately in the fourth grade we started with social studies and we learned about the geography of the world and people of different nations. I also thought ALL of Africa was just jungle and there were animals hiding ready to jump out at any person nearby and eat them. I had a very scary mental picture of Africa.
Luckily the only chance you have of being eaten by wild animals here is if you jump over fences that have BIG WARNING signs on them. Believe it or not, many rural people get killed when they jump over electric fences into the bush. Lots of poachers in Africa. And one too many people that can't read.
I've learned most of what I know about Americans from you guys on DC and my nephew. He's been to America more than once.
We never did American history in school, only British, French, German, South African and Egyptian history as far as I can remember.
Last edited:
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Luckily the only chance you have of being eaten by wild animals here is if you jump over fences that have BIG WARNING signs on them. Believe it or not, many rural people get killed when they jump over electric fences into the bush. Lots of poachers in Africa. And one too many people that can't read.
I've learned most of what I know about Americans from you guys on DC and my nephew. He's been to America more than once.
We never did American history in school, only British, French, German, South African and Egyptian history as far as I can remember.
When I went to school we had world geography and world history. I also took Ancient History in High School. It started in the fourth grade and continued through the 11th grade. The 12th grade was mostly electives for extra grade points.
Snip 13
Master Chef
When I went to school we had world geography and world history. I also took Ancient History in High School. It started in the fourth grade and continued through the 11th grade. The 12th grade was mostly electives for extra grade points.
I didn't really care for history in school but now that I'm older I've started enjoying it. Go figure
I did well in school but I've forgotten most of what I've learned
OP
OP
Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
Luckily the only chance you have of being eaten by wild animals here is if you jump over fences that have BIG WARNING signs on them. Believe it or not, many rural people get killed when they jump over electric fences into the bush. Lots of poachers in Africa. And one too many people that can't read.
I've learned most of what I know about Americans from you guys on DC and my nephew. He's been to America more than once.
We never did American history in school, only British, French, German, South African and Egyptian history as far as I can remember.
About 20 minutes from where I live, every year the Indians from all over New England hold a big Pow Wow at the Topsfield Fair Grounds. The public is invited to attend. We do have cowboys that still ride horses and herd the cattle to different pastures. Then they are shipped off to the slaughter house. Some ranches move their herds with a helicopter or plane. We do have rodeos where they ride bucking horses and mean bulls. Most folks think of cowboys being rough and tough. They are to a degree. But they also hold a contest every year for just cowboys that write love poetry.
I love the beauty of a horse, but they are such stupid animals. Because their eyes are on the side of their heads, they don't see forward and spook very easily.
Snip 13
Master Chef
About 20 minutes from where I live, every year the Indians from all over New England hold a big Pow Wow at the Topsfield Fair Grounds. The public is invited to attend. We do have cowboys that still ride horses and herd the cattle to different pastures. Then they are shipped off to the slaughter house. Some ranches move their herds with a helicopter or plane. We do have rodeos where they ride bucking horses and mean bulls. Most folks think of cowboys being rough and tough. They are to a degree. But they also hold a contest every year for just cowboys that write love poetry.
I love the beauty of a horse, but they are such stupid animals. Because their eyes are on the side of their heads, they don't see forward and spook very easily.
That sounds like loads of fun! Wish we had more traditional gatherings in SA but people have lost interest.
Claire
Master Chef
Oh, please, have a sense of humor here. I should have said that ma cousine would not look out of place on a reservation, and yes, I have visited several. She simply inherited all of the facial features that we identify with native Americans. She knows it and is proud of it. In our family it would be Iroquois probably. When I was in 8,9,10 grades (three different schools)(military life) I went to school with quite a few and one of my teachers were Navaho. They were just like the rest of us, simply had a distinctive look. As I mentioned, the Cherokee I've known do not look like the Navaho or Hopi, and not like the northeastern. Seminole aren't really a tribe, they are a mix. I certainly didn't mean to insult anyone, certainly not ma cousine.
