Elsa Pecore

Cooper
AP English III
May 22, 2019

New Mexico Reflection

Throughout my junior year, we have researched intensely the treatment and overall

paradox of Native Americans in the modern day society, school system, and workforce. Not only

the treatment from others but, the overall deprivation of culture from modern societal

stereotypes, such as; misrepresentation in media, stereotypical dressing, and racism by political

leaders. After studying these aspects for many months, I have come up with the overall question;

“​How has the European exploration and expansion on Native territory affected the everyday life

of Native Americans, including; their culture, families, and resources?” The Native American

experience has been affected by European expansion and exploration immensely through the loss

of Native language and culture in the workplace and school, stemming back to the 1490’s when

Natives were made to go to European schools in order to assimilate the culture,

misrepresentation by Europeans that has affected the views of Americans today on Native

culture, and the loss of Native land, that has affected where many are made to settle. Through

countless projects and field trips regarding the Native American experience such as; IBL, New

Mexico, Annotated bibliographies, and annotations regarding mistreatment by political leaders,

and misrepresentation by the media, I have garnered a greater understanding regarding how the

cultural aspect of Natives has changed since European exploration.

Throughout the year, it became difficult at times to fully understand, without real-life

examples of Native American persecution, until our New Mexico trip. This trip gave myself, and
my peers, a greater understanding of the issues faced, and how the people have moved on to live

a civilized life. During our trip to New Mexico we were able to immerse ourselves into the

Native’s culture in order to learn about what it is like to live on the reservation and how they

have overcome the paradox surrounding them in the school system and modern day society.

While in New Mexico, we visited multiple sites such as: the Acoma Pueblo, the Glorietta tour,

and the To'hajiilee reservation,which gave us insight about how Natives live now. My

perspective of Native American culture shifted completely after these visitations, I was able to

meet high schoolers my age, children learning traditional dances, and a tour guide, that taught us

about her business making pottery of all shapes and sizes. While visiting the To’hajiilee high

school, this specifically gave me insight on Native American life, after European exploration,

because of my IBL topic. I chose to focus mainly on the Native American experience in

elementary, middle, and high school and how there is a lack of representation of them in school

system’s today. After researching for months about how European assimilation has affected even

today’s society, and the representation of Natives, many of the statistics started to become real.

Statistics about how Natives are more likely to get in legal trouble, or suspended than their white

peers, shows how European assimilation techniques are still in place, where many do not believe

that Native language or culture is crucial or necessary to represent in the modern day curriculum.

But, when visiting the To’hajiilee, seeing children taking traditional Native-speaking classes,

when some weren’t even from the reservation, but ready to learn, was an improvement. Through

the entire trip of New Mexico, going to the different Pueblos and meeting real Natives, with

stories of their life, showed how the Europeans actions have affected the daily life of many, but
how on many reservations today, the school system is treating the Natives with respect for their

culture, language, and history.

Throughout my Junior year, in our AP English class, we have studied the

misrepresentation of Native Americans, through articles such as: ​“Little Tree”, “Pocahontas

Paradox”​, and movies such as: ​“Smoke Signals” and “Peter Pan.” T
​ he mistreatment and lack

of representation in the media has been a continual issue for the Native American culture for

decades. Early European assimilation is a crucial factor of the lack of Native expression in tv

shows, movies, and in literature, that can often be stereotypical and offensive. One of the biggest

aspects of Native American assimilation is ​“the invisibility and erasure of Native Americans in

all aspects of modern U.S. society.”, according to the Women's Media Center. This supports the

actions made by early Europeans, and their wanting to completely assimilate the Native culture,

and transform into one unified country. This includes in children's shows, where the mention or

showing of Natives in primetime tv or moves are in “0-.4 percent of shows.” (Journalist

Resource) But with that said, when shown in many movies or primetime features, Native

Americans are often shown in a stereotypical and offensive manner. Some examples include: red

paint on their skin, large amount of feathers, or outdated costumes. This is not only offensive, but

can leave detrimental effects on children watching for a role model, that ‘resembles’ them. While

in New Mexico, I did realize that in many of the places we visited, the reservations did an

exceptional job showing, their culture in a respected and distinguished way. The way many of

the Natives spoke to us about their culture, showed how proud they are of what they have created

and what they believe in. After Europeans, excluded Native American culture, and tried to

assimilate any kind of language or ‘look’ of Natives, in the society, it is a crucial part of the
contemporary society to include and make known any kind of minority. For school systems, and

work forces, the representation of cultures that have and continue to be discriminated and

acted-inhumanely upon, where many are losing opportunities and resources, needs to be learned

and understood by many. New Mexico showed myself and our peers, the struggles and strifes

these Native Americans have gone through in order to keep their rich culture alive, how even

through misrepresentation and stereotypical commentary, it has not stopped Natives from

expressing their culture to groups of open-minded kids like AGS.

In reflection, New Mexico helped me comprehend and understand the question I have

been building throughout this semester of my Junior year. The trip showed me how Natives have

been greatly affected, negatively and positively by European colonization, and how that has

impacted their daily life. It was a beautiful and rich experience, where myself and my peers were

able to meet real Natives our age, elders, and many others who helped us all to understand the

struggles but also, the amazing and graciousness of their lives. We were able to see breathtaking

artifacts and national parks such as: the Acoma Pueblo, Tent Rocks, and the Glorietta. We were

not only taught many stories and attributes of the Native American culture, but we were shown

how their culture has persevered through their entire history of European assimilation and

discrimination.
 Work Cited

“Native Americans: Negative Impacts of Media Portrayals, Stereotypes.” ​Journalist's Resource,​

1 Mar. 2016,
journalistsresource.org/studies/society/race-society/native-americans-media-stereotype-re
dskins/.

Crane, Steve. “Lack of Resources Leads to 'Grim Statistics' in Native American Schools |
Cronkite News.” ​Cronkite News - Arizona PBS​, Cronkite News - Arizona PBS, 24 May
2018,

Nagle, Rebecca. “Research Reveals Media Role in Stereotypes about Native Americans.”
Women's Media Center​,
www.womensmediacenter.com/news-features/research-reveals-media-role-in-stereotypes-
about-native-americans.

 
cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2018/05/11/lack-of-resources-leads-to-grim-statisti
cs-in-native-american-schools/.