1. We began this unit by discussing assumptions and differences that we carry into our class. In “First Contact as Spiritual Performance,” Lutz makes an assumption about his readers (Lutz, “First Contact” 32). He asks us to begin with the assumption that comprehending the performances of the Indigenous participants is “one of the most obvious difficulties.” He explains that this is so because “one must of necessity enter a world that is distant in time and alien in culture, attempting to perceive indigenous performance through their eyes as well as those of the Europeans.” Here, Lutz is assuming either that his readers belong to the European tradition, or he is assuming that it is more difficult for a European to understand Indigenous performances – than the other way around. What do you make of this reading? Am I being fair when I point to this assumption? If so, is Lutz being fair when he makes this assumption?

Regarding your assumption, I would say Lutz is not assuming that his readers belong to the European tradition, nor is he assuming that it is more difficult for a European to understand Indigenous performances.
What he is trying to say is, that because this first contact took place between the Haida people and Spaniards, the outside observer needs to be able to see the interaction through the eyes of the Indigenous Haida people, as well as through the eyes of the Spanish (European) visitors. A task that, in his opinion, can only be achieved partially (Lutz 32).

That being said, it is my opinion that Lutz is right when saying that cultural differences between the Haida people and Spaniards make it hard for both sides to communicate. Without a shared reference frame, it is hard for the Europeans to understand what the Haida are trying to say with their performances. On the other hand, the Haida would have problems judging the Spaniards reactions to their performance for the same reason.

The cultural background of a person is important for many aspects of communication. Not only is it likely that people will speak different languages, but they might also use different signs, gestures, and idioms; have vastly different social values and standards; and, depending on their culture, a different technological level. A good example of cultural differences is the perception of colours. While Canadian and Japanese people see colours in the same way, they do not always agree on how to call a specific colour. Canadians would say that lawns and leaves are green, but Japanese people would call the colour “Ao” (青), the Japanese word for blue (Backhaus).

There can also be differences in gestures that could lead to possible misunderstandings. Even things like shaking your head to indicate “No” are not as universal as one might assume. In Bulgaria shaking your head indicates “Yes” instead of “No,” and nodding your head indicates “No” instead of “Yes” (Kruschewsky).

So Lutz is right when he is saying that the most obvious difficulty is comprehending the performances of the Indigenous participants.  The Spaniards can never be sure that the way they perceive a gesture is the correct way and is indeed meant to say what they are understanding. It is a process of learning from each other and interpreting each other’s reactions to gestures, signs, and language.

Given that two cultures are far apart, not only different in language and in the way they use gestures, but also in their technological level and social values and standards, that opens up the process of first contacts to a lot of misunderstandings with a possibly bad outcome. Yet with the two groups interacting over time, both parties get to know each other better and communication will slowly get more fluent with less chances for a random destructive misunderstanding. However, since even a slight misunderstanding can possibly have very real and bad consequences, there may always be a chance of misunderstandings, although prolonged contact would hopefully establish trust and cancel out the bad effects of possible misunderstandings.

Works Cited

Backhaus, Peter. “The Japanese Traffic Light Blues: Stop on Red, Go on What?” Japan Times RSS. Japan Times Ltd., 25 Feb. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.

Kruschewsky, Gabriela. “19 Simple Gestures That Might Be Highly Misunderstood Abroad.” BuzzFeed. BuzzFeed Inc., 15 Oct. 2013. Web. 08 Oct. 2016.

Lutz, John S. “First Contact as a Spiritual Performance.” Myth and Memory: Stories of Indigenous-European Contact. Vancouver: UBC, 2007. 32. Print.