2:4 – The Assumptions Made on History
by maya sumel
For Assignment 2:4, I chose to answer question 3 at the end of unit 2, which is based on a section on John Lutz’s book ‘Myth and Memory’. The section I read and analyzed for this question was “First Contact as a Spiritual Performance: Encounters on the North American West Coast”.
Lutz makes an assumption in this section of his book about his audience. Lutz assumes that “one of the most obvious difficulties is comprehending the performances of the Indigenous participants” (Lutz, “First Contact” 32). By Lutz making this assumption, he encompasses his entire audience, including me, into it. Question three asks what I make of this reading, and if Erika (our instructor) is being fair when she points to this assumption, and in turn, if Lutz is being fair when he makes this assumption. As our professor Erika mentions, it is 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”.
I found that Lutz has a very general, yet in depth outlook on first encounters, and what I found particularly interesting is how he mentions that both parties aim to minimize danger and maximize opportunities. He has an extremely interesting outlook on the European colonisation of Indigenous peoples which I enjoyed reading. I do agree with Erika’s assumption that Lutz believes his readers belong to European descent, which is not always the truth. His assumption also suggests that it is more difficult for a European to understand Indigenous performances, rather than Indigenous peoples understanding European performances. Even though Lutz is making generalizes assumptions, they hold a majority of the truth. While I am not from European descent, I am sure that most people reading his work are, which adds truth to what he is saying.
In terms of fairness on Lutz’s end, I do believe that he is being fair. Most people, writers in particular, have to take a stance and provide reasons as to why they believe this. Lutz took the assumption that warrants more truth, and I do believe it is fair. That being said, I do believe that upon first encounters, the Indigenous peoples would have found the European mannerisms just as strange and foreign. Lutz explains that for Indigenous peoples, first contact exchanges involved integrating the appearance of the white European men with their previous long-held knowledge of the animal and spiritual world visitors they had encountered (“First Contact” 36). Lutz then went on to note that the Indigenous peoples also associated the arrival of the Europeans with the spirit world (“First Contact” 36).
I am not too familiar with the beliefs, culture, and spirituality of Indigenous peoples here in Canada myself, but upon reading I have learnt a lot of the importance. Upon familiarizing myself, I found myself understanding Lutz’s referencing and meaning, and I do hope that other students in this class and readers do the same.
Thank you very much! Maya 🙂
Works Cited
Lutz, J. S., Binney, J., Dauenhauer, N. M., Dauenhauer, R., & Maclaren, I. S. (2014). Myth and Memory: Stories of Indigenous-European Contact. Vancouver: UBC Press.
“Religion and Spirituality of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/religion-of-aboriginal-people.Joseph, Bob. “Why Continuity of Indigenous Cultural Identity Is Critical.” Why Continuity of Indigenous Cultural Identity Is Critical, www.ictinc.ca/blog/why-is-indigenous-cultural-continuity-critical.
Hi Maya! I am very intrigued by your allowing of yourself to read further into assumptions and the growth that came with it. I sometimes wonder of white people should be allowed to be allowed to write about or critique the art/storytelling of nations outside of their gaze and diaspora. Although John Lutz is writing for his people mostly I do sometimes wonder if their is harm in not hearing strictly from Indigenous people about what they believe. Here is a cool link to an article that just came out in the Toronto Star by a fellow actor of mine.
https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2020/02/10/critics-who-arent-indigenous-black-or-people-of-colour-arent-invited-to-bug-yolanda-bonnell-explains-why.html?fbclid=IwAR0Qd2PdvRhMzPL6MgQfiNoCGpZ02XvHbfowWuluewyUc2V4psRHf3vE9-k
Hi Sarah!
Thanks for your comment. I do sometimes feel that I may draw too many assumptions or conclusions off a short piece of work, but I also believe that if I do not do that, how will I be able to read between the lines and learn from it.
I do wonder as well the point of view that certain stories are told from. I think that because white people have such a tremendous influence and amount of power, their voices are ‘heard’ more, which is an unfortunate fact. I did enjoy reading what Lutz had to say though, and I felt that he was valid.
Thank you for linking this article! I will read it.
Best, Maya 🙂
Hi Maya,
This was very eye-opening! However, regarding the assumption that Lutz believes his reader is European, I kind of disagree. The reader is European. As a result of European colonialism, the education system from a majority of the countries is based on the European model or derived from it. As such, the reader sees the world from an aspect of the European perspective, no matter where they are from. That being said, your disagreement is also valid, ethnic differences and subsequent cultural differences add their own unique outlook to the European model. I don’t believe that it is wrong for Lutz to assume it is hard for Europeans and us, by extension, to be unable to completely gauge the situation of the Indigenous plays. This is because, even though the colonial narrative is mostly similar, different ethnic peoples and Indigenous tribes have their own experience with Europeans.