5] “To raise the question of ‘authenticity’ is to challenge not only the narrative but also the ‘truth’ behind Salish ways of knowing “(Carlson 59). Explain why this is so according to Carlson, and explain why it is important to recognize this point.
Knowledge brings power. Literacy has brought tremendous amounts of power to modern societies, for it is easier to transmit information with more accuracy. Jared Diamond has dedicated an entire chapter on the advantages of writing in regards to the progression of a civilization in his novel “Guns, Germs, and Steel”. He states that those who “pride themselves on being civilized have always viewed writing as the sharpest distinction raising them above ‘barbarians’ or ‘savages’” (Diamond 206). He also introduces us to Sequoyah, a Cherokee Indian from the 1820s from what is now Arkansas. Sequoyah observed that “white people” made marks on paper and that they derived great advantage by using those marks. In 1810, Sequoyah designed a written system for the Cherokee language (Diamond 219). This is a great example of idea diffusion. As he was surrounded by alphabets he could not comprehend, he independently reinvented a syllabary (220). I found this story interesting, because we often hear of the inabilities for Indigenous communities to utilize writing for they are only often displayed in a noble savage sense. The concept of idea diffusion is wonderful and refreshing for the progression of a civilization because of the ideas of another. It was another side to same stories we are often told.
Through Carlson’s work we once again return to the issues and debate regarding orality and literacy. For the Salish people, literacy was both a foreign and necessary concept. It is a Western tool used to preserve their cultures and traditions against colonial assimilation. (Carlson 43). Carlson points out to the findings of Sally Snyder who states that within the Salish community it is a well respected idea to never tell stories incorrectly. If the story happens to be imperfectly recalled, she states, it is better to not tell it at all because it was “dangerous to omit scenes and to shorten myths”, and a crucial point: “shortening myths would shorten the lives of all listeners” (59). If we keep this in mind, it would likely be unheard of for a Salish person to purposely change stories with historical significance. For Carlson, raising questions of authenticity would be similar to raising questions against the very character of a community, questions that go against our very understanding of them. The importance of understanding character goes to great lengths whenever we compare and place different ideas in a hierarchical manner.
It is also interesting how often we worry about the mistranslations and doubting authenticity when it comes accounting history in an oral manner. Modern societies tend to place too much trust in the idea that once something has been written down, it will not change. However, there remains a mass of conflicting information that has been written down over the years. A simple Google search will lead to you many roads of conflicting information. It was important for oral cultures to adapt in order for their children to be able to attain to the New World however it is equally as important to understand what remains pure in oral societies and they need to be respected as such.
Works Cited
Carlson, Keith Thor. “Orality and Literacy: The ‘Black and White’ of Salish History.” Orality & Literacy: Reflectins Across Disciplines. 43-72. Print.
Diamond, Jared M. Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. Print.