2.2 – Question 3

Lutz’s “First Contact as Spiritual Performance” contains this quote:

“One of the most obvious difficulties is comprehending the performances of the indigenous participants. 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.” (32)

These sentences imply that Lutz believes his readers to be most familiar with European tradition or that it is most difficult for someone with a European background to understand Indigenous performances.

I think that Lutz’s assumptions that those with a European background will have a harder time understanding Indigenous performance is not untrue nor unfair. People are most familiar with their own traditions – in this case European. Europeans especially have a history of forcing their own culture onto others, almost certainly because instead of taking the time to try to understand others, they find it easier to force others to understand them. This exact mindset is what has caused the mistreatment of so many Indigenous people in the past (as well as current times) – something an apology can do little to fix.

For all cultures around the world, proper communication and understanding has historically been very difficult. It is so much easier to believe one’s own culture to be the only one worth understanding rather than putting in the effort to learn about other cultures and their equally important traditions. We are all too busy believing our own traditions are the most important rather than exploring other cultures’ traditions and discovering that they are equally worthy.

Lucky for us, in current times the internet makes it much easier to learn about others’ way of life. Even by watching a short video we can make ourselves less ignorant of others. However, we must first make the decision to broaden our horizons by seeking out more information on others.

Lutz was not all unfair in assuming that his audience would have a harder time understanding Indigenous performance simply because of the lack of overall communication between different cultures. In the future, I would hope that readers will be able to look back and believe that his words are unfair – that we are all educated on each other. But I fear that this may just be wishful thinking.

References:

Lutz, John. “First Contact as a Spiritual Performance: Aboriginal — Non-Aboriginal Encounters on the North American West Coast.” Myth and Memory: Rethinking Stories of Indigenous-European Contact. Ed. Lutz. Vancouver: U of British Columbia P, 2007. 30-45. Print