Ceremony 177-201

   This section of the reading explains Tayo's journey in search for the cattle and everything he experiences along the way. One of the most important parts of this reading is the proof that Tayo is beginning to open up and believe in Betonie and his ideas. Tayo never believed in medicine men and thought they were a joke but Betonie's visions were beginning to come true for Tayo. Silko said, "but suddenly Betonie's vision was a story he could feel happening-from the stars and the woman, the mountain and the cattle would come". Everything Betonie predicted to happen was coming true for Tayo so he begins to believe the mountain and the cattle will come as well. When Tayo reaches the Texans land in search for the cattle he discovers the horrors of how the white man was using the cattle and there ways of hunting and maintaining the cattle as well. The barbed-wire fences that keep the cattle in play a huge role in the reading and have a much deeper meaning. Silko said, "The barbed wire fence paralleled the rim, and he could see bits of belly hair the deer left on the barbed wire where their trails crossed the fence." These fences dont allow for the animals to be free and in Tayo's mind it was completely wrong, especially them being barbed wire and able to hurt the cattle. The fences were the only thing from keeping Tayo from the cattle and he wasn't about to let the fence get in his way. Silko said, "Fences had never stopped the speckled cattle either, but there was no sign they had been there. so he rode north, looking for another fence that might be holding them." A fence had never stopped the cattle in the past and it wasn't about to stop Tayo either. This search for cattle was able to help Tayo get his mind off everything that has happened to him in the past and help begin to move forward which was also on the most important sections of this reading.

What the barbed wire fences would look like in this reading

Tayo finally beginning to believe in Betonie and it's starting to really help Tayo

      Another important part of this reading is how Tayo begins to express how he as an Indian has been mistreated and stereotyped his whole life by the white man and most importantly how he begins to blame the white man. Silko said, "Why did he hesitate to accuse a white man of stealing but not a Mexican man or and Indian?" The white man has to be held responsible too and isn't above the law and Tayo is beginning to realize that. Not just the Indians or the Mexicans anymore, but the white man has to face judgement and consequences as well. This trip for the cattle wound up to be one of the best solutions for Tayo and his PTS. Silko said, "Hes topped on the edge of the clearing. The air was much colder. He had been so intent on finding the cattle that he had forgotten all the events of the past days and past years. Hunting the cattle was good for that. Old Betonie was right. It was a cure for that, and maybe for other things too". Like stated earlier Betonie's visions begin to become a reality for Tayo and even Tayo sees them start to help with things like his PTS. Silko said, "It was changing, unraveling like the yarn of a dark heavy blanket wrapped around a corpse, the dusty rotted strands of darkness unwinding, giving way to the air; its smothering pressure was lifting from the bones of his skull". Just in tis quote there is proof that Tayo's PTS isn't as strong anymore and things are beginning to change. This search for the cattle is what really turns Tayo in the right direction and sets the tone for the rest of the book.

An idea of something veterans do to help support there PTS, just like Tayo with the Cattle hunt

Shows everyone is equal and the white man is responsible too and it's not always the Indians and Mexicans

Ceremony Continued

  This section of the book begins with Tayo and his experiences with Leroy and Helen Jean. Right away you can tell Tayo cares for Helen Jean when he becomes very protective over her with the Mexican men in the bar. Tayo was too drunk and Harley and leroy didn't even notice Helen Jean leave but she left the bar that night with the Mexican men. Helen Jean then decides she's done with the men in Gallup and the one night stands, she wants to move on to better things. The way of life in Gallup for woman is a never ending trap and she knows that. "You can start today, but you might want to change your clothes." She went in looking for a desk and office job and was offered the janitors positions which shows how woman in Gallup were treated. These woman get hit on and mentally abused by most men because the men are desperate and usually drunk because they're always at bars. Something that really catches the readers attention is when Helen Jean decides not to leave with Isleta and Isleta says "You bitch! You think you're better than a white woman?" Thankfully the Apache at the bar stands up for Helen Jean but this part was really important. Isleta is still living in the past and his experience with Doreen when he was still a soldier and had a uniform. His PTS is making him treat Helen Jean this way because he still thinks that he's superior and can get any woman with his uniform but that uniform is no longer there. This is what happened for most Indian vets returning from war. They struggled to succeed in white america without there uniforms and that led to anger and outbreaks.

Alcohol abuse because of PTS is still very evident in this reading

Indian woman struggled even harder with equality and equal rights

   Another one of the most important parts of this reading is the story at the end. The story about the gambler is full of deeper meanings and is crucial to this book. This most Native stories it has to do with the weather and in this case the gambler kidnaps the clouds which over the years leads to drought and they get freed. The story reminds you of The Boy Who Cried Wolf and how the gambler ticks each visitor into trading all there valuables for his but he always wins. When grandson answers every one of the gamblers questions correct he gambler continues to find more questions because he never loses but this time was different. Kaup'a'ta the gambler was magical though and Sun Man knew that and was going to pretend to be dead. "My children, I have found you!" Sun Man after he cut out the gamblers eyes and unlocked the clouds. Now mother earth can thrive again and this story resembles rebirth in a sense and how the land changed. 

An idea of the rebirth of nature

Mother Nature

Ceremony and Intro to Betonie

   This section of the reading is one of the most important parts of the entire book. The introduction of Betonie is extremely important because he becomes a bridge for Tayo between two worlds and finally gets Tayo to open up and it allows Betonie to help Tayo. For so long Tayo allows his past and how he feels to turn him into somebody he's not and Betonie is able to help Tayo. When Tayo first meets Betonie with Robert he's suspicious of Betonie because of his appearance and the hogan he lived in on the side of mountain. "The old man was tall and his chest was wide; at one time he had been heavier, but old age was consuming everything but the bones. He kept his hair tied back neatly with red yarn in a chongo knot, like the oldtimers wore. He was sitting on an old tin bucket turned upside down by the doorway to his hogan." Betonie's hogan was secluded in a way from Gallup but it still overlooked the land. When asked about why he lives there Betonie said, "I tell them I want to keep track of the poeple". From the start Tayo questioned Betonie's ability to be a medicine man but that statement alone caught Tayo's attention. There is more to Betonie and Tayo quickly learns that. Betonie could connect with Tayo, like Tayo he was mixed raced and was judged for it also. Betonie was Navajo but that didn't interfere with any connection between Tayo and him. Betonie said, "My grandmother was a remarkable Mexican with green eyes". From this point on Tayo feels more comfortable with Betonie and begins to open up about his mixed background and everything he's been through.

Realistic and accurate idea of what Betonie could look like.

Gallup, New Mexico where Betonie's Hogan was located looking over the town.

  Something very special about Betonie was his Hogan and the possessions inside. "Tayo sat down, but he didn't take his eyes off the cardboard boxes that filled the big room; the sides of some boxes were broken down, sagging over with old clothing and rags spilling out; others were jammed with the antennas of dry roots and reddish willow twigs tied in neat bundles with old cotton strings". The description of Betonie's house and the picture Tayo paints of it describe it as a dump. Betonie's hogan was a not a dump though, everything had a specific meaning and every little aspect of the home fit in a unique and special way and Tayo later learns that. When Betonie's hogan is described is when the idea of integration is introduced and how the craziest things put together could still be extremely meaningful and that's what Betonie does. He uses the most of everything, nothing gets wasted and nothing goes unseen or without a deeper meaning. At first Tayo cannot understand Betonie and the deeper meaning of most the things he says but that changes. Betonie said, "Take it easy, don't try to see everything all at once". This is when Betonie and the deeper meaning comes into place because Tayo is quick to judge and overlook most of the things in Betonie's hogan but Betonie just laughs at him because he knows Tayo doesn't understand the deeper meaning yet. Some would say Betonie is a hoarder but everything in his home has a purpose. This connection Betonie builds with Tayo in the hogan is extremely important and plays a major role in Tayo's future in moving forward.

Idea of what a traditional hogan would look like

Things may appear unorganized but everything has a purpose. Especially with Betonie.

Ceremony Continued

   Tayo's struggling relationship with Emo continues at the beginning of this section of the book. Emo and Tayo have been fighting and arguing since grade school and the conflict has only increased over the years. Tayo can't stand the sound of Emo's voice which ultimately leads him to attacking him in the bar. At first the alcohol was helping Tayo block out Emo as well as all of Tayo's problems in general. "The beer kept him loose inside. Emo's words never touched him. The beer stroked a place deep under his heart and put all the feeling to sleep." Tayo uses the alcohol to get away from his issues with PTS but the combination of the alcohol and Emo harassing him made him snap. Something else very important in this section of the reading is the idea of Emo getting joy out of the horrible things he did at war. Tayo on the other hand can't stand the idea of what he might of done at war, he's a good person at heart. The idea of good vs. evil with Tayo and Emo with Emo being the evil one. " He pushed them into circles and rows like unstrung beads; he scooped them into his hand and shook them like dice. They were his war souvenirs, the teeth he had knocked out of every corpse of a Japanese soldier." Emo took Japanese soldiers teeth as trophies, it takes a sick and twisted individual to take joy and trophies out of war and Tayo knows that. Emo was a ruthless killer and bragged about it as well and Tayo couldn't handle it anymore and thats why he stabbed Emo with the beer bottle. When Tayo jumps up and screams "Killer" at Emo, Emo said "You drink like an Indian and you're crazy like one too buy you aren't shit, white trash. You love the Japs the way your mother loved to screw white men." The sentence alone would make anyone want to attack someone but this beef between Tayo and Emo has lasted a lifetime almost. It also shows just how ruthless Emo is. At times this act by Tayo seems justified because of everything Emo has put Tayo through and many other people as well. Once again the alcohol is a big issue for Tayo and will continue with hi throughout the book.

Alcohol and violence led Tayo to stab Emo with the broken beer bottle

The human teeth necklace that Emo has

   Another really important part of this reading was the introduction of Nightswan. You get the idea that Nightswan could be a prostitute but she has a much greater meaning than that. She's more of a sexual teacher and healer and in most cultures besides white America there is a place for woman like Nightswan. She also represents spring and new beginnings because every time she is explained it is with colorful colors and positive vibes. Very close to the introduction of Nightswan you see the love Josiah has for her. Silko said "He liked the way she talked. There was something in her eyes too." It was love at first sight for Josiah. Nightswan also believes in connecting with people with dance which is very interesting and reflects her style. "They called me the Nightswan, she said. I remember every time I have danced." Through time the connection between Josiah and Nightswan grew stronger and stronger. Later on it explains Tayo's relationship with Nightswan, After Tayo's sexual experience with Nightswan and before he leaves for the war he doesn't understand what Nightswan was trying to say to him. But when Tayo returned from war he realized the truth in what Nightswan told him and that is something really interesting to think about. Tayo grew wiser and more mature and realized it's okay to be someone like Tayo who has a mixed race background and that it actually makes him more unique. Tayo was told his whole life that because of who his parents were he was different but if anything he is different in a good way and Nightswan helped him realize that. Nightswan's influence so far in the book has been very strong and I'm sure it will only grow as the book goes on.

Just an idea of what Tayo experiences with Nightswan

Spring and the idea of new beginnings with Nightswan

Reel Injun

    Reel Injun gives the viewer an in depth and real look at the birth of the Hollywood Injun, the noble Injun, the savage Injun, the Cowboy, etc. One of the most important sections of the film is the savage Injun and the portrayal Hollywood gave of Native Americans in a very negative way. Adam Beach said " We'll never be able to change the fantasy of who and what Indians are. That fantasy will always be there. We'll be... we'll always be on convers of novels saying " Cheyenne Warrior"". Hollywood made the Native into a fierce less Warrior with crazy clothes and war painted bodies but this savage idea of the Native wasn't correct. The idea of the savage Injun was born with John Ford and Westerns. The Cowboy or the hero was always fighting against the ruthless and savage Indians which led the viewer to want to vote and root for the Cowboy hero. John Ford's movies are still to this day some of the most popular films to ever be released and that idea of the savage Injun is constantly being spread. Things began to change though and something really interesting in the film was the words of Clint Eastwood. Clint Eastwood said " I remember once we were on the set, the director said 'I want a real native, upfront. I want to see the real thing.' We couldn't find one." The people who were playing the savage roles of the Indians weren't even Indians. It got to a point in film where the idea of the native and culture didn't even matter anymore they just needed men to play the ruthless warriors or the enemy in these films. Westerns and film in general also colonialized native culture. Robbed natives of there individual tribes and cultures and just associated them as one group of people. Each tribe is special and has there own individual ways and ceremonies. Film and the costumes just assumed every native was a Plains native with the fancy headdress. Jesse Wente said " When you're kids and trying to play Cowboys and Indians, and if you're an Indian kid - well doesn't that mean you're going to lose all the time?". Hollywood and film made this possible because in the movies the Indians always ended up getting slaughtered at the end of these films. This spread into the youth too which wasn't helping the Indians.

Picture from a John Ford western called The Searchers 

Picture of Geronimo which shows the savage portrayal of Indians in Hollywood

         Another main focus in the film Reel Injun is the importance of Wounded Knee and the affect it had on both the Indians and in film. Jim Jarmusch said " That is a genocide that occurred and the (American) culture wanted to perpetuate the idea that (the natives) these people are now mythologic, you know, they dont even really exist, they're like dinosaurs.". This isn't just referring to Wounded Knee but the natives in general. There are becoming exist and most people are perfectly fine with watching and letting that happen. Wounded Knee gets tied in with film when Marlon Brando was given an Oscar for his role in the Godfather and had Sacheen Littlefeather accept the award for him In all traditional native clothing on National television. After the acceptance of the award and the stand Marlon Brando made people began to pay attention to issues like Wounded Knee and what the Indians were going through. John Trudell said " We're not Indians and we're not Native Americans. We're older than both concepts. We're the people, we're the human beings.". People need to realize that Indians are human just like them and that were all equal. No more idea of the savage Indian or the enemy but as human beings. Wounded Knee was going in the wrong direction for the Indians and they knew that. Russel Means said " We don't believe we're going to get out of (Wounded Knee) alive and the moral is down low and Marlon Brando and Sacheen Littlefeather totally uplifted our lives.". The speech and the stand at the Oscars gave the people at Wounded Knee hope and that's what they needed at this time. These strong stands for equality for Indians is what is needed and more and more people are beginning to see the horrors Indians went through and are still going through.

Sacheen Littlefeather accepting the award for Marlon Brando at the Oscars

Indians held up at Wounded Knee

Ceremony Part Three

        This section of the book starts out with a more in depth look at Auntie and her relationship with Tayo. She claims she is a Christian woman but she uses Tayo as a way to show the people that she is sill responsible and can raise a child but doesn't care much for Tayo at all. Auntie claiming she is a Christian woman is a massive contradiction and Tayo begins to realize that. Later on in the reading though you get a sign of oppression with Auntie. " It will start all over again. All that gossip about Josiah and about Little Sister. Girls around here have babies by white men all the time now, and nobody says anything." Auntie is feeling a transfer of oppression here and it's also very racist on both sides because it's claiming all the girls just get with white men and it's also saying the white men are only looking for women to use. Constantly learning and hearing about more of the struggles in Tayo's life he also occasionally remembers some of the good times he used to have with Rocky when they were younger. " The rattlesnakes liked to lay there in the early spring, when the days were still cool and the sun warmed the black lava rock first; the snakes went there to restore life themselves. The old man gestured to the northeast, and Tayo turned his head that way and remembered the wide round hole, so deep that even lying on his belly beside Rocky, he had never been able to see the bottom." These flashbacks Tayo gets of the good times is what keeps him going at times and allows him to get away from all the darkness thats filled his head. This quote from the book also gives a sense of storytelling and a glimpse of how important storytelling is for Tayo and the Laguna Pueblo people in general. Ku'oosh is an important man in this section of the book because he's constantly being referenced. Ku'oosh acknowledges Tayo's absent white father and the white peoples war. This was is not a Laguna Pueblo war and Ku'oosh emphasizes that with Tayo saying this war was the white mans war. With Ku'oosh Tayo does a lot of blaming himself and we see that Tayo is struggling greatly with his past and we see the PTS at times. Tayo blames himself for the wrong doings at war and in order for the world to heal the world has to heal.

What a potential Laguna Pueblo medicine man could look like(Ku'oosh).

Ku'oosh explaining that this was a white mans war not a Laguna Pueblo war.

         Later on in the reading theres some racism but against white people. Just like the white people are always treating the Native Americans as less in the book Ku'oosh returns the favor. " There are some things we can't cure like we used to, not since the white people came." The blame for everything that has happened goes both ways. The Native Americans blame the white people and the white people blame the Native americans. Later in the reading there is more struggle for Tayo with PTS and alcohol. " Liquor was medicine for the anger that made them hurt, for the pain of the loss, medicine for tight bellies and choked-up throats. He was beginning to feel a comfortable place inside himself, close to his own beating heart, near his own warm belly; he crawled inside and watched the storm swirling on the outside and he was safe there; the winds of rage could not reach him."Most of the time when Tayo is drunk he begins telling stories and the other men enjoy listening to his stories but the stories and the combination of alcohol are only hurting Tayo. Tayo uses alcohol to get his mind away from the past and this was common for most Native americans returning from war. Another important part of this reading is the affect the Army uniform had on Tayo. " The first day in Oakland he and Rocky walked down the street together and a big Chrysler stopped in the street and an old white woman rolled down the window and said, "God bless you, God bless you," but it was the uniform, not them, she blessed." The uniform brought Tayo respect from the white people but it was the uniform not Tayo. As soon as that uniform was off the white people labeled Tayo as Indian and savage all over again. The Uniform even brought Tayo success with white woman but that went away too when the Uniform was gone. Tayo struggles to fit in and refers to himself as "half-breed". Him being from a white father didn't help in the Laguna Pueblo nation and him being Laguna Pueblo didn't help in white america's idea of society. This struggle to fit in really haunts Tayo. 

U.S Army WWII uniform.

Most soldiers struggled with alcohol and drug abuse when they returned home.

Ceremony The Beginning

        The beginning of Ceremony is so inviting and so intriguing you want to continue reading right from the start. The book starts out with a poem that is filled with deeper meanings that will carry on into the rest of the book. The poem also introduces the reader the idea of Thought-Woman and earth and the four worlds below. Right from the start you get a taste of the Laguna Pueblo culture and belief with Thought Woman who is said to have created the universe. The poem ends with the final word sunrise which hints new beginnings and rebirth which you can tell will be really important in this book. The constant struggle of Tayo's past and the need for a new beginning, a new sunrise. Within the first couple pages you learn where the book is and has taken place, from WWII to the reservation and to the bar. Another really important thing from the beginning of the book is learning of Rocky's death who is Tayo's cousin and best friend. Rocky's death has a huge toll on Tayo and it's obvious it will be a struggle in the future for Tayo. " He could hear Rocky's words, and he could follow the logic of what Rocky said, but he could not feel anything except a swelling in his belly, a great swollen grief that was pushing into his throat." This quote from Tayo reveals that he's always in pain because of Rocky's death as well as Josiah's who was Tayo's uncle. Gives the reader there first glimpse of PTS too and Tayo's constant struggle with the disease. 

From the beginning of the book you can tell that Tayo struggles with his past as well as the future with everything that has happened in his life and PTS is a real struggle for him. 


        One of the most important parts of the first section of the book is when Tayo is describing the war and when Rocky was injured. " Jungle rain had no beginning or end; it grew like foilage from the sky, branching and arching to the earth, sometimes in solid thickets entangling the islands and, other times, in tendrils of blue mist curling out of the coastal clouds." The weather was really beginning to affect Tayo, he prayed for the rain to stop because it was too much but usually back home in the Laguna Pueblo tribe he prayed for more rain. The Rain and damp weather was gradually picking away at Tayo. 

Soldiers from WWII sitting in the pouring rain

     

       Tayo describes the weather being so bad at one point that he believed it was the weather that was killing Rocky during the road to the prison camp instead of the grenade that Rocky was hit by or the deadly walk to the prison camps. During this time Tayo explains how storytelling was able to keep him and the other men going during these horrible times. Reminiscing on good times and stories of friends and family was able to get there minds off of what was going on to something more positive and that was crucial for Tayo. Later on in this section you see that Tayo isn't ready to be back in the normal world and struggles greatly with more PTS. " The new doctor asked him if he had ever been visible, and Tayo spoke to him softly and said that he was very sorry but nobody was allowed to speak to an invisible one". Tayo feels guilty and responsible for all the wrong he did during the war and that's the biggest struggle with PTS. He feels invisible now and will never be looked at or be able to look at people the same. In the first section of the book you get a good introduction to Tayo and all the struggles his life has become from his past.

Just an idea of everything that comes with PTS

Sign of the Laguna Pueblo Tribe