"But their history can be exemplary for us because it permits us to reflect upon ourselves, to discover resemblances as well as differences: once again self-knowledge develops through knowledge of the Other" (254) I admired Todorov’s epilogue in Conquest of America as it showed his ability to speak in a variety of forms for communication.The quote above is significant as it provides a cautionary tale of what happens if we lose communication, as the Europeans did, and do not discover the external Other. Because Europeans have, in Todorov’s opinion, largely succeeded in their 350 year effort to assimilate the Other he implies that Europeans have failed to understand the Other, and thus, have fallen short in acquiring self-knowledge.
During our visit to the Museum of the American Indian, I felt that the museum left out the “Other” as Todorov describes. I was surprised at the large number of exhibits that were on the current culture and representation of Native Americans today. For historical exhibits I saw a number of pieces of artwork that reminded me, as we discussed in class, of an art museum more than a historical museum about Native American culture.
What concerned me the most about the museum was that it subtly showed the forced assimilation of the Native American Culture to modern society. In his book, Todorov showed how the Europeans displayed “remarkable qualities of flexibility and improvisation,” -- characteristics that allowed them to be more effective in imposing their ways of life on others (Todorov 247‐8). They were so successful, Todorov argues, that in the centuries following the initial encounter between Europeans and American Indians , Europeans were able to gradually assimilate the Other. While I do not argue against the Native Americans today assimilating to modern society by choice; it has been disturbing however for me to see them take their cultural traditions, such as food for example, and modernize them in way that is severally detrimental to their health.
In a study administered by the American Diabetes Association, Native American diets and food practices have possibly changed more than any other ethnic group in the United States, and with this change a substantial loss in culture has been created. Although the current diet of Native Americans may vary by tribe, and by personal traits such as age (e.g., young versus old), it resembles that of the U.S. Caucasian population; however, it is poorer in quality than that of the general U.S. population. A recent study found that only 10 percent of Native Americans have a healthful diet, while 90 percent have a poor quality that needs improvement. Looking around at the museum I could see the change in culture of the Native Americans to a more modern style of living as the exhibits became more and more recent. I especially was shocked regarding the final exhibit on the first floor of the “Up Where We Belong: Native Musicians in Popular Culture” demonstration. I interpreted the museum as structuring the exhibits in such a way that by the end it was hard to distinguish Native American culture from modern society today.
A very small portion of the museum shows the Native Americans’ forced removal from homelands, forced assimilation, and the genocide of their population which they experienced.
While the museum was certainly not a bad experience, it was not what I had expected to see. A possible change I would add to the museum is the acceptance of the mistakes of the past made by the settlers and the retributions that have been made (or should be made) to dissolve hurt, neglect, and tension of the past. America must first begin to take new initiatives to admit the mistakes in our treatment of the Native American population in the past. A task, I feel society today has yet to accomplish.
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