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The Gift of an Anthropologist A‐Juma‐Wi/Atsuge‐Wi Lessons and Legends
Author(s) -
Wilson Darryl Babe
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
anthropology and humanism quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.153
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1548-1409
pISSN - 0193-5615
DOI - 10.1525/ahu.1992.17.3-4.85
Subject(s) - surprise , feeling , active listening , narrative , aesthetics , psychology , psychoanalysis , history , sociology , social psychology , art , literature , communication
I have implied that Susan Brandenstein Park has returned a “gift” to me and to my people, but it is much more than that to me. She could not have known that whenever I study her notes I remember being a small child sitting in the dust at the feet of my elders, listening to their thoughts that spilled over into a narration—of the creation, of Silver Grey Fox, of Coyote, of the coming of the first white people. My father always moved me closer toward them, gently nudging me in the back. After I put my fingers into their huge, soft hands, they usually patted me on the head, then continued their conversations. An unexplainable feeling wrapped itself around me, and I listened. As an adult that same feeling consumes me whenever I am greeted by an old person who is genuinely happy to see me. It is almost like having a surprise for a birthday that I forgot, or like looking into the eyes of my children when they were first born. I cry. Not of pain, but of completeness. To explain a fragment of this emotional encounter is one of the purposes of my present effort. Should the greater public look upon my people as a very necessary part of the puzzle of life and understand that we have been systematically and unnecessarily dehumanized by the thrust of Manifest Destiny and progress, then I will consider both Susan's and my efforts as partially satisfied. Consulting with my elders and poring over Susan's original field notes with her, I have attempted to present the voice of my people. Should academics receive these narratives with enthusiasm, then both Susan and I shall consider ourselves as a team that began mending a basket, abandoned as the cavalry rode into our nation and a careless horse crushed its design. That we alone can re‐create that design is doubtful, but with the combined efforts of my concerned people, we can. And we cannot begin that re‐creation without the assistance of sincerely committed individuals of our society and concerned academics who, with the power of words and language, have the capacity to move the most stubborn event to action.