Many things of extreme interest happened to me during our field trip through the Cherokee reservation and I'm glad I have this venue to share it with everyone. I'll start from the beginning, weave my way through the museum, scoff my way through the casino, and chew my way through the epic finale we had at the diner.
The museum was pretty much what I expected it to be. There were plenty of artifacts, both real and reproduced, as well as the mandatory creepy wax sculptures. The ancient device that I found most intriguing was the atlatl. (a device that helped them throw spears much farther and faster than they could unaided) I've never understood quite how those things worked. You essentially just launch a spear off of another stick with a hook on the end of it. The few times I've seen them thrown (by bearded white guys on the History channel) it really didn't look very impressive. I'm willing to bet if we rocketed them back on the timeline by several centuries and told them their food was now covered in hair and running away from them, they'd get much better with it pretty quickly.
Another one of the exhibits that caught my attention was the firearm section with all the interesting looking bullet molds. Drawn in by these cool pliers-shaped molds, I wound up reading about how the American Indians bought their firearms. They grew dependent on European weapons and wound up receiving really shoddy guns because of the settlers dirty dealings. I can only imagine how alien a firearm felt in the hands of an American Indian hunter or warrior who had used a bow or a spear his entire life. Feeling the recoil for the first time might convince me that my weapon was attacking me as well as my target. After all that, they had to find out they still had the lousiest weapons because they weren't allowed to get the well made ones.
While I'm not a fan of gift shops full of mass produced kitsch, I did enjoy the glass cases just outside the shop that had work from what I assume was local artists. A particular series of minuscule clay figurines really caught my eye. They depicted small robed and masked figures, some of them gathered around a campfire. They were the only things around that actually seemed to be inspired by ideas of American Indian culture as opposed to tourist money. I would have loved to buy one, but unfortunately they were a little out of my price range. (There are very few circumstances where I would pay twenty-five bucks for one figurine that's made of clay and isn't old in any meaningful way)
The casino was a bit of a nightmare. I couldn't appreciate the amount of effort that had gone into the building and maintaining of the facility because of the discrepancy between it and the surrounding community. The hallways were like airports, the suite was three or four times the size of the place I've been living for the last four years, and the only speck of Indian culture I saw was essentially a GIF of the Cherokee creation story stretched out over the information desks. While it's very impressive that so much money is given from the casino to each member of the tribe, there's obviously something hugely wrong with the process. The casino seems to be the nicest building for two hundred miles in any direction. everything surrounding it was cheap, a little run down, or a trailer. So it's obvious that this money does not actually get reinvested into the Indian community. Whether it's a lack of proper financial management or some other factor, I can tell just from being there that something needs to change. I really think that community probably values the condition of its homes and identity as more important than a Paula Dean's kitchen. (seriously? Paula Deen?)
All of this was more than made up for by the fry bread. It was one of the greatest things I've ever tasted. It was a sugar free funnel cake of pure joy that is clearly incredibly versatile. (It's like the tofu of things that taste good) I want to eat it regularly for the rest of my life. I do not understand how it's not sold on every street corner in this great nation of ours. It is an incredible cultural contribution from the Indians and I think we owe them a huge debt of gratitude for adding those pure discs of pleasure to our lives.
No comments:
Post a Comment