Reading Journal #1

            Chapter 1 in the book entitled Native American Music in Eastern North America by Beverly Diamond successfully allows readers to understand the general differences between how Native Americans and other citizens of the U.S.A. look at the world and the things in it. In congruence with this, the chapter allows readers to gain a more fairly reasonable insight into how Native Americans really are. The general differences noted in the chapter revolve around how Native Americans and Christians approach certain ideas and situations in different manners. One set of these ideas involves time and place. It is mentioned in the book by a Lakota named Vine Deloria Jr. that, "Native Americans base their religions on place and largely discount time while the Christianity of Europeans focuses on time and discounts place" (Diamond 26-27). Looking at this statement, I find it hard to really agree or disagree because I have never been a heavily religious person in my life and have never engaged myself into thoroughly reading any big religious texts and such about the origins and practices of my religion. Another main thing that Native Americans and Christians approach differently is music. A woman by the name of Sadie Buck mentions that when it comes to "describing the sources of sounds that outsiders 'see something and think it's one thing, but that's not the intent'"(29). The book goes further to suggest that Christians usually favor a mix sounds working together in music over a stand alone sound that can work perfectly on its own and appeal to audiences of people in the world. This idea definitely makes sense to me, since a number of people in the Christian population and in general can be close-minded about certain things and not be willing to open up their minds to all the possibilities that exist in the world in regards to certain things.
          One other main way in which Native Americans are different from Christians involves how they are with sharing personal information in regards to their cultural practices, music, texts, and other things. When it comes to this part of the discussion, it is key to mention that Native Americans are extremely cautious when it comes handing out any of these things, especially to Christians. Looking at this fact, it definitely makes sense to me that Native Americans are like this because they don't want Christians to misrepresent them in any way, whether it be intentional or by accident, which could easily happen by misprinting any documented fact about the Native Americans. This could lead other people to make false assumptions about them, which was discussed in the class. This type of situation also highlights the idea of an "insider" vs. "outsider" issue in regards to the practices and ideas being kept within a certain peoples' culture. One last thing to mention before concluding is that the chapter basically reminds about the general connection between "facts" and "interpretation," since this book explains how Native Americans truly are, which mainly encompasses a very peaceful and kind people with their own moral values who are not as wild and crazy as they are depicted in many forms of American popular culture. It is also important to mention about how reading just this first chapter of the book can change any negative stereotypical thoughts about Native Americans and look at them in a more positive way, which can definitely be seen as one of the intentions of the Native American Music class that I am taking this semester in college. In conclusion, the first chapter in this book basically helps to paint a more accurate and detailed picture of modern Native Americans that exist in today's world.