FNMI Unfair Treatment

For many years, even throughout history, FNMI individuals have been treated severely unfairly in society. Educating them about all the harmful discrimination against them can eliminate torment and aggression. The FNMI communities' cultures have unique traditions and ways of interacting with people and the environment. But society has developed deleterious effects on them. This includes lots of misrepresentation, exclusivity, the erasure of FNMI voices, and many more detrimental actions. Indigenous pragmatism is absent from these repressive ideas, which are frequently depicted in the media. The public is forced to believe false propaganda because genuine Indigenous representation in the media is nonexistent. Since they are shown to be ignorant of the intergenerational suffering brought on by colonialism, attempted assimilation, and land theft, these disrespectful comments are dishonest and repressive. Regardless of the deleteriousness, the community is always positive and gives off uplifting energy. Despite the fact that the majority of society is prejudiced against their heritage. Both texts, "I am the Only American Indian" by Cecilia Rose LaPointe and "What's There to Take Back?" by Tiffany Midge, teach society about First Nation, Métis, and Inuit identities from colonial oppression in the world through tragic and challenging events. Through the texts, there are differences in their experiences of cultural appropriation and similarities in their use of syntax and tone. FNMI individuals are questioned in society by negative perceptions, but through them, they still stand strong and appreciate their culture and traditions, encouraging fair treatment and equality for everyone.

Throughout "I am Only American Indian," it discusses cultural appropriation from the perspective of the impact of the FNMI individual and the disclosure of FNMI individuals' voices. In the college cafeteria, the FNMI individual experiences being left alone at the table. No one had come and sat with them because of stereotype issues and the development of the FNMI community. In the text, it states, "This college makes me feel out of place" (LaPointe 3-4). This demonstrates that they are desolate about the student and don’t feel welcomed. Society is having ongoing issues that have heavily impacted individuals apart from the FNMI community. This caused them to feel very isolated and unhappy about how non-FNMI individuals were treating them. Moreover, the voices of FNMI individuals are getting hidden in society. Only because of their traditional long hair does society hear what they have to say. LaPointe writes on line 19 to 20, "It is like our hair shouts activism, rebellion, and reclaiming our culture, heritage and identity. It has to shout because otherwise no one would listen to us." This shows FNMI's importance to their traditional hair. The unhearing of the voices of the FNMI individuals and society only realizing them because of their hair, which communicates cultural appropriation, and plays a huge role. The FNMI individuals put their heritage out even if they are getting harmed everyday, but the power and confidence it brings to them allows them to express their identity. It has impacted many FNMI people, and it appears that society is unhearable breathe out what their voices have to say to everyone.

Furthermore, the FNMI individual has used syntax in their sentence structure to express colonial oppression's impact on them through the use of simple and complex sentences. The FNMI uses a variety of sentence structures to create better meaning and emotions for the readers. Simple sentence structure is used to emphasize the meaning and make the reader think about the in-depth meaning. As stated, "I congregate along'' (LaPointe 4). This illustrates how the FNMI individual feels alone in the cafeteria because of oppression that has developed over time. The sentence allows for the message of how the individual is feeling to be expressed in a significant manner. It helps understand the inner emotion of cultural separation in the lunch area. The negative thoughts create doubt and make the FNMI individual doubt who they are, but they still build up courage and empathy to stay in the cafeteria. Equally important, complex sentences have been used to allow the FNMI individual to share their thoughts and ideas in great detail to understand the impact and challenges. In the text, it says, "I deal with this conversation in my mind of getting gently but oppressively scooted out of the discussion of race in this colonized country." (LaPointe 21-22). This exemplifies how using at least one independent and dependent clause in a complex sentence can help the reader comprehend the message much better. It allows the reader to develop more detail in the text, making it more interesting to understand what the FNMI individuals are thinking about when alone in a cafeteria. The feeling of exclusivity is emphasized, since it expresses to the readers the emotions and thoughts that are being developed through the FNMI head while being treated like they are nonexistent. Shows that colonial oppression, such as biases and stereotypes, is heavily impactful for FNMI people.

In addition, both texts develop a sense of tone to portray their feelings towards not being included in society, which is shown through the author's use of post colonial lens and FNMI identity representations. The experience of the FNMI individual in the school has caused many negative impacts, which shows the cultural oppression in society. Even though all the effects are being felt, they stand strong about who they are and their culture. Cecilia Rose LaPointe said on line 5, "We are so divided by race. But I feel comfortable as an American Indian on my own." This highlights the traumatic experience of racial division in the school. It is caused by discrimination from other students, making the FNMI individuals feel excluded. But even through all this poor treatment, the FNMi individuals wear their culture with pride to preserve cultural knowledge and promote wellness for everyone. Also, FNMI identities are of such huge importance since they create a good level of their traditions and culture. Society's impact is so harmful to the community, but they are passionate about their heritage and show they are not afraid of society. In the text, it states, "I’ve got some jewelry to represent my culture" (LaPointe 5-6). This represents how society got the community so affected that their cultural jewelry is helping them to be heard. It allows them to see their identity—who they are as a person—and what they look like from the outside. Most of all, beaded jewelry is a huge representation of the FNMI community, and because of it, they recognize a way to protect and keep their culture. Therefore, the FNMI individual in this story points out colonial oppression through the use of cultural appropriation, syntax, and tone to highlight the experience in their college cafeteria.

The next text, "What’s there to take back?" represents cultural appropriation in relation to the FNMI individuals' loved ones' perspectives and misrepresentation of the FNMI character Tiger Lily. The FNMI uses parallelism through her grandma Charity’s perspective and expresses the challenges and struggles that being a woman faced, but how they still showed their language to society. Midge said on lines 22 to 25 that their grandmother "raised several children, who steered them toward college educations, who lived to age ninety-right, who was honored by the governor, who gave a televised speech in her original language.” This displays the emphasis on similar ideas specific to the role of the grandmother. In addition to decolonization and sovereignty, intersectional feminism places a strong emphasis on the human rights of Indigenous women and their families. It also demonstrates how women are still in positions of leadership in the FNMI community worldwide. It draws on knowledge and skills that have been passed down from one generation to the next and have played a significant role in traditional ancestral knowledge. To add on, Tiger Lily from the film Pan has been a huge influence on society's misrepresentation of FNMI people. It caused many viewers of the film to develop stereotypes and biases towards the FNMI community. The text states, "But she is still an Indian princess, the sort of young girl on and off reservation across America looks to as a model, having very few authentic representations of their lives in the public sphere" (Midge 3-5). This reveals that society wants to create a better representation of the FNMI identities in social media and even in general. In the film, they made the character Tiger Lily a racist, stereotypical, and problematic individual. Which led to colonial oppression in the media. But by recreating Tiger Lily in the film Pan, it allows the FNMI community to feel safe and inform others about who they are.

Another key aspect of this text is the use of syntax, which communicates the FNMI representation in media with the use of simple and complex sentences to highlight specific details. The sentence structure is very important in a text. A simple sentence really emphasizes emotion and points out certain important points in the text. This text specifically highlights the thoughts of FNMI individuals because of misrepresentation. The author talks about products that have the names of individuals who have been misrepresented in society and expresses their feelings towards them by saying, "God, no" (Midge 31). This indicates the sudden emotions and thoughts after realizing that having negative products and films can cause severe emotions in FNMI individuals. It points out how colonial oppression continuously affects individuals because of simple matters that, when addressed, can allow FNMI people to feel more protected and appreciated. Then, complex sentences allowed the FNMI to give many details to allow greater understanding for the readers. The individuals have created a long, informal question to demonstrate the frustration in society because of colonialism. In the text, the author states, "Are Indian people such dire need, at such a loss for Native American role model to look up to, so lacking in cultural heroes or icons to claim as their very own that the only solution is to exhume from the mausoleum of twentieth-century relics the Disney cartoon character Tiger Lily" (Midge 7-9). This expresses, through the elongated question, the aggression and doubtfulness the FNMI individual is feeling. It creates a sense of knowledge of how colonial oppression from the misrepresentation got them thinking and asking questions to society. With the specific details and vocabulary used, it puts together an expressive question from the FNMI's perspective and helps them understand colonial oppression's impact on them.

Correspondingly, the text used tone to portray the misrepresentation of the FNMI community. This is shown through the author's use of a post-colonial lens and FNMI identity representations. The FNMI individual's perspective discusses the emotions and feelings of how the community is represented in society. Midge said on lines 31 to 32: "Would anyone want to reclaim Frito Bandito? Aunt Jemima? Charlie Chan?... They are made from the same poison." The text denotes that many people's representations of product names are always shown in a stereotypical way to everyone. But as we know, like Tiger Lily, they changed, for example, Aunt Jemima's products. First, they have a product with a picture of this individual with their name; as of recently, they only have the company name because it was previously known to be a racial stereotype. It shows how representation is very important, and if negative, it causes issues that result in harm for individuals. By recreating films, products, or anything with the stereotypes and biases of the FNMI community, it can allow them to feel more appreciated and respected throughout society. Additionally, the FNMI identities are a huge part of who they are as individuals. All the misrepresentation had been erasing the culture of the community, but by fixing it, it can allow the FNMI community to feel more accepted in society. From lines 1 to 2, Midge states, "This project seeks submissions from Native American artists, re-creating Tiger Lily to fit a real model of Indigenous womanhood." This signifies that developing a new and better way of representing FNMI individuals can allow them to feel more included. By challenging and representing them poorly, we create complex issues about their identity and cultural traditions. Tiger Lily being created again helped and allowed the FNMI community to be more proud and less affected by stereotypes created through the old Tiger Lily. In conclusion, the text highlights the impact of colonial oppression through the use of cultural appropriation, syntax, and tone.

Overall, from the argument of cultural appropriation, both texts have a different way of viewing their societies stereotypes and biases. The perspectives of the FNMI individuals elaborate on the impact differently. One has discussed the impact on the community; the other text talks about how the community is still powerful and never lets go of who they are, which is very inspiring. Both texts have the same way of using syntax and tone to create a better understanding for the readers. They all expressed colonial oppression through their harmful experiences, but they also explained the positives they still had through the negativity. It demonstrates the decolonization of society through the challenges the FNMI people faced and the importance of the strength they have.

Cecilia Ross LaPointe’s "I am the Only American Indian" and Tiffany Midge’s "What’s There to Take Back?" are two texts that discuss how colonial oppression of FNMI identities around the world results from tragic and difficult issues. Through the texts, contrast in cultural appropriation experiences and relate in the usage of syntax and tone were explored. Cultural appropriation is very impactful for FNMI individuals because of stereotypes and disrespect for their culture and traditions. Syntax has allowed both of the FNMI individuals to share their emotions with the audience through the use of simple and complex sentences. Tone has been used to create feelings and more in-depth meaning with the use of post-colonial lenses and FNMI identities. Society needs to take away the colonial past, misrepresentation, and prejudice against the FNMI community. People's opinions and beliefs are heavily influenced by the media because they are often given biased and stereotypical information. They are left with misleading knowledge, and when untruthful representations of FNMI are recognised, society never talks about them. But through all the negative impact, the community is fearless and motivated about its culture and traditions.