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Before University I did not learn much about Indigenous history and their struggle to date, but I was friends with Native Americans and had no idea what they were going through and what their ancestors had gone through because that is not something that is easily talked about. I saw movies like Pocahontas but did not even register that Native Americans / Indigenous were the same as those in these movies. Looking at Momadays House Made of Dawn in class makes me wonder what the reserves are still going through and that they are real people going through real struggles. As well as brings up how much, like Abel, they could be fighting for their culture, not only against settlers but with themselves as well. It must be difficult to decide if you are Canadian, Native Canadian where your culture fits in and where it has to give to more Euro Canadian cultures before losing oneself.

Looking at The Guardian article “Over My Dead Body': Tribe aims to block Trumps border wall on Arizona land” by: Sam Levin shows how much Native Americans are in the news and that a lot of people are not seeing their struggle. I did not watch or read the news much before it being a requirement through class and has brought to my attention how much I am missing. Not just me but the rest of society who is more wrapped in the Kardashians news then the history that is being made around them.
“The Tohono O’odham tribe, which has roughly 28,000 members and controls 2.8m acres of a reservation in south-western Arizona, has long struggled with the militarized international border that was drawn through the middle of its traditional lands”.
I never realized just how big some of the reserves are and how many indigenous are around, because things like this are not shown in the movies. We do not see that our attempted destruction of their land and culture is not as glamorous or romantic as it seems in the movies. Overall this shows that the Indigenous really are the 'unbroken wilderness' as your post is labelled for they keep fighting, their spirits unbroken.

When reading this news article about “native and indigenous peoples from around the world are celebrating their cultures, competing in dance and song, and showcasing their art — to each other, and to the world”, I am reminded of House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday. This novel does speak almost directly to what this article is saying that “It’s a sad reality that many non-Native Americans know little to nothing about the Native tribes that have lived in the United States since long before the states were colonies” this unfortunately holds true for many of us to this day because as the article says most of us grew up learning what Native American culture was based off of Disney movies such as Pocahontas and Peter Pan where they show these people but do not actually show who they really are or what their traditions are. This novel sets out to break the stereotypes held against Native Americans and in doing so gives us a look into their culture. We see Abel struggling with his decisions to leave his family and their traditions behind and only see him start to feel a little bit better when he decides to go back home to the reserve to visit his grandfather and get back to his cultural roots. The article goes on to further state “such interest in Native American culture is certainly long overdue, but these stunning photos (all courtesy of the Gathering of Nations) show that Native culture isn’t historical or lost — it’s still here, and still breathtaking” this is sadly true it is about time that people take an interest in what Native American culture is and that we all take time to learn about it and teach future generations about them, this is why there are classes now offering to teach us about the past and about their culture because it is indeed long overdue.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gathering-of-nations-powwow_us_5723aee4e4b0b49df6ab469b?utm_hp_ref=native-americans