conflicts in the americanization of one hopi woman

8/8/2019 Conflicts in the Americanization of One Hopi Woman

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Amber Bryant Book Analysis EDF500

Conflicts in the Americanization of One Hopi Woman

The Americanization of minority cultures has been the focus of the Anglo-

Saxon education system in the United States. The Founding Fathers and other

prominent leaders in the new United States believed that through the education

system they could maintain a republic government. Education would be used to

teach the Rs, virtues and citizenry. (Kaestle, 1983) Schools were soon

established to educate not only majority children, but minority groups the

American cultural view.

In the turn of the 20th century, many missionaries were establishing

schools in the western Indian reservations. Based on the testimony given in No

Turning Back: A Hopi Womans Struggle to Live in Two Worlds , there were

internal struggles in the Americanization of one woman in the Hopi tribe. Children

from the Hopi tribe in Oraibi were sent to school to be educated. The fear of the

white mans ways was rampant, but there was also curiosity about their new way

of life. The Hopi village was being split by the white mans presence in their

village. Polingaysi, a Hopi girl in the village of Oraibi, was curious about the new

school, clothes, and songs. Polingaysi decided that she would like to go to school

and learn more about this new culture. The first act of Americanizing her was a

change in the clothing that she wore. Hopi girls wore blanket dresses that were

made from home-woven wool. The children were given new white man clothes to

wear and made to bathe. At first, Polingaysi was entranced by the newness of


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the culture, but when she had to face her family members with her decision to go

to school she felt shame. The inner turmoil did not end after this first day of

school.

After her first initiation to school, Polingaysi found it hard to resume the

Hopi way of life she had come to view many of the customs of the Hopi tribe as

out-dated or pagan. The change in Polingaysis cultural views led to an unrest

and unhappiness with her Hopi life. She then left Oraibi to continue her

education with the white man. Her time spent in the white mans schools firmly

established to the core values of the American culture in Polingaysi. The

American core values during that time were Puritan morality, work-success ethic,

individualism, achievement orientation, and future-time orientation. (Pai, Adler,

and Shadiow, 2005). Polingaysi became entranced with the ability to work hard

and to earn money. She looked to the future when she would have enough

money to build a house.

On her return to Oraibi, Polingaysi had changed so greatly that the conflict

between her values and the values of the Hopi tribe caused many arguments.

Polingaysi knew that she was born Hopi, but now no longer identified with the

ancient customs or way of life of the Hopi tribe. Polingaysi looked to resolve the

conflict by asking the reasons to explain the customs and beliefs that the Hopis

had long held. The Americanization of Polingaysi had occurred through the

schools that she had attended, but had not encroached into the beliefs of the


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Hopis that had remained in the village. Her life was a constant struggle to merge

the two worlds together.


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Bibliography

Kaestle, C. (1983). Pillars of the republic: Common schools and American

society, 1780-1860. New York: Hill and Wang

Pai, Y., Adler, S., Shadiow, L. (2005). Cultural Foundations of Education (4th

edition).Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.

Qoyawayma. P. (1964). No turning back: A Hopi womans struggle to live in two

worlds. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico.

conflicts in the americanization of one hopi woman

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