Stars.They're nomads, dancers, survivors, beautiful things, solemn things, and aliens to the world. These old-timers have roamed the untouched space far longer and far before anyone else did. Yet there are millions upon millions of them wandering around in an endless cycle without a purpose or thought. Native Americans aren’t any different. |
They, like stars, are isolated individuals who feel only solitude. This first piece illustrates what the Natives are made up of; full of color and spirit on the inside, but black and empty to the outside eye. Back then, European colonists thought of the Indians as backward “savages” who didn’t have any sort of civilization or culture. The earthly American plains were their rightful place but to the intruding foreigners somewhere else suited these barbarians just fine. The Americans allowed the Indians to have a share of their -ironically- own homeland, but only the unfriendly chunks where no man should live. In this artwork, the hands carrying the moon represents the Whites pushing the Indians, who are the stars dripping into the moon, towards unknown territory. To the Americans, this was just a small shove.
To the Natives, they were basically sent to the moon. |
As time progressed, the Native American population shriveled up with fear, poverty, and depression. The Whites were soaring high, drunk with power and expanding land with little care towards the reality of their thievery. This next piece correlates with the fate of a Native. The astronaut with his vacuum represents the Americans sucking up the Indians and their land, who are the dust and grime in the floor of the old American house. These stars and their celestial neighbors, who fell victim to the hungry greed of Europeans, had no other choice but to submit to their needs. Even more, the astronaut seemed to be heading straight towards the moon which, as stated in the last piece, was the Natives’ new home. Comparing this to history, it’s a recurring pattern that had become a cruel precedent for every American leader to follow. The Americans continued to push the Indians around until eventually there was no space left for this menial group.
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Native American’s Star Poem reflects the emotions and misery of these people. In here Williams states, “It is you Star out there all alone/Giving strength/Giving warmth/But yet you feel a worthless being”. Many Native tribes tried to help the Americans in return for treaties and protection but eventually all effort was lost in vain, either by death to the community or by being uprooted. Before the foreigners barged in, they prospered and lived in harmony; they were the kings of their own land. But after Columbus arrived, the Americans spat and stepped all over the Indians as if they were useless trash in their way. Soon enough the Native Americans felt inferior and empty themselves. The poem goes on saying, “Star oh Star/Just trying to get back to a place we call/home.” They have been attacked, diseased, uprooted, and massacred all because they just want to return to their homeland and because they simply exist. However, the Natives with boiling spirits constantly fought back for their land and rights. No matter how many times the Americans crushed their rebellions, there would always be new Native leaders rising to take the place of the fallen.
“Yes you Star” ,Williams wrote, “Are the one that comes through thick clouds of passing or coming storms/For the God who loves us all/...Created no living being to stand alone”. |
It is you Star out there all alone, Giving strength, Giving warmth, But yet you feel a worthless being, So you cry.......... Star oh Star, Just trying to get back to a place we call home. But you my dear Star, Yes you Star, Are the one that comes through thick clouds of passing or coming storms: For the God who loves us all, Who made us all, Created no living being to stand alone, On Earth, Or Sky. Be Blessed, Be at home. -CHI ARTHUR WILLIAMS |
What the intruders never came to acknowledge was the fact that the Native Americans aided the United States tremendously in their growth and prosperity. In truth, they were not inferior at all; the Indians had a sufficient civilization with elaborate cultures that learned to live on their own. The Americans survived solely because the Indians had either taught them how to survive or had already left them the essential supplies. Even infamous Jamestown heavily relied on the help -voluntary or forced- from them. America’s history continued to grow and stretch, and gradually 50 white stars came together to form the US flag. Not a single one was for the Natives. The stars on the American flag welcomed each state into the nation, but never the ones who set the foundation of this country. In a way, the patriotic stars are the Natives because without the help of these people, there might have never been a vast nation called the United States of America.
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The day Columbus set sail and stumbled upon the "New World" was the day Natives fell to their knees. They used to be the rulers of their own land; now they're just the worthless filth of America. But no matter the cost, the sacrifice or the pain, Native Americans have constantly-and still are-battling for their rights. With great endurance, they have unveiled their determination and spirit that no other group can compare.