As I stated in my blog from the other day, this past weekend I went to Texas to visit my uncle who lives there, while it was an amazing weekend, there was one thing there that bothered me. Yes, my uncle lives in an area with many cowboys and although it is rural and city, in the little town where we did some shopping most of the stores are geared towards cowboys and cowgirls. In one particular store that was actually very nice and had many cute items, one thing stuck out to me. There was an Indian sitting in a chair, a 'fake' Indian man in an outfit just sitting in a rocking chair and the man told me his name was Bob. I was wondering why there would be an Indian just sitting in the store in a rocking chair near the food area. The man working there told me it is just to simulate that cowboys and Indians now get along. I wasn't exactly sure what to think, I believe it gave more of the impression that cowboys and Indians the game is still something that is considered okay. I was not sure how to look at it, but I did snap a picture of "Bob" and I will upload it to this post. I think that this weekend has allowed me to look at the topic for next class on "what does it mean to be American?" I think it means pride for yourself and pride for your country but being born here doesn't necessarily mean you are American, I think you can be American and be born half way around the world, if you believe in yourself and your country, ours being the USA, in my eyes your American, no matter what color, skin, ethnicity, etc. I have not yet read the readings for class but I am going to do that soon and see more about how I feel about what it means to be an American.
wow, this was a really interesting post. Was this "Indian" the only Indian thing in the store? It just seems so random, but touristy things are usually not overly concerned with the views and feelings of other groups.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you snapped a picture of this, I had a hard time picturing what you meant when you explained the story in class. I found it really interesting that the store owner thought it necessary to put this Indian in his store, but he didn't think it was necessary to name him something more authentic than Bob? I also found it perplexing that the store owner would have a picture of an Indian, but not a cowboy too, if he is trying to promote the idea that the two get along. I guess it's just one of those things to think about.
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