[CALIBK12] Hiawatha Poll Results and comments

[ladewig]

For any of you who might be interested in the results of the Hiawatha poll,
here are the (LONG!) results. Not everyone answered in a simple yes or no,
so I included some of their comments as they are quite interesting. Many of
you gave me some indication that you were at least age 45 (many of us are
50+) so results might be very different for younger library folk or
teachers. My guess is many younger folks are unlikely to be familiar with
the poem.

 

One or two of you asked why I was interested and if it had anything to do
with Debbie Reese. In a way, yes. I think most of us are familiar with
Debbie, a professor at UIUC and her work. Debbie posts a lot of information
at her blog site about Native American lit for children and teens. Recently,
on the Children's Lit listserv a thread about Amazing Grace (a picture book)
by Mary Hoffman came up. For those who may not be aware, this book was
written and illustrated by (white) English women. As many of you are aware,
the English have a bit of a different view of Native Americans. Anyway,
"Amazing Grace" was written and published back in 1991. Two versions were
published - one for the British market (including India, etc.) and one for
the American market, with slight alterations. Grace was portrayed in both
versions as the granddaughter of a (black) Trinidadian. Grace is a very
imaginative girl, and as the descendent of Trinidadians has a very British
repertoire of literature to imagine with. One of the pictures shows Grace
imagining herself to be Hiawatha (an Indian god; also the name of a poem
which was written by Longfellow, an American). Grace is posed with her arms
locked across her front, sitting legs crossed, with a chieftain's bonnet
that is obviously a play bonnet - the feathers are colored, not real eagle
feathers. So objections were raised about this picture because of the
stereotypical pose and bonnet and rug, and the mention (no words from the
poem) of Hiawatha. http://imagesofindiansinchildrensbooks.blogspot.com/
shows the picture of Grace, about the 26th picture down.

 

This led me to wonder:

 

Were you taught Longfellow's poem of Hiawatha in (K-12) school? yes: 19  no:
17

 

Comments:

I don't believe I was taught it per se but that we were each told to pick a
poem to memorize in 7th grade, a different one, and one of the students did
a part of this one. 

 I don't think so but the chanting rhythm seems like I've always known it so
maybe - My mother used to recite parts of it and I read parts of it on my
own as a young teen and then again as an adult. 

My English teacher in 7th grade read it to us, 1970-71. 

No, my mother loved it and I read it at home. 

I grew up in England and while I feel like I have always been aware of it, I
was never actually taught it, but also did not study Longfellow in my
English classes. 

 By the shores of GitchyGoomy (sp?), by the shining big sea water, stood the
wigwam of Nicomis (sp?), Daughter of the Moon, Nicomis.... I guess that is a
yes!. 

Yes I was taught Longfellow's Hiawatha, but I was also schooled in New York
and Michigan. 

Yes, I was read Hiawatha in school; I also heard it recited by my mother
when I was a child. (and)  I believe I heard it on the Rocky and Bullwinkle
show along with the "village blacksmith".

 I was not taught Longfellow's poem, but parts of it were read to us in
elementary school - late 1950's. 

 

Have you read this poem to any students? (yes - 5  no - 33)

 

not for a long time; 

no, but would like to do so for 5th graders, 

no - have copies in the library which are sometimes checked out by students
to memorize poems. 

yes- have copies of the excerpt illustrated by Susan Jeffers which
concentrates on his boyhood.  I have used this book in a reading challenge
asking very simple questions about the text for (elementary)students. After
teaching a unit on Native Americans during a 2nd grade student teaching
experience, I would recommend reading the poem--it does give keen
insight--to the younger grades

Yes (middle school) 

Yes - once

 

If so, what do you recall having learned (or any impressions) about Native
Americans from this poem?

*      Indians used bows and arrows

*       Wonder about that way of life.  Appreciation for rhyme and rhythm in
poetry, love of imagery. 

*      The impression I retain from this poem is that Native Americans have
loving family units and that they have a deep connection/loving reverence
for/with the earth and all living things. 

*      They lived in wigwams and "talked funny".

*       I just remember the rhythm of it but not the content, to be honest.
I don't remember any impressions about native people.

*       Native Americans have rituals. . 

*      I recall of the poem is "By the shores of Gitchegoomie," or whatever
the name of the place was... and someone named Nokomis. 

*      When I was read the poem in elementary school, I considered Hiawatha
the hero of the poem.  Other than that, I don't recall because it was over
55 years ago.  I recall it as a positive experience.

*      USUAL NOBLE SAVAGE DRIVEL BUT "THE SHORES OF GITCHGOOMIE (sp?)"
STICKS WITH ME

*      That the Ojibway lived in the Great Lakes area and were a peaceful
people. 

*      No negative impressions. Rather beautiful word pictures and feelings
that these Indians were noble. 

*      Hard to say, of course - This would be an adult trying to recreate a
childhood impression through years of other reading and a somewhat well
formed opinion that writers often get it wrong when they mess about in
"exotic" cultures, even when they mean to be or think they are or want to be
sympathetic and understanding and enlightened. But, what I think I thought
was that Hiawatha and Nokomis were noble and brave and "other"*.  I can't
remember learning anything about Indian culture - there is no sense that I
identified with the characters. 

*      Personally, I like this part of the poem very much and it contains
some of the most memorable language "On the shores of Gitchee Goomee"
(spelling? I am not looking at it), etc.  I used the book because I was
using another book that referred to Longfellow and the poem.  The kids,
while probably not understanding most of it, were able to answer the
questions and move on to the next book in the challenge.  I like that he
calls the birds Hiawatha's Chickens and that he calls all the other animals
Hiawatha's brothers and that he "talked with them whene'er he met them",
this is a great passage for the younger kids

*      Not really. I grew up in the 50s and 60s. I read the Little House
books and watched Davy Crockett. Apparently, I am a classic victim of
stereotypical mis-information.

*      I don't think the poem influenced my thoughts of Native Americans, I
was much more impressed by the setting and the rhythm of the poem.

*      As I recall, the metre of the poem as it rolled off the teacher's
lips was what I liked - although I do recall Minnehaha (sp?) and the shores
of Gitche Gumee and the Big-Sea-Water and some romanticized view of Native
Americans - all lumped together.

*      [Nothing about Native Americans], just the opening lines of the poem

*      "Nothing"

*      Respect and beauty for Native people (illustrated version added to
impression)

*      Indians were cool.  I also remember that anyone that could claim
Indian ancestry was considered cool, too. (I'm old.  born in 1943.)

*      Just the beautiful name "Hiawatha" and how it rolls off the tongue -
and the simple language.  I don't even remember the "plot"

 

You can add any other comments you wish at this point.

1. I did purchase the version illustrated by Susan Jeffers when I taught at
the elem. level.  I realize that there are historical and cultural
inaccuracies in both the illustrations and the text, so that while I made it
available (the poem is part of our heritage), I did not "push" it by reading
it aloud.

2. I studied the epic in college so any experience of it in ES is long
forgotten.

3. I thought the poem was fictionalized, with made-up Indian names and
words. 

4. The language is beautiful and complicated, but I am not an expert on
Native American imagery and what some people consider offensive or
appropriate.  Susan Jeffer's illustrations in this particular book are
charming and seem very authentic.  She took great pains when doing her
research to capture the culture and area where the poem is set. 

5. It reminds me of the era of Kipling. paternalistic, white and
unrealistic.  I can't imagine using it in any form except as an example of
Longfellow's  bombastic writing style. 

6. Sacajawea was the one I remember better!

7. I remember my father reciting part of it to me once.  He attended Jesuit
schools in Kansas City, Kansas in the 1930s and '40s.  I also remember him
saying that it probably wouldn't be taught in schools anymore because it was
so stereotypical.  

8. A lot of the so called traditional poems/stories/songs that used to be
taught in schools had apparently gone by the wayside when I was in
elementary school in California in the 50's.  I DID read Hiawatha in
college, but it was mentioned in the context of the rhyme scheme of the
Kalevala (Finnish epic).  PC points of view were not yet as widespread in
academia as they are now, so there was little criticism on the basis of
stereotypes.  Longfellow is often criticized today for demeaning or
stereotyping Native American peoples and cultures, and (from a scholarly
POV) incorrectly conflating different cultural attributes into one tribe or
person.  But I found the poem to be sympathetic to and respectful of Native
American cultures.  The complexity and essential humanity of Native
Americans comes through quite well, I think.  The problem as I see it with
the poem comes in the ending more than anything else.  Nearly at the end,
Hiawatha abruptly tells his people to accept the "black robes" and then
abandons them.  It is wholly out of character, given they way he has been
portrayed throughout the poem up to this point.  And Longfellow completely
ignores the manifest impossibility of the European colonial tide's accepting
of an equal sharing of the continent's resources or their accepting Native
American cultures or religions as worthy or even valid.

9. Am familiar with the poem, but don't remember being "taught" it per se.

10. As embarrassing as it may seem, I learned this poem from a cartoon (I
think Bugs Bunny) on TV. Don't know if it was the complete one or not but
all I remember is up to .."large and sinewy hands."

11. I had this poem at home and read it from an early age. I'm sure my
mother gave me some help with the words and ideas, but I don't recall her
doing that explicitly. I don't remember the plotline in the poem, just that
it had some terrific rhythm and repetition. I came away with a feeling that
Native Americans were different from me and that they were solemn and
doggedly persistent. I had a sense that they had a wisdom I did not know and
that they were kind of mysterious.  -  OK, now I've looked at it again and
find I only had the childhood and peace pipe sections. I guess I've never
read the whole poem!

12. I think everyone knows the name "Hiawatha" if they went to elementary
schools in the 50's or 60's like I did (I don't know about the 70's on.....)

 

 *Note: Hiawatha and Nokomis were Indian gods, so this might be the reason
for the impression.

 

Okay, so if you've read this far, perhaps you're wondering what the point
was. Longfellow composed the poem (a LONG time ago) as a tribute to Native
Americans and to preserve many of the Native American stories (or at least a
reference to them) because he realized they (the stories) were quickly
vanishing from public knowledge or memory. Unfortunately his poem was not
always strictly accurate (according to Debbie, he got the Hiawatha character
mixed up), and from an American Indian's point of view, not always
culturally appropriate. When the reference to Hiawatha (picture of Grace
pretending to be Hiawatha and page wording, not the poem itself) came up,
there was a discussion on the Child Lit listserv. (Too long to detail here).
>>>So I just wondered, did the reference to Hiawatha bring back MEMORIES of
NEGATIVE STEROTYPES of Native Americans to those of us who recall the poem,
or not? 

 

Like others on this listserv, CALIB, I could barely recall anything about
the poem which I remember my mother (like others) reciting to me. It was
probably a classic of the generation (my mom was born in 1925) that did
recitations. I recall seeing the first few stanzas in a school textbook or
poem book at some point, but was never formally taught the poem or heard it
in school or college. (H.S. grad '73). I also wondered if the poem was still
taught. As you can see by the comments, the "negativity" factor was just
about nil - a few folks recalled some stereotyping or had associations such
as "noble savages" but overall no indication that the poem significantly
diminished Native Americans in our eyes, other than perhaps the comment
"They talked funny" which probably had more to do with the meter of the poem
and unusual words such as Gitchigumi, (meaning "big water" also spelled
Gitche Gumee). I think most of us had POSITIVE recollections of the poem or
Native Americans, or at least, happy memories.

 

Okay, that's all! Thanks to everyone who participated! (Feel free to draw
your own conclusions!)

 

Joanne Ladewig  (A.K.A. "Library Lady")

Library Media Tech

Lawrence Elementary, GGUSD

Garden Grove, California

 <mailto:shatz at verizon.net> shatz at verizon.net

 

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark.
Professionals built the Titanic.

Comments are my own and may not represent the views of GGUSD

 

 

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