"An Indian Father's Plea"

Also known as Medicine Grizzlybear, Robert Lake is a member of the Seneca and Cherokee Indian tribes and an associate professor at Gonzaga University's School of Education. This dual identity can be seen in the essay that takes on the perspective of an Indian father making a plea to his son's teacher, but is really the writer teaching his readers about Native American knowledge, heritage, and culture.

Here are all the word lists to support the reading of Grade 10 Unit 1's texts from SpringBoard's Common Core ELA series: What Is Cultural Identity, Ethnic Hash, Two Kinds, Honestly Frida, Legal Alien, By Any Other Name, HAPA, Where Worlds Collide, My Mother Pieced Quilts, Everyday Use, Two Ways to Belong in America, An Indian Father's Plea
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. peer
    a person who is of equal standing with another in a group
    At the age of 5, he has already been through quite an education compared with his peers in Western society.
  2. intuitive
    spontaneously derived from or prompted by a natural tendency
    Although you in Western society may argue that such a method serves to hinder motor-skill development and abstract reasoning, we believe it forces the child to first develop his intuitive faculties, rational intellect, symbolic thinking, and five senses.
  3. acquainted
    having fair knowledge of
    He has attended the sacred and ancient White Deerskin Dance of his people and is well-acquainted with the cultures and languages of other tribes.
  4. regalia
    especially fine or decorative clothing
    He has played with abalone shells, pine nuts, iris grass string, and leather while watching the women make beaded jewelry and traditional native regalia.
  5. expose
    make accessible to some action or influence
    he has already been exposed to many different religions of his racial brothers: Protestant, Catholic, Asian Buddhist, and Tibetan Lamaist.
  6. grasp
    understand the meaning of something
    So I realize he may be slow in grasping the methods and tools that you are now using in your classroom, ones quite familiar to his white peers, but I hope you will be patient with him.
  7. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    But if Wind-Wolf was not prepared for his first tentative foray into your world, neither were you appreciative of his culture.
  8. adapt
    conform oneself to new or different conditions
    While you are trying to teach him your new methods, helping him learn new tools for self-discovery and adapt to his new learning environment, he may be looking out the window as if daydreaming.
  9. essence
    the choicest or most vital part of some idea or experience
    He asks why the other kids in school are not taught about the power, beauty, and essence of nature or provided with an opportunity to experience the world around them firsthand.
  10. artifact
    a man-made object
    Now he refuses to sing his native songs, play with his Indian artifacts, learn his language, or participate in his sacred ceremonies.
  11. typical
    exhibiting the qualities that identify a group or kind
    So, dear teacher, I want to introduce you to my son, Wind-Wolf, who is not really a "typical" little Indian kid after all.
  12. hereditary
    passed on by established rules of descent
    He stems from a long line of hereditary chiefs, medicine men and women, and ceremonial leaders whose accomplishments and unique forms of knowledge are still being studied and recorded in contemporary books.
  13. appropriate
    give or assign a resource to a particular person or cause
    Millions of dollars have been appropriated by Congress and are being spent each year for "Indian Education."
  14. constitutional
    sanctioned by or consistent with or operating under the law
    My Indian child has a constitutional right to learn, retain, and maintain his heritage and culture.
  15. significant
    fairly large
    By the same token, I strongly believe that non-Indian children also have a constitutional right to learn about our Native American heritage and culture, because Indians play a significant part in the history of Western society.
Created on Wed Oct 08 17:00:27 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Oct 08 18:13:19 EDT 2014)

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