Dear Susan Lorraine Knox,
I did study Anthropology at UC Berkeley many years ago, when I was reading
"Ishi, Last of His Tribe", by Theodora Kroeber (the mother of one of my most beloved writers, Ursula Kroeber LeGuin), and mourning in those younger years the loss of an entire people and their language and customs. And because I didn'…
I did study Anthropology at UC Berkeley many years ago, when I was reading
"Ishi, Last of His Tribe", by Theodora Kroeber (the mother of one of my most beloved writers, Ursula Kroeber LeGuin), and mourning in those younger years the loss of an entire people and their language and customs. And because I didn't go into my own ancestry, I will say here that I am of English, German, Irish, Dutch and Native American descent. I am almost certain that none of my ancestors or predecessors owned slaves. On my maternal side my German ancestors arrived in Illinois in the 1860's and proceeded to become very respected citizens and farmers in Edgar County, and when they felt perhaps they owned more than their share of the fertile land there, they offered the county residents an opportunity to buy, at what was reported to be very fair prices, land to create more small farms there. As far as I know, Edgar County has never succumbed to corporate farming. But I don't know everything. On my father's side, I was informed (by him) that we have three tribes in our blood: Cherokee, Cree and Blackfoot, and my great grandmother was indeed a Cherokee whom I knew as a small child. All this is to say that my sisters of course know this history as well, but that did not apparently figure into their current political stance. And stance it is. One refuses to have political discussions of almost any kind, and the other has all but disappeared down the rabbit hole of conspiracy.
So...looking at anthropology is all well and good, but having that sort of discussion with either is not
currently possible. My other sister continues to try to engage them in a deeper conversation, bless her, and I occasionally send along Heather's posts ~ up to now with no acknowledgement.
Dear Susan Lorraine Knox,
I did study Anthropology at UC Berkeley many years ago, when I was reading
"Ishi, Last of His Tribe", by Theodora Kroeber (the mother of one of my most beloved writers, Ursula Kroeber LeGuin), and mourning in those younger years the loss of an entire people and their language and customs. And because I didn't go into my own ancestry, I will say here that I am of English, German, Irish, Dutch and Native American descent. I am almost certain that none of my ancestors or predecessors owned slaves. On my maternal side my German ancestors arrived in Illinois in the 1860's and proceeded to become very respected citizens and farmers in Edgar County, and when they felt perhaps they owned more than their share of the fertile land there, they offered the county residents an opportunity to buy, at what was reported to be very fair prices, land to create more small farms there. As far as I know, Edgar County has never succumbed to corporate farming. But I don't know everything. On my father's side, I was informed (by him) that we have three tribes in our blood: Cherokee, Cree and Blackfoot, and my great grandmother was indeed a Cherokee whom I knew as a small child. All this is to say that my sisters of course know this history as well, but that did not apparently figure into their current political stance. And stance it is. One refuses to have political discussions of almost any kind, and the other has all but disappeared down the rabbit hole of conspiracy.
So...looking at anthropology is all well and good, but having that sort of discussion with either is not
currently possible. My other sister continues to try to engage them in a deeper conversation, bless her, and I occasionally send along Heather's posts ~ up to now with no acknowledgement.