Present Names With Absent Identities

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Disappearance of American Indians
Story behind Names
Lessons for the Myths
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Names of places and people are a vital aspect of Native American culture as they denote thoughts, language, and environment. The implication is that the history and identity of a region can easily be established from its description. Thus, when a word fails to reciprocate the present state of whatever it is supposed to represent, it raises concern. In her poem, “Manhattan Is a Lenape Word,” Diaz raises questions regarding the whereabouts of the Natives. The objective of this paper is to analyze how Diaz’s poem and the folklore, “The Creation or Age of Beginning,” account for the missing Aboriginal community. Although everything appears to be glittering, the silence amidst near extinction of the Indian Americans calls for attention from all races.

Disappearance of American Indians

When a person is unable to change a situation, they must look for an alternative coping mechanism. The first stanza of Diaz’s poem contains just a single line, “it is December and we must be brave” (Diaz stanza 1, line 1). The modal verb “must,” in the sentence, denotes that there is no other alternative. The reader may find it ironic that courage is needed in December, the month that is characterized by celebrations, holidays, and family gatherings. However, in the consecutive stanzas, the audience begin to understand and empathize with the persona. She is all alone, the rest of the people belonging to her ethnic group have vanished. However, no one seems to care, let alone enquire of their whereabouts. When the end of the year comes, she must be courageous enough to bear the loneliness.

The Indian mythologies can help the reader appreciate the damage caused to the few Native Americans still present in the city. Specifically, it is apparent from the folk tales that the Native Americans were people who had an appreciation for family. Navajo narrates how the first man met the woman and asked “Why do you not come with your fire and we will live together?” (O’Bryan 1). The persona in Diaz’s poem grieves that she is the only one of her kind left. Being on the window of the “8^th floor” of a hotel connotes that she can see people across the streets and other buildings (Diaz stanza 4, line 3). The implication is that her judgement that she is the only Native is correct. Now, being alone and feeling deserted in a land that was once full of the Native Americans celebrations demands courage.

Story behind Names

It is expected that the name of a place gives a clue about the residence but the case is different in Diaz’s poem. The setting of the poem as indicated by the person is on the eighth floor of the hotel where she can look through the window (Diaz stanza 3, line 3). The person recognizes that she is the only Native in the turn of any century building. The reader can wonder why the protagonist is having that flow of thought. However, the fourth stanza of the poem reveals that “Manhattan is a Lenape word” (Diaz stanza 4, line 1). It is strange that the first people who named the city have vanished. One person in a building only bears the origin of this ethnic community.

A single individual is only bothered that the original occupants of Manhattan are no longer in their homeland. The person is grieved, she is convinced that even the inanimate objects find it strange that no one askes “Where have all the natives gone?” (Diaz stanza 4, line 4). People are either ignorant of the fact that a whole generation are no longer present or they simply do not care.

However, it is strange that they have forgotten because the name should sound as a reminder. As Diaz states during her interview, “even our names are stories” (Jackson para 8). Perhaps, the reason nobody ever asks is because they are guilty of past injustices that are responsible for the missing Indian Americans. In her interview, Diaz admits her frustration in the statement, “we can’t edit ourselves into or out of empires’ intentions” (Jackson para 5). She implies that the identity of the American Indians cannot be erased and forgotten despite the reducing population.

It is hard to notice what is missing in the world because of the efforts made to present it as perfect. Both Diaz and Navajo mention the term glittering world in their respective write-ups. In the poem, the last line of the last stanza is a question posed by the person asking if that is the world she has been longing for. The rhetoric question registers her emptiness and disappointment with the city despite the fact that it is all shiny. The reader can relate with her given that America is described using words such as “great darkness” and “unbearable heat” (Diaz stanza 10). Like the drone seeking nectar without minding the condition of the colony is the way the Natives have been treated with contempt.

Lessons for the Myths

Self-centeredness of the humans have always damaged the earth leading to the extinction of the Native people. In the mythology, the men decided that they wished to satisfy their passions without regard to the women. The ladies reacted by using strange plants which formed giants and monsters and destroyed many people. The men also killed the women so that they could fulfil their desires but were struck by lightning (O’Bryan 8). The aftermath was devastating but husband and wives purified themselves and rejoined after learning from their mistakes.

The mythology relates concisely with the description of New York City only that people are yet to learn the effects of their greediness. When other people came to invade Manhattan, it was because they wanted something that was good for themselves. The situation of the Natives is miserable as symbolized by the “lonely coyote wandering” (Diaz stanza 11, line 3). The mythology can be used as a metaphor representing how the Caucasians invaded the home of Native Americans leaving them lonely. The solution is for them to forgive each other and endeavor to make the world a happy place for everyone as was the case in the folklore where couples reconciled.

The natives are intrinsically stubborn as presented by the authors in their respective poems. In the third stanza of her poem, Diaz writes that the persona makes the bees to sleep with smoke in her mouth before scoops honey from the dark hive. Notably, the bees belong to “a lion” (Stanza 3, line 1). Risking her life to try and get the resources denoted by “honey” is a dangerous endeavor yet the character is not shaken due to her stubbornness. Moreover, the persona is persistent in asking questions about the missing Aboriginal people even when every other person is going about doing their businesses.

Similarly, in the mythology, stubbornness is depicted in the creation narrative. It is amusing that after the First man and woman met, they formed a family which later was well defined into humans and other creatures within the physical environment. However, the humans kept on finding something that made them dissatisfied with the present state and were destroyed. The only one who survived was the fifth one – where the people presently lived (O’Bryan 9). It is encouraging that the end result will be better if there is perseverance and determination to witness the world changing positively.

Conclusion

The number of Native Americans that are unaccounted for is high yet no one seems to care. This is strange given that there are reminders such as the Name Manhattan that is derived from Lenape. In her poem, Diaz is able to depict the pathetic state of the remaining Indians who are feeling deserted and lonely even during the holidays. It is apparent that the world that glitters has already been destroyed just as was the cases in the folklore of creation. The only hope is that the future may be better if other people recognize and help solve the problems faced by Indian Americans.

Works Cited

Diaz, Natalie. Manhattan is a Lenape Word (poem). 2020.

Jackson, Jared. “The PEN Ten: An Interview with Natalie Diaz.”PEN America, 2020.

O’Bryan, Aileen. Navaho Indian Myths: The Creation or Age of Beginning. Courier Corporation, 2012.

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