Janna Knittle’ s “Sun Dance Behind Bars: The Rhetoric of Leonard Peltier’s Prison Writings” was an interesting read. I found Peltier’s style of rhetoric intriguing, it was quite the contrast from some of the other American Indian Rhetorics we have studied up till now, including Winnemucca’s rhetorical style.
Winnemucca’s choice of rhetoric was to almost identify with the whites, align to what their expectations were of an “Indian Princess” and play to the pathos of the white women. Peltier instead choose to call the white man on his hypocritical BS. Throughout her writing Knittle calls attention to this. Peltier explains that “when you grow up Indian, you don’t have to become a criminal. you already are a criminal.” (113) Peltier also claims that the white colonizers believe that “Indians who resist assimilation must be guilty of something.” (113) Peltier also explained that “When the oppressors succeed with their illegal thefts and depredations, its called colonialism. When their efforts to colonize indigenous people are met with resistance or anything but abject surrender its called war. When the colonized peoples attempt to resist their oppression and defend themselves, we’er called criminals.” (118)
Peltier’s style of rhetoric is a lot more direct and almost more violent than Winnemucca’s rhetoric. He uses a lot of repetition and direct address of his audience to assert his beliefs. Although Peltier is using rhetoric to fight against the white man he is adapting a more “traditional” or Athenian rhetoric then some of the other American Indian rhetoricians we have looked at until now. So even though Peltier is defying the white man and unlike Winnemucca’s more tame rhetoric, he is ultimately settling to their level as he is adapting their rhetoric. (I have not read all of Peltier’s Prison Writings and therefore this is the opinion I have formed based on Peltier’s quotes included in Kittle’s writing and her brief explanations of his style of rhetoric.)
You say that Peltier is adopting a "traditional" rhetoric and I just have a question to that. If Peltier is adapting his rhetoric to a dead white man rhetoric does that mean mean he is not using Native American Rhetoric and instead using an Athenian rhetoric that has Native American themes? Just a question to think about as you finish the reading.
ReplyDeleteWhich one do you think is more effective? It also kind of seems to me that the two have different purposes and audiences. Winnemucca is trying to bridge the gap, and her audience is definitely white people. On the other hand, it seems like Peltier is trying to stir up his people to some extent and shake white people awake with his sometimes harsh sentiments. I also think their differences in freedom makes a difference. When you're going to be in prison until you die, pleasing your oppressors doesn't matter at all. Winnemucca is free and still has to be rhetorically pleasing to white people.
ReplyDeleteWhich one do you think is more effective? It also kind of seems to me that the two have different purposes and audiences. Winnemucca is trying to bridge the gap, and her audience is definitely white people. On the other hand, it seems like Peltier is trying to stir up his people to some extent and shake white people awake with his sometimes harsh sentiments. I also think their differences in freedom makes a difference. When you're going to be in prison until you die, pleasing your oppressors doesn't matter at all. Winnemucca is free and still has to be rhetorically pleasing to white people.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up some really interesting things here. The one that I am most interested in is the following quote from Peltier, “when you grow up Indian, you don’t have to become a criminal. you already are a criminal.”
ReplyDeleteThis is something that really bothers me, namely because it is still a very adopted mindset on the rez and it is damn self destructive. Perhaps it was true at one time in this country. But being really frank, I didn't encounter many 'white' people that held that idea of Native that Peltier insinuates they do with a quote like that. But I have encountered a lot of Natives that self prescribe that and assume that people believe it.
Yes, there may be some non natives that think that way still, it happens, but on the whole, speaking from personal experience there's more that don't. That attitude of 'guilty until proven innocent' is increasingly an internal attitude within the rez culture. And it doesn't change because the amount of people that leave the rez with an open mind is extremely slim. I don't have some study to back up these statements, although I could probably find a few. But I lived in both worlds and this is judged from personal experience.
Not a lot of people, Native or White, want to hear this, because its so much easier to just blame whitey rather than take personal responsibility for what is going on NOW, in the present, not what happened, 200, 80 or even 30 years ago.
Maybe Peltier is innocent, if he is, that's horrible. But that happens ALL the time, to hundreds of people in this country and around the world. And all those possible innocents should get equal attention. Okay, rant over hahaa!