"The Problem"

Amelia Rand

I stated in my previous essay the following, “Human identity and the cultural influences behind the formation of identity are at the foundation of the boarding schools for Native children.” The “problem” for our essays must have two parts. The statement above is the first part of the “problem” of my essay. My relationship to the boarding schools is not direct, but a part of my own identity has been influenced by the boarding schools and by my family’s direct connection to them. I grew up learning about the injustices that Native peoples have suffered over the centuries, but I haven’t ever applied that suffering to myself. The suffering that the Choctaws have endured has just floated above my head as a truth but in an abstract reality. I am not a full-blood Choctaw, but Choctaw blood is still apart of me. My brother and I have never felt excluded from the family and we have never been told that we are not Native, but our physical appearance would beg to differ. I don’t think it is my responsibility, or even my right, to take on the suffering of the Choctaw people, or Native Americans in general, but I think an examination of how I relate my identity to the history of boarding schools, allotment acts, land treaties, and reservations would be appropriate. The “problem” of my essay has two parts:

1. Human identity and the cultural influences behind the formation of identity are at the foundation of the boarding schools for Native Americans.

2. How do I understand the history of Choctaw people in terms of the role it has played and continues to play in the development of my own personal identity?My essay focuses on my Aunt Rosalie. As I have stated, Rosalie represents my family and the experience that my family has lived. My essay will use my relationship with and memories of my Aunt Rosalie to investigate the history of our people and Native Americans, and to find an answer or some resolution to my own identity.