The Characteristics of Cherokee Education Seen in the Novel

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4.2. The Characteristics of Cherokee Education and Colonial Education Seen

in the Novel There are some characteristics of Cherokee education and colonial education seen in the novel. Cherokee education is different from colonial education. Both of them are experienced by Little Tree. Those experiences create Little Tree’s reactions against colonial education. Then, by understanding those two differences will help readers to see how those education determine Little Tree’s reactions against colonial education.

4.2.1. The Characteristics of Cherokee Education Seen in the Novel

Cherokee education can be seen from the way Granpa and Granma teach Little Tree about Cherokee’s life. It can be seen from the learning process of Little Tree in the mountain. The characteristics of Cherokee education seen in the novel can be classified into:

4.2.1.1. United to Nature

Little Tree learns to be mature through his grandparents’ way of teaching. There, in the forest, he is not longer learning inside the wall of school as in the formal education. Living with his grandparents, he has what the modern system called home schooling, yet with the knowledge and the culture to be Cherokee. Cherokee is nature, and nature is Cherokee. They can not be separated. As a consequence, Cherokee understand how to live with nature. They understand that they have to take only what they need from nature to keep nature long lasting. “It is The Way,” he said softly. ”Take only what ye need. When ye take the deer, do not take the best. Take the smaller and the slower and then the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 30 deer will grow stronger and always give ye meat. Pa-koh, the panther, knows and so must ye.”p.09 The other part in the novel showing about the unity of Cherokee and the nature can be found in this following quotation: At the farms I asked for work, if they would not let me keep Blue Boy and Little Red then I would move on Granpa said a feller owed that much to his hounds. Which is right. p. 215 Little Tree will leave his work when the employer does not allow him to keep Blue Boy and Little Red, his hounds. He always remembers what his grandpa had advised him. Granpa told him that human owed much from animal. In this sense, Granpa teaches Little Tree to thank his hounds that had helped him much. Therefore, Little Tree will take care of them, and not utilize them for his interest only. Cherokee has a belief in Dog Star. It is the most shining star that helps them to send the news of their condition to other family member or other Cherokee whom they love when they are being separated. No matter how far the distance between them, they still keep communicating each other. The Dog Star will deliver their messages, so that they know each other. Granma tells this to Little Tree before he is put into the orphanage. She asks Little Tree to see the Dog Star when he feels lonely. She asks him to share what he felt because they will always see the Dog Star from the hollow. Kneeling there on the porch, Granma said,” Do ye recollect the Dog Star, Little Tree? The one we look at in the dusk of evening?” I said I did. And Granma said,” Wherever ye are-no matter where- in the dusk of evening, ye look at the Dog Star. Me and Granpa will be looking too. We will remember.” I told her I would remember too. p.179 The Dog Star becomes media for Little Tree to tell Granma, Granpa, and PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 31 Willow John about his condition in the orphanage when he is punished by Reverend unfairly. Cherokee has sense of spiritual dimension. They have two minds in their body. The first mind is needed for physical living. It covers the basic need of human such as eating, getting shelter, and mating. The other mind is the spirit mind which has nothing to do with those activities. They use this spirit mind in understanding and loving other and nature. They can also be used to move out their body mind. This spirit mind will live endless and they believe that when somebody died, he leaves the body mind and goes by his spirit mind. Then, it will be united with their passed ancestors. Little Tree is also being taught about the personal thing of a Cherokee. Every Cherokee has a secret place. A secret place is a place where one can enjoy himself without other person, to be alone instead of lonely. It is a place where sometimes he needs to go. It seems like a private place for him when he needs a place for himself. Cherokee can feel the spirit of nature and their being a part of it in their secret place. Granma tells him that the spirit mind works when he is in his secret place. Granma said all Cherokees had a secret place. She told me she had one and Granpa had one. She said she had never asked, but she believed Granpa’s was on top of mountain, on the high trail. She said she reckined most everybody had a secret place, but she couldn’t be certain, as she had never made inquiries of it. Granma said it was necessary. Which made me feel right good about having one. p.59 The other evidence showing that Cherokee is united to nature is their way in giving name to their children. Cherokee, like other Indian, gives a name to their PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 32 children by name of plants, animals, and other part of nature. For example, the name of Granma is Bonny Bee. The name of Little Tree shows also the united between Cherokee and nature. The other example is Willow John, Little Tree’s uncle. The other name found in the novel that show the way of Indian giving name is Pine Billy, Granpa’s friend. Willow and Pine are name of trees.

4.2.1.2 . Learning by Doing

Cherokee always leave their children to learn by doing. They let their children do something by themselves first so that the children will get some points of learning from what they have done. One day, Little Tree went to the Church with Granma, Granpa, and Willow John. He met a man who brought a calf in the church. He was interested in the little calf. He asked the person whether he would sell it or not. The man knew that Little Tree liked the calf much, so he told him that he wanted to sell it. He offered it to Little Tree. Little Tree did not have enough money to pay it, but the man sold it cheaply to him. With all his money, Little Tree bought the little calf. Granpa and Granma saw what happened, but he kept silent. Little Tree was so happy for buying the calf. He took it home. In the way home, the calf walked slower. Then, it felt down and did not move anymore. The calf died. Little Tree was surprised. Then Grandpa took his knife and cut the calf. He took the calf’s heart and showed it to Little Tree. He told him that calf he bought was a sick calf. It was the reason of man in the church to sell it in very cheap price. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 33 While was eating, Granpa looked at me and said,”Ye see, Little Tree, ain’t no way of learning, except by letting ye do. Iff’n I stopped ye from buying the calf, ye’d have always thought ye’d ought to had it. Iff’n I’d told ye to buy it, ye’d blame me fer the calf dying. Ye’ll have to learn as ye go”. p.87 Actually, Granpa and Grandma know that the calf was sick. But they let Little Tree buy it. They hope that Little Tree will get learning from this event. They teach Little Tree to learn by experiencing something and make his own decision. Moreover, by taking his own decision, Little Tree will learn to take the consequences of what he does, so that he will not blame others for them.

4.2.1.3. Never Scolding

Cherokee never educates their next generation by scolding. They let their children play and enjoy their learning from nature. Unlike modern European culture, to be wet while playing was no matter for them. This way represents their method of educating children. Cherokee’s children learn mainly not from books and theory but from nature and forest. They directly learn outside the wall of school. They experience what they learn. Their school’s ceiling is sky and their teachers are nature. I got pretty wet, splashing in the spring branch, but Granma never said anything. Cherokees never scolded their children for having anything to do with the wood. p.57 4.2.1.4. Learning from History The other important thing to be learned by Cherokee young generation is history. Little Tree should learn history of their past. Granma and Grandpa tell PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 34 him about the Cherokee’s history. Knowing his ancestor’s history, Little Tree learn the way Cherokee’s life; including their life style such as farming, hunting, dancing, and the relationship between Cherokee and nature. From this learning, Little Tree knows the history of Cherokee. He will have sense of belonging to Cherokee. It helps him to grow up as a Cherokee. However, Cherokee uses their version of history. It is different from White version. In White’s history, students never learn about the suffering of natives America and White’s colonialism because it is considered to be a civilizing process of human race. Therefore, Cherokee, using oral tradition which got the story teller and the listener closer, teach history through their own point of view. Granma and Granpa wanted me to know of the past, for “If ye don’t know the past, then ye will not have a future. If ye don’t know where your people have been, then ye won’t know where your people are going.” And so they told me most of it. p.40 How the Cherokee had farmed the rich valleys and held their mating dances in the spring when life was planted in the ground; when the buck and doe, the cock and peahen exulted in the creation parts they played. How their harvest festivals were held in the villages as frost turned the pumpkins, reddened the persimmon and hardened the corn. How they prepared for the winter hunts and pledged themselves to The Way. p.40 What is the important thing of using their own perspective? Is it only about a point of view which will result to a same answer? No, a different point of view will result in a different attitude toward something. It is different if you see a history from the point of view of victims and the point of view of the winner. Thus, it is important thing for Cherokee using their own perspective. Using Cherokee’s point of view in telling history is a form of resistance against white hegemony. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 35

4.2.1.5. Sharing Goodness

The other learning characteristic which Cherokee shared to their children is sharing every single of goodness they get with other people. This is the way of Cherokee. The goodness they get will be more useful and meaningful when they share it with other people. Grandma said I had done right, for when you come on something that is good, first thing to do is share it with whoever you can find; that way, the good spreads out to where no telling it will go. Which is right. p.57 Superficially, it seems quite universal and common that we should spread goodness to all. However, in deeper layer we see collectivity spirit in this spreading of goodness. This spirit stands up against individuality of modern age, brought by capitalism system into American. Cherokee cares other. They are communal community who live together in society. 4.2.1.6. The Way of Giving a Gift Cherokee teach their children how the way of giving a gift to other. One of the examples of this learning is when Willow John gives Little Tree a gift. Willow John likes Little Tree. He gives him a knife. Little Tree finds it where he set. He is surprised about it. Then, Granma tells him how the way of Cherokee in giving a gift. Indian will not give a gift to someone directly. They lay their gifts in somewhere to be found by the person. From the way, they teach sincerity in giving something to other person. They do not hope any thanking from other people. It also teaches that they have to make an effort to get something. They can not get anything granted freely for them. This way shows Cherokee’s independence. We can see this way from this quotation: PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 36 Once, after we taken our seats, I found long knife laying where I set. It was as long as Granpa’s and had a deer skin sheath that was fringed. Granma said Willow John gave it to me. That is the way Indians give gifts. They do not present it unless they don’t mean it and are doing it for a reason. They leave it for you to find. You would not get the gift if you didn’t deserve it, and so it is foolish to thank somebody for something you deserve, or make a show of it. Which is reasonable. p.148

4.2.2. The Characteristics of Colonial Education Seen in the Novel