Notes

What background info do we have?

How does speaker portray him/herself, both intentionally and unintentionally?


The speakers are the leaders of the six nations which is a confederation of Indian tribes. The speakers have received an invitation to send twelve of the children from their confederation to go study at William and Mary college in Virginia. The leaders have sent four children to go study at a western university before, however, when they came back they were unable to reassimilate into the Native American culture. The ideals of the leaders are highly traditional, and they have very different views on education from their American counterparts.


The speakers are portrayed as proud because they value their culture and education over that of their American counterparts. The speakers are also portrayed as resilient because despite being looked down upon by the Americans and not giving up their identity despite the blatant disrespect by the college saying that they would educate the kids “properly”. They continue to show pride in their culture and form of education despite defamation by the Americans. The speakers intentionally portray themselves as intelligent and use extravagant words in order to equate to the Americans and show that despite their native American Education they are just as educated.
Purpose:(use rhetorical verbs: to defend)
What is the speaker hoping to accomplish through this text?
What effect does the speaker hope to have on the audience?



The speakers are hoping to defend their practices from scrutiny from the west and establish that their form of education is also valid if not better than what is taught in colleges in the West because it teaches displaces how to survive and how to lead.

He hopes to change the view of the audience with regards to native American culture and education by expressing the benefits of Native American education such as being prepared for survival and leadership roles such as that of a counselor.



Audience:

Who is the primary intended audience in terms of background, values, beliefs, and needs?

Who is the secondary audience (intended or unintended)?




The primary audience was the ambassadors from the College of William and Mary. They believe that western education is superior to that of Native Americans.

The unintended secondary audience is the general public, present, and past, to debunk stereotypes of native American groups and show that they were just as educated as Americans despite their different form of education and that their cultural practices are not below that of us Americans.


Context:

What historical or current events and issues are related to text?
How did the speaker “frame” the text - historically, socially, culturally, politically?




Around this time, Americans did not respect the Native Americans and saw them as frequent roadblocks to their progress and to their manifest destiny to attain all of the lands to the west. They were also seen as uncivilized and inferior to the other races.

The speaker framed the text culturally with interactions between different cultures and the superiority complex of the American culture to that of the native cultures. The American and Native American cultures value different ideas such as in Native American culture where they value practical skills such as survival skills in comparison to American culture where intelligence is valued.





Exigence:
What was the spark or catalyst that moved the speaker to speak out?
Why NOW for this particular speaker?




The catalyst for the speaker was the invitation to send twelve of the six nations’ students to go study at William and Mary college. Several of their students were previously sent to go study at a western college and when they came back were unable to reincorporate into Native American society because they lacked many of the skills necessary for living in native American society.

The speakers are acting now because if they do not resist western influence and are being looked down upon then their national and cultural identity will surely fail. The author wants to take the opportunity to show how the Americans are wrong in their stereotypes of Native Americans and their culture and their education and that they are more prepared for survival and thus life.
CAT:
What observations can you make about speaker’s choices?
How are those choices intended to develop credibility (ethos), appeal to emotion (pathos), or appeal to logic (logos)?
What tone does speaker have about various subjects in the text?


The speakers choose to use extravagant word choices in order to equate their intelligence to that of the ambassadors and uses very polite language in order to calmly convey their point. They use the phrase “make men out of them” to imply that American education does not raise men but rather that they raise wimps.

The choice to use extravagant word choice enhances ethos because it shows that the people from the six nations are intelligent and that despite stereotypes they can also be just as intelligent. The polite language enhances their ethos because politely rebuking American culture rather than altogether attacking it.

The authors’ tone, although likely unintentional, sounds extremely passive-aggressive with regards to the offer to take the six nations’ children to university. The tone with regard to Native American culture is highly proud.