In order to understand “Tribal Ceremony,” the communal feature of minor literature is used because it depicts the tragedy of an entire community. The communal feature can be described as representing the problem of a particular society, not only concerning the author of the poem. In “Tribal Ceremony,” it is mentioned that the author’s father “was of that first generation,” consequently, the whole community experienced oppression (Tribal Ceremony, 2002). It was forced to learn English and adopt a tradition and culture. Tribal lands where Native Americans lived were transformed into reservations, children attended schools established for them to endure the new religion and culture, in addition to the language. In this way, they were assimilated and imposed new standards, forcing them to forget their roots. Further evidence of this is the quote from the text “English words; English meanings,” that is, it can be argued that an entire generation experienced oppression and loss of their own identity (Tribal Ceremony, 2002). Therefore, it is primarily communal characteristics of minor literature that allow readers to comprehend the magnitude of the tragedy for Native Americans.
It is essential to emphasize that the author already belongs to the next generation, which has lost the primary attributes of its culture. She writes that “when we, my children and I know no others,” which indicates that it was possible to not only assimilate the first generation but the next one (Tribal Ceremony, 2002). At the same time, the communal feature of minor literature is pronounced. It indicates that not only the author’s generation, but even the following one, do not know the language that the tribe previously spoke and do not maintain the traditions of the First Nation. Hence, even though “Tribal Ceremony” was written by Janet Campbell Hale, the communal features of minor literature enable readers to recognize the tragedy of assimilation and the loss of the identity of an entire population.
Reference
Tribal Ceremony. (2002). Everything 2. Web.