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Megan Le 9/5/13 Pd. 2 I am not your princess People dont lose individuality by simply being in a culture.

The poem I am Not Your Princess by Chrystus is sending this message by illustrating the reactions of false name calling and stereotyping. Chrystus feels harassed by the settlers being ignorant; pushing their ideas onto the Native Americans. She wants to stand out and shes feeling frustrated because nobody in her life understands the need to be a seperate person. The Government taking over the Native Americans call them Indians and Chrystus mentions that Indian is a government word (13). Indian is the completely wrong term for the Native Americans and this is a clear example of false accusations. She strongly thinks that being different is a fixed trait, and everybody is different in some way. The stereotyping against the Natives is not only inappropriate but its also completely wrong and that would anger anyone. In her opinion, it is insulting to be collected and treated the same, being told that they are all strong and all need feminist counseling (27). The Settlers believe that the Native Americans are strong; probably lying to them, and have this stereotype thought that they know every other tribe. They assume [she] know[s] every other Native Activist (37) just because shes a Native American. There is also a wrong stereotype that all Native Americans wear dancing clothes to read poetry (19). All of these stereotyped ideas just prove that the settlers look at the tribes as a big picture, not at anyone in particular. Chrystus is angered by this thought process and sends the messages that we all have specific traits, some people believe in the traditions and some dont. Chrystus believes in the facts, like a recipe for fry bread.

Megan Le 9/5/13 Pd. 2 Lastly, to show her individuality she says, you wash See my eyes dark with fear in a house by myself (55). Notice how she says my instead of ours. She knows she cannot speak for the entire population of the Native Americans. This is a subtle hint that she is speaking her mind. Chrystus is in the Native American culture, but she does not feel like she is the traditional Native American, and she doesnt feel like she fits in with the western culture either; making her even more distinguished. No one wants to lose their singularity and the metaphorical meaning of the poem I am Not Your Princess is comparing how the Natives feel towards the grouping from settlers to just any type of stereotyping. Its in human nature to need to feel self-esteem, love, and uniqueness. Chrystos believes that there are some things that certain people do different, such as a simple recipe could taste different if made by someone else. All of the standardization and assuming tore the two cultures apart.

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