Sunday, February 22, 2015

With the fear of being too repudiative regarding Olive Oatman’s narrative of her times and the implications of her time in the Native American groups,  I would like to focus on the meanings and reflections i had regarding her story. 

From my experience, body modifications have been a result of wanting to fit in (with the right nose) or expressing individuality through artwork (tattoos and piercings). Overall, its been a personal choice to have modifications.  The Oatman’s sister’s story brought me back to the days of tagging and rituals. 

The sexualization, facial tattoos and other modifications were culture shocks to the sisters but they eventually became accustomed to the rituals and lifestyle. As many of my peers said when the Oatman sisters were ‘rescued' back into society it wasn’t necessarily for their benefit. They were outsiders in american society and already emotionally distraught from the attack and then the kidnapping from the native reserves. 

From speaking with my grandparents and their friends after the holocaust, they spoke about how they felt coming back into a free society with scars and number tattoos.   They stated that even without the physical scars it was difficult to reassimilate.  The visual markers not only made them feel less confident but also made people on he streets stare and treat them differently. 


The Oatman sisters seemed to have similar experiences, which were only heightened by the fact they were women, and branding was used for intimidation and claiming property. 


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