A Prophecy

Let technology be a more efficient way of solving a problem. For instance, a obsidian spearheads are a more efficient way of killing prey, and VOIP is a more efficient way transmitting phone calls. Now then, whatever technology exists will spread. No one will choose to get less bang for their buck. The spread of technology is inevitable.

Merely by initiating contact between the Old and New Worlds, whites guaranteed the eventual destruction of Native American society. We have established that the adoption of white technology by Indians was inevitable, and this happened. Horses spread so quickly that they completely transformed the society of plains Indians before whites knew the plains Indians existed. The destruction of Native culture was inevitable and occurred by no intention of whites. Genocide was not inevitable and was intentionally conducted by whites.

Unless you can stop people from experimenting and trying new things, the discovery of new technologies is also inevitable. Thus the perpetual advancement and spread of technology is inevitable. This is my prophecy.

Notes from Interview

Owatonna chapter meets once a month for dinner and then a meeting afterwords at the AFR Ed Center, chapter provides some food and the members pull together the rest by potluck, about 80% of those who go the meeting also eat dinner, atmosphere is polite discussion/debate, often a speaker is brought in

    Maintain their fish & wildlife display, sell popcorn and conduct a raffle at the Steele County Free Fair (mid August)
    Ahlborn Woods Wildlife Area - 21+ acres of woodland and restored prairie
    Operate the Alfred F. Reding Environmental Education Center
    Own and maintain public access to Oak Glen Lake & Minnesota Hwy. 218 Wildflower Route
    Adopt a Highway (Minnesota Hwy. 218) - 4 miles
    Cooperate with Owatonna College and University Center to restore 4 acres of prairie
    Host Rip Roarin' Rummage Sale in mid-September (outdoor items)
    Undeveloping 4 1/2 acres of native prairie at Ulrich Acres
    Adopt a River (MDNR), the Izaak Walton Creek and the Straight River (3 miles)
    Fundraise to purchase 45 acres of wetland to add to Somerset Wildlife Management Area (WMA) - the project is completed as of 9/2010 with help from Lessard Outdoor Heritage Funds ($180,000)
    Make annual contributions to the Minnesota Division Scholarship Fund and Legacy Fund and also the Izaak Walton Camp at Deep Portage Learning Center

Land Stewardship Involves invasive species removal, not just letting it sit

For Gary Schwarz, the ideal life is that of a farmer in the 1950s. That was how he grew up, as a hunter/fisher on a small farm, and he fit his own career and some facts about the IWL into a a framwork of society declining from that ideal lifestyle. As farms consolidated, you couldn't just hunt on your friend's farm, and people started to look for places to go hunting and fishing. In the East, the IWL bought up a lot of land, and people became members to have access to it. Here, the IWL helped the gov't acquire land, for example they donated Rice Lake to the DNR. Nowadays, IWL members have more diverse interests--there are many people who just like to go out and hike/canoe whatnot, and not necessarily consume anything, like anglers do. Also, there are a lot of people are interested in conservation practices, such as used less water/fossil fuels, or polluting less. When IWL people travel, they ask the hotel not to wash things, and other small practices that conserve resources. Also, women are now allowed to join and they often do

1975-friend signed him up, involved in earthy events in college, sustainability 1995 became more involved in IWL, these days a "national directer"
Board and membership meeting every month, newsletter, minutes, promoting events, respresenting national events to local

Save our Streams criteria for evaluating health, high school kids often use this for evaluating streams

Ikes local, could also be Izaaks or Waltonians, in term promotes camraderie
Albert F. Reding Environmental Education Center, instead of clubhouse, seats 100 people, kitchen, electricity, parking, etc, appx 20 acres of surrounding land, 1990s UofM built it for Agriculture and the Environment, program for 6th graders, when the program was shut down the center was given to the IWL

Land maintanence--woods for ed center donated by member in 1965, Buckthorne removed by Eagle scouts, prisoners and conservation corps hired by grant, Ike volunteers

Prarie restoraton--roundup till fallow 3x, plant prarie seed 

98% join because of recommendation from friend. They don't do a lot of highly active recruiting.

Members don't usually interact outside of meetings.

Chapter provides some food, members bring some item, 80% of those who come to meetings also come to dinner

Not a lobbying org, doesn't support candidates, does support issues


How have federal or state environmental policy changes affected your group (positive and negative affects)? No He didn't know a lot about legal issues, but in general supported increase regulation
More reporting to fed, out East people just looking to enjoys views have had to get invovlved, some chapters not filing paper work


He would like to see more members and have the current members more committed, working with kids is good publicity
Usually 50+, younger people usually busy, originally older, moved back, now moving forward, having trouble getting young people to join, not enough money, middle class is shrinking

"Change comes from the one person who wants change organizing and making it happen."

Email project when we're finished presike1@live.com

The Genre of Blck Elk Speaks

Understanding the genre of a work is crucial for interpreting it. If Black Elk speaks is an apocalyptic prophecy, then we need not worry if the accounts of battles are consistent. If it is a history of a nation, then we needn't bother to interpret the dream sequence.

Much like the Bible, Black Elk Speaks is composed of many different genres, and assigning one label is a doomed endeavor. Some sections are history, some prophecy, some biography. Readers must remain aware of this, and interpret different sections according to different standards.

We the People

I had just found out that the US had been allies with apartheid South Africa, and I was feeling worse than usual about being an American. This Cuban who was there pointed out that this had happened before I was born, and I was in no way responsible. So why was I feeling guilty?

This same question came up in class today, as people talked about all the horrible things "we" had done to Indians. Why do we feel guilt for sins from 8 generations ago?

Guilt is a social phenomena, based on fear of judgement from our peers. There is ample evidence to show this--psychologists know that masked people feel freer to commit crimes, and that if in a scientist in a lab coat asks subjects to deliver a fatal electric shock, they will gladly kill. Historians know that moral standards have risen significantly over time (in medieval Europe torturing cats was a popular form of entertainment.), showing that moral standards (and thus our sense of guilt) derive from society.

So, "we" feel guilty about what "our" ancestors since we know that other nations and ethnic groups also remember, and base their current opinion of us off this.

Advice on Speaking from Flatland

The Persuasive Speaking Unit from Iowa State University makes many specific recommendations, but the overall theme is to use multiple lines of evidence. Consider this example structure:


Monroe’s Motivated Sequence
Best pattern to use for a personal action appeal.
Five Parts: Attention, Need, Satisfaction, Visualization, Action; but only three main points.
ATTENTION
In the Introduction
A scenario of a heart attack
NEED:
I. We have a problem with heart disease and heart failure in America.
A. Every year thousands of Americans die from heart attacks.
B. Only a small part of the population knows how to save someone who is suffering from a heart attack.
SATISFACTION:
II. If more people were trained in CPR more lives could be saved.
A. You can get trained in CPR by attending a Red Cross class.
B. You can get trained in CPR here on campus.
VISUALIZATION:
III. Once you are trained in CPR, you can save a life.
A. Let's look again at the opening scenario.
B. Statistics show that communities that have a large percentage of the population CPR certified have lower rates of death from heart attacks.
ACTION:
In the conclusion
Call to the audience to get trained in CPR

The speaker uses a story with emotional appeal, statistic, and facts about the audience to make his/her point. This same multi-pronged approach appears repeatedly throughout the unit.

Transcendental Jamestown

The Jamestown colonists were driven by wild dreams and endless optimism to the New World, where they did little work, and thus had little food and shelter come winter, and most of them died. The Transcendentalists were driven by wild dreams and endless optimist to the frontier, where they did little work, and thus had little food come winter, and most left.

Bertrand Russel started a school where students were not required to follow rules. It's not hard to guess how that turned out. Society can certainly be improved, history has shown that those who propose to remake human nature are consistently disappointed.

The Golden Mean

Emmerson believes that nature has many uses, the least of which is resource. This a step in the right direction compared to many environmentalists, because it implies that although we cannot completely wreck the environment, we can still use it. Likewise, although nature exists to serve humanity, if we destroy it will not be useful. This is a very balanced and plausible perspective that promotes moderation in the use of natural resources.