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[gracetobin25]

Basso Response

I can see aspects of Basso’s discussion of placemaking as it relates to different cultures in our world. On the topic of culture in relation to landscapes, Basso states, “…in these ways, too, as every ethnographer eventually comes to appreciate, geographical landscapes are never culturally vacant. Filled to the brim with past and present significance…” (Basso 101). Basso explains that the most important aspect of placemaking is the physical landscape it is describing. Once someone in their mind is brought to that place and can clearly see the physical landscape, they can recall the associations and stories their culture has with the environment. This is due to the fact that no place is void of culture. I see this aspect of placemaking in my own world in places like Mount Rushmore. Not only is Mount Rushmore culturally significant to everyone in America, it also has very different cultural ties to different groups of people. Some people may be brought to Mount Rushmore in their mind and be filled with pride over some of their favorite presidents of their country. Others may be brought to Mount Rushmore and think of the stripping away of the Native Americans’ land to be used as a monument to America and the people involved in their oppression. It is in this way that placenaming can be used for “appropriating physical environment,” (101) like the colonizers did to the Native Americans. Indeed, it is hard to think of a place in America that is not charged with culture that means different things to different sects of people.

[placemaker1288]

I find it interesting how you view Mount Rushmore dialectically, both as a symbol of pride but also as a symbol of oppression. It reminds me of how in the reading, when the Western Apache were sharing placenames, they had to hope that the person listening would understand which story they were referencing and interpret it appropriately. Mount Rushmore can have have more than one meaning at once, just like the placenames. While a single name can bring comfort, depending on the listener’s interpretation, it could also bring more worry. While there is cultural significance tied to this monument just like the placenames, much of the meaning is derived from the viewer or listener’s own culture and feelings.

[arwenselfbaby]

Speaking with Names

This summer I visited my dad’s hometown in Broad Ripple, Indiana. I never really batted an eye at the name “Broad Ripple,” but my mom said something this summer about how it is a bit of a weird name, seemingly describing Indiana’s White River on which the town is situated. I did a little digging, and it does indeed seem that this is true.

It is so interesting how in normative US American culture (white, middle class, Christian etc), we often do not even consider the words behind place names. The words “broad ripple” clearly reference the movement of water, which almost certainly is a reference to the river. Yet, my dad lived there for the first 18 years of his life, and this never occurred to him, almost as if the words themselves lose all meaning when they are attached to a place. Perhaps we just grow accustomed to the names and forget that the words have meanings by themselves. This stands in stark contrast to the place-naming seen among Western Apache people, as Keith Basso describes the deep, intricate meanings and usages of place names in Cibecue. These different attitudes toward place names suggests a significant cultural contrast in how we think about nature, respecting the land we live on, and the people who came before us. Basso describes how Western Apache place names are not only highly descriptive and specific, but they evoke memories and honor of ancestors, which he has seen to even “produce expanded awareness, feelings of relief, and a fortified ability to cope” among its speakers (pg. 122). Throughout the reading, I was overwhelmed by the sense of respect and honor the Western Apache people have for their land and their ancestors, and how they constantly revitalize that in their speech.

[placemaker1288]

I love your analysis of how typical American culture views the names of places in comparison to the Western Apache. I agree that it often seems as though names of towns and other landmarks are not considered on any level deeper than as where certain people or amenities are located. I wonder if this related to settlers’ lack of connection to the land initially, whereas the Western Apache have resided here for longer and had more opportunity to assign meaning and stories to the landmarks around them.

[placemaker1288]

Speaking with Names

Western Apache communication uses placenames as a way to encourage the listener’s imagination and connect with historical proverbs in a meaningful way. I thought it was profound how a seemingly simple description of some geographical markers could evoke important stories that help bring greater context to conversations and provide comfort in sharing long-standing cultural knowledge. I applied this concept to my hometown in New Mexico, beneath the Jemez Mountains, where my friends and I would often drive up the cliff to a place known locally as “The Ocean”. It was named this because of the expansive, tall grass near a canyon that was a beautiful place to look at the stars at night. We always felt that the sky and and the field together looked like our own version of the seaside. Basso says, “placenames implicitly identify positions for viewing these locations: optimal vantage points...” which led me to wonder how different The Ocean above would look if we were to view it from the bottom of the canyon (111). The Ocean was also similar to a placename in that many people from my town would have memories and stories about it as a meaningful site to enjoy nature and converse with others, just by hearing the name aloud.