Freedom Expressed : 10/6/10

     The saying, "We want what we don't have," rings true after reading the introduction to Deloria's Playing Indian.   For instance, while describing early American, her book states, "Americans had an awkward tendency to define themselves by what they were not" (5). Additionally, while describing the Native Americans, Deloria writes, "Indians represented instinct and freedom. . . Whites desperately desired that spirit" (5).  Finally, the paradox of "wanting what we don't have" is truly apparent when Deloria writes about the Boston Tea Party and states: "Mohawk disguises allowed Bostonians not only to articulate ideologically useful Indian identities but also to perform and experience them" (6).  The "euro-americans" seized the opportunity to dump the tea in Boston's harbor by dressing up like Native Americans.  By doing so, the Bostonians received a brief experience of what it is like to be a Native American, or at least what they thought life was like as a Native American.  By disguising themselves, the people of Boston were able to let go of their inhibitions and express their feelings toward the tea tax and government.  Who knew this "short moment"would become such a major part of our nation's history?