White Attitudes Towards Nature Essay -- Racial Relations, Indian, Whit

In Luther Standing Bear’s â€Å"Nature† and Louis Owens’s â€Å"The American Indian Wilderness†, the authors dictate differences in Indian and white relationships with nature. They stress how Indians see nature, their balanced relationship with it, and how they know wilderness is just a European idea. Though agreeing here, Standing Bear focuses on the Lakota view of how Indians truly lived while Owens reveals both sides and thinks white views can shift with time. Standing Bear thinks the difference in how whites and Indians see nature stems from childhood. He believes Indian children are aware of nature because they have been taught to â€Å"become conscious of life† and spend time just observing the wild things around them (9). By seeing the world this way, their love and respect for it flourishes (Standing Bear 10). This appreciation sharply contrasts to ignorant whites who foolishly play as children, ignoring everything but each other, and grow up disregarding the knowledge nature gives and viewing it only as something to use. He says whites are bored with nature because they do not have the â€Å"Indian point of view† (11). This distance whites have from nature harms their relationship with nature and humans, making them less compassionate when they do not see that â€Å"man’s heart, away from nature, becomes hard† (12). Similarly, Owens says whites see nature differently because of childhood experiences. Instead of growing up in nature daily, white children go on sporadic vacations camping, and thus view nature as a tourist attraction instead of a second home. He states Indians embrace nature because it has a stronger family significance to them that whites do not see. Indians call the Cascades the â€Å"Great Mother† because of stories they have hear... ...e two races â€Å"could not understand each other† (Standing Bear 12). On the other hand, Owens has hope for whites because he did not grow up with Indian traditions. He has seen whites preserving nature when he was sent to burn the shed, so even though they do not yet understand it he has hope that they can one day appreciate it. Indians understand and value nature more than whites and these authors recognize that. They believe the trouble with white attitudes is they do not truly see nature or form a harmonious relationship with it, and whites think they can be separated from their idea of wilderness. Although Standing Bear is critical of whites and believes they will never change, Owens thinks they will if they continue to redefine how they view nature. Overall, both authors want whites to respect the Indian view of nature and aspire to see it that way also.