"Little War on the Prairie" Response

            I feel that what happened to the Native Americans at Mankato was very unfair and unjust. By staying almost completely silent about the history of the town, people only added insult to injury concerning this great injustice. After studying Pine Ridge, I know that the way in which white Americans, as well as the American government, have turned a blind eye to what happened is not a solitary occurrence. It seems to happen quite often that the true history of the Native Americans is simply ignored and falls away from mainstream history education. The events at Mankato and those that are taking place are Pine Ridge are just a couple of entries on the long list of injustices enacted upon the Native Americans by the US government.

            Some things that I enjoy about the manner in which the story is told about Mankato are the usage of background music at key points throughout the stories and also the way in which scene and summary are both used throughout the story. By using summary, the storyteller is able to convey a lot of information in a relatively short amount of time and by using various scenes, he is able to capture the emotions and various viewpoints and opinions surrounding the events at Mankato. Unfortunately, I found the primary storyteller’s voice to be somewhat dry and monotone. Because of this, the story becomes sort of dull and seems to drone on.

            I believe that when creating the “Living Newspaper” it would be wonderful to emulate the storyteller’s use of scene and summary. Cleverly placed background music could also be used in the “Living Newspaper” to emphasize certain points and add emotion. I also think it would be a good idea to speak with more emotion and excitement in the “Living Newspaper” so that people find it to be more evocative.