FINAL COPY!!

Avatar Position Paper

BY: Jordan

In our history the First nations experienced cultural contact, marginalization, and assimilation when the Europeans came to America. That part of our history is

Portrayed in the movie Avatar very well. The Na’vi experienced the same things

as the First nations when the sky people came to Pandora. The sky people

started to force the Na’vi out of their home to get what they desired.

In the essay I will talk about cultural contact, marginalization, assimilation, and how they affected the Na'vi.

In the movie, cultural contact is portrayed when the sky people first came to Pandora. The sky people created “Avatars” that had the same physical appearance as the Na’vi, to try and learn about them. Unlike the Europeans who came to America and didn’t bother to learn about them and just forced them.

Marginalization- Getting pushed to the side. The sky people came to Pandora to mine unobtanium and the Na’vis sacred tree was growing on the richest place of unobtanium on Pandora. The Na’vi didn’t want to give up their sacred home tree, so the sky people tried to push them aside and take what they wanted. The Beotuk got marginalized when the Europeans  came over.

Assimilation- the act or process of assimilating state or condition of being assimilated.

 The Na’vi declined when the sky people offered them English schooling. The Europeans  like it was their duty the assimilate the first nations. Like the sky people did in the movie the Europeans put the First nations in schools and taught them English (but not very well).  

In the essay I talked about how cultural contact, marginalization, and assimilation affected the Na’vi.