finished essay by jace salmon

“One does not sell the land people walk on”- Crazy Horse. One major difference between the Aboriginal people and the explorers from Europe was that Aboriginal people feel no ownership to the land, they are only borrowing and it must be returned. The white explorers feel it is there duty to build the natives schools and teach them English. This all relates to the movie Avatar because the humans come to Pandora to mine the unobtainium, they feel that they should teach them English because they feel that it is the best language, this is not the case. The Na’ vi people feel like they are being marginalized and their planet is being colonized. In this essay I will tell you how the movie Avatar relates to moments in our own history through the themes of ethnocentrism, colonization and cultural contact.

Ethnocentrism is when one believes that their race or culture is better than all others. In the movie Avatar, the humans call the Na’ vi fly bitten savages, blue monkeys and other insulting names that show ethnocentrism. The Europeans also used hurtful terms towards the First Nation people of North America such as Indians, and redskins. They want to show the Na’ vi how they should live and that they should go to school and learn English. This is very similar to what happened in Canada’s history when they sent young aboriginal children to boarding schools to learn English and go to schools that were run by Christian teachers, and nuns. They were not aloud to practice their religion, speak their language, or see their parents for ten months. If they were caught doing these things they would be punished in the form of beatings, flogging, and even rape.

Colonization is where two or more people inhabit the same area. The Na’ vi have lived on Pandora for a very long time and the humans suddenly show up and start knocking down trees, mining for unobtainium, and killing their people.  The way the Na’ vi have lived has been changed forever. The humans that come to Pandora are all races such as African American, Asian, Native American, Latina, and Caucasian. Some of these people have been victims of colonization just as the Na’vi are. European people have forced the native people all over the world from their lands and oppressed them for personal gain. This relates to Avatar because the business man Parker will stop at nothing to colonize the planet of Pandora and take what he wants for his own gain. In my opinion greed, self gain, and money have all been demons to the human race and people should learn to care not only about themselves but also others no matter age, sex, or race.

Cultural contact between the humans and the Na’ vi should have never happened. They are completely opposite people and a lot of things vary between them such as religion, food, shelter, technology, and weapons. All of these things are new to the indigenous people of Pandora, but the humans know how the Na’ vi lived because they have seen how the aboriginal people have lived long ago in history. The aboriginals of North America and Pandora are very similar. The humans have taken DNA from the Na' vi and humans and put them together to make a hybrid called an Avatar. This is similar to the first nations and the Europeans to create the Métis people. When Jake was in the Avatar body he could gain the Na'vi's trust and give information when the sky people were coming.

Over time we have seen these themes repeat themselves in our own history. The movie Avatar represents the themes of ethnocentrism, colonization, and cultural contact in a realistic manner. The invasion and ignorance of the humans as they degrade the people, rob them of their culture, and attempt to take over the land has a mirror affect to our own historical errors.  This topic is of great importance, so that we can learn from our past mistakes, and not repeat them in the future.  It also brings up the topic for review, so that our own history is not forgotten and similar mistakes not made once again.