The Ohlone Way Summary

Before reading The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco-Monterey Bay Area by Malcolm Margolin, I never knew about the Ohlone. I did not even know much about Native Americans. While reading the book, I feel like I was watching a movie. The author describes the Ohlone as if he was there. I could picture an Ohlone man inside a sweathouse, a group of women grinding acorns, a dancing shaman treating the sick, a boy trying to catch a rabbit, or a chief welcoming the traders. This is the most interesting part of the book. Even though Margolin did not observed the Ohlone 200 years ago, the numerous evidences that he gathered created a believable story that may not surprised me if it’s the truth about the Ohlone. This paper consists of my prior knowledge about the Ohlone before reading the book, aspects that I learned from the book, and the explanation of the life cycle development of the Ohlone using the framework of Super and Harkness’ Developmental niche theory.
Prior Knowledge of Native Americans When I was young and still living in the Philippines, my knowledge about Native Americans were limited. The only Indians I knew are the Indians from India. We never had any class lecture or topic about American Indians. In fact, at that time, I thought white Americans were the original settlers in the America, and I could not remember any class teachings contradicting this …show more content…
Although it was hard finding which are facts and which are interpretations, Margolin description of the Ohlone’s beliefs, practices, and values are far different from us. They were expected to follow the old ways while we were encouraged to innovate. They learned only one way of living while we experienced numerous cultures different from us. With the Bay Area’s current environment consisting of diverse group of people, I wonder how these affects the life cycle development of the Ohlone currently living in the Bay