Q15

[lissethbayona]

On this question I was between (C) and (A) and I ended up incorrectly picking (C). Now I think I see why it is wrong. Paragraph 4 isn't discussing WHEN native Americans began to distinguish between intertribal and tribal tendencies, which is what (C) is saying.

I definitely see that (A) is the best answer but I want to be sure I know why.

I think (A) is correct because paragraph 4 acknowledges that intertribal activities are a significant part of native American culture and then provides examples. When the author follows this by saying that, "cultural borrowing is, of course, old news" he is using cultural borrowing to mean intertribal activities. So if intertribal activities have been around for a while then it makes sense that their existence would be "unsurprising" at powwows (what (A) is saying).

Is my thinking correct here? I would appreciate any help!

[rinagoldfield]

Thanks for your post, lissethbayona.

Let’s start with a macro view of the passage and then zoom into the particular sentence in question. The author overall discusses 2 theories about native American tribal identity. Proponents of the “Pan Indian” theory argue that native American tribes are losing their distinctive characteristics and assimilating to Euroamerican society. The author disagrees, arguing that many Native American tribes have revitalized their individual practices.

In the fourth paragraph, the author describes how powwows have cross-cultural aspects, but emphasizes that native Americans distinguish between these cross-cultural moments and their own traditions. She writes “cultural borrowing is, of course, old news,” which indicates that cultural cross-pollination is a regular fact of cultural existence rather than a surprising development. We want to find something like this in the answer choices.

(A) doesn’t exactly match the above – I’d call this a “hold onto it for now” answer choice.

(B) is tempting, but too extreme. The author doesn’t indicate that a particular example of cultural borrowing is literally impossible to avoid.

(C) also seems relevant but inexact – let’s hold onto this one for now too.

(D) is unsupported. The author does not indicate bias.

(E) is unsupported. The author does not argue that cultural borrowing weakens native American identity.

Between (A) and (C), we want to see which one matches our original prediction of “cultural cross-pollination is a regular fact of cultural existence rather than a surprising development.” (C) is incorrect because it evaluates the wrong subject. It describes the distinction between tribal and intertribal practices, while the original sentence describes cultural borrowing. (A) is correct because it essentially says “cultural borrowing is unsurprising.” This is more or less what the author was saying.

Remember to check whether an answer choice refers exactly to the sentence in question, or if it discusses something from the surrounding context. (C) trickily does the latter.