INS 105A —Introduction to American Indian Studies/Weekend College

Murphy Place—Room 111

Friday 6:00-9:30 p.m.

INSTRUCTOR: M. Elise Marubbio

Marubbio@augsburg.edu

Office Hours: by appointment

 

 

 

Introduction to American Indian Studies

 

 

Purpose of Course:

This course is an introduction to the content areas of the American Indian studies curriculum, including an overview of American Indian history, American Indian literature, federal Indian policy, land issues, reservation and urban issues, cross-cultural influences, art, music, and language.

 

Our goal is to challenge stereotypes and assumptions about American Indian people in the past and present, and to trace over time how tribes have resisted, adapted to, or incorporated the cultures of those with whom they encounter and interact.

 

Students Rights and Responsibilities:

All students have the right to use the College Counseling and Student Development staff services, as well as to receive tutoring assistance from the writing lab program. The Augsburg College policy on academic honesty applies to this course.

 

Course Requirements:

Following WEC attendance policy, students are required to attend all classes and take part in class discussions and activities in an informed manner reflective of assigned readings and in-class materials.

 

Exams: You will have two take-home exams—a midterm and a final. Each is worth 25% of your grade.

 

Assignments based on weekly reading (five): 1) Read the assigned material listed under the topic heading for that week. 2) Come to class with a thought-provoking question based on your readings that you can answer. These questions and answers will be handed in after discussion. Each of your five questions is worth 4% of your grade; they total 20% of your final grade. Sept. 7, 19; Oct. 3, 17; Nov. 14.

 

Short Paper Assignments: There are three short writing assignments for this course due on Oct. 3, Nov. 12, and Dec. 5. Each is worth 10% of your grade for a total of 30%.

 

 

Required Texts:

1) Bonvillain, Nancy, Native Nations: Cultures and Histories of Native North America. New                York: Prentice Hall, 2001.

2) Lobo, Susan and Steve Talbot. Native American Voices: A Reader New York: Prentice Hall,    2001.

3) Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Penguin Books, c. 1977, 1986 printing.

4) Course Packet: This packet is required and is available at the Student Union Bookstore.

 

 

 

 

Course Outline

 

The material listed below may be supplemented with in-class films or guest speakers

 

 

Sept. 5 Area One—Introduction to Native American Languages, Cultures, and Origins:

                       

A. Introductions and overview:

                       

Readings: Native Nations pp. 1-8 & Native American Voices “Following the       Footsteps,” 2-10; “Definitions of Diversity,” 13-28; “Racism             Stereotypes,”185-192. From Packet: “Mascots” Honor Be Thy Name,” 58-      61. [37 pages total]

 

B. Pre-Contact North America:

                                    Language Groups: Athabaskan, Algonkin, Siouan, Aztec-Tanoan

                                    Cultures of North America: Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, Plains,                                     Great Basin, California, Northwest Coast, Subarctic/Arctic.

 

Begin reading Native Nations: Northeast—41-54; Southeast—126-133;                                           Plains—179-183; Great Basin—267-274; Southwest—312-335;                                         California—392-405; Northwest Coast—444-455; S/arctic—495—504.                           [89 pages total—finish by next week]

 

Assignment 1: Choose one group to read about from each of the areas: Northwest,      Southeast, Plains, The Great Basin, California, Northwest Coast, and       Subarctic/arctic discussed in Native Nations. For example, the section on the Southwest offers a closer look at either the Zuni or the Navajo. Read only the sections pertaining to pre-contact, for example, 360-370 on the            Navajo. In class you will be paired with others who have read the same      material. You will discuss this reading together and present as a group to              the other members of the class.

 

 

 

Sept. 19           A. Continue Culture Areas:

 

Readings: Finish readings above.

 

B. Theories of Origin: The Bering Strait Theory vs. Oral Traditions

 

Readings: In Native American Voices: “Black Bear,” 74-83; “Mythical             Pleistocene Hit Men,” Vine Deloria—193-203. [19 new pages]

                                   

Assignment 2: You will research various concepts of Origin depending on the                               topic assigned to you in class on Sept. 7: Bering Strait theory, American                                Indian Origin beliefs, Other theories. Write a brief outline of the                                        information you have collected. We will debate these in class. Use this                            research or your readings for your weekly question and answer.

 

Area Two: European Colonization of North America

 

C.    Western Colonial Model: Spain, Great Britain, France

 

Readings: Native Nations: 9-16; Northeast—55-58; Southeast—133-137;             Plains—184-194; Great Basin—274-275; Southwest—350-353 and 371-          373; California—405-409; Northwest Coast—455-457; S/Arctic—504-            509. Native American Voices: 152-162 [60 pages]

                       

Oct. 3  Area Three: the Emergence of the U.S. and American Indian Policy.

 

                        A. Trade and Intercourse Acts, Treaties, the Constitution & Removal Period.

 

B. Continue Removal Period & Reservation

 

C. Assimilation and Allotment Periods

           

            Readings for Assimilation: Native American Voices: “Civilize Them With a                                                 Stick,” 255-262.

           

Readings: Native Nations: 17-35; Northeast—62-63; Southeast—137-139;             Plains—194-200; Great Basin—275-279; Southwest: 353-355 and 373-     378; California—409-411; Northwest Coast—457-463. [71 pages]

 

Assignment 3: Choose one group to read about from each of the areas: Northwest,      Southeast, Plains, The Great Basin, California, Northwest Coast, and       Subarctic/arctic discussed in Native Nations. Read only the sections           pertaining to Early American and 19^th c. American Indian-U.S. interaction.

            In class you will be paired with others who have read the same material.         You will discuss this reading together and present as a group to the other       members of the class.

Oct. 17                        A. Reform Movement & Indian Reorganization Act

                       

B. Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 & Termination and Relocation Policy

                       

C. Self-Determination & Self Governance

 

Readings: Native American Voices: “The Black Hills,”132-140; “Directions in         People’s Movements,” 173-181; “Sustainable Development,” 345-352;     “Native American Labor,” 369-377; “The Dealer’s Edge,” 377-387. [41       pages]

                                                                                               

Assignment 4: Choose four of the eight readings listed below in Native Nations:           Northeast—58-62; Southeast—139-146; Plains—200-204;             GreatBasin—279-283; Southwest—355-358 and 379-387;             California—412-415; Northwest Coast—463-465; S/Arctic—509-517.                 Think about the connections between the experience of the groups you      choose and the information found in the main readings from Native American Voices listed above. Be prepared to discuss in class—you may

            use these readings as the basis for your weekly question.

 

            Mid Term take home—due Nov. 14.

 

Oct. 31 Area Four: Political and Social Issues Facing Native American Peoples:             Sovereignty Rights, Religious Freedom, Land Rights, and Language and Culture.

 

         A. Identity

         Readings from Native American Voices: The Crucible of American Indian             Identity,” 31-47; “To the U.S. Census,” 48-55. [23 pages]

           

         B. Issues of Sovereignty, Cultural Autonomy & Resistance

Film Viewing: Incident at Oglala

 

Readings from Native American Voices: “Reprise/Forced Sterilization,” 212-     216; “Renegades, Terrorists,” 219-225 “Voices of Indigenous People,”          477-480; “Ethnic Reorganization,” 487-503. [29 pages]

 

C. Religious Freedom

      Readings from Native American Voices: “Spirituality,” 284-290; “Who Owns Our                        Past?”, 303-318; “The Great Pretenders,” 330-341. [32 pages]

 

Paper Assignment 1: Read an Indian Newspaper (The Circle, Indian Country          Today, etc.) and write a 2-3 page paper about it. The paper should contain a brief overview of the entire newspaper and then focus on one article that          you found of particular interest.

 

Begin reading Ceremony

Nov. 14 A. Land Rights

     

      Readings from Native American Voices: “Indigenous Environmental                                                      Perspectives,” 353-368; “NARF,”388-391; “Peace,” 392. From                                                         Packet: Paul Vandevelder, “A Native Sense of Earth: Treaty Rights and                                              Environmental Standards,” 42-49; Jennifer Villeneuve, “Left to Waste: A                                         Toxic Legacy Beneath the Arctic Snow,” 48-53: Bill Weinberg, “Land,                                          Hemp and Sovereignty at Pine Ridge: The Oglala Lakota Fight Federal                                      Obstruction,” 11-17. [40 pages]                                                                    

                                                                                         

B. Language Retention

     

      Readings from Native American Voices: “Survival,” 266; “Protagonism                                                 Emergent,” 267-281. From Packet: Liz Hill, “Betting on Language:                                      Gaming’s Flush Flows to Tribal Cultures,” 36-41. [20]

 

Assignment 5: Choose one of the readings above to summarize and base your    weekly question and answer on this reading.

 

 

                        Continue reading Ceremony—finish for Nov. 21.

 

Nov. 21 Area Five: Native American Art, Literature, and Film.

                       

A. Native American Art

 

Reading: Native American Voices: “Creating a Visual History,”166-172; “My                            World,” 298-302. From Course Packet: Fritz Scholder, “The Native                            American and Contemporary Art: A Dilemma,” 420-424; Jeanne                                              Snodgrass-King, “In the Name of Progress, is History Being Repeated?”                                   27-35; Allan J. Ryan, “I Enjoy Being A Mohawk Girl: The Cool and                                 Comic Character of Shelley Niro’s Photography,” 44-53 [31 pages]

 

B. Native American Literature

Discuss Ceremony

 

Readings from packet: Patricia Riley, “The Mixed Blood Writer as Interpreter                               and Mythmaker,” 230-242; Susan Scarberry’s “Memory as Medicine: The               Power of Recollection in Ceremony” 19-26. [19 pages] (Nov. 21 cont.)

 

Paper Assignment 2: Visit the Minneapolis Art Institute’s exhibit on Native American Art, which offers examples of Indigenous art spanning a             number of centuries and including contemporary work. The collection is     housed on the second floor toward the back of the museum—four rooms.           Go through the entire collection. Write a two-3 page essay discussing the         overall show and how the contemporary work reflects the past artistic traditions. You may call ahead and request a docent to give you an in- depth tour of this collection—(612) 870-3131.                                      

           

Minneapolis Art Institute Address: 2400 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55404

Hours: Tues-Sun. 11-5.

           

Dec. 5              Native American Film

                        View: Smoke Signals

 

                        Reading: Native American Voices: “The Pocahontas Perplex,” 203—211.

 

Paper Assignment 3: View one of the following films listed below. Find at least                             two reviews or articles of the film.(You may use on-line web pages for

this or film journals, but cite them in the paper and include a bibliography. If you do not know how to properly cite a paper then you should consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, by Gibeldi and Achtert, which is available at most libraries.) Write a two-three page essay reviewing the film. Do not summarize the plot; rather, discuss the film in terms of how it engages Native traditions or contemporary issues, and/or how it             counteracts stereotypes. What did the reviewers think of the film?

 

Most of these films should be available at any local video store. If you

have problems finding them or you would like to use a different Native-            directed/written/or produced film, contact me.

 

            Films and Call Numbers at Augsburg Library if available:

Atanarjuat –Fast Runner (2002))

Dance Me Outside (1994)

Grand Avenue (Sackheim, 1996)

Harold of Orange (Vizenor, 1984). VHS V-256

Naturally Native (Red Horse, 2000)

.

 

                        Final take-home Exam—due in my office by Dec. 12