Professor: Dr. Scott Sochay	Dept. of Communication Studies
Office: HC327F	Interim 2011
Office Hours: immediately after class and by appt.	Section 1: M-F 8am - 10:45 (CC325)
Office Phone: (651) 638-6199	http://people.bethel.edu/~socsco/nativeamerican/nativeamericansandmedia.html
Home Phone: (651) 646-1521 (before 8:30 pm)	Prerequisites
email: socsco@bethel.edu	Back to Sochay home page

Required Text:

LaDuke, Winona (1997). Last Standing Woman, Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press.

Course Objectives:

Students will:

1. understand that there is no one Native American culture and learn to identify stereotypes;
2. investigate and become class expert on one major Indian tribe;
3. be exposed to Native American voices and learn how to access Native American voices - both historic and contemporary;
4. develop critical skills to analyze Native American media portrayals and; 
5. be able to compare and contrast social and media criticisms of Native American portrayals.

Grading and Expectations:

Participation is important and is part of your grade. Students are expected to have read the required material for each class session and be prepared to discuss its contents. A lack of preparation not only hurts your grade it also takes away from the quality of the in-class discussion and makes the learning experience less enjoyable for your classmates. Attendance is also part of your participation grade. Excessive absences and/or tardiness will be reflected in that generally, three or more unexcused absences will result in a minimum one grade lower participation grade.

Projects are due at the beginning of the class period noted in the course outline. Late projects or missed exams will not be accepted without a legitimate excuse such as medical illness or emergency. If you have a situation that may present difficulties in turning a project in on time or making an exam date the proper procedure is to discuss this with me before the due date. I'm flexible and understanding when students talk with me before an assignment or exam is due. I'm much less flexible if a student tries to explain their situation after the due date has passed. In short, if you think you're going to have a problem turning in an assignment on time, talk with me before the due date. The same also applies to attendance. Excused absences are at my discretion. I am far more likely to grant them when students let me know ahead of time (when possible) or contact me as soon as possible after the missed class. 

Student work will be evaluated according to the guidelines laid out in the 2010-2011 Bethel College catalog (see p. 32). To receive an "A," work should be "exceptional". "B" work is considered "good," and "C" "work "satisfactory" and so on. Handouts/explanations will be provided with the criteria for the take home exam, case presentation, team case and term paper. If you have any questions about these assignments, ask!

Students seeking disability-related accommodations should review policy information at the Bethel Disability Services page.

The Bethel policy on academic honesty applies in this course. (see pp. 36 in the 2010-2011 Bethel College catalog)

 

Points will be awarded for the course as follows:

MIA reaction paper	25 points
LSW paper	50 points
Avatar paper	50 points
Tribal presentation	50 points
Attendance/Participation	25 points
Total	200 points

 

MIA reaction paper:

Write a 2-3 page paper on what you learned from visiting the Minneapolis Institute of Arts Thaw Collection. What you learned could include - first impressions, how your understanding of tribal cultures changed,reflection on a particular piece etc. Conclude with a summary of the experience. If you were unable to attend, use the pdf as the basis for your reaction paper.

LSW paper:

After reading LSW (and the pdf on Native American literature) write a 5-7 page paper exploring the following:

What is your response to the novel - what did you like/not like? What did you think of plot, character development, story line etc?

Explore the question of Native American literature - is there such a literature? Did LSW follow the conventions of Native American literature (as has been proposed)?, how does LSW differ from other novels you have read - is there a cultural distinctive to the book?

Avatar paper:

Write a 5-7 page paper that critiques Avatar in terms of its portrayal of Native Americans. You are required to find at least 3 outside sources to bolster your critique. Analyze the film in terms of criteria given in class when we looked at movies and any criteria/commentary from your outside sources that sheds light on how Avatar relates to the portrayal of Native Americans.

Tribal presentation:

Students will give a 15-20 presentation on a selected tribe. More info will be given in class. The professor will demonstrate possible content to cover.

The eight tribes - Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Sioux, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois, Pueblo

Tentative Course Outline and Assignments:

 

Lecture Notes

Ojibway

In the beginning, there was only darkness.  Kitche Manitou (the Creator) began to fulfill a vision of crimson sunsets and star-laden skies, a vision of various forms of beings living together and sharing the bounty of creation.  Kitche Manitou made rock, water, fire, and wind.  From these four basic elements, the sun, earth, moon and stars were formed.  To complete the vision, Kitche Manitou created the plant beings, and then the animal beings.  The last act of Kitche Manitou’s vision was the creation of man.  And so, the world of the Anishnabeg began.

 

Home: The northern part of the Lower Peninsula and the lower part of the Upper Peninsula.  Rich in resources.

The Anishnabeg lived in villages that were composed of family groups and extended kin.
Family was associated with clans.
Clans were the “super-families” of the Anishnabeg and were named after animals.
Tradition says that the clans were formed long ago when six beings came out of the great salt sea and entered the homes of the Anishnabeg.  These visitors came in the guise of human beings and talked with the Anishnabeg.  One of these beings gazed upon a villager, killing him with his stare.  The other five demanded that this sixth being return to the sea.  From these five beings came the five clans – great fish, loon, marten, crane and bear.  Personal identity was traced to one of these five clans and created obligations and duties to assist other clan members.  Since then, approximately 20 sub-clans are identifiable.

The clan system brought order to Anishnabeg society.
Membership in a clan was inherited from the father.  All members of a clan, whether they were direct relatives or not were considered brothers and sisters.  No two clan members could marry.  Marriages were arranged.

Over time then, villages became mixtures of clans.  This created links between and within villages.  It also led to a communal style of living where clan members shared resources and village members shared resources.

The Anishnabeg were very religious.  They believed that everything they experienced or interacted with was a part of the Creation.  Everything, plant, animal, object etc. had a spiritual essence.  All things had a relationship with the Creator.  Thus, when an Anishnabeg killed a deer for example, he thanked the deer for giving him his nourishment.

In religious thought, the sun was viewed as father, the earth as mother.  The interaction between the two provided for the needs of the Anishnabeg.  This interaction was seasonal or cyclical.  Thus, the circle was sacred.  The circle represented the relatedness of all things.  Anishnabeg practices such as hunting, fishing, food gathering and planting were done in consideration of the effects these practices would have on the land.  In this sense, all actions were sacred.

There were two main religious events – the Feast of the Dead, at which the resurrection of the departed souls was celebrated.  And, the sweatlodge.  Here Anishnabeg entered a wigwam full of heated stone and steam.  If the Anishnabeg  was ill this was used as part of the healing process.  If healthy, for cleansing and visions.  Anishnabeg also made offerings to lesser spirits.

Anishnabeg hunted a variety of game, fished a variety of fish and planted corn, tobacco, squash, pumpkins among others and harvested wild food such as wild rice, berries, acorns, onions and maple sap.

Health was also seen as part of the circle.  People often became sick because they failed to follow proper conduct in relation to hunting animals and gathering plants.

Anishnabeg used bow and arrow, snares and traps.  Indians also shined deer by using torches to hold a deer’s attention while the bow was readied.  Hunting of deer and moose was often done from canoe.  Log traps were often used to kill bear.  Netting, spearing and hook and line were often used to catch fish.

Anishnabeg were not what we would call farmers.  They were not organized agriculturalists.  Gardening was used as a supplement, not as a primary source of food.

Anishnabeg were migratory.  In the spring they located near rivers to catch spawning fish.  In the summer they located near fields where gardens could be planted and hunting could be done.  In the fall, they moved near the rice beds.  In winter, they moved to the woods to better withstand the cold winters.

Anishnabeg were raised to avoid conflict and criticism.  If a dispute arose, often one party or the other left the village if the dispute was serious.  Thus, Anishnabeg were not good at confrontation.  Elders provided leadership and oversaw civil and political matters.  Decisions were often reached by oratory and persuasion.  This is not surprising given that the Anishnabeg had an oral culture (no written language).

Children were not just part of their parents, the clan system ensured that children were part of a clan and village as well.  This system made it easier for children when parents died.  Children were usually named during their first year by an elder or respected acquaintance.  Names could come from a dream, a deceased clan member, or to provide guidance.  Children had nicknames in addition to their formal names.  The Anishnabeg did not have a system of family names or first and last names.

Tribal history was learned by listening to tribal elders.  These story times were considered sacred and an art form.  They were entertaining and instructional.  Music was also a part.  Flutes, drums and rattles were prevalent.

Gender roles were rigid.  Women made clothes, cooked, gardened etc.  Men hunted and fished.

Animal skins provided warm material for clothing.  Bark and skins were used to make domeshaped wigwams.

 

Indian History

1492+
“Discovered” by Columbus

Early 1600s

Europeans and Indians were primarily engaged in trade.
            Holland, Spain, France, England

St. Augustine 1565
Jamestown 1607 (British)
Quebec 1608 (French)
Santa Fe 1610 (Spanish)
New Amersterdam (York) 1626 (Dutch)

Each treated Indians differently.
In general, Indians were adversely affected
            Disease was huge

The French – fur trade
            Didn’t require taking land
            Didn’t need permanent settlements
            The best of the relationships with Natives
            Usually beneficial to both

The Spanish – wanted precious metals
            Forced Indians into mining
            Some Indians forced off land
            Missionaries (Jesuits)
                        Much in South and Central America
                                    The Mission

The Dutch – wanted trading posts and villages
            At first, negotiated for land, gradually used force to acquire more
            Wanted Indians off the land

The English – wanted land
            Agriculture and colonies
            Wanted Indians off the land (or converted to the British way of life)

Russia in the 1740s
            Claimed lands along the Northwest coast
            Forced labor and concubines
            Remained until 1867 when Russia ceded Alaska to the US

 

 

First arrivals
            In most cases, first arrivals were greeted with hospitality
            Offered food and shelter and taught whites how to survive
            As relationships developed, esp. the British began to demand that
Indians adapt a civilized European lifestyle and Christianity
            As Europeans continued to arrive and white power grew, East Coast
 wars started
            Pequot War (1637)
            King Philips War (1675-6)
            The first of a series of wars on many fronts
                        Indians defeated
            By the end of the 1600s most East Coast tribes had been decimated by
disease, war and subjegation.

The fur trade
            One of the major economic enterprises
            Trading on the East Coast
            As supplies dwindled, whites began moving inland
                        (Great Lakes)
            Indians received guns, metal goods (cooking), tools etc.
            At first beneficial
            Indians came to depend on these goods as they discarded their
technologically inferior implements.
            Traders also introduced alcohol
            Indians had no experience – a devastating introduction
            As a result, Native economies were ruined, wildlife depleted and land
taken.

Mid-1700s
            The grab for land intensifies
            Whites build settlements along trade routes to the interior
            Whites flex increasing military power
            Forced unequal trades and land cessions
            These dealings put tribes into debt.
            This led to tribes competing with other tribes for increasingly scarce
resources to pay their debts
            In many cases, tribal members were forced to serve in conflicts
between European nations.

 

1754-1763
            The French and Indian War
                        Misnamed!
                        Against the French by the British
                        Britain bought off tribes to fight on their side
                        French lost Canada to the British
                        British stopped payments to the tribes
                        Indians suffered losses during the war
                                    Led to revolt
                                    Pontiac’s uprising
                                                Capturing nine forts and killing ~1000
                                                Indian fighting force involving 7 tribes
                                                couldn’t sustain – peace settlement
                     British agree not to settle west of the Appalachian Mountains
            Settlement ignored by settlers and traders
Many settlers wanted to move West
British raised a force to stop settlers, taxed colonists to do so
            Resented by colonists
This was one of the factors behind the American Revolution

Indians began to align themselves with the British against “American” encroachment
Were the British really interested in protecting Indian lands?
Americans tried to secure Indian neutrality and mostly failed.

After the Revolutionary War, British ceded the Northwest Territory to the Americans (ignoring that it was Indian land)
Held on to trading posts around the Great Lakes

After the Revolution, settlers poured onto Indian lands
Led to conflict as Indians defended their land
Gradually, American forces began pushing Indians further west

During the War of 1812, Indians fought against American troops
Sometimes in conjunction with the British sometimes alone.
It would be the last time Indian tribes aligned with a foreign power

After America won the War of 1812, Indian tribes in the Northeast and Southeast were forced into large concessions of land

 

Federal policy
Under the Constitution, the federal govt had the authority to deal with the
various tribes
            Article 1, Section 8 (The Congress shall have Power...To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;)
The federal government appointed commissioners to oversee different parts
of the country
Evolved into the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
            Agents reported to superintendents (commissioners) who reported to
the Secretary of War who reported to the President

 

The Northwest Ordinance (1787) said:
            The utmost faith shall always be observed toward Indians; their lands and property shall never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights, and liberty they shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress; but laws founded in justice and humanity shall from time to time be made, for preventing wrongs done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them.

 

The treaty making period (1789-1871)
            Land acquisition became an American priority
            US military wasn’t strong enough to engage in wholesale taking
            Tried to negotiate land cessions through peaceful means
                        Accomodation)

Territorial governments also had some authority

By 1803, hostilities had grown over broken treaties and government policy shifted from accomodation to extermination or assimilation

Here, religious organizations pushed hard for assimilation
The compromise was removal
Once removed, the assimilation process could proceed
            Religion, education and agriculture were seen as key

Eventually (1830), Andrew Jackson would initiate the Indian Removal Act and forcibly remove tribes to west of the Mississippi

Forcible removal and the “Trail of Tears” (18,000 left, 14,000 survived)

The govt tried persuasion (Lies!) to make removal more orderly

            1866 – an Indian agent trying to convince a chief to move peacably

                        My red brothers, the winds of 55 winters have blown over my head and have silvered it with gray.  In all that time I have not done wrong to a single human being.  As the representative of the Great Father and as your friend, I advise you to sign this treaty at once.

The chief’s reply:
                        My father, look at me!  The winds of 55 winters have blown over my head, and have silvered it with gray.  But – they haven’t blown my brains away.

Georgia was particularly aggressive
1831 – Cherokee Nation v. Georgia and (1832) Worcester v. Georgia
the Supreme Court recognized that tribes were self-governing entities and as such, the Federal government and not the States have the right to deal with Indian tribes

ignored, the Seminoles were the most resistant and eventually the
 government gave up trying to remove them
one of the few tribes in the southeast to stay on their land east of the
Mississippi

in the Great Lakes region, the story was similar, many removed by force,
the strongest ones were able to stay
problems remained, reduced homelands, no economy

by 1840, the removal policy had done all it was capable of
“permanent Indian country” west of the Mississippi (Oklahoma)
            about 100,000 were removed

Assimilation could now begin.  It was always assumed by whites that native tribes would willingly give up their culture once the superiority of white culture was demonstrated and the tribes were converted
            The wounds were too deep for this to happen

Once in Indian territory, tribes that had never been in contact with each
 other were now thrown together
                        Intertribal conflicts erupted

1840s and 1850s
the pressure to expand westward began the removal of Indian tribes in the
Indian territory to lands further west
1854 Kansas-Nebraska bill authorized to remove Indians there

Pressures were also building on the West Coast
1848 United States acquires California and much of the Southwest from
Mexico

 

Railroads and telegraph lines begin to link the Midwest and the West
            Where could Indians be moved to now?
1851 Fort Laramie Treaty
            set boundaries between tribes
            authorized roads and military posts
            guaranteed safety to white travelers
                        annuities (not delivered)

Civil War
The Confederacy picked up support from the tribes
(angry at the Indian Removal Act)
The confederacy could afford to promise Indians things in the West
Some tribes stuck with the Union
When the War was over, Reconstruction was needed among the tribes as
well as the South

After the war
            Increasing encroachment on land west of the Mississippi
            Resources rapidly depleting and mismanaged
                                    Buffalo population
1800 40 million
1850 20 million
1865 15 million
1875 1 million

1880 395,000

1885 20,000

1895 less than 1,000

Indians retaliated by attacking trespassers
United States responded with all out military campaigns

(think Custer)

1871 – the United States had all the territory it needed save the ever
decreasing size of Indian reservations
end of the treaty making period

the new view
            Indians are wards of the state and the federal government is their
guardian (Indians as children)
The federal govt. – through the Indian Office was to meet the Indians needs
            Was also a period of massive corruption and much of the promised goods and services never made it to the reservations
            On-going guerrilla warfare

Move begins to break up the reservation system
            Give each individual Indian a plot of land and dissolve Indian nations
1887 Dawes Act (The General Allotment Act)
            assimilation
a 25 year trust period until Indians were competent enough to manage
their own land
            many of the allotments weren’t farmable
            many Indian males saw farming as women’s work
when allotment was terminated in 1934 over 90 million acres of Indian land
was lost
also, various presidents used executive orders to take Indian land for
mining, logging, oil etc. (the Cobell litigation)

the Cultural Assault
1901 BIA edict
            forbidding of Indian customs
                        males can’t have long hair
                        no face painting
                        no Indian style clothes
                        dances and feasts forbidden
assimilation is forced

BIA takes over housing, education, health care, police etc.
            A welfare system
The premise – the Indian problem will be solved when there were no more
identifiable Indians
Thus, it was necessary to force Indians to give up their heritage
This system came under criticism (over time)

1934 Indian Reorganization Act
            an Indian “New Deal”
                        help develop Indian economic resources
                        self-sufficiency the goal
                                    trade schools
                                    scholarships
                                    federal jobs
never very successful
Indians suspicious
Whites not very aware of Indian concerns

By the 1940s serious problems,
            Too many bureaucrats
            Too little input from Indians
                        Everyone else knew what was best

New policy
            Termination policy (name!)
            Lets end the “special status” of Indian tribes
            Federal govt. begins the process of terminating tribal status for as
many tribes as possible
            Indians fiercely opposed

program launched to relocate reservation Indians to urban centers
            1940 5% of all Indians lived in urban centers
            1990 51%
                        Twin Cities are around #8
                        Many of these cities have tribal centers that are trying to
restore “traditional life”

By the mid 60s
            Civil rights and the growth of the Indian movement began the
process of reversing the 100s of terminations that had taken
place

The move toward Self-Determination
            Recognizing the rights of a tribal community to maintain itself
                        With govt. assistance

A part of LBJs “Great Society”
            New programs for reservations

Nixon continued this philosophy

this is the philosophy still used today

1969 Louis Bruce becomes the first Indian to head the BIA
1975 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act

1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act
1979 Archaeological Resources Protection Act

some progress but the federal govt. still had no qualms about taking Indian
land when needed for roads or other projects

 

American Indian Movement (AIM)
Activist
Occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973

Indians begin to use the courts to seek reparations for broken treaties
            Hunting and fishing rights
            Water rights
            Compensation of land

            A mixed bag of results

 

            Gaming rights
                        1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act

today...