Indigenous Studies Commons^™

I’Ll Be Goldenrod And You’Ll Be Aster: The Case For Revolutionizing Western Methods Of Teaching Using Indigenous Ontologies, Joanna Logerfo

Master's Theses

An interesting facet of living as a human in the 21st century is contending with the end of the world. It’s been imagined in a thousand ways over the past twenty years. Will it be zombies? Aliens? An AI revolution? Or will it perhaps be something more mundane, more “down-to-Earth”? The floods, the droughts, the famines, and all the rest of the cataclysmic global events that occur every year have taken center stage in the world-ending debate, parading under a name as threatening and expansive as the Boogeyman: climate change. A recent article from NPR covered the United Nations’ 2022 …

The Landscape Does Not Care It Is A Landscape: A Utopian Pessimist Journey In Kentucky., Shachaf Polakow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

These thesis and exhibition, invite the viewers to travel through different places in Central and Eastern Kentucky. The region’s landscape, like many other American landscapes, is often known to the public through the settler colonial lens—a lens that ignores Indigenous peoples’ history in the region. The work in the exhibition is a response to landscape art's history and its complicity with American settler colonialism- art that was recruited to create a new identity for the settlers and for the country from the beginning of the American Colonial Project. Landscape art was a crucial part of this effort, presenting the land …

The Woodcliff Experiment: Zooarchaeological Applications Using A Legacy And Cultural Resource Management (Crm) Faunal Collection, Matthew Zmijewski

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

Legacy archaeological collections are often underutilized despite their valuable research utility. Archeologists might pass over these collections for research due to the age of recovery, along with the manner in which they were sampled and excavated. This thesis argues that significant archaeological research questions can be answered using these collections. To demonstrate their research potential, the author analyzes past subsistence behaviors and seasonality of occupations using the faunal remains from the Woodcliff site (25SD31). Woodcliff is a A.D. 1650-1750 Protohistoric Pawnee village located in eastern Nebraska. The faunal collection derived from excavations at the site constitute both a legacy and …

Tejiendo Imágenes. Homenaje A Victòria Solanilla Demestre, Catalina Simmonds Caldas , Editora, Marina Valls I García , Editora

Zea E-Books Collection

A collection of 35 essays in honor of the retirement of Prof. Victòria Solanilla Demestre, a renowned and respected scholar of the pre-Columbian culture and iconography of the Americas.

SUMARIO — Miquel-Àngel Sànchez i Fèrriz: El porqué de este homenaje a la Dra. Victòria Solanilla Demestre • Catalina Simmonds Caldas: Un pensamiento sin fronteras • Luz Adriana Alzate Gallego: «A lomo de piedra»: rescatando una gran colección lítica • Denise Y. Arnold: Los textiles andinos teñidos por amarras, el motivo del punto en el rombo y su patrón de difusión: Felinos, serpientes y el cultivo del maíz en un mundo …

Modern Slavery: A Thorough Examination On Human Trafficking Of Indigenous Women And Children In Mexico, Sarah Altuwaijri

International Studies (MA) Theses

Modern-day slavery is an international crime against humanity which affects millions of lives each year. Human trafficking, a form of Modern Slavery, has negative long-lasting implications on trafficked victims and society, particularly vulnerable members such as indigenous women and children. This study examines human trafficking and forced labor in Mexico with a focus on indigenous women and children. It uses a mixed methodology composed of both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data is used to analyze historical materials related to Spanish colonialism in Mexico, while quantitative data is used to measure poverty, numbers of trafficked victims, and to establish the …

La Simbología Del Tlacuache En Las Colecciones De Tlatilco Y La Posible Antigüedad Del Mito, Patricia Ochoa Castillo

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

El tlacuache es un animal importante en la mitología mesoamericana y se le menciona principalmente al hablar de periodos tardíos. Sin embargo, en el Preclásico, periodo más antiguo de la época prehispánica, y en particular en las colecciones de Tlatilco, el tlacuache está ampliamente representado en la cerámica, por lo que pudo haber tenido un papel relevante dentro del sistema de creencias de estas comunidades tempranas. Es así que surge la pregunta sobre la profundidad temporal de los mitos y religiones que se conocen para las épocas tardías en Mesoamérica, y particularmente si el mito del tlacuache, uno de los …

Tejedoras Y Madres: Las Mujeres En El Códice Madrid, Manuel Alberto Morales Damián

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

Se reflexiona sobre el papel social de la mujer durante el postclásico en la península de Yucatán; se utiliza como testimonio el Códice Madrid a partir de la información que ofrecen las figuras femeninas que aparecen representadas en 27 almanaques y en el cosmograma de las páginas 75-76. El porcentaje de figuras femeninas (10,15%), así como las funciones que desempeñan en las distintas escenas, indican que la mujer tiene un papel secundario, incluso pueden ser sustituidas por varones. Se muestran evidencias de un patriarcado de baja intensidad.

This paper analyses the social role of women at Postclassic Yucatan; the Madrid …

La Relevancia De Chich’En Dentro Del Contexto Regional De Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Julia Montoya

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

En el artículo «Contextualizando una colección maya olvidada proveniente de Chich’en, Cobán, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala», publicado en las Actas del Congreso Internacional sobre Iconografía Precolombina, Barcelona 2019, se presenta una colección de objetos arqueológicos mayas adquirida por la Universidad de Gante en 1895. Se describen brevemente los antecedentes de la colección, el sitio arqueológico de proveniencia y su contexto geográfico, histórico y religioso. Incluye además una selección de objetos y un breve análisis de los elementos iconográficos de la cerámica. El estudio de la colección concluyó un año después y el reporte completo se publicó en diciembre 2020. A …

Buried Treasure: What Gold Mining In Guyana Means For Indigenous Peoples, Traditional Knowledge, And Sustainability, Adoette Vaughan

International and Global Studies Undergraduate Honors Theses

Guyana’s Indigenous population, known as Amerindians, suffer greatly due to their lack of land rights and mining that infiltrates their remote territory in the country’s interior. Gold is the most lucrative export for Guyana, accounting for 10% of its GDP. However, the economic benefits and environmental and social costs associated with the industry have not been distributed evenly. Substantial environmental and social harms due to mining plague Amerindian communities. Mining activity fells vast stretches of forest, disrupts water channels and drives erosion through dredging. Mercury, used for gold amalgamation, seeps into river channels, poisoning fish and those who rely on …

Becoming The Imperfect Friend: Sḵwx̱Wú7mesh And Contemplative Pathways To Healing And Reconciliation In Higher Education, Denise Marie Findlay

Journal of Contemplative and Holistic Education

Throughout this reflective essay I explore Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Indigenous philosophy and contemplative education as ethical pathways to healing and reconciliation in higher education. I put forth the idea of becoming the imperfect friend in a world ethos of death by a thousand cuts as a response to the violence of colonialism perpetuated in academia. I reflect on the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh values of eslhélha7kwhiws and stélmexw as contemplative dispositions that lend themselves to the process of becoming the imperfect friend. I conclude by describing a Sḵwx̱wú7mesh -led program hosted by Simon Fraser University (SFU) in 2022-2023, named Moving Together In The Ways …

Final Master's Portfolio, Tooba Amin

Master of Arts in English Plan II Graduate Projects

Tooba Amin covers the following topics in her Final Master's Portfolio: Capitalism, Medievalism, Women's Studies, and Indigenous Studies.

Níksókowaawák As Axiom: The Indispensability Of Comprehensive Relational Animacy In Blackfoot Ways Of Knowing, Being, And Doing, Sandra Bartlett Atwood, Ninna Piiksii (Chief Bird) Mike Bruised Head, Mark W. Brunson, Aahsaopi (State Of Being) Laverne First Rider, Tim Frandy, James Maffie, Aakaomo'tsstaki (Many Victories) Michelle Provost, Miiniipokaa (Berry Child) Peter Weasel Moccasin, Itsiipootsikimskai

Environment and Society Student Research

This paper outlines a proposal, based on Blackfoot worldview, for a collective method to stand alongside Western qualitative and quantitative methods and highlights the value of collective methods in collaborative social-ecological research. Neither qualitative nor quantitative methods are adequate to disclose a world where all things are alive, where “objects” are subjects—agentive beings in their own right. Most Indigenous cultures understand and experience the world as a network of living beings, a collective, with whom they are interrelated/connected and therefore, any efforts to collaborate with Indigenous peoples must acknowledge comprehensive relational animacy. Applying coproduction principles in concert with Blackfoot ways …

Tejiendo Historias, Construyendo Vidas: Un Capítulo Teotihuacano, Natalia Moragas Segura

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

Este trabajo debe entenderse en el marco del Homenaje a la Dra. Victòria Solanilla visto desde mi punto de vista y con un toque personal comentando una parte de su recorrido académico y vital y los momentos en que nos cruzamos. Un capítulo teotihuacano que se focaliza en los años 2006-2008, con motivo de las investigaciones realizadas en el proyecto de colaboración científica impulsado por la Dra. Solanilla dentro del marco del Proyecto La Ventilla, Teotihuacan, bajo la dirección in situ del Mtro. Rubén Cabrera (INAH), y que sirve como excusa para hacer unos breves comentarios acerca de la problemática …

Cuando Las Vendedoras De Coca De Potosí Fueron Las Protagonistas De La Historia, Paulina Numhauser

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

Los cronistas e historiadores mencionan a menudo a las mujeres indias, nobles, pallas o coyas. Sin embargo, fueron las mujeres pertenecientes al pueblo llano las que generaron un mayor número de documentos durante el Perú colonial. En los archivos potosinos nos encontramos con numerosos documentos notariales que registran sus transacciones económicas, inversiones en inmuebles, contratos de trabajo, testamentos y conflictos comerciales variados. Todo indica que la ruptura de las barreras de contención social que provocó la caída del régimen incaico las favoreció brindándoles nuevas oportunidades y retos vitales. El asiento minero de Potosí fue el escenario donde modestas mujeres vendedoras …

Unveiling Anti-Blackness In Moroccan Society: A Historical And Contemporary Analysis, Olivia Talbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this investigation is to delve into the complex dynamics of how blackness is perceived and negotiated within the intricate social fabric of Moroccan society. Drawing on the theoretical framework of black political thought, this study examines the interrelated systems of race, colonialism, and diaspora to trace the formation of black identity in Morocco, its navigation, and its manifestation in contemporary times. The Moroccan state has recently come under scrutiny for its treatment of Sub-Saharan migrants, who have been subjected to racism both from the police and the Moroccan people. This is even though black Moroccans with indigenous …

La Botella Balzarotti Y La Danza De Los Guerreros Moche: Breve Ensayo Iconográfico En Honor De Victòria Solanilla, Carolina Orsini

Tejiendo imágenes. Homenaje a Victòria Solanilla Demestre

Un pequeño número de vasos de la cultura Moche (costa norte de Perú, 0-600 d.C.) representan figuras danzantes con pintura de líneas finas. En este breve ensayo se presenta una pieza inédita con este tipo de decoración, la botella Balzarotti. Revisando el repertorio iconográfico de esta pieza, avanzo algunas hipótesis sobre la ocasión de las danzas representadas y los contextos de producción y utilización de este tipo de botellas.

A small number of vessels from the Moche culture (northern coast of Peru, 0-600 A.D.) represent dancing figures with the fine line painting technique. This brief essay presents an unpublished piece …

The Economic, Mental Health, And Social Stressors During The Covid-19 Pandemic Among Native Americans In South Dakota, Savannah E. Lukkes

Honors Thesis

American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities test positive for COVID-19 and experience higher mortality than other racial and ethnic groups. These high rates of vulnerability could be connected to the systemic inequalities that have been experienced for centuries. This study aimed to compare socioeconomic stressors, concerns, and mental health experiences during the early COVID-19 pandemic between AI/AN and non-AIAN populations in South Dakota. The study sample (n=1,586) was grouped by AI/AN and non-AI/AN status based on self-identification of being AI/AN alone or in combination with another race/ethnicity. Participant responses to socioeconomic stressors and concerns (e.g., top concerns, level of concern, self-isolation, …

Wakara's Waterscapes: Storytelling, Cartography, And Rhetorical Sovereignty On The Shores Of The Green River, Abbey O'Brien

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

In the mid nineteenth-century, Wakara, a prominent Ute leader, witnessed the invasion of his homeland by Mormon settlers and mountain-men. He met the scouts and explorers who were sent out to examine the land and waterscapes, and who drew maps along their way. It was those same maps which were eventually used as tools to justify colonial expansion all across the Utah territories, Wakara’s home. But Wakara resisted. Employing his understandings of the roles that cartography and the written word played in Mormon and settler discourse, Wakara created his own maps in order to assert his Indigenous authority over the …

Dual Taxation - Unbalanced And Arbitrary, Benjamin M. Simon

American Indian Law Journal

"Dual Taxation" in Indian Country happens when a state assesses taxes on private, non-tribal activities or transactions on tribal land in addition to taxes assessed by a tribe. Some analysts suggest that dual (or double) taxation puts tribal governments and citizens at a disadvantage, but the situation may be more nuanced. While dual taxation has been analyzed in depth from a legal perspective, this paper analyzes its economic consequences. With taxation, the stakes can be high. State tax revenues generated on tribal lands are revenues that tribes forgo collecting, limiting the tribal resources available for economic development and social programs. …

Native American Intellectual Property Protection: Altering Federal Ip Law And The Indian Arts And Crafts Act To Aid Tribal Economic Development, Trey V. Perez

American Indian Law Journal

Native Americans tribes remain subject to an epidemic of poverty. Although tribal gaming has provided relief and a method of economic development for some groups, other tribes are unable to employ gaming to bring in revenue and grow out of poverty. One method to assist tribes that cannot use tribal gaming could be amending federal intellectual property law to better suit tribes needs and allowing them to better exploit the billion-dollar Native American arts and crafts industry.

Moreover, tribes are able to determine which artists qualify as “Indian” under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, which leaves individual artists subject …