Indigenous Studies Commons^™

"Because Colored Means Negro" The Houma Nation And Its Fight For Indigenous Identity Within A South Louisiana Public School System, 1916-1963, Racheal D. Minchew

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

In 1917, Henry Billiot sued the Terrebonne Parish School Board because his children, who identified as Houma Indian, were denied access to a local white school. The resulting case, Henry Billiot v. Terrebonne Parish School Board, shaped the way in which the community of Terrebonne Parish categorized the race of not only the Billiot family but also the Houma tribe over the course of fifty years. Through the use of Jim Crow legislation, the white community legally refused to consider the Houma tribe as American Indian, and instead chose the derogatory term Sabine as the racial classification of this …

Keres Language Loss In The Santo Domingo Pueblo Community, Christopher Chavez

American Studies ETDs

The purpose of this research is to consider the effect of the Keres language loss in the Santo Domingo Pueblo community and the need for language revitalization. The Keres-speaking community of Santo Domingo Pueblo has been adamantly opposed to instituting oral and written Keres language in the school system. The Santo Domingo people began to withhold information in response to the European intrusion into the Pueblo world. Isolating itself from the colonial powers served to maintain the unity of the Pueblo’s traditions and culture. However, a revitalization of the Keres language requires integration with the global society. Without the written …

Rapping Back: Counter-Narratives From Auckland, New Zealand, Mariel Lopez Rogers

Master's Theses

Across the Pacific in Auckland, New Zealand two rap groups, Homebrew and @Peace, are contributing to a theoretically rich and socially conscious Hip Hop scene. Their music critically questions commercialism and conformity in a culture shaped by a history of colonialism. This makes their message starkly opposed to the normative values of New Zealand. The musicians of Homebrew and @Peace, a mix of Polynesian and Pakeha (people of European descent), employ methods of decolonization theory through the use of storytelling and focus on indigenous values. In a country that has adopted the neoliberal beliefs that competition drives human relations, and …

Black Matter, Kahlil Irving

Graduate School of Art Theses

History as we know it, is inherited. Racism, fascism, white supremacy, and Eurocentric dominance have been presented as normal and acceptable within our society for many years. This has allowed police officers to execute Black American’s and not be acquitted for their horrendous crimes. As an activist I want to challenge the status quo. As an artist I am interested in investigating how I can present ideas embody or reflect contemporary issues and concerns. Using different colors can aggressively change how an object is perceived. Historical objects hold many important.

I explore many mediums, but an anchor material that I …

How Native American Rappers Communicate And Create A Modern Identity, Hannah J. Berge

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Current research concerning identity and Native Americans is sparse outside the realm of expressly Native American scholarship. While most conversations about identity and Native Americans focuses on historical and political aspects, many sources do not explore alternative avenues of contemporary identity creation. This thesis uses Kenneth Burke’s pentad to analyze the lyrics for “AbOriginal” by Frank Waln. The pentad is used to analyze each line of the rap. A new term, alter-agent, is used to identify agents who the agent either associates with or who the agent views as hindering his progress. There is then a count of the number …

Atole De Maíz Azul: Building Climate-Change Resilience With Local Knowledge/Food Sovereignty In Northern New Mexico, Katherine C.R. Dixon

Sustainability and Social Justice

The impacts of climate change in Northern New Mexico will cause a variation in seasonal precipitation and increased drought conditions. Northern New Mexico is home to numerous indigenous and rural-agricultural communities who rely on these water resources for subsistence and cultural practices. They are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

This paper investigates the impacts of climate change to Northern New Mexico. It examines the role of participatory methods and local knowledge in building community resilience. This paper is informed primarily through secondary research, and also draws upon a series of personalized interviews from Northern New …

Humanity On The Verge Of Insanity: Maintaining Cultural Identity Against Oppressive Rule, Danica Katarina Skoric

Senior Theses

Ubuntu is a South African term in the Bantu language that translates to “human kindness.” This essay discusses the present-day impact of the South African philosophical concept of Ubuntu in light of the dehumanization, which Aboriginal Australians and Black South Africans faced, specifically during the period of 1960-1985. How has humanity been enslaved and degraded by assimilation and a cruel division of races, yet positively evolved and progressed due to the efforts of both female and male activists--in particular literary figure Oodgeroo Noonuccal and political leader Nelson Mandela? A lack of respect and tolerance as a result of colonialism has …

Inlp Newsletter, May 2017, Indigenous Nations Library Program

Monthly Newsletters

This month's newsletter includes:

--University Libraries Finals Week Hours

• #Smudgeand Study

--INLP Graduation Party

--Open House Survey Results

--INLP Spotlight: Paulita Aguilar

--How to Study for Finals

Exploring Winery Operation As A Diversification Option For Native American Tribal Enterprises, Randi M. Combs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine the perceptions of tribal members regarding the strengths, challenges, and opportunities presented by tribal winery operation. Specifically, issues of business diversification, marketing, perceived barriers to success, potential benefits to the tribe, and the role of agriculture in the preservation of tribal heritage were considered. A modified mixed-methods exploratory sequential research model was used to collect and organize data in two phases. Phase 1 quantitative data was used to inform the development of a Phase 2 qualitative interview protocol. Phase 1 found a significant relationship between a higher income level and a lower …

Cultural Reimagining And Literary Voice: Southeastern Tribal Women Negotiate Cultural, Social, And Political Identity Through Literature, Linda Sue Shaffer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines literature written by women who identify with Native tribes that originally inhabited, and in some cases continue to inhabit, the southeastern area of what is now known as the United States. The analysis presented in each chapter applies tribally specific methods used for creating knowledge within the particular discourse community being represented through literature. The project also employs the perspectives of Native literary scholars to consider the ways in which the roles and lives of Native women have been influenced by Euro-American values and to analyze the ways in which these female authors engage literature as a …

Creating A Multiracial Lesson Plan, Clayton Davis

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The purpose of this project is to teach students about multiracial identity issues. Multiracial populations in the U.S. continue to grow and it’s important for educators to address the needs of these students. A 5-E multiracial literature lesson plan was created for second grade that incorporates KWL and Text-to-World teaching strategies. A second grade class were read two children’s picture books, each featuring a biracial protagonist, and were asked to discuss and evaluate the content and commonalities of these stories. Students recorded what they learned in this lesson in their KWL’s. The results reveal that some students understood the problems …

Indigenous Resistance: Settler-Colonialism, Nation Building, And Colonial Patriarchy, Megan E. Vallowe

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Indigenous Resistance: Settler-Colonialism, Nation Building, and Colonial Patriarchy,” interrogates the Western Hemisphere’s spatial construction by settler-states, Indigenous nations, and activists groups. In this project, I assert that Indigenous/Settler contact zones are significantly more convoluted than current scholarship’s use of contact zones in that the distinctions between Indigenous actors and settler-colonial ones are often blurred. These hybrid contact zones sometimes contain negative outcomes for all participants and often include undercurrents of insidious power dynamics within and across settler-states and Indigenous peoples alike. Using critical cartographic theory and deconstruction methods, this project first illustrates how empires ascribed a racialized patriarchy onto the …

Spiritual Essentialism At Standing Rock, Yitazba Largo-Anderson

Undergraduate Research Awards

In this research paper, I argue that the indigenous communities at Standing Rock, North Dakota practice spiritual activism. Their resistance towards the Dakota Access Pipeline is not only rooted in Indigenous identity, but is also a form of spiritual essentialism that is shared among indigenous tribes across the globe. Although spiritual essentialism is shared among a surplus of tribes, their shared spirituality of healing directly tied with the earth and body can also be understood by non-Native people, if practiced without appropriating, profiting, and romanticizing Indigenous spirituality. Standing Rock’s choice of language in rejecting the word “protestors” and identifying as …

Our Uncommonwealth - Kentucky And Ohio Brawled Over Indian Head Rock; Now It's In A Storage Shed, Cheryl Truman

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on April 25, 2017 describing the location of Indian Head Rock after its return to Kentucky and the release of a documentary on the history of the rock.

Indian Head Rock Star Of New Documentary, Mike James

Indian Head Rock Project

Article published in the Ashland Daily Independent by Mike James on the documentary featuring Indian Head Rock by Steve Middleton.

Kentucky And Ohio Brawled Over Indian Head Rock; Now It’S In A Storage Shed, Cheryl Truman

Indian Head Rock Project

Article published in the Lexington Herald Leader on the status of the Indian Head Rock from April 24, 2017.

Kentucky And Ohio Brawled Over Indian Head Rock; Now It's In A Storage Shed, Cheryl Truman

Indian Head Rock Project

Article written by Cheryl Truman and published in Lexington Herald-Leader on the Indian Head Rock and the documentary film based on the Rock by Steve Middleton.

Putting An End To The Silence: Educating Society About The Canadian Residential School System, Jamie Lee Kuhl

Bridges: An Undergraduate Journal of Contemporary Connections

This paper advocates for the increased education of Canadian society regarding the Indian Residential School System. Many Canadian’s tend to be uninformed on the history of the schools and as a result risk subjecting Aboriginal peoples to further harm. The contents of this paper demonstrates by informing all Canadian citizens of the truth regarding the assimilative schools and their enduring legacy on Aboriginal peoples, several benefits can occur. Specifically, through revealing the truth regarding the residential schools, healing becomes possible for victims, over-representation within the criminal justice system can be better understood as well as addressed, and future harm can …

South Shore Wants To Give Landmark A Home, Jeremy Wells

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Ironton Tribune on the efforts to create a permanent exhibit for the Indian Head Rock from April 14, 2017.

"Between The Rock And The Commonwealth", Tyler York

Indian Head Rock Project

Article published in the Morehead State Trial Blazer on the release of Steve Middleton's documentary "Between the Rock and the Commonwealth" from April 14, 2017.