Indigenous Studies Commons^™

Living Aloha: Portraits Of Resilience, Renewal, Reclamation, And Resistance, Camilla G. Wengler Vignoe

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

When Native Hawaiians move away from the islands, they risk losing their cultural identity and heritage. This dissertation utilizes a Hawaiian theoretical framework based in Indigenous research practices and uses phenomenology, ethnography, heuristics, and portraiture to tell the stories of leadership, change, and resilience of five Native Hawaiians who as adults, chose to permanently relocate to the United States mainland. It explores the reasons why Kanaka Maoli (politically correct term for Native Hawaiians) leave the 'āina (land; that which feeds) in the first place and eventually become permanent mainland residents. Some Hawaiians lose their culture after relocating to the United …

Creating Space For An Indigenous Approach To Digital Storytelling: "Living Breath" Of Survivance Within An Anishinaabe Community In Northern Michigan, Brenda K. Manuelito

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

As Indigenous peoples, we have a responsibility to our global community to share our collective truths and experiences, but we also deserve the respect to not be objectified, essentialized, and reified. Today, we are in a period of continual Native resurgence as many of us (re)member our prayers, songs, languages, histories, teachings, everyday stories and our deepest wisdom and understanding as Indigenous peoples--we are all “living breath” and we are “all related.” For eight years, Carmella Rodriguez and I have been nDigiStorytelling across the United States and have co-created over 1,200 digital stories with over 80 tribes for Native survivance, …

Weed Women, All Night Vigils, And The Secret Life Of Plants: Negotiated Epistemologies Of Ethnogynecological Plant Knowledge In American History, Claudia Jeanne Ford

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation critiques the discourse of traditional ecological knowledge described as embedded in indigenous peoples' longevity in location, for the purpose of understanding the embodiment of ecological knowledge in culture. The aim of this research is to examine the historical and epistemic complexity of traditional ecological knowledge that may be both established from the length of time people reside in a specific ecosystem and constitutive of negotiations between and among different cultures. I choose the specific case of the negotiation of plant knowledge for women's reproductive health among Native, African, and European groups as those negotiations unfolded on the American …

Cultural Beliefs And Experiences Of Formal Caregivers Providing Dementia Care To American Indians, Damon Grew Syphers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a significant public health concern for all elders in the United States. It is a particular concern for the American Indian (AI) population, which is one of the fastest-aging populations in the United States and the smallest, most underrecognized, and most culturally-diverse group in the country. A formal caregiver understanding of AD in the AI population is scarce. This phenomenological study was designed to discern what is known about AD in the AI population by exploring the cultural beliefs and experiences of formal caregivers who provide care for AI dementia patients. Specifically, this study sought to …

Questions Of Methodology: A Review Of The August 2014 History Of Education Quarterly Special Issue, Abigail Gundlach-Graham

Education's Histories

This methodological review examines the August 2014 issue of History of Education Quarterly, which focuses on American Indian education history.

Masculinities, Militarism, And The Construction Of Gender In Contemporary Fiji: Performances Of Parody And Subversion As Feminist Resistance, Tui Nicola Clery

Pacific Studies

This article explores the historical and cultural construction of militarism and masculinity in Fiji. It argues that gendered identities are not fixed but are performed and shaped through embodied actions, discourse, and social relationships. Central to this analysis is the enduring significance of the warrior figure in indigenous Fijian epistemology and how this ideal has influenced contemporary masculinities. The paper also examines how indigenous Fijian masculinities have been constructed in contrast to those of the Fiji-Indian population, particularly during periods of conflict, revealing the complex interplay between gender, ethnicity, and militarism in Fijian society.

Mahimahi Musubi: Cosmopolitanizing Strategies In Hawaiian Regional Cuisine, Benjamin Burroughs, W. Jeffrey Burroughs

Pacific Studies

Hawaiian Regional Cuisine (HRC) is an haute cuisine that uses high quality island-grown foods in combination with local ethnic flavors and global techniques to form what we term an "engineered cosmopolitan cuisine." This intentionally developed regional cuisine is analyzed through the work of three chefs who are noted practitioners of HRC. Linking the backgrounds of these chefs with their recipes examines the impact of global cultural flows on the production of cosmopolitan cuisine. A number of "cosmopolitanizing strategies" are interrogated that position HRC concurrently within multiple registers: global, regional, and local. Examples of these crosscutting strategies include disruption, performance, and …

"Heavy Words And Important Silences": Kwara'ae Children Learning The Indigenous Epistemology Of Willingness And Rank, Karen Ann Watson-Gegeo, David Welchman Gegeo

Pacific Studies

Over the past three decades, there has been a growing scholarly interest in indigenous epistemology, methodology, and pedagogy. This article examines how Kwara'ae parents in the Solomon Islands engage in the direct teaching and modeling of indigenous epistemological strategies through formal counseling sessions known as fa'amanata'anga. Drawing on sociocultural education theory and Kwara'ae indigenous knowledge frameworks, the research highlights how these sessions serve as dynamic sites for the enactment and transmission of social ontology and cultural values, emphasizing the lifelong nature of indigenous learning practices.

Vol. 37 No. 3 (2014): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 37, No 3-Dec 2014 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Vol. 37 No. 3 (2014): Pacific Studies Full Issue, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Pacific Studies is published two times a year by The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies, Brigham Young University Hawai‘i #1979, 55–220 Kulanui Street, Lāʻie, Hawai‘i 96762, but responsibility for opinions expressed in the articles rests with the authors alone. Subscription rate is US $26.00 yearly, payable to The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies. The Jonathan Nāpela Center for Hawaiian and Pacific Studies (formerly The Pacific Institute) is an organization funded by Brigham Young University Hawai‘i. The Center assists the University in meeting its cultural and educational goals by undertaking a program of teaching, research, …

Books Noted: Recent Pacific Island Publications Selected Acquisitions July 2013-December 2013, Riley M. Moffat

Pacific Studies

THIS LIST of significant publications relating to the Pacific Islands was selected from new acquisitions lists received from Brigham Young University-Hawai'i, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, University of Auckland, East-West Center, University of the South Pacific, National Library of Australia, Melanesian studies Resource Center, Center for Pacific and Asian Studies, University of Nijmegen, University of California-San Diego, Secretariat of the Pacific Community Library, Center for South Pacific Studies, University of ew South Wales, Macmillan Brown Library at University of Canterbury, and the Australian International Development Assistance Bureau's Center for the Pacific Development Training. Other libraries are …

Constructing Community In The Central Arkansas River Valley: Ceramic Compositional Analysis And Collaborative Archaeology, Rebecca Wiewel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the Central Arkansas River Valley, archaeological investigations of the protohistoric occupation in the Carden Bottoms locality of Yell County, Arkansas suggest the interaction of groups from three adjoining regions at the site (the Central Mississippi Valley, the Lower

Arkansas River Valley, and the Middle Ouachita region). Until now, the analysis of whole ceramic vessels associated with the site (derived from looted contexts) constituted the strongest evidence of this process, but this analysis was based on stylistic cues and macroscopic examination of pastes to discriminate between local and nonlocal wares. This project employed instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) as an …

Corrugated Ware Function And Use As Identity Markers At The Harris Site, Danielle Romero

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines the function of corrugated vessels and addresses pithouse and group identity through the differences in technological and design style at the Harris site (LA 1867), a Late Pithouse period (550-1000 CE) Mimbres Mogollon pithouse village. Corrugated wares have long been defined as utilitarian cooking vessels. The goal of this research is to shed more light on corrugated wares as a ceramic type that served a variety of functions outside of cooking, including a presence in ritual spheres. This research also explores the use of technological and design styles of corrugated wares to discuss individual and group identity. …

Genocide To Gaming: Cahuilla Activism And The Tribal Casino Movement, Theodor P. (Ted) Gordon

Forum Lectures

What began with a poker club on an isolated Indian reservation in the California desert now rivals the commercial casino industry. While Indian casinos have rapidly transformed native and non-native communities across North America, their growth entails indigenous traditions practiced for millennia. For the Cabazon Band, who opened that first poker club and later defended it before the Supreme Court, gambling is linked to their tradition of self-determination. In fact, the Cahuilla nations, which include the Cabazon Band, continue to exert cultural practices that have significantly altered California's development since the arrival of Europeans, even during state-endorsed genocide. After the …

John Evans Study Committee Recommendations, Ramona Beltran, Richard Clemmer-Smith, Tamra D’Estree, Steven Fisher, David Fridtjof Halaas, Alan Gilbert, Dean Saitta, Billy J. Stratton, Adam Rovner, George E. Tinker, Nancy D. Wadsworth, Amanda Williams, Julia Bramante, Viki Eagle, Sara Schwartzkopf, Dave Buchanan, Gail Ridgely, Otto Braided Hair, Joe Big Medicine, Karen Little Coyote, Henry Littlebird, Chief Willey

John Evans Study Report

With the completion of this report the University of Denver is presented with an opportunity to reflect on our institutional origins, history, and legacy. We have an opportunity to provide a model of transparency, accountability, and transformation for institutions that have directly profited or indirectly benefited from the displacement of the indigenous communities whose lands and histories they occupy. This moment invites us to bend the arc of history away from the clamor of old apologetics that have caused deep wounds for those whose voices have been silenced and toward justice, healing, and peace. This likewise holds for those whose …

University Of Denver John Evans Study Report, Richard Clemmer-Smith, George E. Tinker, Alan Gilbert, Nancy D. Wadsworth, David Fridtjof Halaas, Billy J. Stratton, Steven Fisher

John Evans Study Report

"Universities are dedicated to the discovery and dissemination of knowledge. They are conservators of humanity's past. They cherish their own pasts, honoring forbears with statues and portraits and in the names of buildings. To study or teach at a [university] is to be a member of a community that exists across time, a participant in a procession that began centuries ago and that will continue long after we are gone. If an institution professing these principles cannot squarely face its own history, it is hard to imagine how any other institution, let alone our nation, might do so."

-Report …

Traditional Ecological Knowledge: A Model For Modern Fire Management?, Gail Wells

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

For many thousands of years, aboriginal peoples worldwide used fire to manage landscapes. In North America, the frequency and extent of fire (both human caused and natural) were much reduced after European colonization. Fire exclusion became the policy in the United States for most of the 20th century as the country became more settled and industrialized. Past fire exclusion has helped produce landscapes that are highly susceptible to uncharacteristically severe wildfire. An urgent challenge for land managers today is to reduce fire risk through several means, including prescribed burning, without harm to culturally significant resources or human communities. The Joint …

Extraction And Empowerment: The Application Of Traditional Knowledge Within The Development Of The Nwt Bhp Ekati Diamond Mine, Daniel Vanclieaf

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

In A Bind: Artificial Cranial Deformation In The Americas, Aaron Fehir

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) Ecological Knowledge Of Piñon-Juniper Woodlands: Implications For Conservation And Sustainable Resource Use In Two Southern Nevada Protected Areas, Brian John Lefler

Dissertations and Theses

Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) have inhabited the southern Great Basin for thousands of years, and consider Nuvagantu (where snow sits) in the Spring Mountains landscape to be the locus of their creation as a people. Their ancestral territory spans parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California. My research identifies and describes the heterogeneous character of Nuwuvi ecological knowledge (NEK) of piñon-juniper woodland ecosystems within two federal protected areas (PAs) in southeastern Nevada, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), as remembered and practiced to varying degrees by 22 select Nuwuvi knowledge holders. I focus …