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Full-Text Articles in Indigenous Studies

The Agricultural Deities Of Q ’Eqchi’ Mayas, Tzuultaq’As: Agricultural Rituals As Historical Obligation And Avatar Of The Cultural Reservoir In Rural Lanquín , Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Yishan Lea Jan 2019

The Agricultural Deities Of Q ’Eqchi’ Mayas, Tzuultaq’As: Agricultural Rituals As Historical Obligation And Avatar Of The Cultural Reservoir In Rural Lanquín , Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, Yishan Lea

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of Education and Professional Studies

This study, based on fieldwork in rural Lanquín, Guatemala, discusses cultural continuity and the sense of historicity through agricultural rituals and worship of the agricultural deity Tzuultaq’as. The place, Lanquín, and the Q’eqchi’ Maya peasant farmers are situated within a two-fold tension and contradiction. Geographically remote in relation to the economic centers in Guatemala, and marginal in infrastructural development, while their cash crop harvests never fail to be effected by the fluctuations of the global market. From the eclectic stance merging both theories of cultural essentialism and constructivism, by juxtaposing the emblematic event of the anti-Monsanto Law movement in 2014 …

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My Mother On Dream Interpretation And The Lack Of Finality In Death, Liz Johnston Dec 2018

My Mother On Dream Interpretation And The Lack Of Finality In Death, Liz Johnston

Comparative Woman

This is an interview with my mother, a dream interpreter. Here, we explore her practice of reading dreams and discuss her experiences in communicating with spirits.

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Myth And Monstrosity: Teaching Indigenous Films, Ken Derry Dec 2018

Myth And Monstrosity: Teaching Indigenous Films, Ken Derry

Journal of Religion & Film

The past few times that I have taught my course on religion and film I have included a number of Indigenous movies. The response from students has been entirely positive, in part because most of them have rarely encountered Indigenous cultural products of any kind, especially contemporary ones. Students also respond well to the way in which many of these films use notions of the monstrous to explore, and explode, colonial myths. Goldstone, for example, by Kamilaroi filmmaker Ivan Sen, draws on noir tropes to peel back the smiling masks of the people responsible for the mining town’s success, …

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Paper: An Ecowomanist View On The Dakota Access Pipeline, Ariana Raya Dec 2018

Paper: An Ecowomanist View On The Dakota Access Pipeline, Ariana Raya

Womanist Ethics

This paper examines the Dakota Access Pipeline using ecofeminist and ecowomanist philosophies, provides a brief historical background of African American and Native American communities, explains the dangers of the pipeline to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, and offers constructive alternatives.

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“O Stop And Tell Me, Red Man”: Indian Removal And The Lamanite Mission Of 1830-31, Kaleb C. Miner Aug 2018

“O Stop And Tell Me, Red Man”: Indian Removal And The Lamanite Mission Of 1830-31, Kaleb C. Miner

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In 1830-1831, Mormon missionaries were sent out to proselytize Native Americans—an effort called the “Lamanite Mission.” While this event has been scrutinized multiple times over and in a variety of ways, the Native Americans themselves are most often either considered passive characters in the narrative or ignored completely. However, understanding the circumstances of those Native Americans leading up to the Lamanite Mission, during the era of Indian Removal, can give a deeper understanding of the early Mormon mission which has heretofore been ignored. Understanding Indian Removal not only explains why the Seneca, Wyandot, Shawnee, and Delaware people were located as …

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Lakota Cultural Fusion And Revitalization Of Native Christian Identity, Kelly Sherman-Conroy May 2018

Lakota Cultural Fusion And Revitalization Of Native Christian Identity, Kelly Sherman-Conroy

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.

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Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender May 2018

Radical Social Ecology As Deep Pragmatism: A Call To The Abolition Of Systemic Dissonance And The Minimization Of Entropic Chaos, Arielle Brender

Student Theses 2015-Present

This paper aims to shed light on the dissonance caused by the superimposition of Dominant Human Systems on Natural Systems. I highlight the synthetic nature of Dominant Human Systems as egoic and linguistic phenomenon manufactured by a mere portion of the human population, which renders them inherently oppressive unto peoples and landscapes whose wisdom were barred from the design process. In pursuing a radical pragmatic approach to mending the simultaneous oppression and destruction of the human being and the earth, I highlight the necessity of minimizing entropic chaos caused by excess energy expenditure, an essential feature of systems that aim …

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“The Lolelaplap (Marshall Islands) In Us: Sailing West To East (Ralik→Ratak) To These Our Atolls (Aelon Kein Ad) Ad Jolet Jen Anij (Our Blessed Inheritance From God)”, Desmond N. Doulatram May 2018

“The Lolelaplap (Marshall Islands) In Us: Sailing West To East (Ralik→Ratak) To These Our Atolls (Aelon Kein Ad) Ad Jolet Jen Anij (Our Blessed Inheritance From God)”, Desmond N. Doulatram

Master's Projects and Capstones

This paper discusses the expansion of Oceania through a Marshallese indigenous lens as a focal point. It explains that decolonizing methodologies allows reclaiming of space for mental liberation and reassurement of constitutional rights. It highlights similar occurrences of decolonization practices meeting resistance in the 21st century all while strengthening the human right argument that no human deserves any less than their fellow human brothers and sisters. It argues that an indigenous imagery can only be viewed through an indigenous lens where the researches’ level of purity is retained and unfiltered. It nevertheless argues that Marshallese ethnolinguistics reveal the same cultural …

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Classroom Cannibal: A Guide On How To Teach Ojibwe Spirituality Using The Windigo And Film, Brady Desanti Mar 2018

Classroom Cannibal: A Guide On How To Teach Ojibwe Spirituality Using The Windigo And Film, Brady Desanti

Journal of Religion & Film

This paper is intended as a pedagogical guide on how to teach elements of Ojibwe religious and philosophical beliefs using the windigo and its depictions in the films Wendigo and Ravenous. The windigo complex is exceedingly complex and remains an enduring component to the cultures of Ojibwe and several other Algonquian-speaking communities in the United States and Canada. While the windigo enjoys exposure in a variety of popular entertainment sources, film remains one of the most useful methods to incorporate in the classroom to help students comprehend how an anthropophagus “monster” directly relates to Ojibwe ideas of personal balance, …

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No Common Ground: Competing Worldviews At Mato Tipila, Wendy Anne Felese Jan 2018

No Common Ground: Competing Worldviews At Mato Tipila, Wendy Anne Felese

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project analyzes a legal conflict (Bear Lodge Multiple Use Assn v Babbitt 2 F. Supp. 2d 1448) at Mato Tipila, a significant place for the Lakota (Sioux) community and with which they have a historical and longstanding relationship. Commercial and recreational rock-climbing enthusiasts who make use of it and the tourists who arrive in droves each year to visit, call this place Devils Tower. The case centered on whether the government violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by instituting a climbing ban during the month of June to accommodate Lakota ceremonial obligations. In recent historical developments, the …

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Mazanet's 1693 "Report To The Viceroy:" The Role Of Alterity, Bare Life, And Agency In The Attitude Of A Spanish Friar Against Texas Amerindians, Pedro Cebollero Jan 2018

Mazanet's 1693 "Report To The Viceroy:" The Role Of Alterity, Bare Life, And Agency In The Attitude Of A Spanish Friar Against Texas Amerindians, Pedro Cebollero

The Coastal Review

This study evaluates Spanish missionary Damián Mazanet’s beliefs and attitudes about the Texas Indians expressed in a 1693 letter. In order to control the Amerindians, Mazanet represents them as beings with bare life, which gives him permission to implement biopolitical tactics such as the reorganization of Indian populations around the mission, their removal from their own lands, and their conversion by force. In spite of this, the examination of textual silences in the letter shows such Amerindians as agents who actually refuse to be subjected by the Spanish friars and soldiers.

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Sebastian Râle (1652-1724) : In Commemoration Of His Martyrdom, Vincent Lapomarda S.J. Aug 2017

Sebastian Râle (1652-1724) : In Commemoration Of His Martyrdom, Vincent Lapomarda S.J.

Holy Cross Bookshelf

Biography of Sabastien Râle, S.J., who served as a missionary to the Abenaki in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

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Two-Spirit Mexica Youth And Transgender Mixtec/Muxe Media: La Mission (2009), Two Spirit: Injunuity (2013), And Libertad (2015), Gabriel S. Estrada Apr 2017

Two-Spirit Mexica Youth And Transgender Mixtec/Muxe Media: La Mission (2009), Two Spirit: Injunuity (2013), And Libertad (2015), Gabriel S. Estrada

Journal of Religion & Film

Independent directors Peter Bratt, Adrian Baker, and Avila-Hanna create differing trans-border queer Indigenous media that resist Eurocentric cic-heteropatriarchy. While Bratt’s feature-length narrative film La Mission (2009) features a masculine Mexica gay teenager who survives fused homophobic and trans*-phobic violence, Baker’s short animation Two Spirit: Injunuity (2013) makes stronger trans* and two-spirit Mexica youth identity affirmations. Avila-Hanna’s short documentary Libertad (2015) offers the clearest transgender narrative of the three films as it focuses on a California transgender Mixtec immigrant activist who is coming of age as a woman with the aid of hormones and gender affirming surgery. This article’s trans*- and …

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Water In Native American Spirituality: Liquid Life—Blood Of The Earth And Life Of The Community, June-Ann Greeley Apr 2017

Water In Native American Spirituality: Liquid Life—Blood Of The Earth And Life Of The Community, June-Ann Greeley

Philosophy, Theology and Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Water: The life force of all creation, the generative dynamism of existence. Long before scientific experimentation and quantifiable instrumentation verified the facts, human beings have perceived and understood water to be the essence of all life, both material and spiritual. From the beginnings of recorded history and even before, across the expanse of human settlement and migration, indigenous as well as extraneous religions and spiritual traditions have celebrated water as the primordial source: water was sacred before it was material and water took on for multitudes of generations until even today an expansive inclusivity that scanned the literal to the …

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I Dream In Another Language, John C. Lyden Jan 2017

I Dream In Another Language, John C. Lyden

Journal of Religion & Film

This is a film review of I Dream in Another Language (2017), directed by Ernesto Contreras.

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The Socioeconomic Impact Of Indian Gaming On Kumeyaay Nations: A Case Study Of Barona, Viejas, And Sycuan, 1982 - 2016, Ethan L. Banegas Jan 2017

The Socioeconomic Impact Of Indian Gaming On Kumeyaay Nations: A Case Study Of Barona, Viejas, And Sycuan, 1982 - 2016, Ethan L. Banegas

Theses

This study will use the reservations of Barona, Viejas, and Sycuan to measure the socioeconomic impacts of gaming within the Kumeyaay nation. It will also draw on information available from other gaming tribes. To organize my research, I will use the following categories: health, education, economics and infrastructure. Within these four topics I will cover: investment capital, poverty, higher education, internet access, alcohol addiction, suicide rates, obesity, diabetes, and other socioeconomic indicators. Once this is accomplished I will assess the social and economic impact of gaming on Barona, Viejas, and Sycuan and include the possible implications to heal historical trauma …

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Long Journeys To A Middle Ground: Indians, Catholics, And The Origins Of A New Deal In Montana And Idaho, 1855-1945, Aaron David Hyams Apr 2016

Long Journeys To A Middle Ground: Indians, Catholics, And The Origins Of A New Deal In Montana And Idaho, 1855-1945, Aaron David Hyams

Dissertations (1934 -)

This study focuses on the experiences of individuals and families, on the Blackfeet, Flathead, and Nez Perce reservations of Montana and Idaho, who converted to Catholicism, adapted to agricultural living, accepted American education, and otherwise sought to find their places in a rapidly changing world. At the same time, this project follows local Catholic leaders from the missions and surrounding parishes who struggled with their contradictory roles as shepherds of their native flocks and agents of colonialism. I argue that Indians and Catholics on the reservations carved out often overlapping communities and identities as they negotiated the changes introduced by …

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The Problematical, The Cave, And The Maya: A Theoretical Discussion And Ethnoarchaeological Investigation, Haley N. Austin Jan 2016

The Problematical, The Cave, And The Maya: A Theoretical Discussion And Ethnoarchaeological Investigation, Haley N. Austin

Senior Independent Study Theses

This project concerns itself with the theoretical framework and application of ethnoarchaeological research methods in the Maya region. Following an in-depth discussion of ethnoarchaeology and its theoretical locus within archaeology as well as the transformations it has seen in recent year, the current work focuses on the following source- and subject-side cultural groups and phenomena: cave use at La Ventana and La Ventana Campana by Maya peoples from the Suchitepéquez and Sololá Department of Guatemala in comparison with Problematical Deposit 21 at Tikal, Petén, Guatemala. The purpose of this work is not only to investigate the case study mentioned above …

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Conceptual Decolonization Of Space: Worldview And Language In Anishinaabe Akiing, Mark Freeland Jan 2015

Conceptual Decolonization Of Space: Worldview And Language In Anishinaabe Akiing, Mark Freeland

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role of worldview and language in the cultural framework of American Indian people. In it I develop a theory of worldview which can be defined as an interrelated set of logics that orients a culture to space (land), time, the rest of life, and provides a prescription for understanding that life. Considering the strong links between language and worldview, it is methodologically necessary to focus on a particular language and culture to decolonize concepts of and relationships to land. In particular, this dissertation focuses on an Anishinaabe worldview as consisting of four components, which are; (1) …

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Cloud Atlas’ Queer Tiki Kitsch: Polynesians, Settler Colonialism, And Sci-Fi Film, Gabriel S. Estrada Oct 2014

Cloud Atlas’ Queer Tiki Kitsch: Polynesians, Settler Colonialism, And Sci-Fi Film, Gabriel S. Estrada

Journal of Religion & Film

Polynesian theories of film reception, visual sovereignty, feminisms, and worldview offer critical insights into The Wachowskis' and Tykwer's 2012 film Cloud Atlas. From Indigenous and Native feminist film perspectives, Cloud Atlas offers a sci-fi future deeply entrenched in the queer tiki kitsch of settler colonialism as situated within a comparative context of other queer Indigenous film. As an example of heteropatriarchal settler colonialism, the Cloud Atlas plot supports the heterosexual triumphs of cross-racial couples and sublimates the possibilities of transgender reincarnation. Although Cloud Atlas attempts to critique Christian slavery and defend a secular abolitionist stance in the 1848 South Pacific, …

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Puritanism And American Exceptionalism: A Genealogy Of Their Impact On Native Americans 1620–1864, Jeremiah Jones Mar 2014

Puritanism And American Exceptionalism: A Genealogy Of Their Impact On Native Americans 1620–1864, Jeremiah Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This work traces the influence that a strand of Protestant Christianity had upon the idea of American Exceptionalism and its effect on the treatment of Native Americans. From Puritans to the Founding Fathers, to expansion into the west, this paper investigates instances where Indians have been forced to assimilate, removed from their homelands or exterminated outright in massacres. It specifically looks at the removal of the Cherokees, the Navajo Long Walk, the Pequot War, the Gnadenhutten Massacre, The Battle at Blue Water Creek and the Sand Creek Massacre

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A Holistic Aboriginal Framework For Individual Healing, Gus Hill Jan 2014

A Holistic Aboriginal Framework For Individual Healing, Gus Hill

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

This paper offers up an holistic Indigenous model of individual healing that utilizes medicine wheel teachings to break down the four aspects (spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental) of individual wellness. Teachings about each direction are presented followed by practice techniques for each aspect of the individual self. It is bookended by an introduction to the historical trauma faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada, and a conclusion that draws implications for healing.

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Christian Indians At War: Evangelism And Military Communication In The Anglo-French-Native Borderlands, Jeffrey Glover Jan 2014

Christian Indians At War: Evangelism And Military Communication In The Anglo-French-Native Borderlands, Jeffrey Glover

English: Faculty Publications and Other Works

In his chapter, "Christian Indians at War: Evangelism and Military Communication in the Anglo-French-Native Borderlands," Jeffrey Glover explores the complicated position of Christian natives in the French and Indian War.

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Inuit Myth In The Film “Brother Bear”, Tali M. Schroeder Jan 2013

Inuit Myth In The Film “Brother Bear”, Tali M. Schroeder

Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research

The objective of this paper is to examine the 2003 film Brother Bear and note any mythological aspects that are accurately represented. The film displays an Inuit village and many correct cultural features of Inuit myth and legend. The paper examines the usage of music and dance, animal spirits, revenge, and shamanism in both the film and in Inuit culture. In my research, I found that the film represented these and other facets of Inuit myth extraordinarily well. While some parts of the film were inaccurate, the mythological parts were accurately represented for the most part. The depictions of Inuit …

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Using A Healing Wheel In The Healing Journey, Rebecca Tadlock-Marlo Nov 2012

Using A Healing Wheel In The Healing Journey, Rebecca Tadlock-Marlo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Mindfulness can be most comprehensively defined as a multifaceted, present-moment awareness intervention that capitalizes on self-perceptions (Gehart & McCollum, 2007; Nanda, 2009). Native American practices can be easily translated into counseling mindfulness techniques to aide in the healing journey of multicultural clients (Burks & Robbins, 2011; Durtschi,Rybak & Decker-Fitts, 2009; Garrett et al., 2011; Turner & Pope, 2009). A Medicine Wheel, or Sacred Hoop, is just one of the many ways to help individuals heal through mindfulness practices. Through the use of creating and discussing a healing wheel with clients, counselors can promote a context for understanding, respecting, and valuing …

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Using A Healing Wheel In The Healing Journey, Rebecca L. Tadlock-Marlo Nov 2012

Using A Healing Wheel In The Healing Journey, Rebecca L. Tadlock-Marlo

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

Mindfulness can be most comprehensively defined as a multifaceted, present-moment awareness intervention that capitalizes on self-perceptions (Gehart & McCollum, 2007; Nanda, 2009). Native American practices can be easily translated into counseling mindfulness techniques to aide in the healing journey of multicultural clients (Burks & Robbins, 2011; Durtschi,Rybak & Decker-Fitts, 2009; Garrett et al., 2011; Turner & Pope, 2009). A Medicine Wheel, or Sacred Hoop, is just one of the many ways to help individuals heal through mindfulness practices. Through the use of creating and discussing a healing wheel with clients, counselors can promote a context for understanding, respecting, and valuing …

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A Promised Land In The Diaspora: Christian Religion, Social Memory, And Identity Among Banabans In Fiji, Wolfgang Kempf Jun 2012

A Promised Land In The Diaspora: Christian Religion, Social Memory, And Identity Among Banabans In Fiji, Wolfgang Kempf

Pacific Studies

This article explores the evolving concept of diaspora, highlighting its departure from its original religious connotations to a broader framework encompassing migration, transnationalism, and identity. While religion has often been overlooked in contemporary diaspora studies, the article argues that Christian institutions play a pivotal role in shaping identity and social organization among Pacific Islanders living abroad. Focusing on diasporic Banabans in Fiji, the study examines how Christian discourses and biblical narratives—particularly the Exodus motif—have been appropriated to articulate a collective history of displacement and survival. The article situates Pacific migration within a historical and colonial context, demonstrating how religion functions …

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The Sacred Role Of Animal Beings In Iroquois Lore, Melissa J. Martinelli May 2012

The Sacred Role Of Animal Beings In Iroquois Lore, Melissa J. Martinelli

English Theses

The act of storytelling provides a connection between the spiritual and physical spheres, and the Haudenosaunee people (more commonly recognized as Iroquois) utilize the oral narrative to convey the most sacred truths of their culture. In focusing primarily upon animals and animal beings, one can recognize the deep reverence traditional tribal members feel toward animals as certain legends seek to unite individuals with the spirits, personalities, and bodies of such creatures in narrative form. Too often animals are overlooked as “lesser” beings, yet in legends of the Iroquois they possess potent orenda (great power) that can help one achieve success …

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Shalom: Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts - Chapter 1 Of "Shalom And The Community Of Creation: An Indigenous Vision", Randy Woodley Jan 2012

Shalom: Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts - Chapter 1 Of "Shalom And The Community Of Creation: An Indigenous Vision", Randy Woodley

Faculty Publications - Portland Seminary

No abstract provided.

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Indian Relations In Utah During The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D. Jan 2012

Indian Relations In Utah During The Civil War, Kenneth L. Alford Ph.D.

Faculty Publications

A discussion of native American (Indian) relations in Utah Territory during the Civil War, including the differing policies of Mormon president Brigham Young and U.S. Army commander Colonel Patrick Edward Connor, the January 1863 Bear River Massacre (called the Battle of Bear River at that time), Indian superintendents, treaties, and reservations.

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