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The New Beginnings Newsletter, January 2022, Wokini Initiative

Wokini Initiative: The New Beginnings Newsletter

His Horse Is Thunder Ready to Advise at AISC
Wokini Challenge Grant Spotlight
Book of the Month
Dakota Word of the Month
Lakota Word of the Month
Online Lecture Series: The Impact of Data Sovereignty on American Indian Self- Determination: Bridging Federal Indian Law, Data Sovereignty and the Challenges of Developing Community
Upcoming Events @ AISC

Feed The Little Children Evaluative Research Report: Somebody Cares, Anne Poelina, Vennessa Poelina, Ian Perdrisat, Sandra Wooltorton, John Guenther

Nulungu Reports

The purpose of the report is to investigate the social, cultural and health impacts on Broome children and families who are supported through Feed the Little Children Inc. (FTLC) bi-weekly food relief program, and to try to determine what the optimum level of support should be. Researchers have taken an Indigenist research approach, which means that Aboriginal ways, values and goals support research implementation. The research framework focused on the lived experience of the FTLC users and data was collected via conversations with FTLC users’ aunties, grandparents, and long-term Broome residents. The report concludes that Broome children would benefit from …

Decolonizing The Map: Indigenous Maps And Gis, Henry Osborne Beimers

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Indigenous mapping practices have yet to be widely considered by geographers outside of a historical context. In this paper I critique the geographic research paradigm through the lens of settler colonial and critical cartographic theory. I present evidence for the value of Indigenous mapping practices through a historical-critical GIS analysis of two Indigenous maps, and a creation of a story map to present those results. Finally, I suggest future routes to integrate digital mapping and Indigenous mapping practices, for pedagogy, and for preserving cultural resources, language, land, and traditional Indigenous knowledge.

Colonial Markets, Consumers, And Trade: A Comparative Analysis Of Historic Ceramics From The Bluefields Bay Area, Westmoreland, Jamaica, Lacy Risner

Murray State Theses and Dissertations

The ceramic assemblages from a British colonial settlement in Bluefields Bay, Jamaica, provide a unique window into the market availability, exchange routes, and consumption patterns of the eighteenth century. This study compares the historic ceramics collected from two sites in Bluefields Bay to one another and to other intra-island (Jamaica), intraregional (Lesser Antilles), and international (North America) colonial and postcolonial sites to reveal patterns of individual and global ceramic consumption and distribution in the emergent capitalist networks and markets of the colonial era. Integrating small British colonial sites into the networks of other more extensive studies focusing primarily on plantations …

Representing The Ali'i And Monarchy: Dress, Diplomacy, And Featherwork In Hawai'i, Tess Anderson

Scripps Senior Theses

When Native Hawaiians and haole (foreigners) first met, both participants belonged to fashion systems unknown to the other, composed of different materials, styles, tastes, standards, and construction techniques. As the outside world was introduced to the cultural heritage of Hawaiian hulu manu (featherwork), kūkaulani (chiefly fashion), and European skewed conceptions of Hawaiian indigeneity; the ali‘i (chiefs) and kama‘āina (commoners) received and adapted to incoming materials, technologies, and information. When these encounters transitioned into “prolonged contact” and settlement, dress and adornment proliferated in new ways. Analyzing the case studies of historic pā‘ū, holokū, ‘ahu'ula, and military uniforms shows the significance of …

Community Interventions To The Food Insecurity Crisis Inuit Currently Face In Nunangat, Alyssia R. Getschow

Honors Theses

Inuit living in Nunangat, a northern territory in Canada, are facing unprecedented rates of food insecurity. The increasing impacts of anthropogenic climate change are rapidly changing the Arctic landscape in Nunangat, posing challenges to Inuit hunters who hunt and live completely self-sufficient off of the land. This lack of access to country foods and the impacts these conditions are having on Inuit communities are forcing Inuit to consider aid propositions from the Canadian government. Due to a long history of conflict with white settlers during the colonization of Canada, there is a feeling of distrust and cultural distaste between Canada …

Mitakuye Oyasin : Pedagogy And Design In Composition I, Jody Lee Rust

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mitakuye Oyasin, an Oceti Sakowin (Lakota/Nakota/Dakota) phrase that translates as “All My Relations,” is a philosophy that means all things created on earth and in the universe are related and inhabit a shared space. Because all things are related and share space, they all have a purpose and a responsibility to discover and serve that purpose to ensure all of our relatives thrive in our shared space. This relational thinking influences the way the Oceti Sakowin interact with the world, including the way they teach. In this thesis, I analyze the way composition theories shape the curriculum and pedagogy of …

The Liberatory Potential Of Fashion, David Billie Suoth

Honors Theses and Capstones

Fashion has the potential to be liberatory and this can be seen in the ways fashion has been targeted by systems of oppression. Fashion is the use of clothes as a vessel to create a greater social meaning. According to Edward Sapir, the meaning of fashion “while it is primarily applied to dress and the exhibition of the human body is not essentially concerned with the fact of dress or ornament, but with its symbolism” (Barnard, 2007, p. 65). Fashion with the symbolism behind it is able to show the sentiments and attitudes of civilization at different points in history …

Reclamation: Managing Water In The West; An Overview Of The Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, United States Bureau Of Reclamation, Roger S. Otstot

US Government Documents Related to Indigenous Nations

This undated summary released by the Bureau of Reclamation offers a concise overview of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin flood control plan which was enacted when Congressed passed the Flood Control Act of 1944. This plan led to the construction of several dams in the Missouri River basin, including the Garrison Dam. The completion of the Garrison Dam displaced the majority of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara people living on the Fort Berthold Reservation. This document contains tables, graphs, maps, and a photograph.

Nature, Magic, And Healing: How Leslie Silko Builds Her Native World, Ashton Q. Record

Student Publications

An essay examining how Leslie M. Silko utilizes the relationship between Nature and Native American Mystic Arts to create a full and vibrant world in her novel Ceremony.

The Gifts Of Respect (Shoes) And Home: Alanis Obomsawin In Conversation With Alexandra Juhasz, Alexandra Juhasz

Publications and Research

Alex: You must send me a picture of your blue ones. We just met in Berlin on the occasion of your retrospective, a comprehensive survey of your work as a filmmaker and also as a visual artist: The Children Have to Hear Another Story. Have you ever had a survey of this magnitude?

Alanis: Oh, no. I’ve had exhibitions sometimes of just of my etchings. Over the years, I’ve had a few retrospectives and it was very nice. But this, I’ve never had this kind of attention. And from so far away!

Development With Identity Or Commodities With Identity? Lenca Craftswomen, Honduras' Cultural Identity Politics, And Global Economies Of Culture, Ana Hasemann Lara

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Across Latin America ‘development with identity’ schemes are currently widely promoted by multilateral and aid organizations; schemes based on the commercialization of heritage, which increasingly focus on impoverished ethnic minorities. As part of this trend, the Honduran state’s discourse on cultural diversity reinforces the ‘heritage-making’ (patrimonialización) of cultural minorities, their identities, and livelihoods—particularly indígena women, under the auspices of multiculturalism. However, the on-the-ground reality for indigenous Lenca communities, specifically Lenca craftswomen, participating in such initiatives, remains with some of the highest indices of poverty and vulnerability in the country. Hence, the conditions under which ‘development with identity’ benefits local communities, …

Indigenous Language Revitalization: Success, Sustainability, And The Future Of Human Culture, Grace Lewis

Capstone Showcase

This thesis looks at different styles of Indigenous language revitalization programs and seeks to delineate the three most successful characteristics seen across differing designs in an effort to promote the presence of these characteristics in existing programs. The literature analyzed outlines three main schools of thought: first, that language-based education is the most effective program design, second, that language-based education is only effective if it is directed and driven by the community it serves, and third, that culture-based education is the most effective design. The data rejects the idea that one design is superior to another, and instead presents three …

Demonstratives In Nsélišcn ‘Montana Salish’, Aspen A. Decker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This thesis presents a detailed analysis of the Nsélišcn ‘Montana Salish’ demonstrative system. I propose that there are three features encoded in the demonstratives that I examined in this thesis: (i) proximity of the speaker in relation to the referent, (ii) common ground between the speaker and addressee, and (iii) visibility of the referent. I further propose that the Nsélišcn demonstrative system distinguishes three degrees of proximity: proximal, medial, and distal. Nsélišcn is a member of the Southern Interior branch of the Salishan language family. The data analyzed in this thesis was collected from native Nsélišcn speakers.

Examining The Relational Space Of Native Faculty Members In Higher Education, Stevie Lee

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Currently, the available research on Native faculty experiences emphasizes the challenges and hardships of being an Indigenous faculty member. Native faculty members are often underrepresented and rarely appreciated for the cultural teachings and knowledge they contribute within settler-colonial institutions. Nonetheless, Native faculty continue to demonstrate resilience and leadership navigating in higher education.

This qualitative research study examines the experiences of 11 Native women faculty members within higher education. The settler-colonial framing of teaching, research, and service (TRS) are areas often associated with faculty for the purposes of determining promotions and achieving tenure. However, this method of framing seldomly comprehends the …

Cherokee Abstract Artist Leon Polk Smith: A Convergence Of Traditions, Danielle Montanino

Dissertations and Theses

This paper analyzes how Leon Polk Smith's Indigenous roots and upbringing in Indian Country had a significant impact on his artistic practice in a time of discrimination and segregation in the United States. Through examination contextualizing his work within the history and political events of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw Nations it is revealed how Polk Smith developed a formal language that could navigate both worlds and be viewed through a pure abstraction lens or a lens embodying his Indigenous traditions. In addition to his Indigenous philosophies, Mesoamerican Inca Nation’s cultural motifs further ground Polk Smith’s Indigenous aesthetic, and avant-garde …

Relationship Between Religion And Native American Identity, Gennaro W. Milo

Graduate Research Posters

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between religious affiliation and Native American Identity. Based on the findings of this study, a component of a Native American's Identity is their religious affiliation. To contribute to the research on Native American and Alaskan Native identity, this study targeted the teenage demographic of ages 12 to 19 years old. Over growing concern, expressed by tribal elders, about a loss of cultural identity amongst teens, this study investigates a connection between a teen’s sense of identity and their religious affiliation (Quigley, 2019). This study used a multiple-choice …

Tourism Trails And Resurgent Pathways: An Exploration Of The Nexus Between Indigenous-Led Tourism And Resurgence Discourses Alongside Karajarri Traditional Owners Of The Saltwater Kimberley, Australia, And Beyond, Bobbie Chew Bigby

Theses

This research explores the intersections between Indigenous-led tourism and resurgence among Indigenous communities. Resurgence is understood as practices promoting connections with culture, Country (i.e. Indigenous lands and waterways), and community. The research utilises a comparative case study approach to specifically analyse the experience of Karajarri Traditional Owners (TOs) of the saltwater Kimberley region of northwestern Australia. Comparative examples are drawn from Indigenous-led tourism development by other coastal Kimberley Aboriginal tourism leaders, as well as from the author’s own Tribal Nation, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, United States.

The conceptual framework for this work is derived from the following concepts from …

Colonial Prehistories Of Indigenous North America, Mark A. Mattes

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

One of the most common inquiries received by Filson Historical Society librarians concerns the myth of Prince Madoc and the Welsh Indians. Of the myth’s many versions, the one most familiar to Ohio Valley History readers goes like this: Madoc, a Welsh prince escaping an internecine conflict over political rule at home, supposedly sailed to North America in the twelfth century. His force either landed at the Falls of the Ohio or made it there after landing further south and being driven north by hostile locals, possibly Cherokee people. Madoc and his contingent intermixed with Indigenous populations, whose fair-haired, blue-eyed, …