Indigenous Studies Commons^™

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 …

Embera Drua: The Impact Of Tourism On Indigenous Village Life In Panama, Amy Lethbridge

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This case study examines the experience of residents of the Indigenous village of Embera Drua, Panama with 20 years of tourism. It addresses the lack of Indigenous voices in tourism literature by telling the story of Embera Drua through the lens of the villagers themselves. The study uses a mix of ethnographic observation and narrative inquiry and finds that the experience of Embera Drua mirrors the experience of other Indigenous villages offering tourism around the globe, particularly the impact of lack of community capacity on management and growth of such tourism initiatives. Findings of this study are relevant to the …

More Than Stone And Iron: Indigenous History And Incarceration In Canada, 1834-1996, Seth Adema

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation examines Indigenous (First Nation, Métis, and Inuit) history as played out in Canadian prisons. It argues that in the prison, processes of colonialism, decolonization, and neocolonialism took place simultaneously. In the nineteenth century, the prison was built as part of a network of colonial institutions and polices. It was imagined, designed, and built by representatives of the Canadian state alongside other colonial institutions, drawing on similar intellectual traditions. It maintains the imprint of this colonial origin. Prisons also became arenas for Indigenous cultural exchange and cultural creation, which in most cases subverted the logic of the prison. This …

Holding Canada Accountable: An Evaluation Of Canada's Compliance To The United Nations Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples, Jackson A. Smith

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Compliance of human rights norms requires the application of pressure from a multitude of directions and levels. It takes individual advocacy, micro-system/organizational/community-level pressure, and macro-level pressure from other nation-states and international organizations and governance bodies. This MA study focuses on the mechanisms employed by the United Nations to monitor the compliance of signatory nation-states to the standards established in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), with particular focus on Canada. A crucial goal of this study is to translate the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNSRRIP), James Anaya’s, findings on the …

Indigeneity, Diaspora, And Ethical Turn In Anzaldúa’S Borderlands/La Frontera, Hsinya Huang

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In her article "Indigeneity, Diaspora, and Ethical Turn in Anzaldúa's Borderlands/La Frontera" Hsinya Huang discusses indigeneity vis-à-vis diaspora, two concepts often used as if they were necessarily antagonistic and antithetical to one another. While in diaspora studies Native people are marginalized, Huang resituates the figure of the Native to the core of diasporic discussion by tracing the movement, migration, or scattering of Native people from their established or ancestral homeland. Drawing on Gloria Anzaldúa's life narrative in Borderlands/La Frontera, Huang advances the concept of the ethical turn in diaspora studies by questioning the master narrative regarding …

Returning To Red Cloud's Vision: An Analysis Of The History Of Native American Education On The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Nicholas Machado

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Tobacco And Tar Babies: The Trickster As A Cultural Hero In Winnebago And African American Myth, Catherine Squibb

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis explores the trickster character through the lens of his role as a cultural hero. The two characters that I chose to examine are from North American myth, specifically Winnebago Hare and Brer Rabbit. These two characters represent the duality of the trickster while simultaneously embodying the lauded abilities of the hero. Through their actions these two characters shape culture through the very action of disrupting societal norms.

Research Is Relational: Exploring Researcher Identities And Colonial Echoes In Pacific And Indigenous Studies, Tui Nicola Clery, Acacia Dawn Cochise, Robin Metcalfe

Pacific Studies

This paper critiques the binary construction of researchers as either insiders or outsiders, arguing that such essentialist frameworks obscure the complex, intersectional identities many researchers embody. The paper proposes a more inclusive and reflexive model of research identity that acknowledges fluidity, hybridity, and relationality. It encourages researchers to reflect on their positionality, embrace imperfection in relational processes, and engage with communities in ways that are accountable and transformative. Ultimately, the paper advocates for a shift toward more relational and inclusive research methodologies that better reflect the realities of a globalized and interconnected world.

Review: Don’T Ever Whisper: Darlene Keju, Pacific Health Pioneer, Champion For Nuclear Survivors, Miriam Kahn

Pacific Studies

Giff Johnson. Don’t Ever Whisper: Darlene Keju, Pacific Health Pioneer, Champion for Nuclear Survivors. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. Pp. 444. ISBN-10 1489509062. US$14.00 paper.

Reviewed by Miriam Kahn, University of Washington

Books Noted: Recent Pacific Islands Publications: Selected Acquisitions, January 2014–December 2014, Zoia Falevai

Pacific Studies

This list of significant publications relating to the Pacific Islands was selected from new acquisitions lists recovered from Brigham Young University–Hawaii, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, University of Auckland, and Macmillan Brown Library at University of Canterbury. Other libraries are invited to send contributions to the Books Noted editor for future issues. Listings reflect the extent of information provided by each institution.

Vol. 38 No. 3 (2015): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 38, No 3-Dec 2015 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Review: Being Political: Leadership And Democracy In The Pacific Islands, Lamont Lindstrom

Pacific Studies

Jack Corbett. Being Political: Leadership and Democracy in the Pacific Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2015. Pp. xii, 243. ISBN 978-0-8248-4107-7. US$54.00 hardcover. Notes. Bibliography.

Reviewed by Lamont Lindstrom, University of Tulsa

Hero, Savage, Or Equal? Representations Of The Moral Personhood Of Pacific Islanders In Hollywood Movies, David Lipset

Pacific Studies

This essay explores the theme of moral agency in cinematic representations of Pacific Islanders. Drawing on anthropological theories, the essay argues that moral personhood is a socially conferred status. Hollywood films often strip Pacific Islanders of moral agency, portraying them as passive or incapable of ethical discernment, while reserving such agency for Western characters. This cinematic imbalance is framed as a form of cultural dispossession and colonial narrative control. The essay thus critiques the broader implications of how moral accountability and personhood are distributed across cultural lines in film.

Vol. 38 No. 3 (2015): 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$40.00 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, and …

Fiji’S Electoral Strategies: A Comparative Perspective, Sanjay Ramesh

Pacific Studies

This article analyzes Fiji’s electoral projects by comparing Fiji’s electoral experiences with those of South Africa, Namibia, Guyana, and Suriname. I argue that Fiji’s electoral project of the 1990s was fraught with difficulty because it failed to reconcile competing communal and reformist positions within the democratic framework established by the 1997 Fiji Constitution. As a result, the electoral project of the 1990s failed, resulting in further coups in 2000 and 2006, with the political designers reframing the political agenda and adopting a proportional system of governance to promote national identity and interethnic collaboration following the 2006 coup. However, I contend …

Putting Kanak To Work: Kanak And The Colonial Labor System In New Caledonia, Adrian Muckle

Pacific Studies

Examining the different categories of “native labor” established in New Caledonia, from the 1870s to the 1940s, this article assesses the extent to which Kanak labor was mobilized en masse for colonial development. It outlines the shift from a perception of Kanak labor as of little value (1880s–1910s) to an awareness of its potential and the need to effectively harness it for colonial interests (1920s–1940s). The mobilization of Kanak labor steadily increased in the 1920s and 1930s and reached an unprecedented level during World War II. This overview and assessment provides a corrective to the colonial discourse of Kanak as …

Diasporic Indigeneity: Indigenizing Indigenous Immigrants And Nativizing Native Nations, Erich Fox Tree

Religion and Culture Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

“Carried In The Arms Of Standing Waves:" The Transmotional Aesthetics Of Nora Marks Dauenhauer, Billy J. Stratton

English and Literary Arts: Faculty Scholarship

In recent years, Native, Indigenous, First Nations, and Aboriginal scholars and writers have forged alliances to initiate and support decolonization efforts and the reassertion of native survivance. Native and non-Native scholars have responded to modern challenges by reconceptualizing notions of peoplehood, identity, and nationalism. Following these intellectual contours, rather than conceiving of native culture as totalizing, static, and/or incommensurable—as always already foreign—responsive readings informed by the critical work of Gerald Vizenor can support more sophisticated understandings of native literary production while revealing sites of native transmotion. Through a thusly informed examination of the work of the Tlingit poet, Nora Marks …

Wastelanding: Legacies Of Uranium Mining In Navajo Country, Traci Voyles

Faculty Pub Night

No abstract provided.

Pottery Exchange And Interaction At The Crystal River Site (8ci1), Florida, Kassie Christine Kemp

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Crystal River site (8CI1) is a Woodland-period mound (ca. 1000 BC to AD 1050) complex located on the west-central Gulf coast of Florida. Links to the Hopewell Interaction Sphere suggest that the people of Crystal River had connections with a broad range of communities, yet little is known concerning the role the site played in local, regional, or long-distance exchange networks. Pottery traditions vary amongst different communities of practice, therefore the level of interaction at Crystal River can be measured by looking at variation in the ceramic assemblage. I combine type/attribute, vessel form and function, gross paste, and chemical …

Caribou, Petroleum, And The Limits Of Locality In The Canada–Us Borderlands, Jenny Kerber

English and Film Studies Faculty Publications

his article discusses Karsten Heuer’s 2006 book Being Caribou in light of debates in ecocriticism and border studies about how to define the local in the context of environmental problems of vast range and uncertain temporality. It explores how Heuer’s book about following the Porcupine Caribou herd’s migration engages in multiple forms of boundary crossing—between countries, between hemispheric locations, and between species—and shows how insights from Indigenous storytelling complicate the book’s appeal to environmentalist readers by asserting a prior, transnational Indigenous presence in the transboundary landscapes of present-day Alaska and the Yukon.

(Un)Fair Labor: American Indians And The 1893 World’S Columbian Exposition, David Beck

University Grant Program Reports

I have spent the year since May 2014 visiting the major archival collections with holdings relating to the experiences of American Indians and other indigenous peoples with the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. With UGP funding I spent approximately three weeks in Cambridge and six weeks in Chicago, traveling to each place once during fall semester and once during spring semester.

The Archaeology Of Hassanamesit Woods: The Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead, Stephen Mrozowski, Heather Law Pezzarossi, Dennis Piechota, Heather Trigg, John M. Steinberg, Guido Pezzarossi, Joseph Bagley, Jessica Rymer, Jerry Warner

Andrew Fiske Memorial Center for Archaeological Research Publications

Between 2003 and 2013 the Fiske Center for Archaeological Research at the University of Massachusetts Boston conducted an intensive investigation of the Sarah Burnee/Sarah Boston Farmstead on Keith Hill in Grafton, Massachusetts. The project employed a collaborative method that involved working closely with the Town of Grafton, through the Hassanmesit Woods Management Committee, and the Nipmuc Nation, the state recognized government of the Nipmuc people. Yearly excavation and research plans were decided through consultation with both the Nipmuc Tribal Council, their designated representative, Dr. D. Rae Gould, and the Hassanamesit Woods Management Committee. Dr. Gould also played a continuous and …

Ridiculous Flix: Buckskin, Boycotts, And Busted Hollywood Narratives, Theodore C. Van Alst, Jr.

Indigenous Nations Studies Faculty Publications and Presentations

In April 2015, actor Loren Anthony and eight extras from the cast of Adam Sandler’s Netflix production Ridiculous Six had walked off the set due to repeated insults and derogatory remarks embedded in the script. The claim was the film included disrespect of women, elders, and sacred items, and it exceeded the actors’ capacity to overlook the intended “satire” of the production. The author examines derogatory Indian stereotypes in several films, and the social media campaign to boycott Netflix - #NotYourHollywoodIndian and #WalkOff Netflix.

Two-Spirit Indigenous Americans: Fact Not Fiction, Casey S. O'Higgins

Student Publications

This paper examines the narratives of Two-Spirit Indigenous Americans who have been oppressed by heteropatriarchal norms of colonization. Two-spirit creation stories are explored to show the prevalence and importance of their identities prior to contact with Euro-American settlers and the evolution of violence, exclusion, and marginalization due to colonization.The term "Two-Spirit" is examined as a cultural identity of the Indigenous Americans. Finally, the paper looks at how Two-Spirit scholars are looking to combine Queer Theory with Indigenous Studies to deconstruct colonial heteropatriarchal America.

Book Review: Ethnic Cleansing And The Indian: The Crime That Should Haunt America, Mark Meuwese

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This critical review examines the recent monograph by Gary C. Anderson, Ethnic Cleansing and the Indian. Although Anderson's work gives a comprehensive overview of how Native Americans were forced from their homelands by European and American settler-expansion, the author's analysis is weakened by his refusal to consider that many of the Indigenous groups may have experienced this process as genocide.

‘Reclamation Road’: A Microhistory Of Massacre Memory In Clear Lake, California, Jeremiah J. Garsha

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This article is a microhistory of not only the massacre of the indigenous Pomo people in Clear Lake, California, but also the memorialization of this event. It is an examination of two plaques marking the site of the Bloody Island massacre, exploring how memorial representations produce and silence historical memory of genocide under emerging and shifting historical narratives. A 1942 plaque is contextualized to show the co-option of the Pomo and massacre memory by an Anglo-American organization dedicated to settler memory. A 2005 plaque is read as a decentering of this narrative, guiding the viewer through a new hierarchy of …

And The Elders And Scholars Wept: A Retrospective On The Symposium: Killing California Indians: Genocide In The Gold Rush Era, Held At The University Of California - Riverside, 7 November 2014, Organized By The California Center For Native Nations, T. Robert Przeklasa

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This retrospective looks-back on and provides a summation of “Killing California Indians: Genocide in the Gold Rush Era,” a symposium organized and executed by the California Center for Native Nations and the University of California, Riverside. It provides a synopsis of each of the papers presented as well as the presentations of the Native Community Panel, all of which all dealt with the nineteenth century genocide. Highlights of audience discussion as well as a description of cleansings and blessings offered by local spiritual leaders and the Native flute tributes that opened and closed the event are included, as well.

Indigenous Knowledge And Maple Syrup: A Case Study Of The Effects Of Colonization In Ontario, Hayley Moody

Social Justice and Community Engagement

For many Indigenous communities throughout the province of Ontario on Turtle Island, maple syrup (MS) practices are culturally and spiritually significant; however, since the arrival of European settlers, these MS practices have substantially declined. This research utilizes the decline of maple syrup practices and related Indigenous Knowledge (IK) as a case study to exemplify the damaging impacts colonialism has had on the culture of Indigenous peoples living within Ontario. Over a period of two months, I spoke with seven Indigenous individuals throughout Ontario about their experiences and opinions regarding the relationship between colonialism and MS practices. Accordingly, colonialism has impacted …

On Rage, Jerome D. Clarke

SURGE

“Honestly [Flight] was written out of rage. I wrote it immediately after Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, in a matter of months. It was in the aftermath of 9/11. I was upset with the way people were acting, People on the Left and the Right, Muslims and Christians were justifying violence towards the other side. And everyone believed they were correct. I was thinking ‘What if Everybody is wrong?’” — Sherman Alexie in The Gettysburgian. [excerpt]