Indigenous Studies Commons^™

Indigenous Political Participation: The Key To Rights Realization In The Andes, Stephanie Selekman

Human Rights & Human Welfare

"There is no way back, this is our time, the awakening of the indigenous people. We'll keep fighting till the end. Brother Evo Morales still has lots to do, one cannot think that four years are enough after 500 years of submission and oppression,” said Fidel Surco, a prominent indigenous leader, reflecting on Bolivia’s first indigenous president entering his second term (Carroll & Schipani 2009).

The Andean region is particularly appropriate for examining indigenous political rights because 34-40 million indigenous people reside mostly in this region. The actualization of human rights for Andean indigenous groups is an inherently complex issue, …

The Factors That Are Related To Native American Community College Students' Intent To Persist, Garnet Laureen Williams

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

More than half of Native American higher education students choose community colleges as their institution of choice. However, when compared with other ethnic groups, Native American/Alaska Natives (NA/AN) students earn the second-lowest number of associate degrees and the lowest number of bachelor's degrees. Despite this substantive gap, few studies have explored the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist. With the projected population surge of NA/AN residents over the next 15 years, more research on the factors related to Native American community college students' intent to persist in college is warranted.

This ex post facto study …

Genealogies: Articulating Indigenous Anthropology In/Of Oceania, Ty P. Kāwika Tengan, Tēvita O. Ka‘Ili, Rochelle Tuitagava‘A Fonoti

Pacific Studies

Introduction article to Volume 33 Issue 2/3 Special Edition on genealogies.

Tā, Vā , And Moana: Temporality, Spatiality, And Indigeneity, Hūfanga ‘Okusitino Māhina

Pacific Studies

This article explores how indigenous perspectives—specifically from the Moana—can reshape the way anthropology is practiced and understood. A key focus is on genealogy, not just as family lineage, but as a powerful tool for understanding how people, places, and histories are connected across time and space. The article argues that genealogy in Moana cultures is deeply philosophical and relational, helping to explain how individuals and communities locate themselves within broader social and natural worlds. This approach is grounded in the Moana concepts of tā (time) and vā (space).

Indigenous Anthropology And The Kava Myth In Manu’A, Unasa Leulu Felise Va’A

Pacific Studies

This article explores how genealogy, indigenous anthropology, positionality, and mythology, shape the understanding of cultural values, beliefs, and practices within Samoan society. Focusing on Samoan myths surrounding the origins of kava, the study demonstrates how genealogy serves as a framework for interpreting mythological narratives and cultural identity. The article draws from the author's participation in ASAO sessions on indigenous anthropology and kava, highlighting the importance of culturally grounded approaches in analyzing indigenous knowledge systems.

Teu Le Va: Toward A Native Anthropology, Melani Anae

Pacific Studies

The Samoan word va tapuia, includes the term “tapu,” within. The term literally refers to the sacred (tapu-ia) relationship (va) between man and all things, animate and inanimate. It implies that in our relationships with all things, living and dead, there exists a sacred essence, a life force beyond human reckoning. The distinction here between what is living and what is dead is premised not so much on whether a “life force,” i.e. a mauli or fatu manava exists in the thing (i.e. whether a “life-breath” of “heart beat” exudes from it), but whether that thing, living …

The Interweaving Of People, Time, And Place—Whakapapa As Context And Method, Lily George, Te Kapotai/Ngaapuhi/Paakehaa

Pacific Studies

Set along the Waikare River in Aotearoa, this autoethnographic reflection explores the cultural, genealogical, and epistemological significance of whakapapa in Maori knowledge systems. As an indigenous Maori anthropologist, the author emphasizes that whakapapa not only traces genealogical lineage but also serves as a foundational framework for understanding phenomena, conducting research, and navigating identity within indigenous anthropology. By drawing from traditional cosmology and intergenerational knowledge—including divine origin stories and spiritual relationships with landscape—this introduction positions whakapapa as both method and context in the pursuit of knowledge and cultural survival.

Between Tolerance And Talk: Idiomatic Kinship And Ethnography In The Multiethnic Pacific, Ping-Ann Addo

Pacific Studies

This paper examines the interplay between identity politics and ethnographic practice among indigenous and mixed-race transnational scholars. Using a genealogical framework, the author explores how kinship—formed through fieldwork—shapes solidarity, tension, and the politics of racial categorization within Pacific research communities. The work reflects on personal experiences navigating complex ethnic identities in Tongan society, revealing how cultural perceptions and adopted kinship challenge dominant race frameworks. Ultimately, the study advocates for a more reflexive and dialogic anthropology that centers mutual racialization, layered identity, and political economy as key to understanding and improving ethnographic engagement.

A Different Weight: Tension And Promise In “Indigenous Anthropology”, Fa‘Anofo Lisaclaire Uperesa

Pacific Studies

This article offers a personal reflection on indigenous anthropology through the lens of the author's upbringing and research experiences in American Samoa. Grounded in the complexities of aiga (kinship) and layered genealogies, the work explores how biographical and cultural ties shape research ethics, methods, and accountability when conducting fieldwork at "home." By drawing on her position as a Native Pacific Islander and scholar, the author highlights the transformative possibilities of indigenous knowledge production and the responsibilities of researching within one’s own community.

Collaboration And Capacity Building In The Classroom: A Decolonizing Teaching Agenda To Create A Cadre Of Indigenous Researchers, Holly M. Barker, Rochelle Tuitagava‘A Fonoti

Pacific Studies

This article explores collaborative anthropology as a response to indigenous critiques of outsider research in Oceania. Drawing from the authors' diverse positionalities and their experience teaching Anthropology, the paper reimagines the classroom as a space for co-learning, capacity building, and indigenous empowerment. By integrating participatory methods and traditional collaborative practices of Samoan and Marshallese communities, the study highlights how educational environments can foster sustainable research models and support a growing network of indigenous scholars.

Vol. 33 No. 2/3 (2010): Pacific Studies Front Matter, The Jonathan Nāpela Center For Hawaiian And Pacific Islands Studies

Pacific Studies

Front Matter for the Vol. 33, No 2/3-Aug/Dec 2010 edition of the Pacific Studies Journal.

Vol. 33 No. 2/3 (2010): 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, …

Violence, Symbols, And The Archaeological Record: A Case Study Of Cahokia's Mound 72, Kathryn Koziol

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Acts of violence are not always easily distinguished in their form. Given the additional difficulties caused by the obscure nature of the archaeological record, it is no wonder that interpretations of these behaviors are so skewed both between and within fields of research. There is little consistency in this academic dialogue, which prevents researchers from grappling with the larger perspectives that should be approached. For instance, just how far back in our human history have events such as genocide occurred? Are these modern in origin? The scale of ancient events and our anthropological scopes need more adjustment to the unique …

Indian Head Rock Back In Kentucky After 3-Year Fight With Ohio, Stephanie Dearing

Indian Head Rock Project

Article on the return of Indian Head Rock to Kentucky from November 10, 2010.

Protected Antiquity Back In Kentucky: Future Uncertain, Kenneth Hart

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Ashland Independent on November 5, 2010 on the return of the Indian Head Rock to Kentucky.

Update: Indian Head Rock Returned To Kentucky, Wsaz (Tv)

Indian Head Rock Project

A series of articles by WSAZ television on the removal and return of the Indian Head Rock.

Leave No Stone Uncovered, Kenneth Hart

Indian Head Rock Project

An article in the Ashland Daily Independent on the return of the Indian Head Rock to Kentucky from November 4, 2010.

Native American History Month, Southwest Minnesota State University

Ethnic History

Bibliography and photographs of a display of government documents from Southwest Minnesota State University.

Filmmaker, Lawyer, Indian Chief: The Negotiation Of Identity In An Indigenous Film Festival, William Lempert

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Since colonial contact, indigenous peoples have been predominantly represented by community outsiders. As a result, native peoples have rarely had a primary, or even collaborative role, in the production of these representations. However, in the last two decades, there has been an unprecedented proliferation of indigenous created films and the festivals that feature them. The Denver Indigenous Arts and Film Festival is an annual festival that exclusively showcases films made by and with indigenous peoples. The festival’s 2009 theme of “Telling Our Stories” emphasized cultural control of representation and the transmission of traditional knowledge.

In this thesis, I show that …

Is There Evidence For The Observation And Use Of Astronomy At The Harris Site In The Mimbres Valley?, Denise Ruzicka

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis is an archaeoastronomical study of a Late Pithouse Period (A.D. 550-1000) Mimbres-Mogollon site in the American Southwest. It specifically examines whether there is an association between architecture and astronomy at the Harris Site in the upper Mimbres Valley in southwestern New Mexico. The hypothesis for the study is that Mimbres pithouse groups observed astronomical phenomena and used such phenomena to guide the construction of their structures and establish a calendar. The methods used in this investigation include evaluating whether the site placement, the orientation and alignment of structures/houses, and the presence of cultural features on surrounding ridge tops …

A Macrobotanical Analysis Of Native American Maize Agriculture At The Smith's Point Site, Kelly A. Ferguson

Graduate Masters Theses

The Smith's Point site was a seasonally inhabited Native American encampment in Yarmouth, Massachusetts occupied from the Middle Woodland through the early Colonial periods. Excavations at the site in the early 1990s yielded the remains of a multi-component site including both an agricultural field and an adjacent living area. The macrobotanical remains from the agricultural and living area features were examined for this thesis project in order to investigate subsistence practices at the site. The findings show that Native Americans actively shaped these ecological niches for purposes such as maintaining and improving their subsistence base. These landscape management activities included …

Settlement Reached In 'Rock War', Kenneth Hart

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Ashland Daily independent on the final settlement and return of Indian Head Rock to Kentucky from July 9, 2010.

Legal Battle Over Ownership Of River Rock Officially Ends, Lexington Herald-Leader

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Lexington Herald Leader from July 9, 2010 on the end of the legal battle over Indian Head Rock.

Empire, Eschatology And Stolen Land, Allen G. Jorgenson

Luther Faculty Publications

In this article I propose that empire be countered by a revised understanding of eschatology. I first explore the idea of an eschatology of space, wherein the notion of eschatos as limit is advanced. I then revisit a temporal understanding of eschatology illumining the theme of the pause, or rest. This Sabbath theme, in concert with attentiveness to space, is then brought to bear upon the primal North American experience of empire: the expropriation of aboriginal lands.

Federal Judge Sets June 28 For Final Disposition Of Case Involving Indian Head Rock, G. Sam Piatt

Indian Head Rock Project

An article in the Portsmouth Daily Times on the federal case involving Indian Head Rock from May 13, 2010.

Reader Offers A Poem About Indian Head Rock, Esther M. Vasser

Indian Head Rock Project

A poem published in the Portsmouth Daily Times on the Indian Head Rock from May 11, 2010.

Kentucky To Display Indian Head Rock, G. Sam Piatt

Indian Head Rock Project

An article in the Portsmouth Daily Times on the Indian Head Rock from May 1, 2010.

Indian Head Rock Case Reaching An End, Frank Lewis

Indian Head Rock Project

An article published in the Portsmouth Daily Times on the conclusion of the criminal case against Steve Shaffer regarding the Indian Head Rock from April 30, 2010.

Thomas' Visit Indian Head Rock, Portsmouth Daily Times

Indian Head Rock Project

A brief article published in the Portsmouth Daily Times on the visit by relatives of J. W. Bannon to Indian Head Rock on April 30, 2010.

A New Home For The Rock?, Benita Heath

Indian Head Rock Project

Article published in the Ironton Tribune on the return of the Indian Head Rock to Kentucky from April 25, 2010.