"This study compares British-Indian relations with Spanish-Indian relations from pre-contact to 1830, emphasizing European domination and exploitation.
1,350 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 4 sources, 1991, $ 47.95
From the Paper "This study will compare and contrast British-Indian relations with Spanish-Indian relations from pre-contact to 1830. The study will focus on North American Indians, and will concentrate specifically on the question of how Indians resisted or accepted the authority which the British and/or the Spanish attempted to impose upon them. The thesis of the study will be the argument that the differences between the way the English and Spanish treated the Indians were not nearly as numerous as the similarities, and that the basis of these similarities was the exploitation of the Indians by both European nationalities. The Indians did not respond in significantly different ways to either group, and in the great majority of the encounters between the Indians and the Europeans the Indians were ultimately forced to submit to the stronger force of the Europeans."
From the Paper "This study will examine the use of Peyote in the Native American Church. The argument of the study will be that the use of peyote by the members of the Native American Church is justified and is an authentic element of the religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of the members of the Church, and is in no way to be associated with the "recreational" use of peyote or other drugs by members of society at large.
The issue of peyote use by members of the Native American Church has entered the headlines in 1990 as the result of a peculiar court case which reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Two members of the Church in Oregon were fired for "violating (their employers') absolute rule against drug or alcohol use" (Laycock, 1989, p. 876). It was discovered that they had been using peyote as a part of their church's religious rituals. The two men filed..."
From the Paper "North American Indian cultures incorporated a number of ceremonies within their communities. These activities were held for a variety of reasons and purposes, but all held an important role within the tribe's daily life. And, with the different tribes' universal belief in the supernatural, death received as much attention as the other life events: birth, puberty and marriage. The purpose of this paper will be to research the ethnographic accounts of treatment and attitudes toward the dead among the Indians of Arizona and New Mexico.
Religious beliefs, which are the basis of all Indian ceremonies and rituals, were linked with supernatural and extraordinary forces of the spirit world (249). For the North American Indians, religion was as important in government and social control as in any other function of society. In fact,..."
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine The Battle of the Little Bighorn by Mari Sandoz, with a view toward exploring a twentieth-century interpretation of the pattern of misjudgment and what might generously be called hubris that informed the command structure of the United States Army division that encountered a massive Native American division at the Little Bighorn River in 1876. The plan of the research will be to set forth the context in which the book examines the details of the battle, and then to discuss the political social, cultural, and historiographical background and environment in which the modern understanding of the battle may be most profitably explored. Throughout, as appropriate, reference will be made to the point of view that Sandoz brings to judging events and circumstances of the incident itself and its myriad implications."
From the Paper "The personality of Christopher Columbus is shrouded in myth. As noted by Kirkpatrick Sale in The Conquest of Paradise (1990), historians have turned Columbus into a "larger.than.life character" (p. 346). School children today are presented with an image of the man as a national hero beyond reproach. However, as Koning (1991) notes, "the standard textbook image of Columbus is false" (p. 12). In reality, Columbus was seeking personal gain when he set out in search of a westward passage to Asia. Furthermore, he was the first European explorer to exploit the land and labor of the "New World." Many students of history are surprised when they learn that Columbus showed extreme cruelty toward the American Indians, and that he was responsible for setting in motion the chain of events which would severely decrease their population within a short period of time. In the ..."
From the Paper "This study will analyze Frank Waters' novel The Man Who Killed the Deer. The study will specifically consider how the American-Indian concepts of animism, interrelatedness, and balance in Creation influence political reasoning, leadership and political action. Also to be considered is how American-Indian political leadership differs from Anglo political leadership in the way that they digest issues and act on them.
The protagonist of the novel is Martiniano, a Pueblo Indian who is caught between the Indian and Anglo worlds, not truly belonging fully to either one. His plight serves to illuminate the differences in the two cultures and their attitudes toward nature and politics.
Generally, the Indian view of nature and politics is that they are parts of a dynamic and living whole. Nothing in life is..."
From the Paper " The Kiowa language is only one of many Native American languages in danger of disappearing simply because the young are not learning this aspect of their culture in any great numbers. This makes the language only one of the many language in the world that is in danger of becoming extinct either because of a reduction in the population, a stronger linguistic influence that is overpowering the old language, the failure of the young to learn the language, or some other force that makes the language less vital in a given culture. As a language like English grows in importance and in the number of speakers using it, a language such as that of the Kiowa slowly disappears unless an effort is made to record and preserve it, as scholars are doing with as many languages as they can.
The Kiowa are a southern plains people who originated in the.."
Describes Plains Indian tribes' histories and their relations with U.S. govt. Discusses their ceremonies, diseases, social organization, treatment of children and religion.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 10 sources, 1994, $ 79.95
From the Paper "The Crow Indians called themselves the Absaroka, which is Siouan for "bird people." Their name among whites became that of the well-known bird. Early in their history, they left the Hidatsas of the upper Missouri in what is now North Dakota because of a dispute over buffalo.. Led by Chief No Vitals, the Crows then migrated farther upriver, to the Yellowstone River at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. This territory is presently in southern Montana and northern Wyoming. The Crows who settled north of the Yellowstone toward the Musselshell River became known as the Mountain Crow because of the high terrain. Those who lived to the south, along the valleys of the Big Horn, Powder, and Wind rivers, came to be called the River Crow.
Both groups of Crows gave up the village life of their Hidatsa kinsmen. They stopped farming for food, growing only.."
From the Paper "The Cahuilla is the name given to a group of south-central California Indians. The term is of uncertain origin but may be from their own word kawiya 'master, boss' (Bean 575). The Cahuilla area was topographically complex, comprised of mountain ranges interspersed by passes, canyons, valleys, and desert, with elevations from 11,000 feet in the San Bernardino Mountains to 273 feet below sea level at the Salton Sea. The Cahuilla occupied most of the area, from the summit of the San Bernardino Mountains in the north to Borrego Springs and the Chocolate Mountains in the south, a portion of the Colorado Desert west of Orocopia Mountain to the east, and the San Jacinto Plain near Riverside and the eastern slopes of Palomar mountain to the west.
Cahuilla villages were usually situated in canyons or on alluvial fans near adequate sources of water and food materials..."
Examines the ineffectiveness of reservation boarding schools and federal government policy, forced emigration, assimilation, civil rights, gambling industry, focusing on the Cherokee Nation.
2,700 words (approx. 10.8 pages), 6 sources, 1995, $ 95.95
From the Paper "The Cherokee Nation is a role model of self-sufficiency among Native American tribes. The Cherokee, recognized as a sovereign nation by the United States government, number about 175,000 full- and mixed-blood individuals, with the majority located in northeastern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Cherokee successfully administer their own affairs. Programs such as Head Start, Job Corps, public housing, and substance abuse clinics have been supervised by the Cherokee Nation since the 1970s. In Cherokee-run schools, the basic curriculum is supplemented by instruction in tribal history, language, and culture. The Cherokee are attempting to obliterate the devastating effects of decades of federal government Indian education policy, which emphasized the assimilation of Native Americans into the dominant white culture."
Abstract This paper discusses "Changing Hands", an art review of a major Native American art exhibit at the American Craft Museum by critic David Revere McFadden. It opens with an overview of the exhibit itself and its highlights. The review, and the critic's "authority" to report on the exhibit are then discussed. Finally, there is a commentary of the effect the critic's piece has upon one's desire to view the exhibit.
From the Paper "Changing Hands, the exhibit features several art forms of Native America. The artists who have displayed their work have given examples of both traditional and more contemporary pieces ? for example a reconstructed earthenware vessel of the type that might have been used centuries ago for water or other liquids. The several art forms shown by the Changing Hands exhibit include wool rug and vegetable dye; gold bracelet work inlaid with larimar, lapis lazuli,sugulited, shell, coral, obsidian and opal; earthenware sculpture; an acrylic collage on wood; glass and copper vase; cottonwood root sculpture; leather beltwork of silver, coral, turquoise, and serpentine; coral necklace with gold and pearls; pendants of gold, wood, silver, coral, turquoise, opal, shell, and lapis lazuli; earthenware canteens and jugs; hinged silver buckles; earthenware tiles of sand, copper, and oil on a wooden panel; sand media on wood."
Abstract The paper shows that captivity narratives written by early settlers of America succeeded in conveying unfair stereotypes about Native Americans. These narratives recorded the captives' physical, mental, and spiritual experiences. The paper examines the reasons for these abductions, circumstances and experiences of those who were abducted, with a specific analysis of how the autobiography "Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" perpetuates the conveyance of stereotypes about Native Americans.
From the Paper "Throughout the history of Colonial North America, Native Americans have been portrayed as evil and heathen in many ways. The Native Americans were depicted as evil and soulless; a race beyond any reason that delighted murder of innocent Christians. One such way is through the writing of ?captivity narratives,? whose purpose was to record the captive's physical, mental and spiritual experiences as they journeyed through the unknown. Captivity narratives also served a purpose in that they led to reflection on the meaning of life and helped shaped the expectations of any other unfortunate settlers who might find themselves in captivity at some time (Ebersole 20). These accounts of captivity became stories to be told and retold in order to reflect upon the situation forced upon the captive and, for the Puritans, to reflect in God's grace at having delivered them from the hands of these ?savages.? These narratives were unfortunately never objective or neutral in any way, as they always portrayed Native Americans as creatures with no souls whose sole purpose in life was to distribute pain and suffering to those who were God-fearing; they were thought of as instruments of the devil. In this way, captivity narratives succeeded in conveying unfair stereotypes about Native Americans that have not (until recently) been overcome."
Abstract Discusses impact of racism & ethnicity on Native Americans. Compares 2 works of fiction: THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN, Sherman Alexie's collection of short stories, and Louise Erdrich's novel TRACKS. Contends that all Alexie's stories are pessimintic & cynical with major theme of individual rather than cultural survival. Cites Erdrich's portrayal of Native Americans continuing their struggle to maintain their cultural heritage as containing more subtleties of life & complexi6y of narrative & structure than Alexie's stories.
From the Paper "This study will discuss race and ethnicity, specifically issues related to Native Americans, in two works by Native American writers, Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven and Louise Erdrich's Tracks. While both works of fiction fully accept the negative consequences of bias and bigotry exercised against Native Americans, Alexie's stories are far more dark and blunt, while Erdrich's novel is far more subtle and nuanced.
The title story in Alexie's collection of stories takes a deeply pessimistic perspective on the life of Native American characters. All of the stories, and especially the title story, are pessimistic, even cynical, though if one looks hard enough there are some signs of hope, such as the narrator's year of sobriety. However, that sobriety does not address the racism..."
Examines the pattern of ideas in Toni Morrison's "Jazz" and in Louise Erdrich's novel "Tracks" and the issues of gender and social and cultural history.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 6 sources, 2002, $ 79.95
Abstract Examines the pattern of idieas in Toni Morrison's JAZZ & in Louise Erdrich's novel TRACKS & issues of gender and social and cultural history. Describes plot, characters, and themes of each novel. African-American & Native American experiences & communities. Woman's point of view. Historical implications of each novel.
From the Paper "The purpose of this research is to examine the treatment of gender and history in Louise Erdrich's novel Tracks and Toni Morrison's novel Jazz. The plan of the research will be to set forth in general terms the pattern of ideas emerging in each of the works, and then to discuss how the specific issues of gender and social and cultural history are articulated and analyzed, as well as the relevance these issues have for a more complete un.derstanding of the relevance of gender and history representa.tions have to positioning the novels as cultural commentary.
In order to appreciate the way gender and history are treated by Morrison and Erdrich in their respective novels, it is useful to note that the fictional design of each novel appears to be ethnographic in character. Tracks, for example, is placed in the context of a dying Native American community at Match ..."
Abstract Discusses four books that illustrate the sacred and secular as one. Mary Crow Dog's "LAKOTA WOMAN," N. Scott Momaday's "HOUSE OF DAWN," Ricardo Pozas' "JUAN THE CHAMULA," Thomas Sanchez's "RABBIT BOSS." The sacred as an integral part of the environment of Native Ameicans. Role of ancient religion to health and identity.
From the Paper "The four books, Mary Crow Dog's Lakota Woman, N. Scott Momaday's House of Dawn, Ricardo Pozas' Juan The Chamula and Thomas Sanchez's Rabbit Boss illuminate the fact that the sacred and secular are inextricably interwoven together in Native American culture. Unlike modern contemporary society that compartmentalizes the sacred and secular as mutually exclusive entities in life, the Native Americans view the sacred as a vital part of their environment, their existence and their identity. When the White people encroach upon the Native Americans' lives by decimating their sacred sites and forbidding them to engage in their sacred activities, the Native Americans' sense of identity begins to disintegrate. In their books, Crow Dog, Momaday and Sanchez aptly capture the tragedy of Native Americans who are stripped of their religious beliefs and thus ..."
