English 3156-001: Native North American Indian Literatures, an Introduction
Dr. Susan Gardner, Fall 2000
American literature begins with the first human perception of the American landscape expressed and preserved in language. (N. Scott Momaday, Kiowa, qtd in Ruoff 1)
[T]he Indian…is a product of literature, history, and art, and a product that, as an invention, often bears little resemblance to actual, living Native American people. (Louis Owens, Cherokee/Choctaw novelist and critic)
Since the original inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere neither called themselves by a single term nor understood themselves as a collectivity, the idea and the image of the Indian must be a White conception. Native Americans were and are real, but the Indian was a White invention and still remains largely a White image, if not stereotype.... The first residents of the Americas were...divided into at least two thousand cultures and more societies, practiced a multiplicity of customs and lifestyles, held an enormous variety of values and beliefs, spoke numerous languages mutually unintelligible...and did not conceive of themselves as a single people--if they knew about each other at all.... Whether as conception or as stereotype, however, the idea of the Indian has created a reality in its own image as a result of the power of the Whites and the response of Native Americans. (Berkhofer 3)
If only I were an Indian, suddenly alert, on a galloping horse, leaning against the wind… (Franz Kafka, 1883-1924)
Twelve years ago, when I first proposed teaching a course on American Indian literature at another university, the chair of the English department dismissed the notion as "Eccentric and irrelevant, of no interest to undergraduate teaching"! On the other hand, when I remember this incident, I'm equally amazed at my own naivete. For my brief is impossible, of course: in 15 weeks, to introduce you to forms of verbal art stemming in their oral form from at least 30,000 years ago, and written more recently in non-Native languages such as English, Spanish or French. Native American Indian stories are thus the first in the Western hemisphere, and they offer a unique viewpoint concerning human beings, their function on earth--"this island on turtle's back"--and their relationship to all the rest of creation.
The roots of all the world's literatures, of course, are in oral-aural story-telling, and oral traditions in Native America have not ceased, to be superseded in some "evolutionary" sense by the written word. (Reasons for the relatively late access of many Native North American Indians to literacy in English will be discussed in lecture). Indeed, orality and literacy can influence and feed into each other. For reasons of practicality, however, this course will focus on writings in English although aspects of oral traditions will be explained when integral to understanding the written text.
Should American Indian literature be confined to separate course offerings? (In this department, also including two graduate courses, one concerning Native American autobiography, the other contemporary fiction. In fall 1996 and 1997, I introduced American Studies courses focussing on (primarily) the Lakota Sioux in their roles as Hollywood "Indians", and I often teach ENGL 4002: Native North American Indian Women Writers, offered this semester in live televised format at two sites, here and at the Univ. of NC at Pembroke. I am team-teaching it with a Native American colleague at that university.) How does it "fit" (to anticipate my claim in class: it doesn't) into the conventional schema of "American" (mainly Euro-immigrant American) literature, starting in English on the colonial eastern seaboard and parceled into genres, time periods, and "major authors" within a "canon" (contested as it has been, with the inclusion of "minority" authors, most students can still readily reel off who is "great" and what is "important")? Is it the only truly "American" literature? Or should American Indian authors be "integrated" into any American literature courses (as, indeed, they can be)? Do they lend themselves to classification as "postcolonial" and/or "Third World" literatures? Whatever the classification, our focus is Native North American Indians as authors and subjects of their own stories, since:
The consciousness of other people cannot be perceived, analyzed, defined as objects or as things--one can only relate to them dialogically. To think about them means to talk with them: otherwise they immediately turn to us their objectivized side; they fall silent, close up, and congeal into finished, objectivized images. (MikhailBakhtin, qtd in Schultz 77).
My own (always evolving) preference is that, though American Indian literature bears likenesses to the last of the above, they are best understood comparatively. By this, in the context of other world indigenous literatures (e.g., various African; Maori; (Australian or Canadian) Aboriginal or "First Nations"; Inuit; Native Hawaiian and other native Pacific peoples, and indigenous Latin American). (NB: This is one reason why ENGL 3156 earns you three hours of the cross-cultural/international X general education goal # 6, which provides that students will come to "understand the commonalities, differences, and interdependence among and within societies of the world", 1999-2001 Catalog 37.) Despite invasion, conquest, settlement of their lands, and uneven absorption into or envelopment by the mainstream population, more than 250 million indigenous peoples survive worldwide. Four percent of the global population, living in over 70 countries (modern nation-states), they are sometimes said to constitute a "Fourth World." While varying enormously from each other and from "us" (for convenience, I understand "us" to mean those socialized predominantly in mainstream, largely Euro-immigrant culture, whatever our ethnicity), they share a common situation on humanitarian, cultural, and legal grounds. "[T]he 1990s [have been] a time when indigenous communities [have] demand[ed] that their lands be restored to them, that their cultures be protected and that their right to self-determination be recognized" (Burger 11):
[T]oday as in the past they are prey to stereotyping... By some they are idealized as the embodiment of spiritual values; by others they are denigrated as an obstacle impeding economic progress. But they are neither: they are people who cherish their own distinct cultures, are the victims of past and present-day colonialism, and are determined to survive. Some live according to their traditions, some receive welfare, others work in factories, offices, or the pro fessions.... Where they have maintained a close living relationship to the land, there exists a co-operative attitude of give and take, a respect for the Earth and the life it supports, and a perception that humanity is but one of many species. (15)
OK, from the global to the local (= this classroom). Please bring me, on Monday Aug. 28th, a written learning contract outlining/explaining the work you intend to do in this course. Just as I have a contract to teach (of which this syllabus is a part), you will have one to learn. In it state: (1) why you were interested in this course; (2) how you learned about it; (3) what your goals are in taking it; (4) how you intend to achieve these goals, including the concrete steps you will take. You may also include your expectations of me as a teacher. You may revise these goals as the course progresses; write the contract carefully, for it will be an important basis for your final assessment. Please include any other information, such as previous literature or other related courses you may have taken, what you like to read/view for pleasure, any experiences with Indian peoples... Submit your word-processed, spell-checked contract in a folder or sheet protector.
I will, when possible, invite guest speakers from the North Carolina Indian community and alert you to cultural events relevant to the course taking place on campus or in the Charlotte area. An advantage of teaching this course in the fall is that November is Indian Heritage Month in North Carolina, with a number of events (including powwows) occurring: when you attend and report in writing on these, you will receive extra credit. During the semester, UNC Charlotte's Native American Student Organization (NASO) sponsors a Native American Heritage week. And,
of course, both Columbus Day and Thanksgiving offer plenty of material for reflection! Just to give you an idea of some upcoming events:
Sept. 15-17: 24th Annual Guilford Native American Cultural Festival/Powwow, Greensboro,
NC; contact Kathy Locklear, 336/273 8686; *
Sept. 19-Oct. 1 Indian Trail's 17th Annual Powwow, Metrolina Native American Association;
contact Letha Strickland, 704/522 6311
Oct. 3-7 88th Annual Cherokee Indian Fair, Ceremonial Grounds, Cherokee, NC *
Nov. 5 Native American Cultural Arts Festival, Charlotte Museum of History,
1-5p.m.; contact Wanda Carter, 704/363 3997
Nov. 6 Indian Heritage Month Kick-Off, Metrolina Native American Association,
Charlotte, NC; contact Letha Strickland, 704/522 6311
Nov. 25: Catawba Nation "Day of the Catawba" Cultural Festival, Catawba Indian
Reservation, near Rock Hill, SC; contact Catawba Cultural Preservation
Project, 803/328 2427 *
* Events that students have particularly enjoyed in past semesters.
All students need to use email in this course, whether through a private Internet service provider or through the university. If you are not now on email, or unfamiliar with research on the worldwide web, your first step for this course should be to acquire an email account (for free) at the university. Go to UNCC's home page (www.uncc.edu) and click on "Library" for information on opening student e-mail accounts and access to computer labs. Your Learning Contract should include your email address. Moreover, there are now some excellent web sites concerning American Indian literature, and the tribes of the Carolinas. To refer to a few that you will want to explore (as of 8/12/00):
Your texts for this course are John L. Purdy and James Ruppert, ed., Nothing But the Truth: An Anthology of Native American Literature, and James J. Rawls, Chief Red Fox Is Dead: A History of Native Americans since 1945. I'm excited about both of them! The first is "hot off the press" (it was published on August 11th!). The second provides the type of background most of us wish we had had in school: without it, many of the concerns of contemporary American Indian literature are less easy to understand. I will also be showing videos and occasionally distributing handouts. Tests and other assignments will also be based on these, as well as your lecture notes.
I cannot encourage you strongly enough to consult with me whenever you wish! My walk-in office hours are immediately after this class, MWF 10-11; you may also make an appointment for other times. My office is FRET 290H; my office phone is 687 4208 (with voice mail); and my e-mail addresses are sgardner@email.uncc.edu and susangardner@earthlink.net. (To be on the safe side, send any message to both addresses.)
WORKLOAD, ASSIGNMENTS, AND POLICIES will be discussed at our first meetings and then provided to you individually. However, as far as absences are concerned, since we only meet for 50 minutes, too much time can be spent by taking attendance, and I prefer that you be responsible for your actions anyway! Therefore, when you must be absent, call or email me; preferably beforehand when possible. Honesty is the best policy here; I know that "life happens." I will only configure absences in your final grade if there is a pattern of repeated absences or tardiness. (However, if I find that this pleasantly enlightened policy of professional discretion doesn't work, I reserve the right to change it, and will advise you accordingly.) And do try not to be late! After five minutes or so, entering the classroom simply disrupts it. I prefer instead that you contact me later. Please keep in mind, though, that my responsibility stops when I tell you what we covered and if you missed any assignments. For lecture notes, you will have to rely on your fellow/sister students.
And you are bound both by the UNCC student academic integrity code and the English Dept.'s multi-cultural policy, attached.
Finally, when I offer this course, student evaluations represent a continuum between these poles: "I learned that Indians had a bad rap and could write. Big deal!" and "This course has totally changed my life and should be an absolute graduation requirement." Without necessarily tending to either extreme, I hope that you will come to feel comfortable with American Indian materials, as well as non-Western modes of reading and understanding literature (and, for that matter, life). I don't think you would be here if you didn't already have an interest in "Indians"; my own aim is to introduce you to their literature without romanticism or nostalgia, and with respect; good luck!
WORKS CITED
Berkhofer, Robert F., Jr. The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present. [1978], NY: Vintage, 1979.
Burger, Julian, with campaigning groups and Native peoples worldwide. The Gaia Atlas of theWorld's Indigenous Peoples: a Future for the Indigenous World. Foreword Maurice F. Strong. NY: Anchor/Doubleday, 1990.
Owens, Louis. Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel. U of OK P, 1992.
Ruoff, A. Lavonne Brown. American Indian Literatures: an Introduction, Bibliographic Review and Selected Bibliography. NY: MLA, 1990.
Schultz, Emily A. Dialogue at the Margins: Whorf, Bakhtin, and Linguistic Relativity. Madison: U of WI, 1990.
Dr. Susan Gardner, Fall 2001
If only I were an Indian, suddenly alert, on a galloping horse, leaning against the wind… (Franz Kafka, 1883-1924)
[T]he Indian…is a product of literature, history, and art, and a product that, as an invention, often bears little resemblance to actual, living Native American people. (Louis Owens, Cherokee/Choctaw novelist and critic)
Let us put our heads together, and see what life we will make for our children. (Tatanka Iotanka/Sitting Bull)
As I originally conceived of this course, I wanted it to be useful to an audience of teachers, future teachers, school library/media specialists, and parents (and I still do). It was, in fact, first taught as an intensive, three-week summer institute for teachers in 2000. But soon I realized that anyone interested in Native America could benefit, because my intent is to enable you to learn to evaluate resources (in print or electronic media, and in the community) for yourselves. No American is immune from the major sources of stereotyping American Indians: the electronic media, advertising, and children's literature. And all of these play powerful roles in the socialization of youth; it is hard to outgrow these images and fantasies. Although I came by various ways to my present specialization in Am. Indian Literatures, I realize that my own fascination stems from my father's boyhood reading. My great-grand-aunt Ida gave him a children's book popular in the 1920s, American Indian Fairytales (not that any such genre exists!), and he used to hide in his grandparents' barn on summer vacations in Iowa to read it. After he died in 1998, I found among his personal papers an unpublished novel he had written about the Iowa frontier.
Thinking further, I remembered that traditional Native American societies, in their oral storytelling (dating back at least 30,000 years), had little concept of what we call "children's literature" which, interestingly, is defined by its audience: the "protected class" of modern childhood in the Western European-derived world. Traditional Native American conceptions of "the self" locate its origins in ancestral time out of mind; children are the ancestors reborn; the notion of an "individual" attains significance as a function of kinship placement and membership of a prior and over-arching social whole, the People. Moreover, in the world's non-Western, traditional societies, it was assumed that understanding the stories grew with time; endings did not have to be happy, nor were certain subjects taboo; and oral narrative/storytelling was the means by which cultures preserved their memory, history, knowledge, wisdom. As one elder has said, "We are Indian people because we tell each other Indian stories."
Yet modern Native writers have adopted the Euramerican genre: do their stories for children and adolescents differ significantly from those told by writers from the mainstream culture? Or from Native American literature written for adults? A further consideration in structuring the course was Native American children as audience: like all American children, they are exposed to the mainstream society's cultural offerings, especially including popular culture. But they walk in two worlds, or, as a Lumbee friend once expressed their reality, "with a sneaker on one foot and a moccasin on the other." What kinds of stories would delight and instruct them, while addressing the mainstream culture's children at the same time?
There are further preliminary considerations. During the Treaty-making era, although treaties in international law are conducted between sovereign entities, Federal law had already classified Native Americans as "domestic dependent nations." A predictable rhetoric perceiving them as children or wards under the Great Father's protection ensued, particularly when land cessions became involved (1784-1868). No other American ethnic "minority" is paternally administered by a sub-Cabinet agency, in this case the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the U.S. Dept. of the Interior.
In the later nineteenth and well into the twentieth centuries, when assimilation and forced deculturation within government and church-run boarding schools were Federal policy after the confinement of Native Americans to reservations, an unforeseen effect of suppressing Native languages and cultural practices was the development of pan-Indian identities and a nascent literature in a new, shared language: English. One way to address a mainstream audience, early writers discovered, was via "children's literature." The entrée of American Indian-authored stories into the Euramerican literary mainstream was thus by dint of their infantilization. (Salishan) Mourning Dove's Coyote Stories sanitized the great Trickster. (Dakota) Charles Eastman and his Euramerican wife Elaine Eastman's Wigwam Evenings domesticated traditional narrative. One of (Mohawk) performing artist E. Pauline Johnson's audiences was mass-circulation magazines for children and their parents.
During the same time period, English-born artist Ernest Thompson Seton started the Woodcraft Indian societies for Canadian and American white youth. In England, the Boy Scouts (founded in 1908) and the Girl Guides (1910) were negligibly influenced by Seton's model, but in North America The Boy Scout Handbook evolved from Seton's The Birch-bark Roll of the Woodcraft Indians. This imitative trend survives in YMCA summer camps where Euramerican children acquire "Indian" names, clan affiliations, and survival skills. However honorable the values taught, Euramerican children are only playing at being Indians, during "quality" "down" time. In the boarding schools, Native American children were not playing at being white. They had no choice in the matter.
A heavily propagandistic literature took aim at graduates of Native American boarding schools, to ensure that they would maintain the intended allegiance to white and Christian values. Novelist Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo), doyenne of American Indian women writers of the Southwest, recalls Stiya: the Story of an Indian Girl, published by the U.S. War Dept. in 1881 and written by a white woman, Marion Bergess (masquerading as "Tonka," a meaningless name). Bergess had been a teacher and dormitory matron at the notorious Indian Industrial School in Carlisle, PA, whose former military founder Richard Pratt's philosophy was "to kill the Indian to save the child." Silko's great-grandmother and her Aunt Susie had been educated there, and the novel "was the cause of the only big quarrel my great-grandmother ever had with her daughter-in-law, Aunt Susie ("Books" 161):
The U.S. government had taken every precaution to sever the Indian students' ties with their families and tribes. Children were taken by force, if necessary, put on the train, and sent thousands of miles to the boarding school…. The government did not allow the children to return home for visits in the summer. Instead [they] were hired out to Carlisle families for domestic and farm work. The government policymakers believed that if the Indian children were kept far enough away from their families and homeland long enough, the Indian School graduates might…melt into the cities in the East to work as maids and farmhands….
[Stiya] was written from the point of view of a young Pueblo girl…after she has returned home…and struggles to maintain her new identity and 'civilized' ways despite growing hostility and pressure from her family and from the Pueblo community…. Bergess projected all of her own fears and prejudices toward Pueblo life into her Stiya character…. [She] has no affection for any family member; every aspect of Pueblo life is repugnant; vile odors and flies abound. Stiya is filled with self-loathing when she remembers she grew up in this place. (161-63)
Although, Silko comments, "[T]he old-time Pueblo people abhorred confrontations, especially with family members" (161), a battle royal erupted between the old lady and her daughter-in-law:
Aunt Susie was a scholar and a story-teller; she believed the Stiya book was important evidence of the lies and the racism and the bad faith of the U.S. government… Grandma A'mooh didn't care about preserving historical evidence of racist, anti-Indian propaganda; a book's lies should be burned just as witchcraft paraphernalia is destroyed. (164)
In the end, Aunt Susie salvaged the novel, but "Books like Stiya, purportedly written by Indians about Indian life, still outnumber books actually written by Indians….. As Vine Deloria has pointed out, non-Indians are still more comfortable with Indian books written by non-Indians than they are with books by Indian authors" (165.) [Note that some portions of Silko's most recent novel, Gardens in the Dunes, take place at another (in)famous boarding school in California.]
So much by way of background for the time being! Your texts for this course are: Karen D. Harvey with Lisa D. Harjo and Lynda Welborn, How to Teach about American Indians: a Guide for the School Library Media Specialist; Barbara R. Duncan, ed., Living Stories of the Cherokee; Penny Pollock (mixedblood Wyandotte), The Turkey Girl: a Zuni Cinderella Story; Jewel H. Grutman and Gay Matthaei, The Sketchbook of Thomas Blue Eagle; Joseph Bruchac (mixedblood Abenaki), Roots of Survival: Native American Storytelling and the Sacred and Trail of Tears; Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Chippewa), The Birchbark House; Simon Ortiz (Acoma Pueblo), The People Shall Continue My selection guidelines were to span elementary through secondary school; to show tribal specificity and continuity between traditional oral tales and print retellings; to use books mainly, but not exclusively, by Native American authors; to achieve gender parity (the Hollywood "Indian" is almost always a Sioux, on horseback, and male!); to use some of the most recent books available; and to include a focus on our home in the Southeast.
Atkins Library only holds two of our texts (The Turkey Girl and The Birchbark House). I've placed both of them on three-hour reserve. In addition to the texts, we will read additional materials in connection with nearly all of them, view some videos and, above all, benefit from the presence of American Indian guest-speakers from the Charlotte area and from the state. Once arrangements are finalized, I will give you their dates. Here, too, are some web sites that will be useful:
COURSE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES:
All students are bound by the University's student academic integrity code, and English Dept. policy mandates adherence to its statement on multiculturalism (in the broadest senses of that sometimes maligned word). These policies are attached to this syllabus.
Please bring me, on Tuesday August 28th, a written learning contract outlining/explaining the work you intend to do in this course. Just as I have a contract to teach (of which this syllabus is a part), you will have one to learn. In it state: (1) why you were interested in this course; (2) how you learned about it; (3) what your goals are in taking it; (4) how you intend to achieve these goals, including the concrete steps you will take. You may also include your expectations of me as a teacher. You may revise these goals as the course progresses; write the contract carefully, for it will be an important basis for your final assessment. Please include any other information, such as previous literature or other related courses you may have taken, what you like to read/view for pleasure, any previous contacts with Indian people, anything else you think it would be helpful for me to know about you. Submit your word-processed, spell-checked contract in a folder or sheet protector.
You may contact me in my office (FRET 290H), at 704/547 4208 (with voicemail) or sgardner@email.uncc.edu / susangardner@earthlink.net . My "walk-in" office hours this semester are T 2-5 p.m. and R 2-4 p.m., or we can make an appointment at a more mutually convenient time.
Absences: I don't differentiate between excused and unexcused absences; you are allowed a maximum of three, after which your final grade will be impacted at my discretion. And do try not to be late! After five minutes or so, entering the classroom simply disrupts it. I prefer instead that you contact me beforehand if possible; if not, as soon as possible thereafter. Please keep in mind, though, that my responsibility stops when I tell you what we covered and if you missed any assignments. For lecture notes, you will have to rely on your fellow/sister students.
I will award extra credit (5 points) if you attend and report on any of the local or statewide Indian events and celebrations during the fall (November is Indian Heritage Month in North Carolina!). I've attached a list of these to the syllabus. Most are free.
And don't let me forget to mention my pet peeve, which is students packing their bags before the class is over! It drives me nuts and, rest assured, you will get out on time!
GRADING:
Absences, and how well you live up to your Learning Contract, will not formally enter the scale except at my discretion
(i.e., if they are problematic). Your final grade will be based on the following:
Micro-themes: 50%
Weekly Participation on COYOTE-L: 20%
Researched Project: 30%
TOTAL: 100%
Some of your assignments will be micro-themes, a form of brief essay, which may be a new experience for you. They make splendid preparation for discussion, whether in small groups or a whole class setting. Neither you nor I have to endure extensive reading journals, massive group projects, or what my colleague Dr. Jacoby (from whom I borrowed and adapted this technique) calls "knuckle-whitening oral presentations." Because they are written in a small space (5x8, and only 5x8, index cards--I won't accept any other size, or hastily scribbled, last-minute themes on a ripped-out sheet of paper!)--you become practiced in stating your ideas clearly and concisely. The themes may be typed, word-processed, hand-printed or hand-written (if legibly, and only in dark ink). You may use both sides of the card, but you may not write on more than one card. All micro-themes must have your name and the micro-theme number in their upper right hand corner. Although these are not formal papers--therefore, you don't need to bother with introductions and conclusions--they must be neatly presented, with correct spelling and grammar. I will collect them at the very beginning of class, a good reason not to be late! Although I will not assign micro-themes for every class, I will assign them often. Some examples of the forms a micro-theme could take are the following:
COYOTE-L is our class listserv, where we conduct discussion with each other in addition to our discussions in class. To participate, all students need to use email in this course, whether through a private Internet service provider or through the university. If you are not now on email your first step in this course should be to acquire an email account (for free) at the university. Go to UNCC's home page (www.uncc.edu) and click on "Library" for information on opening student e-mail accounts and access to computer labs. Otherwise, go to one of the computer labs and ask a TA on duty to organize your account. All students must be on line by the end of drop-add (Aug. 29th), as you will spend out-of-class time (often in preparation for in-class time) contributing to COYOTE-L.
From teaching this course before, it became apparent that most students wish to begin filling in a gap in their education. I do know, from every course concerning American Indians that I've taught over the last 11 years, that your interest may have been long-standing before you entered this classroom, and certainly will endure long after you leave it. So I want to enable you to take something tangible away from it: a research project for practical use, to be shared with the larger communities where you work and live or for your own use in later years. Often, a project that a student wants to do can double as service to the local Indian communities, who may contribute to, and benefit from, the research. Academe has gone a long way--if, probably, not yet far enough--in cooperating with Indian communities: no longer studying them as "objects" of research; talking with them rather than about them. I will provide a separate list of possibilities for projects, but you need not confine yourself to those that I've thought of, provided you clear another project with me. If several of you wish to work together, you may do so. The format you choose will vary depending on the kind of project, from the customary literary research paper to the more unusual (I'm bringing examples of those to an early class so you can see what I mean!).
Thank you for your interest in this course, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do! This really is a course which enables all of us to make a difference.
* * * * * * *
English 4104/5104: American Indians and Children's Literature
Research Project Suggestions
As I mentioned in the first week of classes, your research is to consist of a project that you can share with the rest of the members of the class, teachers, librarians/media specialists, and/or parents (if you are already teaching, of course!), with other students in future courses, or with your home community. The project will count as 30 % of your final grade. The materials to be shared with the class may be presented orally (with appropriate supplementary materials to be distributed to everyone) or on COYOTE-L. (Let me say here that I'm not a great fan of oral presentations, tho' some of you may surprise me. People typically underestimate how much time they will need and the visual materials are sometimes ill-prepared and boring.) If you are more comfortable with the traditional research paper format, that is fine, but you will need to submit it electronically. You may also work together on a project. In short, we are all each other's audience; you are not just proving something to me, but sharing research with your peers. Please do not hesitate to consult with me, on e-mail or in person, as soon and as often as we both can! If you wish to work on a project different from those below, that is fine, but please "clear" it with me in advance, so that I can advise you as to whether or not it is "doable." Your project is due at the latest on Dec…. .
1. Many of you are planning to be teachers at specific grade levels, whether of literature or social studies. Prepare an annotated bibliography of sources by and about American Indians at those grade levels.
2. With the advent of resources on the Internet, a wealth of information is available on multi-cultural children's literature in general and Am. Indian children's literature in particular. Investigate one (or a combination) of these sites, which include the American Indian Librarians' Association, Oyate, The Greenfield Review Press and others mentioned on your syllabus. What kinds of information does the site provide? What are the credentials of its providers? What links does it provide to other sites?
3. With the new generation of American Indian writers for children, some of the older "classics," such as the novels of Scott O'Dell, are beginning to seem rather quaint or superficial, however significant they may have been at their original time of publication. Compare some of these with texts (at appropriate reading level) we read in this course or that you discover, and analyze how they differ (if they do). In some instances, it will be possible directly to compare works by a Native and a non-Native writer about the same event, such as the Navajos' Long Walk. You can include reviews or other assessments of the work at the time of first publication and now.
4. There has not been enough time to study traditional modes of American Indian child-rearing and pedagogy, but you
might enjoy learning about one, or several cultures in that respect…
I thought of this one because of the comments some of you made in prompts that one could not teach young children
peaceable conflict resolution, yet many Am. Indian societies did live by a harmony ethic. See what you can find out about
socialization of traditional Am. Indian children.
5. As you have become aware, many "teachers' favorites" of the recent past, such as The Education of Little Tree, The Indian in the Cupboard series, and Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, are now viewed negatively, particularly by Native reviewers in the fields of education and literature. In addition to these three, there are a number of others that have become regarded as undesirable. Review some more that are not on the "recommended" lists. This could also include books for children by New Age writers purporting to be about or by Indians--as you know, there is a lot of ethnic fraud out there!
6. For those of you with access to school libraries, review the books (and/or other materials, such as videos) that the institution holds. Are there any that you would recommend discarding? Prepare a list for future acquisitions, explaining why they would be of benefit to the school.
7. Most of the authors we are studying have published at least one other children's book (Bruchac has published several dozen!). Provide an annotated bibliography of works by and about the author for use by another teacher/media specialist/parent. Or you may choose a writer we have not had the time to study: see me for recommendations if you need them.
8. Since most of you will be working in North or South Carolina, visit the web sites of the American Indian tribes located in the area (whether Federally-acknowledged or not) and evaluate the information there. Write an annotated "webography" and/or lesson plans based on what you have learned there. What activities might you find for children based upon visiting these sites?
9. One of the most interesting genres in American literary history is the captivity narrative, in which a Euramerican settler is captured by Indians. Colonial leaders such as Benjamin Franklin affected to be puzzled as to why European children often didn't wish to be returned to "civilization," whereas Indian children forced to live in the white settlements did their best to run away as soon as they could. Another variant of the captivity narrative is, of course, the boarding school memoir. See me for recommendations of both kinds of texts.
10. Many children's books about Indians are based, or purport to be based, on an "original" "myth" or "legend," and some of the writers explicitly list their sources. Read the sources that the authors consulted, and study how the original material is modified to suit the perceived demands of the modern, mainstream market for children's fiction (or history, or autobiography). This would work particularly well with The Birchbark House, and I can refer you to many of the sources that Erdrich consulted.
11. Many of us grew up on the Little House on the Prairie series (and its more modern spin-offs), or, in my case, Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink and Conrad Richter's The Light in the Forest (which was Disneyfied into a movie with Fess Parker) and A Country of Strangers, both of them about white children captured by Indians who are forced to return to their original families during hostage exchanges. How would you evaluate any of these books now?
12. For the artistically gifted among you, study the illustrations in children's books both approved of and "not recommended" by an organization such as Oyate. Explain your evaluations to the rest of us. And why not attempt some illustrations on your own?
13. Another facet of the boarding school tale is the phenomenon referred to as "residential school syndrome," which designates the trauma suffered by the child at the school as well as by her or his descendants (referred to as "intergenerational trauma"). There is a growing body of research concerning this topic, and some Indians are suing the Federal government, religious denominations or the schools themselves for the "loss of childhood." Present some of these cases to us.
14. We have only been able to refer in passing to programs developed for mainstream children such as the Boy and Girl Scouts, the Campfire Girls, and various YW/YMCA summer activities. Using the template of criteria adopted in this course, explain the history/activities of such organizations and evaluate their usefulness. Those of you who were able to visit the Catawba reservation will remember that the bookstore there was selling Ernest Thompson Seton's Two Little Savages…
15. I decided early on that you were all too mature for my toy collection (!), but a visit to Toys 'R Us and other stores, plus a survey of my marketing manuals and similar sources, would make an excellent topic! Develop a list of criteria for parents who wish to buy "Indian toys" or "costumes" for their children.
16. Study professional organizations--such as the National Indian Education Association--and journals--such as The Journal of American Indian Education, Multi-Cultural Review, The Journal of Multi-Cultural Counselling--that focus on the needs of Native American students. Present your findings to our class, and then write some recommendations that could be used by teachers and guidance counselors.
17. If you are interested in Native American perceptions of Thanksgiving, you could prepare an annotated bibliography of sources concerning the topic (including fiction for children, web sites, history texts) for class members, or formulate lesson plans or write a research paper based upon what you discovered.
NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN WOMEN
SPRING 2002
| ENGL 4002/5002-NO1 AMST 3000-NO1 (UNCC) WMST 4050-NO1 Dr. Susan Gardner Email: sgardner@email.uncc.edu |
AIS 401-45 (UNCP) Dr. Linda Oxendine Email: linda.oxendine@uncp.edu |
"A people is not defeated until the hearts of its women are on the ground."
(Cheyenne saying)
DESCRIPTION OF COURSE: Historically, in the study of tribal histories and cultures, the experiences of American Indian women have been omitted, distorted, or misrepresented. If there is inclusion, the image of the Indian woman is usually a stereotypical portrayal created by biased perceptions of outsiders, to the extent that Paula Gunn Allen (Laguna/Sioux) has asserted, "Image casting and image control constitute the central process American Indian women must come to terms with, for on that control rests our sense of self, our claim to a past and a future that we define and that we build.... Media images, literary images, and artistic images, particularly those embedded in popular culture, must be changed." In recent decades, however, there has been a concerted effort by a number of scholars, Native and non-Native, to challenge these images through more thorough and more objective investigations into the traditional and contemporary lives of Indian women. This course will examine both early and recent historical, anthropological and literary writings by and/or about Native American Indian women, our objective being to provide you with views of their world from their perspectives.
Your instructors worked together on various projects throughout the 1990s, and the UNC system president's advocacy of distance learning encouraged us to combine our areas of expertise--literary criticism (Dr. Gardner) and history (Dr. Oxendine)--in this medium. In addition to enjoying this opportunity to teach together while located at different sites, we hope our students will equally enjoy the enhanced possibilities for interaction available through electronic technologies. You have our thanks for your interest in this interdisciplinary, multi-media adventure! Dr. Oxendine (Lumbee) is Chair of the American Indian Studies Department at UNC Pembroke. She earned her doctorate in American Studies at the University of Minnesota with a concentration in American Indian Studies, and has worked with several tribal, state and national agencies in this field. Dr. Gardner specializes in American Indian literatures and film, and has supplemented conventional scholarly research in these areas by attending the Oglala Lakota Tribal College's summer cultural institute at Pine Ridge reservation, as well as by spending time on the Crow Creek and Lower Brule reservations, all in South Dakota. Both Dr. Oxendine and Dr. Gardner, with their students, have collected oral histories from Indian people in Robeson Co. and Charlotte, NC. This is the second time we are teaching this course together, as we enjoyed our collaboration and our diverse mix of students so much in Fall 2000.
READINGS: Your textbooks are Spider Woman's Granddaughters: Traditional Tales and Contemporary Writing by American Indian Women by Paula Gunn Allen; Waterlily by Ella Cara Deloria (Dakota); Sifters: Native American Women's Lives, ed. Theda Purdue; and Bead on an Anthill: A Lakota Childhood, by Delphine Red Shirt (Lakota). Other readings will also be assigned.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
(1) Attendance is required; excessive absences of any sort (we do not differentiate between "excused" and "non-excused") will affect your grade. Please do not be tardy; this is very distracting on live, simultaneously broadcast TV!
(2) Weekly micro-themes (see below), which will count for 50% of your final grade;
(3) A mid-term exam, which will be in take-home, short-essay format: 25% of your final grade;
(4) A retrospective final project: 25% of your final grade.
All students must use email in this course, whether through a private Internet service provider or through your respective universities. As the course progresses, we expect lively conversations to take place with instructors and among students, and since our studio time is limited to twice per week, email is an indispensable means of providing more contact. Whatever your home institution, please feel free to contact either instructor. If you are not now on email, your first step for this course should be to acquire an email account (for free) at your university. Dr. Gardner will then set up a class listserve so that we can all communicate with each other.
GRADING: As noted above, at the discretion of the instructors, a pattern of repeated absences and tardiness will negatively affect your grade. Each instructor will grade the students at her own institution. The grading scale is:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
Below 60 = F
We will award extra credit up to 15% (five points per event) if you attend an Indian-sponsored or -related event on campus or in the community. We will alert you to these, and you may well discover some more on your own. These points will be added to your mid-term and final grades.
HONOR CODE: Each student is bound by the UNCP and UNCC codes of student academic integrity. UNCC students are also governed by the English Dept.'s multi-cultural teaching policy.
ETIQUETTE IN THE STUDIO DURING TRANSMISSION:
Basically, we simply want you to relax and enjoy the possibilities for interaction provided by instruction at two sites!
During transmission, however, conversations among yourselves, even if whispered, can be picked up by the mikes (and
heard 112 miles away!), and you also need to be careful when consulting books or papers. It will by far be best if you
arrive slightly ahead of time, and have all your books and notebooks out before the class starts; similarly, before the
end, please don't start stuffing backpacks, briefcases, totes or purses! Cell phones or pagers must be turned off.
Additionally, no food is allowed, and only drinks in non-drip sports containers are. These are university regulations.
After a session or two, we hope that the technology will become "transparent," i.e., you should not be overly aware of it,
and not inhibited by it.
Some of your assignments will be micro-themes, a form of brief essay, which may be a new experience for you. They make splendid preparation for lectures and discussion, whether in small groups or a whole class setting. Neither you nor we have to endure extensive reading journals, massive group projects, or "knuckle-whitening" oral presentations, and you regularly know how you stand in the course. Because they are written in a small space (5x8, and only 5x8, index cards--we won't accept any other size, or hastily scribbled, last-minute themes on a ripped-out sheet of paper!)--you become practiced in stating your ideas clearly and concisely. The themes may be typed, word-processed, hand-printed or hand-written (if legibly, and only in dark ink). You may use both sides of the card, but you may not write on more than one card. All micro-themes must have your name and the micro-theme number in their upper right hand corner. Although these are not formal papers--therefore, you don't need introductions and conclusions--they must be neatly presented, with correct spelling and grammar. Each microtheme must include several quotations from your assigned readings, including the page numbers. We will assign a new one every Tuesday, and collect them at the very beginning of class the following Tuesday, a good reason not to be late! Some examples of the forms a micro-theme could take are the following:
COURSE OUTLINE:
1. American Indian Women in Oral Traditions:
"Oshkikwe's Baby," 43-47, and "American Horse," 48-61, in SWG;
"The White Buffalo Woman" (handout)
"The Woman Who Fell from the Sky," SWG 65-68, + Joy Harjo poem (handout)
"Evil Kachina Steals Yellow Woman" and "Sun Steals Yellow Woman," SWG 210-217
"Yellow Woman," SWG 228
2. American Indian Women in Cultural Crisis: the Early American Colonial Period:
"Pocahantas," 14-28; "Mary Musgrove," 29-47; "Molly Brant," 48-59, and "Sacagawea," 60-76 in Sifters
3. Ella Deloria, Waterlily, and Fictionalized Ethnography: Pre-Reservation Life on the Northern Great Plains
4. American Indian Women Crossing Cultures: 19th Century Resistance and Cultural Mediation