Friday, April 3, 2009

March Workshop Response

1. A brief summary of the seminar. Include any highlights for you – new information, a particularly useful exercise, a favorite moment. Be sure to identify the main historical themes and the core documents presented in the seminar.

The first part of the seminar was spent discussing some of the readings and issues related to those readings. Thie biggest, or most interesting for me was the enfranchisement of Indians in Massachusetts and the benefits and downfalls of that for the Indians. There didn't seem to be many benefits for the Natives, as their tribal identity was stricken from them and their land was taken also in many cases. They did obtain some rights, but it was probably a much more beneficial situation to be under guardianship and retain their land. We also discussed how they retained or lost their identities as Native peoples. Some moved to other towns and became known as African Americans rather than Natives because it made more opportunities. Others retained Native identity, or recreated parts of their Native identity over time. We discussed how this was problematic, especially when tribes started to go for Federal recognition, because if the state had told them they were no longer Native, that ceased their "continuous meeting and governing tribal body". It's difficult to prove you are and have been descended from Natives when the state tells a people they are no longer Indian tribes.

The next part was a video on Black Indians. Most of the opinions of people in this video were very interesting and it was a topic which we hadn't really discussed too much prior. It was also different from what we have done previously because many of the people interviewed were from tribes not in Southern New England. The video certainly raised issues of identity and these people who are trying to raise families and belong to multiple identity groups and hold on the the cultural values of these groups.

The last part of the day was spent discussing pow-wow culture and how many of the modern Indian events and "cultural" activities may have nothing or very little to do with actual customs and traditions of the past. This is problematic because one can judge this negatively and say that is not authentic and therefore is not supporting their culture or one can say, at least it is a tradition that people can extend and hold on to, even if it isn't something ancestors did. It brings more questions than answers but it does bring to light that what we see represented as Indian in the modern times in this area probably is not tied to past Indian roots or traditions.

2. What questions did the seminar raise for you and how will you follow-up on those questions? Will you need to do further research – and if so, how will you approach that research and what sources are available to you?

Since the main question of this was identity, it was the biggest issue to raise questions. It made me think about how caught up we get in identity, when biologically, are we really what we claim to be? A person can say they are 50% Irish or 25% French, but really, biologically we have so many ancestors, that the geneological work needed to make those claims is unfathomable. Even just in modern times, knowing or having a firm grasp of ones identity culturally can be a problematic thing. One can take hold and latch on to one aspect and lose others of their own traditions. So, all of the issues related to Natives and losing and recreating identities through language or traditional customs brings up a lot of questions.

3. How would you use this material in the classroom?

The material from the session can be used extensively in U.S. history. While talking about Indian removal we can talk about creating and holding on to identities after being displaced. We can also focus on local history and show how the Natives of this area adapted after they were enfranchised and stripped of their tribal identity. It can also be used to get kids thinking of their own identities and what they are and cling to when it comes to cultural values and traditions.

4. How does the material presented in the seminar deepen your understanding of the relationship between representation and reality in the history of New England natives?

I think this session deepened my understanding of the issues releated to keeping or abandoning an identity and then trying to hold on to or recreate that identity in future generations. Talking about the pow-wow culture and how it probably isn't an accurate representation of traditions of that culture shows how identity was a tough issue to deal with and still is today. The Natives who were stripped of identity and were enfranchised had serious issues to tackle when it came to what to do next. Having land removed and a tribal identity taken away was a serious problem that led to issues that Natives had to deal with, often times with unsuccessful results.

No comments:

Post a Comment