Camping in Bandelier – Don Tucker – 1

This last spring I went camping at Bandelier National Monument in North-Central New Mexico in the heart of the Jemez Mts. During the visit I became acquainted with some the history of the pueblo peoples that had lived there. I also had the opportunity to walk ancient foot paths and view both the undisturbed ruins and recreations of village throughout the canyons. The Monument is basically an homage to self-taught historian and anthropologist named Adolph Bandelier who came to the region in the 1880’s to survey the customs and social organization of the Natives in the region. In all, Bandelier documented over 166 archeological sites in the Southwest. My visit got me thinking of how the American park service considers naming National Parks and decides what should be considered an American treasure. I find it kind of surprising that the park is named after the anthropologist that studied the people of the region and not after the actual people of the region. This sort of reminded me of one of the first class lectures and exercises we had that discussed the role of the historian and historiographical bias. Not only was this place inhabited by the pueblos here for at least hundreds of years, but many of there descendants still reside here on and off reservations.

Ben Tondera- Conquistadora the Explorer

I was surfing Collegehumor today and I saw this video. Now the video’s intent is to be funny and mock the show Dora the Explorer, but it showcases the themes of the stereotypes that we discussed during the opening days of class, and also the themes of chapter 2 in terms of the first contacts with Native Americans.

Considering the video consists of the ‘Conquistadora’ and her two companions whipping, giving the natives smallpox, and then the natives believing that she is in fact a god. It definitely plays to these stereotypes of natives, and also gives into the narrative of collapse that was discusses in Jared Diamond’s ‘Guns, Germs, and Steel’, all while sticking to the classic Dora the Explorer narrative with a little Spanish twist of subjugation.

Again, the video was mostly made for humorous purposes and not really intended to be offensive, but it definitely comes off as such. We know this didn’t actually happen, but lots of people don’t, and the people who made this video obviously never had this intention, but the point was still made, especially in the finale of the video when swiffer the fox was replaced with scalper, who hence his name wanted to scalp people.

Where Does “Ignorance” Come From?

When confronted with the scale and great length of Native history, Americans often proclaim their “ignorance.” What is the source of that ignorance? Is it a personal failing or something produced by the nation’s institutions? It is the latter. Here’s why:

1. Education is structured around a national narrative that does not allow for discussion of conquest and dispossession.  The national narrative comes to us as a single story.

2. Different perspectives on the past are hard to find, hard to teach and hard to understand.

3. Fixing “ignorance” takes effort: study, thought, reflection.  It is not just a matter of absorbing a few new facts.

4. American Indians suffer from this “ignorance” along with other people.  While they may have access to family or tribal stories, they too are denied access to “Indian perspectives” on the past.

Namesakes

Hello everybody!

This is Jeanine, and I’m a junior in Communications. I’ll be one of the bloggers for this semester … obviously.

While this is not an official post (those start next week), I thought to comment on the embedded nature of our existing knowledge on aspects of Native American culture. When Professor Hoxie asked us to think of and list the names of all the Native American individuals and tribes we could think of, I froze. My brain went empty of anything I had ever known about Native Americans.

However, upon further reflection, I realized I knew a bit more than I thought, especially when it came to names. For instance, a quick internet search reveals that Illinois is derived from the Algonquin “tribe of superior men,” Kentucky is derived from the Iroquoian word “Ken-tah-ten” meaning “land of tomorrow,” and Indiana originated from “land of Indians” (go figure). In fact, about half of our states have names connected to Native American languages.

Also, I attended high school in Indian Prairie School District. Waubonsie Valley high school’s namesake is Chief Waubonsie of Potawatomi, Neuqua Valley is named after Chief Waubonsie’s son, and the newest high school, Metea, was named after Chief Metea, another Potawatomi leader. 

So, while I am still woefully ignorant of Native American culture, I discovered that the names of my surrounding are reminders that I do know a tiny bit. 

– Jeanine

“American Indian Place Names.” Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. Infoplease.com. Web. 23 Jan. 2010. <http://www.infoplease.com/spot/aihmnames1.html&gt;.

Cutler, Charles L. O Brave New Words Native American Loanwords in Current English. New York: University of Oklahoma, 2000. Print.

First Day Exercise

Comments on the first day exercise were excellent.  From my notes, students gave these five reasons for the names most frequently mentioned in our discussion (Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull, Pocahontas, Sacajawea):

1. Indians are not considered part of the United States.

2. People generally don’t want to “go there” to discuss difficult and upsetting events.

3. Indians don’t “fit” into the conventional American narrative of expansion and progress.

4. Racism

5. Indians are too small a group to influence “mainstream” thinking about the past.

Do you want to add anything to this list?