 |
|
|
|
|
This Web Site is designed to accompany ANTHROPOLOGY 7: Peoples and Cultures of the Non-Western Tradition that I each at Cabrillo College. The class deals with the First Americans, a.k.a. the native (or indigenous) peoples of North America, a.k.a., the North American Indians and the Eskimo and Aleuts of Alaska and Canada. It is NOT meant as a substitute for class lectures or the assigned readings from the texts. Rather, it contains information which I hope will be of use to my students in their attempts to come to a fuller understanding of the indigenous peoples of North America. The lectures explore the history of the native peoples, beginning with their first appearance and continuing chronologically to the present. Interwoven with this historical account are ethnographic descriptions of selected First American societies (both past and present).
Attempting to discuss the vast evolutionary history and cultural diversity of the Native American peoples is both a daunting task and humbling prospect, as well as lying beyond the scope of any one course. Therefore, I will make some generalizations, exclude some time periods, and discuss in detail only certain societies and certain events and experiences. I make no attempt to include those Native American groups who lived in what came to be called Mexico (except for those groups whose original homelands included territory now claimed by both the U.S.A. and Mexico).
Since I am writing from an outsider's perspective, I cannot accurately represent Indian desires and interests, I make no pretense to do so, and I have no desire to do so. Michael Dorris, Modoc Indian author, offers some sound advice on the problems associated with studying the cultures and histories of America's indigenous people. He notes that whether we are Native or not, whether we hail from the U.S. or not, we never approach the study of any aspect of America's indigenous peoples with a blank slate. We all carry a host of assumptions and expectations unconsciously internalized, codified, and given "validity" and meaning through exposure to countless Hollywood westerns (from the John Wayne "The only good Indian is a dead one," to the "noble savage" of Dances With Wolves), T.V. programs, novels (including those of Tony Hillerman and James Fenimore Cooper), by childhood cowboy-and-Indian games, and by admonitions from our parents to "stop acting like a bunch of wild Indians." From these multiple sources come our deep-seated images of "Indians:" be they the noble "redman" (think of Squanto or Saccajaweya) or the bloodthristy savage (Pawnees in Dances With Wolves or Mohawks in Last of the Mohicans). We must acknowledge that we begin our inquiry into Native history, not from some neutral point, but many steps back, and we bring to our inquiry a whole host of stereotypes, biases, and prejudices.
Also, it is important for you to remember that anthropologists (and that is what I am) are all-too-human and our interests and scholarship are intricately connected with our biases and prejudices. I freely admit that I am not objective and I do not present "facts," rather I offer information about First Americans according to my interpretation of the facts, interpretations which reflect my biases and prejudices. However, I try to present information that I believe to be both accurate and non-exploitative. If you find materials associated with this web site which you believe to be inaccurate, or offensive to or exploitative of North America's First Peoples, please e-mail me [crsmith@cabrillo.cc.ca.us]. Also, all of the opinions expressed here are mine and not those of my employers, Cabrillo and Hartnell Colleges.
There are tens of thousand of sites on the Web that contain
information concerning North America's indigenous peoples. Many
(including my own) claim to contain accurate information about
the Native peoples. However, some sites contain information that
is not only inaccurate and damaging, but extremely offensive to
North America's indigenous peoples, especially those sites that
portray North America's indigenous peoples as more than human
(the "Noble Savage" stereotype) or less than human (the
"Ignoble Savage"). Also, many sites claim to be authored
by a Native person (when in fact the author is a non-Native masquerading
as an Indian), or they are authored by either New Age folk or
by Wannabe-Indians, that is, someone who has "discovered"
their "Native heritage" (usually Cherokee or Sioux or
both) through dreams, intuition, or "knowing" they are
Indian. These are offenses for which there is no punishment severe
enough. One of the most egregious examples of the latter was a
web site authored by Julia White. Ms. White claimed to have "discovered"
her "American Indian" heritage and writes articles for
Connecting Spirit magazine, articles that discuss "Indian"
history. May the Great Spirit help us if Ms. White gets known
better. Her work is full of major inaccuracies regarding North
America's First Nations (such as her erroneous discussion of the
territorial extent of the Chumash) as well as extremely offensive
language (such as her reference to members of the Powhatan confederacy
as "ruthless savages"). In addition, at one time she
blatantly stated that while she had no definitive proof, she just
"knew" she was of Cherokee/Sioux heritage. Her updated
site simply states that she IS of Cherokee/Sioux heritage! Perhaps
she is.
How does one critically evaluate a site whose author claims either
to be an "Indian" or to present accurate information
on the Native peoples? An excellent starting point for critically
evaluating "Indian" web sites (or any web site) is Elaine
M. Cubbins site Techniques
for Evaluating American Indian Websites. Elaine is a Sihasapa
Lakota (Blackfoot Sioux), holds a Master of Arts Degree in
Information Resources and Library Science, and is a Ph.D. candidate
in that field. I STRONGLY SUGGEST THAT
YOU VISIT HER SITE.
I also suggest that you stop by Evaluating Internet Resources, created by Topsy Smalley, Reference Librarian, Cabrillo College. And for some practice in evaluating Internet resources, try Internet Detective: A Tutorial.
|
|
|
