AN 206 Native Cultures of North America Syllabus

FALL 2007

Dr. Sandra Faiman‑Silva email: sfaimansilva@bridgew.edu

Office: 100E burrill Office Pod Hours: TTh 8:45-9:15, 11-12:00 Noon, 1:00-1:45 PM

Tel: (508) 531-2369 And By Appointment

Oglala Lakota Black Elk said:

“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round….Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were.”

This course will investigate Native American tribal cultures throughout North America north of Mexico. We will seek to understand Native Americans in their traditional cultural settings, and in their current relations with Euro-Americans and the U.S. government. We will explore tribal cultures throughout the U.S., including New England tribes, Eastern Canadian Crees and Montaignas/Naskapi, Iroquois of New York, Southeastern Tribes including the Choctaws; Canadian Northwest Tlingits; Southwestern Hopis, Navajos, and Apaches; and Upper Plains tribes including the Cheyennes. Although our primary focus will be to learn about traditional indigenous Native American cultures, we will also investigate contemporary Native American tribal communities, problems of reservation life, and Indian self-determination, as time permit.

Students will be required to come prepared to class. You must read assignments and pursue internet searches ahead of time, so you can participate in this course. Otherwise you should not sign up for this course. The Internet will be a major resource for some of the research activities. You should plan to have access to an internet website, so you can participate fully in these activities. You may access class materials through my Blackboard for this course. I will place the syllabus, readings, and other materials on this Site for you to access. You may also access this syllabus and other course materials through my BSC website located at the Faculty Home Pages site on the BSC webpage. Click on ‘F’, then click on my name, then click on the AN 206 icon on my web page. This will take you to the AN 206 syllabus. Although I will hand out copies of some maps, charts, etc., I will also post overheads, maps, and charts used in class on the website or on Blackboard. You should consult these sources to access these items.

Students will complete two mid-term exams, an impression paper, and a final exam. Students should attend class regularly. Absences in excess of four will result in a reduction in grade (at least 1/2 grade). You must participate in class discussions and complete assignments on time. Missing exams is strongly discouraged, and only a legitimate medical or other excuse will be accepted. Additional information will be given in class about the computer search notebook assignment. Assignments will be graded as follows:

2 Mid-Term exams/quizzes 25% each

Tribe Comparison/Analysis Paper 25%

Final Exam 25%

Attendance/participation +/-10%

The following texts will be used and should be purchased at the BSC Bookstore:

John H. Moore, The Cheyenne, Blackwell, 1997

Claire Farrar, Thunder Rides a Black Horse, 2nd ed. Waveland, 1996.

Sandra Faiman-Silva, Choctaws at the Crossroads, U Nebraska 2000

Native American websites will provide useful information sources, especially during the first part of the course. We will use these as part of our data-base.

A useful site for information about Native American tribes is located at:

http://www.tolatsga.org/Compacts.html.

This site contains descriptions of more than two dozen tribes. You can access information about the history and cultural features of tribes mentioned in class through this website.

Another site that contains a directory of many tribes is:

http://www.nativeculture.com/lisamitten/nations.html

A site about Alaska native tribes and native knowledge is at:

http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/

A site about Tlingit/Haida tribes of the Northwest Coast is at: http://www.alaskanative.net/38.asp

Click on Links to access numerous sites about the Northwest Coast and Alaska

A site about the Gay Head Wampanoag tribe is located at http://www.wampanoagtribe.net/

A site about the Seaconke Tribe of Wampanoags is at http://www.inphone.com/seahome.html

DAILY ASSIGNMENTS: The following Assignments should be prepared for the date listed and will be the basis for class discussions.

DATE: ASSIGNMENT

Sept. 11 INTRODUCTION

Anthropology, Native Americans, First Nations Prehistory

Sept. 18 Culture Areas. Look at: http://www.hanksville.org/sand/stereotypes

(this site may not work) and http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/cultmap.html

Click on Arctic which brings you to:

http://npc.nunavut.ca/eng/nunavut/

Click on Plateau dot which brings you to:

http://www.hallman.org/indian/.www.html

Click on Great Basin dot which brings you to:

http://www4.hmc.edu:8001/humanities/basin/gb-title.htm

Click on Southwest dot which brings you to:

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/art/beads/turquois.html

Click on Florida dot which brings you to:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/seac/outline/index.htm

Click on Southern Woodlands dot which brings you to:

http://www.cr.nps.gov/aad/feature/feature.htm

Sub Arctic Video: “Cree: Hunters of the Mistassini”

Sub Arctic/East http://www.gcc.ca/index.htm Cree website

Learn about Innu Nation by going to the Innu History and

Culture Page @ http://www.innu.ca/culture.html

*READ ”‘Spirituality’ Among the Inuit and Innu of Laborador” @

http://www.innu.ca/tanner1.html

NOTE: This reading is accessible through Blackboard

Sept. 25 East Look at: www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/cultmap.html and click on Northern Woodlands

Go to: http://www.nativetech.org/scenes/index.html

For ‘virtual tour’ of Eastern Woodlands indigenous way of life

(site is somewhat elementary, but useful narratives and sketches)

*Go to: http://www.tolatsga.org/wampa.html to read about Wampanoag history

*Go to: http://www.peace4turtleisland.org to learn about the Iroquois, who call

themselves the Haudausaunee, People of the Long House

See a map of the Iroquois lands at:

http://www.peace4turtleisland.org/pages/ancestrallandsmap.htm

*Click on the six sites to lean about the history and culture of the six member

nations who belonged to the Iroquois Confederacy:

Sececa, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk, and Tuscarora

*Go to: http://www.kahonwes.com/constitution.html to read over The

Constitution of the Iroquois Nations

Oct. 2 East, Cont. Iroquois Confederacy, Cont.

Oct. 9 1st Midterm Quiz

Plains Tribes: Read: The Cheyenne, Ch. 1-2

Go to: http://tlc.wtp.net/northern.htm which is the Montana Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council website where you can access websites for many Northern Plains tribes, including the Northern Cheyenne.

Oct. 16 Go to: www.nps.gov/fola/indians.htm for an overview of the Plains tribes.

The Cheyenne, Ch. 1-4

Go to: http://www.montana.edu/wwwfpcc/tribes/ for information about Fort

Peck Assiniboine and Sioux history. Click on buffalo extermination.

Oct. 23 The Cheyenne, Ch. 5-7

Oct. 30 The Cheyenne, Ch. 8-11

Nov. 6 2nd Mid-Term Quiz

Begin Southwest: Look at:

Look at Navajo Nation homepage http://www.navajo.org

Look at White Mountain Apache homepage: http://www.wmat.nsn.us/

Go to: http://www.nau.edu/~hcpo-p/ to learn about the Hopis

Video, “Hopi: Songs of the Fourth World”

Nov. 13 Hopi, Southwest, Cont.

Begin Farrer, Thunder Rides a Black Horse

Thunder Rides a Black Horse, Ch. 1-3

Nov. 20 Thunder Rides a Black Horse, Farrar, Ch. 4-End

Take-Home Comparison Paper Handed Out Today

Comparison Paper Due Nov. 27

Nov. 27 READ: Choctaws at the Crossroads, Ch. 7-8

Choctaws at the Crossroads, Ch. 9-11: esp. Pgs. 154-161

Take-Home Comparision Paper Due Today

Dec. 4 Choctaws at the Crossroads, Ch. 11 to end; Ch. 12

Choctaws at the Crossroads, Ch. 1-2

Go to: http://www.choctawnation.com/ to view the Choctaw Nation website.

Go to the History page and click on People, then Chiefs to learn about Choctaw

Chiefs

Dec. 11 Choctaws at the Crossroads, Ch. 3-4

Choctaws at the Crossroads, Ch. 5 esp: pgs. 58-65, 70-75,

And Ch. 6: esp. pgs. 76-80, 84-85, 92-93

Choctaws at the Crossroads , Ch. 13

Final Exam: Tuesday, December 18 2-4 PM