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r.u. camden

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

Course syllabus, Spring 2001 (Anthropology 50 070 338)

Nancy H. Omaha Boy, Ph.D. Tues. Thurs 9:30-10:50 AM

Dr. Omaha Boy’s office is in the basement of Armitage (B22). Her extension is 225-6356. Call or come by for an appointment between 7 AM and 3:30 PM, Tues-Fri.

Required texts:

1. The State of Native America, Annette Jaimes,ed. 1992, South End Press.

2. The Patriot Chiefs, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., 1989, Penguin Books.

3. This Land was Theirs, sixth edition, Oswalt and Neely, editors, 1999, Mayfield Publishing.

3 credits, no prerequisite. Catalog description: History, cultural background, and contemporary situation of major North American Indian groups. Special attention to social relations, political and religious movements, cultural change and interactions with the American government and its policies. (This is a broad survey course in anthropology, the study of human development within groups. The purpose is to give students a broad perspective of Indian history and culture, so the characteristics of these great peoples can be understood, as well as their trials and tribulations while their tribes were being decimated, and finally the basis for current problems in coexisting among their conquerors.)

COURSE ORGANIZATION:

Because this course is a tribute to a great yet varied people, sufficient background is necessary. This is provided through the texts and hand-outs. You are expected to read all assigned material prior to class. Classwork will be highly interactive. Your participation is the key to your enjoyment as well as your success, and will assume you know the text material. Students will be meeting about one hour a week outside of class with a group to prepare a group presentation, and work on outlining sources for test answers.

COURSE GOALS

1. To enable students to describe the general culture of historic Indians of geographical sections of the US and Canada, noting gross similarities and differences in dress, custom, social structure and religion.

2. To enable students to demonstrate the differences and similarities between tribes, the jostling that took place among them during the European invasion and their response to dominant culture demands, which became their histories.

3. To enable students to demonstrate the difference between American Indians and the dominant culture in their value of land, animals, resources, and people with the resulting effects on American Indians including the current problems in the US and Canada.

4. To examine the evidence of genocide perpetrated by another people and its government and the pathos, courage and spiritual fortitude it takes to endure.

5. To instill in students an interest in continuing to learn about American Indians.

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES

Students will be able to:

1. Identify the major areas of white encroachment upon the North American continent, the effect on native residents of the area and who was involved.

2. Chronicle the movement of whites and countermovements of the Indians throughout the East from 1600-1840, listing the changes to their value systems, food sources, family and cultural traditions.

3. Present the major ideas of whites that influenced their opinions and behaviors towards Indians.

4. List the major movements of Indians as immigrants pushed west of the Mississippi from 1800 through the early 1900s. Use examples of specific tribes, analyzing the skills of prominent Indian defenders.

5. Given a map of North America showing only rivers and mountains, correctly place a list of 30 tribes with sketches of food sources, housing, and clothing types.

6. Given the following list of conflicts, identify the area of the country, the tribes involved and the effects on them for King Phillip’s War, the French and Indian War, the War of 1812, the Trail of Tears, Black Hawk’s War, the undeclared war of extermination against the western Plains tribes, the Gold Rush massacres, the Long Walk and the Wounded Knee Stand-off of 1973.

7. Give examples of the general differences between white and Indian attitudes toward the Earth, plants, animals, etc. regarding its role in life and in religion.

8. Describe the general evolution of the American government’s policy toward the Indians to the present.

9. Identify by tribe and describe by contribution the following people:

10. Given any reference tools the student considers necessary and the assistance of peers, the student will compose a 5-6 page paper about a chosen Indian tribe noting its language, cultural type, social structure, lifestyle, religious beliefs,and customs complete with footnotes and bibliography.

11. Given any reference tools necessary and the assistance of peers, the student will make a one class period presentation as part of their group by region.

GRADING

Final exam optional required only for those with fewer than 450 points cumulative, know laws and cases

Nothing accepted late. All due dates are on syllabus.

TESTS

The four tests are worth 30% (50 points each) of your grade. They are in class, but will allow use of your texts. Essay questions are to be answered with facts to back up your opinions. Therefore, answers must be accompanied by sources for your information. For example, a question about the importance of religion might include a reference to Employment Division, Dept. of Human Resources of Oregon v. Smith (1990) (Jaimes, p.21). If you look this up: you will see I am referring to a case in your Jaimes text, p. 21. You may use your texts in reference by referring to them as Jaimes, or Josephy or Land, as in the class schedule. See the accompanying sample question.

SAMPLE TEST QUESTION

Q: Discuss the viewpoints of de Palacios Rubios and de Paz regarding the Alexandrine Bulls. Would either of these men have favored Manifest Destiny?

A: The two Spanish scholars, de Palacios Rubios and de Paz, took very different positions on the question of Indians in the New World. De Palacios Rubios argued that papal documents signed by Pope Alexander VI in 1493 which came to be known as the Alexandrine Bulls (Jaimes, p. 59) gave legitimacy to the claims of Spanish sovereignty in the New World. "Palacios Rubios advanced the position that the Alexandrine Bulls provided complete legal authority for the Spanish conquest of indigenous nations, since the Pope was heir to Christ's temporal and spiritual authority" (Jaimes, p. 59). It was also Palacios Rubios who wrote the Requirimiento , which was to be read to non Christians informing them of their need to convert and submit to Spanish authority (Jaimes, p. 60). In contrast de Paz did not believe that slavery was an appropriate outcome for Indians nor that their unbelief constituted grounds for a "just" war (Jaimes, p. 60). Indians did have the right to resist attack and enslavement (Jaimes,p.60). While he does not say anything about the land, one can infer that he would assume Indians would also have rights to possession. The philosophy of Manifest Destiny refers to the belief that the European race had innate rights to all land because of their natural superiority (Jaimes, p. 67). It would seem that Palacios Rubios' convictions would lead him to agree with this and de Paz would probably question it as an absolute, and perhaps disagree with it entirely.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

Two chapter reviews are fill in the blanks. The other six are a set of four questions will be given out to be completed outside of class. You will prepare answers to one essay questions using the text as a reference just like described above for the tests. You may work together in your groups to find appropriate citations or references in your books. They are due on the date listed on the syllabus and will not be accepted late. One of the four questions will be on the next test. Each set of review questions is worth 20 points for a total of 160.

PRESENTATION

The presentation is worth 30% of your grade (150 points). Each group will receive only one grade, so make sure everyone participates fully. Assessment sheets will be filled out by your classmates which will influence the grade your group receives. Students will be organized in groups by the instructor shortly after the term begins. Each group will be responsible for presenting material and activities on Indians of a particular geographical area for one entire class period. While you may be given some class time to meet, the majority of your meetings will take place out of class. Each student in the group will also be writing an individual paper (4-5 pgs.) on one of the tribes of that region, so as you prepare for the presentation there will be overlap with the work you do for your paper. Note that the first group will be presenting in a few short weeks.

The presentation is NOT a compilation of the same information you will write in your papers. It is a chance to present, through non-literary methods, information about the collective history and culture found in your region. You should include information on food sources, clothing, shelter, transportation , trade, men and women's roles, religion, social organization, history and famous people. In learning about the spirit of cooperation modeled by the Indian nations, practice will help you learn. Your group presentation must be informative, but can take the form of games, melodramas, songs or any other clever way you choose to present! I am looking for general information about the history and culture of your area that synthesizes the information about each tribe. This is a presentation about the area, focusing on the similarities and differences of the tribes within the region. This is not an opportunity to read your paper.

Suggested starting point - check books on North American Indians for information about the tribes in your region. Find out what they all include on your area, then as a group prepare a general overview. Find material that is NOT in your texts. There are many tribes in each geographic area and your text is limited. Help us learn more about your area. Please do not do individual presentations of specific tribes, as part of your general presentation. Remember your purpose is to educate the class generally about your region. It doesn’t have to be 15 minute lectures; any clever ideas will be appreciated. Use maps, pictures, games, drama, props, and personality!

*You will graded on teamwork, organization, interesting presentation, general overview, breadth of content and originality.

STUDY GUIDE

Prepare an outline of topics and/or information to hand out to the class so they won’t have to take notes on your presentation. This study guide must include an outline with the following information: Housing, Clothing, Foods, Transportation, Trade, Family roles, Ceremonies, History & Famous People. See the attached chart. Details will be part of your presentation, but you will want to summarize your major points on this chart. This will count about 15% of your presentation grade. You may come to my office and make copies for the class. Also prepare and submit possible test questions on your presentation. This material can enhance your grade as well. Focus on what your group felt was most important. Quality questions beat quantity of questions!

GROUP WORK

You will be meeting regularly (approximately 1 hour each week) with your group to work on your group presentation, study together, and work on review questions. All review questions can be discussed in groups but must be answered individually. Due dates are in the syllabus. Each member of the group will have an assigned role, which are explained below. At your first meeting members should decide who’s going to have which role. The recorder needs to turn in a short note to the instructor after each meeting noting attendance, concerns, successes, general progress, etc.

To begin, find an appropriate term for your group - kiva, longhouse, etc. Be aware that makes you a relative of everyone in your group. Treat them with the respect due a relative. For that reason, you’ll find you don’t have to criticize; be encouraging and if somebody’s way off track, a little teasing can be a gentle way to urge change. Group conflicts, personality clashes, etc. must be handled by the group; changes will not be permitted.

PAPER

Your paper (with bibliography) is part of the preparation for your group’s presentation.. You may investigate any aspect of your tribe that interests you or describe it holistically. You must use information from the sources in your bibliography and cite them as you use them. The body of the paper must be between 4-5 pages, with title page, bibliography and any endnote pages being separate. All papers must be typed and double-spaced. NO LATE PAPERS. (Written communication is different that spoken; if you have problems with your writing, take advantage of the Learning Resource Center in Armitage Hall).

PLAGARISM is a serious acadmic offence, punishable by failure. All quotations and ideas must be referenced parenthetically. Use APA or MLA style for your bibliography. See the attached sample from a paper that received an A; note how and when citations are included. Since most of the information is not yours, its source needs to be cited. If the information is so general that it is common to most of your references, it does not need to be cited. But when you find information from one author or that differs from the mainstream, or is a quotation or paraphrase, it MUST be cited parenthetically: for example, (Omaha Boy, p.3).

EXTRA CREDIT

People may earn extra credit for going on the class trip to Museum of the American Indian in New York City on Mar. 14, or to the Rancocus Indian Reservation on Memorial Day weekend (museum trip worth 20 extra points added to any test grade).

CHECK THESE WEB SITES

www.csulb.edu/projects/ais/index.html#north

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/9787/indian.html

Jan 16 1^st Class

Mar 12-16 Spring Break

Mar.14, Class trip to NYC Indian museum

Apr. 30 Last class

Final Monday May 7

Graduation Friday, May 18