INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE IN GLOBAL CONTEXTS
AP/HREQ/SOSC 1960 (6.00)
YORK UNIVERSITY
FALL/WINTER 2010-2011
PROFESSOR: Guy Kirby Letts
OFFICE: Atkinson 332
OFFICE HOURS: Tues. 5:30-6:30, or by appointment
TELEPHONE: TBA
E-MAIL: gletts@yorku.ca
COURSE BLOG: http://globalindigenousresistance.blogspot.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces students to issues that have arisen out of contact between Indigenous people and European colonial powers. While the primary emphasis will be the Americas, students will be introduced to perspectives from other settler states as well. Students must engage in critical thinking about the history and process of colonialism, perspectives from and about the Indigenous peoples, the challenges of understanding how past events shape contemporary political struggle and the long term effects colonization has had and continues to have for Indigenous communities. Topics for discussion will include critical assessment of colonization processes, the push towards and resistance against identity legislation, individual, cultural and political resistance to colonialism by Indigenous peoples and the struggle for Indigenous self-determination.
Divided into two sections, the course will first examine the process of settler colonization and the way that histories and identities were constructed, both for settlers and Indigenous populations. In the second part of the course we will be looking at the ways that Indigenous communities have struggled for self determination and self government in the period that followed the post-independence period of the Americas. In keeping with the perspectives inherent to Social Science discourse; we will be using a multidisciplinary approach as we examine the role of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and power in the negotiation of individual and collective identities.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Although the principle objective of this course will be to enable students to appreciate the complexity of colonial settlement and Indigenous responses to this settlement, a secondary goal will also be to learn the critical skills necessary for doing so. Consequently we will be analyzing scholarly works, novels, archaeological findings, Indigenous oral and traditional knowledge and films. Students will be expected to master the basics of writing research papers at the university level as well as to present their ideas to their peers in a scholarly forum.
LECTURE:
Time: Tuesday, 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Location: Bethune 202
REQUIRED READINGS:
Ewen, Alexander (Editor). Voices of Indigenous Peoples: Native People Address the United
Nations. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1994.
Harper, Kenn. Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik: the New York Eskimo. South
Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press, 2001.
Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents: The “New World” Through Indian Eyes. Penguin Books, 2003 Edition.
Required Readings on Course Blog: http://globalindigenousresistance.blogspot.com
COURSE EVALUATION:
Research Proposal (5 pages) and Annotated Bibliography (5 pages) 15%
Research Essay (10-12 pages) or Out Reach Project 25%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 25%
Participation: 20%
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:
As part of an academic institution, students are expected to act professional at all times. While opinions, questions and discussion are encouraged and an aspect of learning, students are expected to be respectful toward others in the class—sexist and racist comments, for instance, are deemed unprofessional.
NOTE REGARDING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Academic dishonesty is a severe matter and one should be aware that this issue is taken very seriously. Also note that York is currently a subscriber to Turn It In. It is expected that all students in this class conform to the conduct requirements for members of our university community. Plagiarism (representing another’s academic writing as one’s own or not having proper citations or handing in an assignment from another class) and cheating on examinations or other assignments (copying from the work of others, using aids during closed-book exams, etc.) are considered to be major offenses.
POLICY ON MISSED TESTS/LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
No make-up test/exams will be provided. Students who do not have a relevant medical certificate will receive a mark of zero on any missed test/exam and their final grade will be calculated accordingly. For students who do have a relevant medical certificate, or medical certificates, the opportunity to make-up a test/exam will be at the discretion of the professor. With regard to late assignments, the grade will be reduced by a penalty of ten percent (10%) for each calendar day that it is late, up to 5 days, after which time it will not be accepted. Essays are due at the beginning of class; essays handed in after the beginning of class on the same calendar day the assignment is due will be considered late. Note that when a paper is late, everyday counts (including weekends).
GRADING:
As per York University, the following grading scheme will be used to evaluate of your work and performance in the class:
A 80-100% Exceptional Performance
B 70-79% Good Performance
C 60-65% Satisfactory Performance
D 50-59% Minimally Competent
F 0-49% Inadequate
IN Incomplete
WEEKLY TOPICS AND READINGS:
It is very important to keep up with your readings in this course, and in particular to ensure that you have read through the assigned materials in advance of each lecture and be prepared to discuss issues that may come up. Be sure to look through this syllabus on a regular basis, as it contains a full listing of required readings for the semester. Lectures will be comprised of the reading materials, as well as other relevant information (such as films) and ideas provided by the professor which supplement and extend beyond the mandatory readings. Lectures, then, are an essential element in a student’s successful performance in this course. During each lecture students will be able to raise relevant questions and make comments.
TIPS ON HOW TO READ:
There are several ‘ways’ to read. While reading for content and information is always an aspect of reading, an engagement with the text will contribute to a greater understanding of the material and your overall success; memorizing information alone will not contribute to your overall success. Do not simply ‘read’ the text, but take a moment to ask questions of the text and to think through the ideas—engage in a dialogue with the text. This will not only give you a deeper understanding of the material, but it will also sharpen your critical reading skills. Always be critical of what you read.
FALL TERM
Indigenous Communities Before and After First Contact
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Week 2: What Are Settler States? What has Colonization Meant for Indigenous People?
Readings:
The Imperial Archive: Colonies / Settler States http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/key-concepts/Settler-Colony.htm
An Indian on the Problems of his Race, by S. Po-ka-gon, an Educated Chief of the
Pottawattamies:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=PokIndi.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1
Week 3: A Snapshot of the Americas before Colonization
Readings:
Exploring the Early Americas: Pre-contact America http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earlyamericas/online/precontact/
Guy Kirby Letts. The Mayan: Socio-Cultural Change Exhibited Through a Multilinear Context of Time, pp. 3-13 (provided)
Film: Campbell-Jones, Simon. The First Americans. London : BBC Enterprises, 1991
Week 4: Colonial Myth-Making: Noble Savages, Indian Princesses, and Cannibals
Readings:
Rousseau and the Nobel Savage Myth
http://www.uoregon.edu/~jboland/rousseau.html
Taiaiake Alfred. From Nobel Savage to Righteous Warrior (video) http://intercontinentalcry.org/from-noble-savage-to-righteous-warrior/
Guy Kirby Letts. “ Indian Princesses and Cowgirls: Stereotypes from the Frontier.” Ishgooda: Native News, Online. Stereotyping: An Expose/Indian Princess Stereotypes.
http://ishgooda.org/racial/cultur1.htm
http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/97-3/issue5/indians.html
Cannibalism
https://files.oakland.edu/users/dow/web/personal/papers/cannibal/cannibal.html
Film: Dor-Ner, Zvi .Columbus's World . Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, 1991
Week 5: Reading Week, No Classes
Week 6: The Creation of “The Americas” and European Perspectives on
Indigenous peoples.
Readings:
Colonial Representation of Indigenous Peoples http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/canada/colrep.htm
Native Peoples of Canada: Rewriting the Imaginary http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/canada/All-my-relations.htm
Film: Buñuel, Luis. Robinson Crusoe. Miami: Producciones Tepeyac, 1954.
Week 7: Perspectives from the Pacific
Readings:
Guy Kirby Letts (2002). The Hawaiian Indigenous Sovereignty Movement. “Under the Volcano: The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement.” The Atkinsonian, vol. 37, issue 6 (July, 2002): 3-6. (provided)
Week 8: The Invasion of the Americas, Part I
Readings:
Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents. Prologue, Chapters 1, 2, 3
Week 9: The Invasion of the Americas, Part II
Readings:
Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents. Chapter 4 & 5
Week 10: Occupation
Readings:
Wright, Stolen Continents. Chapters 6, 7, 8
Week 11: Resistance
Readings:
Wright, Stolen Continents. Chapter 9, 10, 11
Week 12:
Readings:
Wright, Stolen Continents: Chapter 12, 13, 14, 15, and Epilogue
Week 13: Mid Term Exam (in class)
WINTER TERM
Issues and Struggles in Indigenous Life
Week 1: Colonialist Anthropology: Collecting Humans
Readings:
Harper, Ken. Introduction and Ch. 1-4 of Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
Week 2: Collecting Humans : Minik and Ishi
Readings:
Harper, Ken. Ch. 5-10 of Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
Film: Issue the Last Yahi
Week 3: Nation building and Indigenous People in Latin America
Readings:
Rigoberto Menchu
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/rigoberta/rigoberta_story.html
Zapatista Uprising
http://www.globalautonomy.ca/global1/glossary_pop.jsp?id=EV.0013
The Zapatistas: A Rough Guide
http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no9/zapatistas_review.htm
Caravan of Hope, A Zapatista March
http://www.towardfreedom.com/americas/138-caravan-of-hope-a-zapatista-march-0501
Ecuador: The Indigenous Movement and Correa
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/38097
Ecuador: Indigenous Struggle, Ecology and Capitalist Resource Extraction
http://links.org.au/node/1798
Film: D'Amato, Sergio. Che. Chatsworth: Image Entertainment, 2008.
Week 4: Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations
Readings:
Voices of Indigenous People, 1-67
Week 5: Indigenous People at the United Nations, Part II
Readings:
Voice of Indigenous People, 68-124
Week 6: International Perspectives
Readings:
Voices of Indigenous People, 127-174
Week 7: An International Crime: Theft of Indigenous Children
Readings:
Film: Rabbit Proof Fence
(Discussion of film and readings)
Week 8: Reading Week (no classes)
Week 9: Social Breakdown, Alcohol and Violence Against Women
(Essay Due)
Readings:
Russel Lawrence Barsh. Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples: Social Integration or Disintegration?
Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 1994.
http://www2.brandonu.ca/Library/cjns/14.1/barsh.pdf.
Addiction and Recovery in Native America: Lost History, Enduring Lessons
http://cindylellis.wordpress.com/addictions/addiction-and-recovery-in-native-america/
What Their Stories Tell Us: Research Findings From the Sisters in Spirit Initiative (2010-03-31).
Research and Data/NWAC Reports/Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women and Girls/2010-EN-What Their Stories Tell Us/2010_NWAC_SIS_Report_EN.pdf (pages 18-38).
http://www.nwac.ca/research/nwac-reports
Film: Once Were Warriors
(Discussion of film and reading)
Week 10: Reclaiming Indigenous Identities
Readings:
Thomas King, ‘I’m not the Indian you had in Mind’
http://www.nsi-canada.ca/i_m_not_the_indian_you_had_in_mind.aspx.
North American Indigenous Games, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yp9bMkmXeE
Reclaiming Identity: The Repatriation of Native Remains and Culture
http://www.care2.com/news/member/713135843/1559459
You Survived Genocide: The Anahuac Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTj5gaLlphI
Indigeneity in Dialogue: Indigenous Literary Expression Across Linguistic Divies
http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/article/viewArticle/18319/19746
Mohawk Anarcha-Indigenist Taiaiake Alfred Speaks at McMaster University
http://linchpin.ca/content/Indigenous/Mohawk-Anarcha-Indigenist-Taiaiake-Alfred-Speaks-McMaster-University
Week 11: Resisting Ongoing Land Theft
Readings:
Life in Occupied America, Ward Churchill
http://fuckcopyright.blogspot.com/2009/02/ward-churchill-life-in-occupied-america.html
Resistance 2010: No Olympics on Stolen Land!
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/2095-resistance-2010-no-olympics-on-stolen-land.html
No Olympics On Stolen Unceded Native Landhttp://intercontinentalcry.org/no-olympics-on-stolen-unceded-native-land/
Blood on your Hands
web.resist.ca/~tarsandsfreebc/downloads/hbc.pdf
Six Nations Solidarity
http://sisis.nativeweb.org/actionalert/background.html
Film: The Dish with One Spoon
Week 12: International Resistance
Readings:
Lakota Freedom Media Release “Independence”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3o41wC7xfU&feature=related
Republic of Lakota
http://lakotafreedom.com/
The Meaning of the Zapatista Struggle
http://radicalnotes.com/content/view/82/39/
None Violent Struggles Build Autonomous Zones in Chiapas
http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/pwork/0403/040308.htm
Indigenous Resistance to New Colonialism
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/indigenous-resistance-new-colonialism
Indigenous Right and Resistance, Ward Churchill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BvvSWj_WvQ
Resistance to War, Occupation and Empire, Ward Churchill
http://www.zcommunications.org/resistance-to-war-occupation-and-empire-by-ward-churchill
Being Indigenous: Resurgences against Contemporary Colonialism, Alfred and Jeff Corntassel
web.uvic.ca/igov/uploads/pdf/Being%20Indigenous%20GOOP.pdf
Indigenous Knowledge Commons,Taiaiake Alfred
http://indigenousknowledge.org/discussion/native-conversations/big-question-1-does-tribalism-have-a-valid-role-in-modern-life/post/taiaiake-alfred/
Film: Cocalero
Week 13: Summary and Review
FINAL EXAM
Bibliography & Suggested/Related Readings
Fall Term
Week 2:
Lawrence, Bonita. “Legislating Identity: Colonialism, Land and Indigenous Legacies” in The SAGE Handbook of Identities. Margaret Wetherell & Chandra Talpade Mohanty (Editors). SAGE Press, 2010, 508-525
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. “Imperialism, History, Writing and Theory” in Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books, 1999, 19-41
Week 3:
Mann, Charles C. 1491 : New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Vintage, 2006. 228-270
Momaday, N. Scott. “The Becoming of the Native: Man in America before Columbus.” America in 1492: The World of the Indian Peoples Before the Arrival of Columbus. Ed. Alvin Josephy Jr. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.13-21
Week4:
Zamora, Margarita. “If Cahonaboa Learns to Speak : Amerindian Voice in the Discourse of Discovery.” Colonial Latin American Review 8.2 (1999): 191-202. Electronic.
Boucher, Philip P. Cannibal encounters: Europeans and Island Caribs, 1492-1763. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Chapters 1 & 2.
Week 6:
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 222-232
Hanke, Lewis. All mankind is one; a study of the disputation between Bartolomé de las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda in 1550 on the intellectual and religious capacity of the American Indians. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1974. Pgs. 3-40
Week 7:
Trask, Haunani-Kay. “Introduction” and “Hawaiians and Human Rights” in From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press, 1999
Omojo Omaji, Paul. “The Realcrime of the State and Indigenous Human Rights” in Indigenous Human Rights. Sam Garkawe, Loretta Kelly and Warwick Fisher (Editors). Sydney Institute of Crimology Monograph Series 14, 2001, 228-247
Winter Term
Week 3:
Stavenhagen, Rodolfo. “Indigenous Peoples and the State in Latin America: An Ongoing Debate” Multiculturalism in Latin America: Indigenous Rights, Diversity and Democracy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
Otero, Gerardo and Heidi A. Jugenitz. “Challenging National Borders from Within: The Political-Class Formation of Indigenous Peasants in Latin America.” The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 40. 5 (2003): 503-524.
Week 8:
Crey, Ernie: “The Perpetual Stranger: Four Generations in my Sto:lo Family” in Stolen From Our Embrace: The Abduction of First Nations Children and the Restoration of Aboriginal Communities. Suzanne Fournier and Ernie Crey. Douglas & McIntyre, 1997
Week 9:
Maracle, Brian. “Solutions” in Crazywater: Native Voices on Addiction and Recovery. Penguin Books, 1995: 232-253
Anderson, Kim. “Introduction” and “Looking Back: The Colonization of Native Womanhood” in A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2000, 13-17, 55-78
Stolen Sisters
http://www.amnesty.ca/campaigns/sisters_overview.php
New Report on Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women and Girls in Canada
http://thecurvature.com/2010/04/23/new-report-on-murdered-and-missing-aboriginal-women-and-girls-in-canada/
Week 10:
Leanne Simpson: Our Elder Brothers: The Lifeblood of Resurgence in Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence, and Protection of Indigenous Nations. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publications, 2008, 73-88
Alfred, Taiaiake. “First Worlds” in Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom.
Toronto: Broadview Press, 2008: 19-38
Week 11:
Endicott, Kirk. Indigenous Rights Issues in Malaysia in At the Risk of Being Heard: Indigenous Rights and Postocolonial States. Bartholomew Dean and Jerome M. Levi, Editors. University of Michigan Press, 2003, 142-164
Coon Come, Matthew. “Survival in the Context of Mega-Resource Development: Experiences of the James Bay Crees and the First Nations of Canada” in In the Way of Development:
Indigenous Peoples, Life Projects, and Globalization. London and New York: Zed Books, 2004, 153-165
Bressette, Shelly E., 2003. “The Truth About Us: Living in the Aftermath of the Ipperwash
Crisis” in Strong Women Stories: Native Vision and Community Survival. Edited by Kim
Anderson and Bonita Lawrence. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2003, 228-241
Week 12:
Hall, Thomas, and James Fenelon with David Kuecker. “Indigenous Mexico: Globalization and Resistance” in Indigenous Peoples and Globalization: Resistance and Revitalization. Paradigm Publishers, 2009, 63-90
LaDuke, Winona. “Recovering Power to Slow Climate Change” in Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming. Toronto: Between the Lines Press, 2005: 237-253
Goodleaf, Donna, 1995. Chapter One. Entering the Warzone: A Mohawk Perspective on
Resisting Invasions. Penticton, BC: Theytus Books, 5-28
HREQ 1960
INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE IN GLOBAL CONTEXTS
FINAL TAKE HOME EXAM (25%)
DUE DATE: Your final exam is due Tues. April 12, 2011, and will be handed to me at Atkinson 332 between 7:00pm and 8:30pm that evening.
EXAM CRITERIA & GRADING SCHEME: You must answer either question 1 or question 2 (10%), and one question from 3 to 5 (10%), and question 6 (5%). Each answer should be no shorter than 2 pages and no longer than 5 pages.
FORMAT: Each question should follow a formal essay format, and have in text citations (name, date: page number) and one title page and one reference page for all three questions. Use 12 point, x-roman font, double spaced with page numbers on each page. Remember to single space block quotes, which are used for any quotes over three lines in length. Make sure to spell check and proof read your work.
EXAM QUESTIONS:
1) In Give me my Father’s Body, discuss the ‘scientivization’ of Minik and his Father and the construction anthropological racism towards Indigenous people. What comparisons can you make between the book and the wk 10 article, Reclaiming Identity: The Repatriation of Native Remains and Culture?
2) Compare and contrast forms of Indigenous resistance in Ward Churchill’s, Indigenous Right and Resistance, and Resistance to War, Occupation and Empire to Taiaiake Alfred’s articles, Being Indigenous: Resurgences against Contemporary Colonialism, and Indigenous Knowledge Commons.
3) Outline and discuss the various forms of resistance that have been covered in class and in the readings, and assess which method(s) of resistance you think are the most effective.
4) Based on the articles, compare and contrast the 60s scoop that took place in Canada with Australia’s stolen generations.
5) Looking at the UN addresses made by the various Indigenous leaders from settler colonies in Voice of Indigenous Peoples, draw together some of the common themes and similar issues that transverse their members, communities, and societies.
6) In detail, describe and outline what you have learned and/or gained insight into as a result of taking the class, Indigenous Resistance in Global Contexts.
Have a fantastic summer... power to the people!
AP/HREQ/SOSC 1960 (6.00)
YORK UNIVERSITY
FALL/WINTER 2010-2011
PROFESSOR: Guy Kirby Letts
OFFICE: Atkinson 332
OFFICE HOURS: Tues. 5:30-6:30, or by appointment
TELEPHONE: TBA
E-MAIL: gletts@yorku.ca
COURSE BLOG: http://globalindigenousresistance.blogspot.com
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course introduces students to issues that have arisen out of contact between Indigenous people and European colonial powers. While the primary emphasis will be the Americas, students will be introduced to perspectives from other settler states as well. Students must engage in critical thinking about the history and process of colonialism, perspectives from and about the Indigenous peoples, the challenges of understanding how past events shape contemporary political struggle and the long term effects colonization has had and continues to have for Indigenous communities. Topics for discussion will include critical assessment of colonization processes, the push towards and resistance against identity legislation, individual, cultural and political resistance to colonialism by Indigenous peoples and the struggle for Indigenous self-determination.
Divided into two sections, the course will first examine the process of settler colonization and the way that histories and identities were constructed, both for settlers and Indigenous populations. In the second part of the course we will be looking at the ways that Indigenous communities have struggled for self determination and self government in the period that followed the post-independence period of the Americas. In keeping with the perspectives inherent to Social Science discourse; we will be using a multidisciplinary approach as we examine the role of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and power in the negotiation of individual and collective identities.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Although the principle objective of this course will be to enable students to appreciate the complexity of colonial settlement and Indigenous responses to this settlement, a secondary goal will also be to learn the critical skills necessary for doing so. Consequently we will be analyzing scholarly works, novels, archaeological findings, Indigenous oral and traditional knowledge and films. Students will be expected to master the basics of writing research papers at the university level as well as to present their ideas to their peers in a scholarly forum.
LECTURE:
Time: Tuesday, 7:00 - 10:00 pm
Location: Bethune 202
REQUIRED READINGS:
Ewen, Alexander (Editor). Voices of Indigenous Peoples: Native People Address the United
Nations. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1994.
Harper, Kenn. Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik: the New York Eskimo. South
Royalton, Vermont: Steerforth Press, 2001.
Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents: The “New World” Through Indian Eyes. Penguin Books, 2003 Edition.
Required Readings on Course Blog: http://globalindigenousresistance.blogspot.com
COURSE EVALUATION:
Research Proposal (5 pages) and Annotated Bibliography (5 pages) 15%
Research Essay (10-12 pages) or Out Reach Project 25%
Midterm Exam: 15%
Final Exam: 25%
Participation: 20%
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:
As part of an academic institution, students are expected to act professional at all times. While opinions, questions and discussion are encouraged and an aspect of learning, students are expected to be respectful toward others in the class—sexist and racist comments, for instance, are deemed unprofessional.
NOTE REGARDING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:
Academic dishonesty is a severe matter and one should be aware that this issue is taken very seriously. Also note that York is currently a subscriber to Turn It In. It is expected that all students in this class conform to the conduct requirements for members of our university community. Plagiarism (representing another’s academic writing as one’s own or not having proper citations or handing in an assignment from another class) and cheating on examinations or other assignments (copying from the work of others, using aids during closed-book exams, etc.) are considered to be major offenses.
POLICY ON MISSED TESTS/LATE ASSIGNMENTS:
No make-up test/exams will be provided. Students who do not have a relevant medical certificate will receive a mark of zero on any missed test/exam and their final grade will be calculated accordingly. For students who do have a relevant medical certificate, or medical certificates, the opportunity to make-up a test/exam will be at the discretion of the professor. With regard to late assignments, the grade will be reduced by a penalty of ten percent (10%) for each calendar day that it is late, up to 5 days, after which time it will not be accepted. Essays are due at the beginning of class; essays handed in after the beginning of class on the same calendar day the assignment is due will be considered late. Note that when a paper is late, everyday counts (including weekends).
GRADING:
As per York University, the following grading scheme will be used to evaluate of your work and performance in the class:
A 80-100% Exceptional Performance
B 70-79% Good Performance
C 60-65% Satisfactory Performance
D 50-59% Minimally Competent
F 0-49% Inadequate
IN Incomplete
WEEKLY TOPICS AND READINGS:
It is very important to keep up with your readings in this course, and in particular to ensure that you have read through the assigned materials in advance of each lecture and be prepared to discuss issues that may come up. Be sure to look through this syllabus on a regular basis, as it contains a full listing of required readings for the semester. Lectures will be comprised of the reading materials, as well as other relevant information (such as films) and ideas provided by the professor which supplement and extend beyond the mandatory readings. Lectures, then, are an essential element in a student’s successful performance in this course. During each lecture students will be able to raise relevant questions and make comments.
TIPS ON HOW TO READ:
There are several ‘ways’ to read. While reading for content and information is always an aspect of reading, an engagement with the text will contribute to a greater understanding of the material and your overall success; memorizing information alone will not contribute to your overall success. Do not simply ‘read’ the text, but take a moment to ask questions of the text and to think through the ideas—engage in a dialogue with the text. This will not only give you a deeper understanding of the material, but it will also sharpen your critical reading skills. Always be critical of what you read.
FALL TERM
Indigenous Communities Before and After First Contact
Week 1: Introduction to the Course
Week 2: What Are Settler States? What has Colonization Meant for Indigenous People?
Readings:
The Imperial Archive: Colonies / Settler States http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/key-concepts/Settler-Colony.htm
An Indian on the Problems of his Race, by S. Po-ka-gon, an Educated Chief of the
Pottawattamies:
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=PokIndi.sgm&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&tag=public&part=1&division=div1
Week 3: A Snapshot of the Americas before Colonization
Readings:
Exploring the Early Americas: Pre-contact America http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/earlyamericas/online/precontact/
Guy Kirby Letts. The Mayan: Socio-Cultural Change Exhibited Through a Multilinear Context of Time, pp. 3-13 (provided)
Film: Campbell-Jones, Simon. The First Americans. London : BBC Enterprises, 1991
Week 4: Colonial Myth-Making: Noble Savages, Indian Princesses, and Cannibals
Readings:
Rousseau and the Nobel Savage Myth
http://www.uoregon.edu/~jboland/rousseau.html
Taiaiake Alfred. From Nobel Savage to Righteous Warrior (video) http://intercontinentalcry.org/from-noble-savage-to-righteous-warrior/
Guy Kirby Letts. “ Indian Princesses and Cowgirls: Stereotypes from the Frontier.” Ishgooda: Native News, Online. Stereotyping: An Expose/Indian Princess Stereotypes.
http://ishgooda.org/racial/cultur1.htm
http://www.peak.sfu.ca/the-peak/97-3/issue5/indians.html
Cannibalism
https://files.oakland.edu/users/dow/web/personal/papers/cannibal/cannibal.html
Film: Dor-Ner, Zvi .Columbus's World . Boston: WGBH Educational Foundation, 1991
Week 5: Reading Week, No Classes
Week 6: The Creation of “The Americas” and European Perspectives on
Indigenous peoples.
Readings:
Colonial Representation of Indigenous Peoples http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/canada/colrep.htm
Native Peoples of Canada: Rewriting the Imaginary http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofEnglish/imperial/canada/All-my-relations.htm
Film: Buñuel, Luis. Robinson Crusoe. Miami: Producciones Tepeyac, 1954.
Week 7: Perspectives from the Pacific
Readings:
Guy Kirby Letts (2002). The Hawaiian Indigenous Sovereignty Movement. “Under the Volcano: The Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement.” The Atkinsonian, vol. 37, issue 6 (July, 2002): 3-6. (provided)
Week 8: The Invasion of the Americas, Part I
Readings:
Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents. Prologue, Chapters 1, 2, 3
Week 9: The Invasion of the Americas, Part II
Readings:
Wright, Ronald. Stolen Continents. Chapter 4 & 5
Week 10: Occupation
Readings:
Wright, Stolen Continents. Chapters 6, 7, 8
Week 11: Resistance
Readings:
Wright, Stolen Continents. Chapter 9, 10, 11
Week 12:
Readings:
Wright, Stolen Continents: Chapter 12, 13, 14, 15, and Epilogue
Week 13: Mid Term Exam (in class)
WINTER TERM
Issues and Struggles in Indigenous Life
Week 1: Colonialist Anthropology: Collecting Humans
Readings:
Harper, Ken. Introduction and Ch. 1-4 of Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
Week 2: Collecting Humans : Minik and Ishi
Readings:
Harper, Ken. Ch. 5-10 of Give Me My Father’s Body: The Life of Minik, the New York Eskimo
Film: Issue the Last Yahi
Week 3: Nation building and Indigenous People in Latin America
Readings:
Rigoberto Menchu
http://www.worldtrek.org/odyssey/latinamerica/rigoberta/rigoberta_story.html
Zapatista Uprising
http://www.globalautonomy.ca/global1/glossary_pop.jsp?id=EV.0013
The Zapatistas: A Rough Guide
http://www.eco-action.org/dod/no9/zapatistas_review.htm
Caravan of Hope, A Zapatista March
http://www.towardfreedom.com/americas/138-caravan-of-hope-a-zapatista-march-0501
Ecuador: The Indigenous Movement and Correa
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/38097
Ecuador: Indigenous Struggle, Ecology and Capitalist Resource Extraction
http://links.org.au/node/1798
Film: D'Amato, Sergio. Che. Chatsworth: Image Entertainment, 2008.
Week 4: Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations
Readings:
Voices of Indigenous People, 1-67
Week 5: Indigenous People at the United Nations, Part II
Readings:
Voice of Indigenous People, 68-124
Week 6: International Perspectives
Readings:
Voices of Indigenous People, 127-174
Week 7: An International Crime: Theft of Indigenous Children
Readings:
Film: Rabbit Proof Fence
(Discussion of film and readings)
Week 8: Reading Week (no classes)
Week 9: Social Breakdown, Alcohol and Violence Against Women
(Essay Due)
Readings:
Russel Lawrence Barsh. Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples: Social Integration or Disintegration?
Canadian Journal of Native Studies, 1994.
http://www2.brandonu.ca/Library/cjns/14.1/barsh.pdf.
Addiction and Recovery in Native America: Lost History, Enduring Lessons
http://cindylellis.wordpress.com/addictions/addiction-and-recovery-in-native-america/
What Their Stories Tell Us: Research Findings From the Sisters in Spirit Initiative (2010-03-31).
Research and Data/NWAC Reports/Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women and Girls/2010-EN-What Their Stories Tell Us/2010_NWAC_SIS_Report_EN.pdf (pages 18-38).
http://www.nwac.ca/research/nwac-reports
Film: Once Were Warriors
(Discussion of film and reading)
Week 10: Reclaiming Indigenous Identities
Readings:
Thomas King, ‘I’m not the Indian you had in Mind’
http://www.nsi-canada.ca/i_m_not_the_indian_you_had_in_mind.aspx.
North American Indigenous Games, 2008
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yp9bMkmXeE
Reclaiming Identity: The Repatriation of Native Remains and Culture
http://www.care2.com/news/member/713135843/1559459
You Survived Genocide: The Anahuac Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTj5gaLlphI
Indigeneity in Dialogue: Indigenous Literary Expression Across Linguistic Divies
http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/SCL/article/viewArticle/18319/19746
Mohawk Anarcha-Indigenist Taiaiake Alfred Speaks at McMaster University
http://linchpin.ca/content/Indigenous/Mohawk-Anarcha-Indigenist-Taiaiake-Alfred-Speaks-McMaster-University
Week 11: Resisting Ongoing Land Theft
Readings:
Life in Occupied America, Ward Churchill
http://fuckcopyright.blogspot.com/2009/02/ward-churchill-life-in-occupied-america.html
Resistance 2010: No Olympics on Stolen Land!
http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/2095-resistance-2010-no-olympics-on-stolen-land.html
No Olympics On Stolen Unceded Native Landhttp://intercontinentalcry.org/no-olympics-on-stolen-unceded-native-land/
Blood on your Hands
web.resist.ca/~tarsandsfreebc/downloads/hbc.pdf
Six Nations Solidarity
http://sisis.nativeweb.org/actionalert/background.html
Film: The Dish with One Spoon
Week 12: International Resistance
Readings:
Lakota Freedom Media Release “Independence”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3o41wC7xfU&feature=related
Republic of Lakota
http://lakotafreedom.com/
The Meaning of the Zapatista Struggle
http://radicalnotes.com/content/view/82/39/
None Violent Struggles Build Autonomous Zones in Chiapas
http://www.peaceworkmagazine.org/pwork/0403/040308.htm
Indigenous Resistance to New Colonialism
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/ourpublications/csq/article/indigenous-resistance-new-colonialism
Indigenous Right and Resistance, Ward Churchill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BvvSWj_WvQ
Resistance to War, Occupation and Empire, Ward Churchill
http://www.zcommunications.org/resistance-to-war-occupation-and-empire-by-ward-churchill
Being Indigenous: Resurgences against Contemporary Colonialism, Alfred and Jeff Corntassel
web.uvic.ca/igov/uploads/pdf/Being%20Indigenous%20GOOP.pdf
Indigenous Knowledge Commons,Taiaiake Alfred
http://indigenousknowledge.org/discussion/native-conversations/big-question-1-does-tribalism-have-a-valid-role-in-modern-life/post/taiaiake-alfred/
Film: Cocalero
Week 13: Summary and Review
FINAL EXAM
Bibliography & Suggested/Related Readings
Fall Term
Week 2:
Lawrence, Bonita. “Legislating Identity: Colonialism, Land and Indigenous Legacies” in The SAGE Handbook of Identities. Margaret Wetherell & Chandra Talpade Mohanty (Editors). SAGE Press, 2010, 508-525
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. “Imperialism, History, Writing and Theory” in Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books, 1999, 19-41
Week 3:
Mann, Charles C. 1491 : New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. New York: Vintage, 2006. 228-270
Momaday, N. Scott. “The Becoming of the Native: Man in America before Columbus.” America in 1492: The World of the Indian Peoples Before the Arrival of Columbus. Ed. Alvin Josephy Jr. New York: Vintage Books, 1993.13-21
Week4:
Zamora, Margarita. “If Cahonaboa Learns to Speak : Amerindian Voice in the Discourse of Discovery.” Colonial Latin American Review 8.2 (1999): 191-202. Electronic.
Boucher, Philip P. Cannibal encounters: Europeans and Island Caribs, 1492-1763. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. Chapters 1 & 2.
Week 6:
Defoe, Daniel. The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 222-232
Hanke, Lewis. All mankind is one; a study of the disputation between Bartolomé de las Casas and Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda in 1550 on the intellectual and religious capacity of the American Indians. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1974. Pgs. 3-40
Week 7:
Trask, Haunani-Kay. “Introduction” and “Hawaiians and Human Rights” in From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii. University of Hawaii Press, 1999
Omojo Omaji, Paul. “The Realcrime of the State and Indigenous Human Rights” in Indigenous Human Rights. Sam Garkawe, Loretta Kelly and Warwick Fisher (Editors). Sydney Institute of Crimology Monograph Series 14, 2001, 228-247
Winter Term
Week 3:
Stavenhagen, Rodolfo. “Indigenous Peoples and the State in Latin America: An Ongoing Debate” Multiculturalism in Latin America: Indigenous Rights, Diversity and Democracy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
Otero, Gerardo and Heidi A. Jugenitz. “Challenging National Borders from Within: The Political-Class Formation of Indigenous Peasants in Latin America.” The Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 40. 5 (2003): 503-524.
Week 8:
Crey, Ernie: “The Perpetual Stranger: Four Generations in my Sto:lo Family” in Stolen From Our Embrace: The Abduction of First Nations Children and the Restoration of Aboriginal Communities. Suzanne Fournier and Ernie Crey. Douglas & McIntyre, 1997
Week 9:
Maracle, Brian. “Solutions” in Crazywater: Native Voices on Addiction and Recovery. Penguin Books, 1995: 232-253
Anderson, Kim. “Introduction” and “Looking Back: The Colonization of Native Womanhood” in A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Toronto: Second Story Press, 2000, 13-17, 55-78
Stolen Sisters
http://www.amnesty.ca/campaigns/sisters_overview.php
New Report on Murdered and Missing Aboriginal Women and Girls in Canada
http://thecurvature.com/2010/04/23/new-report-on-murdered-and-missing-aboriginal-women-and-girls-in-canada/
Week 10:
Leanne Simpson: Our Elder Brothers: The Lifeblood of Resurgence in Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence, and Protection of Indigenous Nations. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publications, 2008, 73-88
Alfred, Taiaiake. “First Worlds” in Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom.
Toronto: Broadview Press, 2008: 19-38
Week 11:
Endicott, Kirk. Indigenous Rights Issues in Malaysia in At the Risk of Being Heard: Indigenous Rights and Postocolonial States. Bartholomew Dean and Jerome M. Levi, Editors. University of Michigan Press, 2003, 142-164
Coon Come, Matthew. “Survival in the Context of Mega-Resource Development: Experiences of the James Bay Crees and the First Nations of Canada” in In the Way of Development:
Indigenous Peoples, Life Projects, and Globalization. London and New York: Zed Books, 2004, 153-165
Bressette, Shelly E., 2003. “The Truth About Us: Living in the Aftermath of the Ipperwash
Crisis” in Strong Women Stories: Native Vision and Community Survival. Edited by Kim
Anderson and Bonita Lawrence. Toronto: Sumach Press, 2003, 228-241
Week 12:
Hall, Thomas, and James Fenelon with David Kuecker. “Indigenous Mexico: Globalization and Resistance” in Indigenous Peoples and Globalization: Resistance and Revitalization. Paradigm Publishers, 2009, 63-90
LaDuke, Winona. “Recovering Power to Slow Climate Change” in Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming. Toronto: Between the Lines Press, 2005: 237-253
Goodleaf, Donna, 1995. Chapter One. Entering the Warzone: A Mohawk Perspective on
Resisting Invasions. Penticton, BC: Theytus Books, 5-28
HREQ 1960
INDIGENOUS RESISTANCE IN GLOBAL CONTEXTS
FINAL TAKE HOME EXAM (25%)
DUE DATE: Your final exam is due Tues. April 12, 2011, and will be handed to me at Atkinson 332 between 7:00pm and 8:30pm that evening.
EXAM CRITERIA & GRADING SCHEME: You must answer either question 1 or question 2 (10%), and one question from 3 to 5 (10%), and question 6 (5%). Each answer should be no shorter than 2 pages and no longer than 5 pages.
FORMAT: Each question should follow a formal essay format, and have in text citations (name, date: page number) and one title page and one reference page for all three questions. Use 12 point, x-roman font, double spaced with page numbers on each page. Remember to single space block quotes, which are used for any quotes over three lines in length. Make sure to spell check and proof read your work.
EXAM QUESTIONS:
1) In Give me my Father’s Body, discuss the ‘scientivization’ of Minik and his Father and the construction anthropological racism towards Indigenous people. What comparisons can you make between the book and the wk 10 article, Reclaiming Identity: The Repatriation of Native Remains and Culture?
2) Compare and contrast forms of Indigenous resistance in Ward Churchill’s, Indigenous Right and Resistance, and Resistance to War, Occupation and Empire to Taiaiake Alfred’s articles, Being Indigenous: Resurgences against Contemporary Colonialism, and Indigenous Knowledge Commons.
3) Outline and discuss the various forms of resistance that have been covered in class and in the readings, and assess which method(s) of resistance you think are the most effective.
4) Based on the articles, compare and contrast the 60s scoop that took place in Canada with Australia’s stolen generations.
5) Looking at the UN addresses made by the various Indigenous leaders from settler colonies in Voice of Indigenous Peoples, draw together some of the common themes and similar issues that transverse their members, communities, and societies.
6) In detail, describe and outline what you have learned and/or gained insight into as a result of taking the class, Indigenous Resistance in Global Contexts.
Have a fantastic summer... power to the people!
