Wikipedia

Native American studies

(Redirected fromAmerican Indian Studies)
"Indian studies" redirects here. Not to be confused withIndology.

Native American studies(also known asAmerican Indian,Indigenous American,Aboriginal,Native,orFirst Nations studies) is an interdisciplinary academic field that examines the history, culture, politics, issues, spirituality, sociology and contemporary experience ofNative peoples in North America,[1]or, taking a hemispheric approach, theAmericas.[2]Increasingly, debate has focused on the differences rather than the similarities between otherethnic studiesdisciplines such asAfrican American studies,Asian American studies,andLatino/a studies.

In particular, thepolitical sovereigntyof manyindigenous nationsmarks substantive differences in historical experience from that of otherracial and ethnic groups in the United Statesand Canada. Drawing from numerous disciplines such asanthropology,sociology,history,literature,political science,andgender studies,Native American studies scholars consider a variety of perspectives and employ diverse analytical and methodological tools in their work.[1]

Two key concepts shape Native American studies, according toCrow CreekLakotascholarElizabeth Cook-Lynn,indigenousness (as defined in culture, geography, and philosophy) and sovereignty (as legally and historically defined).[3]Practitioners advocate fordecolonizationofindigenous peoples,politicalautonomy,and the establishment of a discipline dedicated to alleviating contemporary problems facing indigenous peoples.[1]

History

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The Native American historical experience is marked by forcible and sometimes cooperative attempts atassimilationinto mainstream European-American culture (Americanization). Beginning with missionaries and leading up tofederally controlled schools,the aim was to educate American Indians so that they could return to their communities and facilitate cultural assimilation. As described by David Beck in his article "American Indian Higher Education before 1974: From Colonization to Self-Determination", the schools were a tool for assimilation. Their focus was not academic, but training for industrial or domestic jobs.[1]

TheCivil Rights Movementof the 1950s–60s contested mainstream methods of assimilationist indoctrination and the curriculum inK-12 schoolsand universities throughout the United States. American Indian students, coupled with sympathetic professors, assisted in creating programs with new goals. Rather than being focused on education for community assimilation there was a move to educate forempowerment.Programs that practiced community outreach and focused on student retention on campus arose from that movement. The school programs fostered a new interpretation of American Indian history, sociology, and politics.[1]

During the First Convocation of American Indian Scholars in March 1970 atPrinceton University,indigenous scholars drafted a plan to develop "Native American Studies as an Academic Discipline", which would defend indigenous control of land andindigenous rightsand would ultimately reformUS Indian Policy.[4]This discipline would be informed bytraditional knowledge,especiallyoral history,[5]and would "defend indigenous nationhood in America".[3]

In contrast to Western anthropology, the knowledge base of Native American studies isendogenous,emerging from indigenous communities. Developers of Native American studies widely dismissedscientific objectivity,[3]since Western cultural biases have historically informed anthropology and other disciplines.

Discourse about Diversity and Decolonization

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Since the inception of Native American Studies, there’s been discourse on the question of who should study and contribute to the field of Native Americans Studies.[6][7]These fundamental questions range from who can study Native American Studies in undergraduate courses[6]to how academics of non-Indian descent dominate Native American Studies and surrounding discourse.[7]

Linda Tuhiwai Smithis a professor of education and Maori development and Pro-Vice-Chancellor Maori at theUniversity of WaikatoinHamilton, New Zealand.Smith explains that the word "research" is linked to European colonialism. Indigenous peoples are apprehensive and cautious of that connection, and the pursuit of knowledge, or research, is deeply embedded in multiple layers of European and Colonial processes. Colonial definitions and understandings of native peoples were reported to the West and then those representations were sent back and attached to indigenous identity. In this way, research is very powerful. Indigenous researchers must be afforded the opportunity to critique and fine tune the methodologies so that their experiences are more accurately represented.[8]

Universities and colleges with Native American studies departments, programs, and courses

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United States

Canada

Europe

Publications

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Conferences and symposia

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Notable scholars

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^abcdeHeitshu, Marshall (2009)
  2. ^Morris, C. Patrick (1986)."Native American Studies: A Personal Overview".Wíčazo Ša Review.2(2): 9–16.doi:10.2307/1409012.JSTOR1409012.
  3. ^abcCook-Lynn (1997), p. 11
  4. ^Cook-Lynn (1997), p. 9
  5. ^Cook-Lynn (1997), p. 10
  6. ^abChampagne, Duane (1996)."American Indian Studies Is for Everyone".American Indian Quarterly.20(1): 77–82.doi:10.2307/1184943.ISSN0095-182X.JSTOR1184943.
  7. ^abCook-Lynn (1997), p. 19
  8. ^Cain, Tiffany (2013-11-25)."Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, 2nd Edition by Linda Tuhiwai Smith. London and New York: Zed Books, 2012. 240 pp".Anthropology & Education Quarterly.44(4): 443–445.doi:10.1111/aeq.12032.ISSN0161-7761.
  9. ^"The NAIS Journal".Native American and Indigenous Studies Association.Retrieved7 June2024.
  10. ^"Native South".University of Nebraska Press.14 December 2017.Retrieved7 June2024.
  11. ^"Yellow Medicine Review".Retrieved7 June2024.
  12. ^"Native American Art Studies Association".Retrieved7 June2024.

References

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Further reading

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