Indian Affairs Under the Obama Administration – An End to Broken Promises?
At the close of the eighth Annual White House Tribal Nations Conference (WHTNC) this September, the President of the National Congress of American Indians, Brian Cladoosby (Swinomish), wrapped President Barack Obama in a traditional Pacific Northwest blanket and placed his own cedar hat on Obama’s head. Beaming, Obama addressed the assembled Native leaders: “After almost eight years as your President, I have been so privileged to learn from you and spend time with many of you while visiting more tribal communities than any other President.”[1] Indeed, on the campaign trail in 2008 Obama promised to correct past federal wrongdoings, renew the government-to-government relationship, and respect the treaty rights of tribal nations as full partners. At the WHTNC Obama appeared confident that he had achieved those goals. But while positive steps have certainly been taken in the last eight years, has the Obama administration really revolutionised Indian affairs in the United […]
Continue ReadingResisting First Nations Stereotypes in banned YA Novel The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian
Since the book’s publication in 2007, Part-Time Indian has been ranked in the top five every year since 2010, reaching the top spot in the most recent list (2014). The reasons stated for the challenges include, but are not limited to; anti-family, cultural insensitivity, sexually explicit and depictions of bullying. However, Alexie “seamlessly layers class and racial identities on top of … more familiar adolescent struggles” ensuring that the novel can reach beyond the well-worn tropes of indigenous stereotype.
Continue ReadingFear Itself: Reflections on Native America and the Narrative of Fear
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In this post Darren Reid (University of Coventry) uses his own research on Native American guerilla warfare to reflect on narratives of fear throughout history and in a post-9/11 world.
Continue ReadingHistoriography of North American Ethnobotany
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In this post Juliane Schlag (University of Hull) discusses the concept of Ethnobotany in Native American Studies and the problems defining it within the historiography.
Continue ReadingMeet Me at the Fair: the Native-American Model School, the Philippine Reservation and Maintenance of the Colour Line at St. Louis’s World’s Fair
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In the this post, Katie Myerscough (University of Manchester) discusses the problematic portrayal of Native Americans and indigenous Filipinos at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.
Continue ReadingGeneration Indigenous (Gen-I): Removing the Barriers to Success
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In the second post, Benjamin Harvey Sporle (Canterbury Christ Church) discusses Native American youth political activism and the emergence of the Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) movement.
Continue ReadingBook Review: West of the American Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 by Claudio Saunt
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In this post, Michael Griggs reviews West of the American Revolution: An Uncommon History of 1776 by Claudio Saunt.
This book’s greatest strength is that it challenges the reader to open their minds to the larger struggle for the greater American continent. 1776 was a year of great civil war between the British Colonies and their motherland; however, equally important was the struggle of the Native American and First Nations people against the ever-expanding and exploring Europeans.
Book Review: The Queerness of Native American Literature by Lisa Tatonetti
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In this post, Professor Joy Porter (University of Hull) reviews The Queerness of Native American Literature by Lisa Tatonetti.
Continue ReadingThe Bear River Massacre: Multiple Memories and Cultural Contradictions
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In the second post, Susannah Hopson (University of Hull) discusses the problem of memory and memorialization in her research on Native American massacre sites.
Continue ReadingThe Praying Indians of King Philip’s War
Throughout November 2015, U.S. Studies Online will be publishing a series of posts to mark Native American Heritage Month. In the second post, Edward Mair (University of Hull) discusses the “forgotten casualties” of King Philip’s War (1675-1676): the ‘Praying Indians.’
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