Indians of North America

Indians of North America

Anthropology E-320/Anthropology A-560

Fall 2011

Dr. Larry J. Zimmerman

ANTH E-320 Sec 29686

ANTH A-560, Sec 30849

01:30P-02:45P M/W, SL109

Office: 433 Cavanaugh

Telephone: 317-274-2383; Fax: 317-279-2347; E-mail: larzimme@iupui.edu

Office Hours: Generally Mon, Tues, Wed 10 AM-Noon; Tues 1:30--3:15 PM. I'm usually available immediately before and after class; other hours by appointment. I am available many other times throughout the week, so if you are in CA, feel free to stop in. However, if you are making a special trip, it’s wise to call ahead. I will try to be in during my scheduled office hours, but sometimes have to leave for other obligations. If you are having trouble finding me, do send an e-mail or catch me at class. E-mail is the single best way to make contact if you need assistance: larzimme@iupui.edu.

Course Description

The intent of this course is to introduce you to the academic study of American Indians and Native peoples. The emphasis is on “introduce” because the subject is extremely complex, and in one semester you really will only receive some basics. The perspective to be taken here is one of scholarship, not an approach that is personal or political, though certainly these approaches will enter into lectures, readings, videos and discussions. You'll be looking at the way in which academic disciplines have examined American Indian and Native cultures, traditions and histories. The viewpoints primarily will be from anthropology, but perspectives also will come from museum studies, literature, history, law, political science, and a range of other disciplines.

Principles of Undergraduate Learning:

Although this course supports PULs 2-5 in many ways, this course is designed primarily to support PUL 5, Understanding Society and Culture, to extend your ability of students to recognize their own cultural traditions and to understand and appreciate the diversity of the human experience.

Understanding society and culture will be demonstrated by your ability to:

1. compare and contrast the range of diversity and universality in human history, societies, and ways of life;

2. analyze and understand the interconnectedness of global and local communities; and

3. operate with civility in a complex world.

Although these ideas appear in numerous forms in the readings, lecture, and video material in this class, the ideas will best appear in the collaborative project on YouTube Indians? See the description of that project for details.

Objectives

1. To examine the perspectives of diverse scholarly disciplines about American Indian and Native peoples.
2. To examine and understand issues related to representation of American Indian and Native peoples, especially image and stereotype creation, but also concerns about self-representation and authenticity.
3. To examine the contribution of American Indian and Native peoples to world cultures.
4. To survey the diversity of American Indian and Native culture from pre-Contact into the contemporary period.
5. To examine contemporary issues.

Course Web Site

The web site that supports this course is located at http://www.iupui.edu/~mstd/e320. It will expand in material and resources as the class progresses. Please look at the site soon. You can link to it from the class pages on the OnCourse system. On the site you’ll find the class announcements with shifts in the schedule, a course syllabus with hot links, details on lab assignments & projects, lecture notes, video guides, links pages of annotated web sites in support of particular class topics, and assorted other materials. Note Well: The syllabus on the web site and OnCourse—not the syllabus handed out at the start of class—is the official class syllabus. It will be updated regularly to reflect changing class needs. The web site is meant to assist your learning in the class. Use it as much or as little as you choose.

OnCourse

We will be using OnCourse for basic class communication, some readings and other passworded files, and for a collaborative project. It will be extremely important for announcements, especially last minute changes to schedule or assignments and for upcoming events.

Class Format

Class will generally be based around lecture and discussion. Part of at least one class each week will be devoted to group discussion or other group activities. You will see several videos in class.

Grading: Undergraduates

Your course grade will come from 4 activities as discussed below. You may earn up to 300 points (not counting extra credit), and you will be graded according to the point structure below. Graduate students have additional assignments, but must also complete these activities. On all written work, quality is always considered more important than quantity; suggested paper lengths are just that—suggestions!

Midterm Exam: You will have a take-home midterm examination worth 50 points. The exam will consist of short identification/significance and brief essay questions. On essays, the best answers will use examples from the assigned readings, as well as from videos, lectures or discussions (the best ones will use reading examples). Examples should be carefully used, explaining the context of the example and its relevance to the questions. Make up midterm exams will be completely essay based. See the Exam page on the web site for more information.

Final Exam: You will have a final exam worth 50 points. The final exam will consist of essay questions of varying point value. On essays, as noted for the midterm, the best answers will use examples from the assigned readings, as well as from videos, lectures or discussions (the best ones will use reading examples; it’s the only way I have to find out if you’ve read anything!). Examples should be carefully used, explaining the context of the example and its relevance to the questions. See the Exam page on the web site for more information.

Report and critically review a book: You will choose one of the four books listed in the in the “Choose only one of the following:” section of the “Textbook and Other Readings” discussed below. These books are especially current and discuss issues we’ll talk about in class. All should make for interesting reading. You will write a 4-5 page report of your book, summarizing the key elements of the book, but you will also try to connect the book critically to other materials you’ve gotten in class and assess how well you think the book met its stated goals. This review is worth 50 points (approximately 10 for the summary, 25 for linking books to in-class materials, 10 points for you assessment of the book, and 5 points for writing, organization, grammar, and the like. Check the Book Review page for more details.

Collaborative Projective: You must complete a "hands-on" collaborative project about Native American representation worth up to 150 points. The topic of the project is YouTube Indians, which we will discuss in class in about a week, but you can also read a detailed description at http://www.iupui.edu/~mstd/e320/youtube.html. You will produce a team product by contributing to a class wiki on You Tube Indians, you will participate in class progress and final presentation, and you will turn in an individual* brief (10 or so pages) report about your segment of the project and your personal observations on how Indians get represented on YouTube and the Web generally. You will choose or be assigned a theme, and there will be 4-5 people in each project group, which will be coordinated by one of the graduate students. We will set up groups after class enrollment stabilizes, about 3 weeks into the class.

You will be assigned up to 100 points based on the quality of your activity, which includes assessment of both your contribution to the collaborative effort ( up to 50 given to your group for the product and presentations by the professor, 50 points for participation [30 points from the grad student supervisor and 20 from group peers]) and approximately 50 points for the content of your final report (assigned by the professor). To summarize the breakdown of points: 1) 50 points given to your group by the instructor for the group product and for the progress and final presentations, 2) 30 points from graduate student supervisor for your participation, 3) 20 points from other group members, 4) 50 points for your individual* report on the project = 150 total points.

*You may do a final report with other team members, but the report should show the effort of more than one person, that is, it probably will be longer than the 10 pages—but not necessarily double—and have a larger variety of content. Jointly authored reports will receive the same score. Part of the collaborative effort will be regular oral progress reports and a final report to the entire class.

“Roll your own grade”: If you don’t like what you see above, you may contract with me to construct the way you wish to be graded. See the Roll Your Own Grade page on the web site for details and ideas. NOTE: Even if you choose a “Roll you own grade” option, you must still do the YouTube Indians collaborative project!

Final grades will be calculated using your total accumulated points according to the following scale:

290 or above = A+
280-289 = A
270-279 = A-
260-269 = B+
250-259 = B
240-249 = B-
230-239 = C+

220-229 = C
210-219 = C-
200-209 = D+
190-199 = D
180-189 = D-
179 or less = F

Undergraduates Only: Extra Credit Points

You have several opportunities to raise your score, up to 10% of the total points for the class, that is, 30 points. You can mix the Notebook or electronic portfolio with points from events or other activities, as discussed below, but be aware that the total points can be a maximum of 30.

Notebooks: You will prepare a notebook or electronic portfolio (web site or CD-ROM) on topics related to Native Americans. These can be articles from newspapers or magazines (caution: do not clip articles from Library magazines. If you do, you will incur severe penalties!), lecture notes, answered questions on film study guides, and any other materials you find interesting or relevant about American Indians. Up to 40 points can be earned. The idea is for you to work on this during the entire class. Don’t just “throw it together” at the last minute. That will be very obvious, and the number of points you earn will be small. You can’t wait till the last minute to do the notebook and expect to get the full extra credit! For more information, check the Projects and Notebook page on the web site.

I also will announce several activities for you to use to boost your points. These may involve such things as taping and analyzing American Indian-related videos from television, attending a lecture or event having to do with American Indians, and reviewing novels or other books about American Indians. The maximum number of points to be earned will be 40. I will try to announce opportunities in class, but will also put them on the OnCourse class announcements and the class web site.

Grading: Graduate Students

Graduate students will attend the same lectures at undergraduate students and are expected to participate in class discussions. You will take the midterm and final exams as structured above, as well as the book review. You will also read an additional book, A Companion to the Anthropology of American Indians, more specifically geared to the current status of anthropological studies of Native Americans. On a weekly basis, we will have a separate discussion of this book, the collaborative project, and other course issues you wish to raise. Please look at your schedules and be ready to find a time that might work for all of us. Usually, the most convenient time has been right after class, but it can certainly be at another time. We will not start these meetings until mid-to-late September. Your grades in class will be more subjective than those of the undergraduates, though point structures will be similar for exams and book reviews. Your work on the YouTube Indians project and in the discussions on the extra book will have a less structured grade. If you are concerned about this, do ask.

Textbook and Other Readings

All texts are available in the B & N Bookstore in the Campus Center. However, they are also available online from Amazon , CheapestTextBooks, and numerous other used textbook sellers online. Several will be available in IUPUI Library (they are not on Reserve!) and some public libraries. Note: On my own book, Professor Molyneaux and I were paid up front for writing the book and therefore make no royalties by assigning it to you.

For both Anth E-320 and MSTD A-560

Required of all students:

American Indians: Stereotypes & Realities
Author: Devon A. Mihesuah ISBN-10: 0932863221 Publisher: Clarity Press

Native North America
Authors: Larry J. Zimmerman, Brian Molyneaux ISBN: 0-806-13286-8 Publisher: University of Oklahoma Red River Press

Indians in Unexpected Places

Author: Philip Deloria ISBN: 0-700-61344-7

Publisher: University Press of Kansas

Additional readings to be posted on OnCourse or added to the syllabus. Most are relatively short and web based.

All students are to choose only one of the following:

The Rez Road Follies: Canoes, Casinos, Computers, and Birch Bark Baskets

Author: Jim Northrup ISBN: 0816634955

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Everything You Know about Indians Is Wrong

Author: Paul Chaat Smith ISBN: 0816656010

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

They Treated Us Just Like Indians: The Worlds of Bennett County, South Dakota

Author: Paula L. Wagoner ISBN: 0803298307

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

The Walleye War: The Struggle for Ojibwe Spearfishing and Treaty Rights
Author: Larry Nesper ISBN: 0803283806

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

All grad (Anth 560) students will also read

A Companion to the Anthropology of American Indians

Thomas Biolsi (Editor)

Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, Paperback ISBN-10: 9781405182881 ISBN-13: 978-1405182881

Tentative Lecture, Reading and Exam Schedule

Following is a loosely arranged lecture and reading assignment schedule. Note well: I reserve the right to change the schedule based on class needs, illness, additional guest speakers, or other factors. This will be the case especially in the lat half of the semester!

The following schedule is tentative and may be changed by the instructor based on assessment of class needs or interests. If a change will have an impact on deadlines, you will be given substantial notice.

Your readings are keyed below by abbreviations as follows:

NNA=Native North America, AISR=American Indians: Stereotypes and Realities, UP=Indians in Unexpected Places

Please notice that the class is organized around seven topics to cover in sixteen weeks, thus each topic will be about two weeks in length, though some will be shorter or longer than others. The lectures listed are sometimes more than one class period long as noted. Readings are given by topic, not class period. Web lecture notes may cover more that one class period. Bold dates indicate assignments due or exams.

Date	Topic	Readings & Assignments
Aug 22	Introduction
Aug 24	TOPIC 1: Creating Images; Recognizing Stereotypes What's in a Name?	Readings: NNA, pp. 6-7, 10-11; AISR, pp. 9-118
Aug 29	Race, Ethnicity, Stereotypes, and American Indians	Readings: NNA, pp. 28-31; AISR, pp. 123-130;
Aug 31	In Whose Honor? and additional material (video) Some Comments on Indian Sports Mascots and In Whose Honor?	Some web materials to read: http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2008/09/22/some-native-american-sports-mascots/ http://sitemaker.umich.edu/daphna.oyserman/files/frybergmarkusoysermanstone2008.pdf http://www.aistm.org/fr.2002.of.polls.htm http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/magazine/08/17/indian.wars030402/index.html http://www.apa.org/pi/oema/resources/indian-mascots.aspx
Sept 7	YouTube Indians	Discussion of project
Sept 12	White Shamans and Plastic Medicine Men (video)	UP, whole book Discussion of YouTube Indians project & group assignments
Sept 14	Topic 2: Indians as Objects of Study Some Concerns and History about Studying Indian People
Sept 19	Recognizing and Understanding Diversity: Culture Areas, Diffusion, and Change Through Time	Readings: NNA, pp. 8-137, 160-173
Sept 21	Continued
Sept 26	Topic 3: American Indian Diversity from Prehistory to Colonization Archaeology's Story of American Indian Origins, Part 1
Sept 28	Zimmerman gone	Use class period for group work on YouTube Indians
Oct 3	Continued
Oct 5	Lost Civilizations of North America video and discussion	Exam 1 posted
Oct 10	YouTube Indians first presentation—all groups	Exam 1 due
Oct 12	Continued
Oct 17 (official midterm)	No class—Fall break
Oct 19	Archaeology's Story of American Indian Origins, Part 2
Oct 24	continued
Oct 26	Kennewick 60 Minutes piece, Who Owns the Past? videos
Oct 31	Topic 4: Questions of Policy and the Impact of Colonization
Nov 2	Savagery and Civilization : Wilderness video and discussion
Nov 7	Savagery and Civilization: Civilization video and discussion Treaties--lecture
Nov 9	YouTube Indians second presentation—all groups
Nov 14	The Navajo Code Talkers (video)
Nov 16	Lighting the Seventh Fire (video)
Nov 21	Topic 5: To the Seventh Generation... What the future holds for Indian Country Traditional and Contemporary Music Dances for the New Generation (video)
Nov 23	Thanksgiving-No Class
Nov 28	American Indian Activism and the Resurgence of Tribal Governments	Readings: NNA 138-159; Read a book listed above in “Choose only one of the following:” category of readings
Nov 30	Recovering the Spirit (video)
Dec 5	Indian Humor and On and off the Rez with Charlie Hill (video)	Final exam posted
Dec 7	Final YouTube Indians group presentations
Dec 12	Concluded Closing remarks

Dec 19	Final Exam due 5:30 PM	Any papers due, including book review

Films/Videos

You will see several excellent videos or films which directly support the reading material and lectures. The material in the films is considered testable. You will find a study guide for each video we see, linked from the class web site. Generally films will be shown as listed on the schedule, but if there are changes, they will be announced at least one class period ahead. If you can, look at the video study guide before seeing the video. If you can’t, please look at it as soon as possible afterwards. You may wish to take note during films as you would during lectures; they are not shown for entertainment.

Academic Misconduct

All work in the course is conducted in accordance with the University’s academic misconduct policy. Cheating includes dishonesty of any kind with respect to exams or assignments. Plagiarism is the offering of someone else’s work as your own: this includes taking material from books, web pages, or other students, turning in the same or substantially similar work as other students, or failing to properly cite other research. Please consult the University Bulletin’s http://www.iupui.edu/~bulletin/iupui/2010-2012/policies/index.shtml if you have any questions about what constitutes academic dishonesty. If academic misconduct is discovered, you will lose all credit for that Activity.

Attendance Policy

As Woody Allen says, “Eighty percent of success is just showing up!” This class is the same: to do well, you have to be there. Because we only have 31 class meetings, there is a great deal to accomplish. Thus, three (3) unexcused absences will result in a grade reduction of one letter grade, no matter the grade you earn in labs, projects, or exams (think about it: three absences is 10% of the class periods!). Each additional two (2) absences will result in an additional grade reduction. Excused absences are the usual: illness, emergencies, participation in sanctioned university events, extreme weather that would endanger you. If at all possible, please send me an e-mail or phone if you know you won’t be attending.

Administrative Withdrawal

The School of Liberal Arts supports the administrative withdrawal policy. You may find detailed descriptions of standards and policies for administrative withdrawal at http://registrar.iupui.edu/withdrawal-policy.html. Contact the Anthropology Department Chairperson with questions about Anthropology Department policies.

Other Matters

Note Well: For any written assignment you may turn in drafts to me so long as they are ahead of the due date. At your request, I will quickly read the draft and make suggestions regarding content, organization, or writing. You can then take my suggestions and rewrite if you wish. You can turn drafts in any number of times so long as it is before the due date. Plan ahead, however, in that if I am deluged by many papers at one time, I won’t have time to get through them before the due date.
Contact me as soon as possible if you cannot complete an assignment on time. E-mail is a good way to do this. I check my email several times, almost everyday. Please use OnCourse e-mail to contact me.
Please do NOT wait until after a deadline to talk to me. Do NOT postpone talking to me if you are having any difficulty completing an assignment or if you are having difficulty with the class.
Late assignments will be penalized a letter grade for every class they are late if you do not negotiate an extension with me beforehand or discuss the delay immediately afterward.
Where appropriate, you may email assignments to me as attachments, or you can leave assignments in my mailbox in 413 Cavanaugh Hall. In fact, I prefer e-mailed assignments. However, do not erase your assignment until you have a response from me that I have received and can read it.
This syllabus includes deadlines for all assignments and test dates: it is your responsibility to know when exercises are due and tests are scheduled.
If you have learning problems that might require special accommodation for completion of class assignments, please notify me of these matters within the first two or three class periods. I’ll make every effort to make things work for you.
Classroom courtesies: These should go without saying, but please try to observe usual classroom courtesies: 1. Pay attention while others are speaking or giving presentations. You certainly want them to pay attention to you! 2. If you arrive late, try to be as inconspicuous as possible as you enter. 3. Turn off cells phones before you come to class; they may interfere with the instructor’s navigation system if you don’t. If you are awaiting an emergency call (birth, death, etc., or an event of that level), sit near the exit, set your phone to vibrate, then go outside the classroom to answer it. 4. We understand that people are capable of multi-tasking, but doing e-mail, social networking, playing games or the like, in class is truly inappropriate (especially in an advanced class!).

General Comments

Within reason, I will do everything I can to facilitate your learning, but I can only do so much. Ultimately, learning the course material is your responsibility. Please feel free to contact me if you have concerns or issues, but try to remember that I can only bend so far without depriving others students of equal opportunities. My response to missed classes, exams, or assignments is covered under Other Matters above, but I understand that family or job emergencies can be out of the ordinary. However, if you do ask for special treatment, it will normally come at some additional cost to you in terms of expected amounts of work.

As well, this class will study issues that are socially controversial, such as the debates over sovereignty and sports mascots. Expect that! Sometimes I even play "devil's advocate" to generate responses. If something angers you or disturbs you, raise the issue immediately, and hopefully, in class for discussion. The worst thing to do is to internalize your anger to the level that it prevents you from learning. If you need help with this issue, please see me about it.

A few course evaluations over the years have commented that a “politically correct” or “liberal agenda” have been forced down student’s throats. I don’t think so! We’ll talk more about the political correctness part of this in class, but for starters, consider this: if you know that someone gets angry or feels hurt if you use a particular term they don’t like, do you go ahead and use that term just because you have freedom of speech and the inherent right to use the term. People who care, usually don’t. As for the liberal agenda, there is no agenda here except that you learn the history of how Indians have been treated and how many of those things still continue. Do I have opinions? Definitely! But they tend to be educated opinions. For example, we’ll discuss treaties and their constitutional validity and the things federal, state, and local governments do in violation of the Constitution, as well as related issues such as involuntary sterilization of Indian women in the 1970s. But you don’t have to believe any of it if you choose not to, nor are you required to parrot it back on exams or papers. I actually like people who challenge me and make a good and reasoned case for their views. But a challenge based only on political philosophy is usually a weak one. As Sergeant Friday on Dragnet—an early cop tv show---actually used to say, “All we want are the facts, ma’am.” (as opposed to “Just the facts, ma’am,” and if you’ve never seen Dragnet, it was a classic.)