Nanepashemet (Wampanoag, Plymouth Plantation) "Prehistory, His Story, Twist-ory,
History: The Ethocentrism of the Transmission of Information"
There is a persistent notion amongst non-indigenous scholars that the
time before 1942 in the western hemisphere was "prehistoric", in other words
before history. Basically this reflects the idea that the European literary
tradition is the only valid conveyance of human events of the past. Oral
recordsare forced to take a back seat to written records. History is
certainly not thepast, only human beings' descriptions of it and it certainly
reflects the cultural values of the historian, however the historian transmits
the information. The use of the term "prehistory", or the insistence that the
only valid history is that which is recorded by the European-style traditional
writing causes a serious separation between Native Peoples and those who
choose to study us. In spite of 500 years of colonial brainwashing, there are
many oral records of what was going on in the western hemisphere before 1492.
What makes it less important than the European way? How can we insure that
nothing more of these precious records are not destroyed?
David Murray (Brandeis) "Spokesmen From the Last Frontier: Contemporary
Colonization in the North"
The last frontier in this hemisphere is striking the native peoples
of the north, carrying the social and ecological consequences associated with
America's past. As new technology develops the Arctic, native groups find
their solidarity and contest their political identity in many forums,
including New York Times ads concerning development in the Arctic National
Wildlife Refuge. Some groups find their self-interest in development, while
others resist. Non-native political lobbies, pro-development and pro-
environment have likewise found their own self-interests in association with
the respective native groups.Distinguishing "authentic voices" from symbolic
"fronts" in these disputes is increasingly problematic.
Doris Morningstar Norman (Mohawk, U Mass at Boston) "Speaking for the Hodeno-
saunee"
[not given due to illness]
Thomas Buckley (U Mass at Boston) "Visual Representations of the Jump Dance in
Native Northwestern California"
Yurok Indians and their close neighbors, the Karuks and Hupas, have
long produced refined "abstract" art, incorporated in basketry and ceremonial
regalia. While photographs seem to have provided the most "realistic"
representations of World Renewal ceremonialism after the 1880's, this
perception may reflect, inpart, a non-Indian visual hegemony. More abstract
media at times seem to yield more culturally autonomous representations of
World Renewal events such as the Jump Dance. This paper, presented in visual
form through slides, examines evidence from the early photography of Edward
Curtis and others to the contem- porary paintings of the Karuk artist Brian D
Tripp.
Diane Bell (Holy Cross) "Representations of Australian Women: A Complex Case of
Anthropological Accountability"
In 1989 an Aboriginal woman and I co-authored an article on the topic
of intra-racial rape. Legal Aid Services represented the accused and women
were unable to rely on their traditional means of preventing/punishing sexual
abuses.Why, my friend asked me, were we 'strong women' (Feminists) silent
also? Answering her question required mapping relationships/alliances/
factions/frictions between and among the politics of Aboriginal self-
determination struggles, the socialist left, the criminal justice system,
the shape of post-colonial transformation of gender relations in Aboriginal
society and the shape of feminist politics in Australia. The article spurred
a furor that went to the heart of the current crisis of representation and its
blind spot on gender.
Russell Peters (Wampanoag) "Columbus, Fake History, and a New Curriculum"
The immediate result of Columbus's ventures was devistation unlike any
other in the history of the world. American educators have perpetrated fraud
bykeeping a dual set of books - one for scholars that provides accurate
accounts of this devistation, the other for the public, designed to keep them
ignorant ofthe horrible treatment Europeans meted out to the indigenous
peoples. We need a new basic history for elementary and high schools that
deals with the realities of the European settlement of the Americas. The
effort to develop this history will help to heal the wounds many Native People
still feel and will go far toward bringing together people separated by a lack
of understanding of the past.
Overall, it was a very interesting and informative session. For those who
don'tknow, 'Wampanoag' is basically the same as 'Mashpee', the native people
of Cape Cod (the town of Mashpee used to be their reservation) who in 1979
lost their struggle to be recognized as a 'tribe'. Without such recognition
they have no legal standing to file land claims. My mother, who grew up on
the Cape, told usthat had they asked for the town during the 1940's most
people would have been willing to just give it to them, as it was the poorest
section.