Anthropology 310
Oregon Native Histories and Cultures
Summer 2006
Instructor: David Lewis, MA PhD-ABD
Office: Condon 252
346-5525
coyotez@uoregon.edu
***April/28/2006-Attention, This is a summary draft of the summer Syllabus, Some content and some subject matter will change between now and the final draft***
This course will be a sociocultural course on Oregon Native histories and Culture. This course is an introduction to the history and cultures of the indigenous peoples of Oregon. The course readings are anthropological and historical in nature and will explore Oregon’s Native peoples within the context of colonization, ethnographic research, US government policies, and contemporary cultural identity. This course includes historic ethnographies as well as contemporary ethnohistories as textual resources. The intention of this course is to help student learn how ethnohistories were and are “constructed” in western civilization. During the course of the class, through the readings and presentations we will “construct” our own understanding of Oregon Indian ethnohistory.
This course will involve a survey of the histories of the Oregon Tribes. Specifically the course will include histories of some tribal peoples; Chinooks, Nez Perce, Klamath, Modoc, Athapaskans (Tututni, Rogue etc), Kalapuyans, Molalas, Tillamooks (Salish). The course will follow ethnohistoric writings about them from Euro-American contact through the early reservation era, through termination and into the contemporary era.
The course will offer comparisons of different ethnographic and historic perspectives. We will discuss the distortion of Oregon Native history and culture through early ethnographic research on Oregon Natives. We will discuss the Western ethnographic lens and how it historically distorts characterizations of indigenous peoples. We will balance the western ethnographic histories with essays written by Native peoples and Tribes regarding their own histories and cultures. Finally, the course will include presentations from several invited speakers from Oregon Tribes who will speak about their history and culture from their lived experience.
During the course, individual subjects will emerge that I will highlight. These topics will be US Government Indian Policy, Indian Education at Boarding and Day schools, Termination of Oregon Reservations, Restoration of Oregon Tribes, Pow wow Culture in Oregon, Traditional Oregon Indian Houses and the Restoration of Traditional Building Technologies, Nez Perce conflicts with the US Government, The Modoc and Rogue River conflicts, The Whitman Massacre, Fur Trade and Oregon Indians, Volunteers (militia) in the Oregon Territory, Unrecognized Indians in Oregon, and Tribal Identity.
From the aforementioned course subjects and content, the students will gain a much richer understanding of Oregon’s Native peoples through the deconstruction and construction of Oregon Indian Histories. The students will better understand the importance of a variety of perspectives on history and of the personal perspectives of Native people. They will also gain a deeper understanding of the importance of anthropological studies and how such research may be used to enrich contemporary histories. Additionally, they will gain an appreciation of archival collections and of the vast amounts of information available to them. They will learn to understand how ethno-historical characterizations of Native people can affect the public’s understanding of who Native people are today.
Students will be expected to read a series of articles to gain a background knowledge of the Oregon Tribes and their ethnohistory. They will be expected to produce a research essay of at least 10 pages (50 pts). They will also be required to produce a 5 page response essay (30 pts) on specialized subjects in the course of the term. Attendance (5 pts) and participation (5 pts) will be required. Students will also be expected to know the basic geography of Oregon and where on the landscape the homelands of the Oregon tribes and tribal reservations are located. This information will be provided to the students during the first classes and there will be a map test on the 4 th day of class, worth 10 pts of the final grade.
Research paper………...50pts
Response paper………..30pts
map test……………….10pts
attendance…………..…5pts
participation…………...5pts
Total ………………100 pts
Description of Class
Each class will have a lecture of about 50% of the class period, The final 50% will be time for the class to separate into small groups and discuss individual topics and questions. Lectures will be presentations on specific topics of Oregon Indians and their histories. Lectures will generally follow the readings but will not be a recitation of the readings. Students are expected to keep up on the readings to maintain a basic understanding and context for the lectures, daily readings will be about 100 pages. There will be opportunity for review and questions during group discussions, over email, during meetings with the instructor and during the final class. Students with questions and in need of advice are encourage to attend the office hours or arrange a meeting with the instructor.
10 pages, 50 pts, Due on the Wednesday of finals week.
For the research paper you will choose a topic related to the course that interests you. You will research the topic using course readings and other resources that you find through library and Internet research. You will summarize your findings and relate them to some aspect of the course.
Each student will use a formal research paper format which includes a main question of inquiry, supporting paragraphs, and a summary of your findings. Include a title, page numbers, footnotes or endnotes, and your name. All sources are to be referenced (bibliographies and endnotes do not count toward page length). I expect to read critical and thoughtful essays discussing subjects related to the course. (Students will receive specific College Essay guidelines in a hand-out)
5 pages, 30 pts each. The response papers are meant as a small research paper responding to a subject brought up in class. The student will select a subject related to the course and investigate it as fully as possible. The short page length requires the writer to not waste any space for long “filler” paragraphs. Typical college essay outline is expected.
Appropriate subjects for research and response papers will include those under these broad headings; US Government Indian Policy, Indian Education at Boarding and Day schools, Termination of Oregon Reservations, Restoration of Oregon Tribes, Pow wow Culture in Oregon, Traditional Oregon Indian Houses and the Restoration of Traditional Building Technologies, Nez Perce conflicts with the US Government, The Modoc and Rogue River conflicts, The Whitman Massacre, Fur Trade and Oregon Indians, Volunteers (militia) in the Oregon Territory, Unrecognized Indians in Oregon, and Tribal Identity. Students are encouraged to consult with the instructor about their research topic.
Students will also be expected to know the basic geography of Oregon and where on the landscape the homelands of the Oregon tribes and tribal reservations are located. This information will help the students geographically connect with the information presented throughout the course. This information will be provided to the students during the first class and through their readings and there will be a map test on the 4 th day of class, worth 10 pts of the final grade.
Plagiarism and/or submission of other people’s work as your own work, will not be tolerated. Plagiarism or the submission of significant text copied from the Internet, book, and/or essay will receive an automatic failure grade in the class.
Students will be expected to act respectfully toward others at all times. As this course may involve some emotional discussions, it is important to respect the rights of others to voice their opinions. Disrespectful dialogue will be discouraged. Also, please respect your fellow students by turning off your cell phones during class. Continued reminders by the instructor of this policy can negatively affect your grade. As well, be aware that talking, loud food and any other distracting behavior will be discouraged. Please be on time to class, continual lateness will be noticed and may become distracting.
Students with a disability that requires additional arrangements should speak with the instructor as soon as possible. The instructor will abide by all disability policies of the University of Oregon.
The instructor is available for office hours and by prior arrangement. Emailing for advice and information is expected and encouraged. Students may bring their research topics to the instructor for advice. Please make advance plans to see the instructor so that you do not run out of time. Emergency requests for help, the day a paper is due, may not be honored.
Additional help needed
Please arrange ahead of time to gain a familiarity with using the Internet so that you can access all of the course materials and readings. If you have additional issues with the use of the Internet and/or email, please bring this to my attention, ASAP, so that I can make arrangements for you. This is a short course that moves quickly because of the summer schedule. Please take this into account.
Proposed Readings (*required) (additional chapters and essays to be added)
E.A. Schwartz, The Rogue River Indian War and Its Aftermath, 1997
Seaburg, The Nehalem Tillamook, Oregon State University Press, 2003
*The History of the Kalapuya Indians, Benton County Historical Association 2005
Wilkinson, Blood Struggle, 2005
*Douthit, Uncertain encounters, Oregon State University Press, 2002.
*Aguilar, George W., When the River Ran Wild! Indian Traditions on the Mid-Columbia, Oregon Historical Society Press, 2005.
Olson, Sharon and Katherine Harrison, Standing Tall, Biography of Katherine Harrison, Oregon Historical Society Press, 2005.
Example reading: Week 2 day 3
Histories; (cultural content from Oregon tribal webpages, ie: the Native perspective on their own culture and history)
Warm Springs: http://www.warmsprings.com/Warmsprings/Tribal_Community/History__Culture/
Cow Creek Band: http://www.cowcreek.com/story/index.html
Grand Ronde: http://www.grandronde.org/misc/ourstory.html
Siletz Tribe: http://ctsi.nsn.us/History_and_Culture.html
Umatilla Tribe: http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/history.html
Klamath Tribe: http://www.klamathtribes.org/history.html
Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw Tribe, http://www.ctclusi.org/cultural_historical.asp
Burns Paiute Tribe: http://www.burnspaiute-nsn.gov/TheTribe.htm
Coquille Tribe: http://www.cedco.net/tribe.shtml