Reclamation and Survivance: Diné Rhetorics and the Practice of Rhetorical Sovereignty
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RECLAMATION AND SURVIVANCE: DINÉ RHETORICS AND THE PRACTICE OF RHETORICAL SOVEREIGNTY Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Matt, Aretha Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 01/10/2021 07:30:36 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/202539 1 RECLAMATION AND SURVIVANCE: DINÉ RHETORICS AND THE PRACTICE OF RHETORICAL SOVEREIGNTY by Aretha Matt _____________________ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WITH A MAJOR IN RHETORIC, COMPOSITION, AND THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2011 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Dissertation Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Aretha Matt entitled Reclamation and Survivance: Diné Rhetorics and the Practice of Rhetorical Sovereignty and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy _________________________________________________________Date: July 21, 2011 Adela C. Licona _________________________________________________________Date: July 21, 2011 Thomas Miller _________________________________________________________Date: July 21, 2011 Lawrence Evers Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. _________________________________________________________Date: July 21, 2011 Dissertation Director: Adela C. Licona 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in his or her judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED: Aretha Matt 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this dissertation is inspired by so many wonderful people and many events that occurred in my life. It is an honor to take this opportunity to acknowledge all those who contributed to this project. I am certain that there is no way I would have completed this project without the support of family and friends. I want to say ahéhee’ (thank you) to everyone who helped to make this dissertation possible. Ahéhee’ to our Great Creator for desire, knowledge, inspiration, ideas, discipline and abilities. Ahéhee’ to all my Diné elders and ancestors for your resilience and your courage to maintain our languages, traditions and customs. Ahéhee’ to shimá dóó shizhé’é (mother and father), Rose Y. Matt and Johnny Matt Sr., for inspiring and motivating me by living a wholesome life and striving to live in harmony with the Creator and with all creation. Your endurance, resistance, and survival are especially inspiring. Ahéhee’ to my siblings, Sharon Spencer, Johnny Matt Jr., Karen Davis, Trinney Matt, Ryland Matt, Kimberly Russell, Roberta Matt, and Alberta Manygoats, for your unconditional love and continued support. Ahéhee’ to my lovely and cherished nieces and nephews, Jerrilyn, Erica, Jerry, Carlos, Johnny, Samantha, Brooke, Daniel, Katrina, Michelle, Mark, Keturah, Theodora, Fernando, Armondo, Darian, Kayla, Katelyn, Alden, Tapanga, Noelani, Matoska, and Luwanu, for spending time with me, for your unconditional love and support, for bringing so much joy into my life and for being the inspiration to my education. May the completion of this project motivate each of you to strive toward a long and harmonious life, to achieve degrees, to learn and maintain the traditions and language of our people, and to (re)connect with our collective past, present, and future in healthy ways. Ahéhee’ to my friend Milford Calamity and his family who each took the time to encourage and support me. Without your prayers, your conversations and your words of insight and encouragement, this project would not be complete. Ahéhee’ to my wonderful friends and colleagues, Kathryn Ortiz, Aja Martinez, Katia Vieira, Maha Baddar, and Vivette Milson-Whyte for your lasting friendship, earnest encouragement, and unrelenting coalitional support. Ahéhee’ to my chair Adela C. Licona for all the wonderful edifying conversations and for your encouragement, patience, and support. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ 7 CHAPTER 1: LIVING IN TWO WORLDS REFERS TO NON-INDIAN AND INDIAN SPACES .............................................................................................................................. 8 Nitsáhákees, Nahatá, Iiná , and Siih Hasin - A Diné Practice and Methodology .......... 18 Navajo History: How Contact Changed the Living Dynamics ..................................... 21 Luci Tapahonso and Laura Tohe: Diné Asdzáán Storytellers ...................................... 21 Education, Literacy, and Writing in Native American Communities ........................... 28 Rhetorics of Resistance: I Wanted to Write Like Me, a Diné Asdzáán Scholar .......... 30 CHAPTER 2: THE SURVIVAL OF A MATRILINEAL TRADITION ......................... 34 Contact with the United States of America ................................................................... 34 The Removal Process .................................................................................................... 37 The Navajo Treaty of 1868 ........................................................................................... 41 Boarding Schools .......................................................................................................... 45 Emerging Navajo Political System ............................................................................... 48 Navajo Origin: A Matri-focal Society .......................................................................... 50 Navajo Rug Weavers: Continuity of a Matrilineal Society .......................................... 55 Navajo Code Talkers: Bilingualism and Survival ........................................................ 58 Navajo Education: Supporting Public Education ......................................................... 59 Creation of a Navajo Community College: Diné College ............................................ 61 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 62 CHAPTER 3: THE SURVIVAL OF DINÉ ASDZÁÁN RHETORICS: HANE’ AS IDENTITY ........................................................................................................................ 64 Luci Tapahonso: Diné Adzáán Bi Hane’ ...................................................................... 64 Luci Tapahonso: The Life and History of a Diné Asdzáán .......................................... 67 The Survival of Diné Storytelling ................................................................................. 70 Interconnection: A Diné Trope ..................................................................................... 75 Conclusion: Hane’ as Dine Asdzáán Rhetorics ............................................................ 94 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS - Continued CHAPTER 4: DINÉ ASDZÁÁN RHETORICS: VOICE AND VISIBILITY THROUGH STORIES OF SURVIVAL ............................................................................................... 96 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 96 A Lived History of a Diné Asdzáán ............................................................................ 100 Colonized Spaces and Complex Identities: Lived Contradictions, Ambiguities, and Neoculturation............................................................................................................. 102 Survival Narratives about Boarding School Borders .................................................. 105 Names, in the Worldview of a Navajo, are More Than Just Sounds Strung Together 112 Third-space Subjects Surviving Boarding School ...................................................... 118 Recognizing the Victims: the Oppressed, the Nameless, and the Invisible ................ 126 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 130 CHAPTER 5: RHETORICAL SOVEREIGNTY FOR SELF-DETERMINATION: REMEMBERING, RECOGNIZING, REVIVING AND (RE)PRESENTING RHETORICS OF SURVIVAL ....................................................................................... 133 Native American Students .........................................................................................