First-Language Cherokee Speakers' Perceptions Of

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

First-Language Cherokee Speakers' Perceptions Of FIRST-LANGUAGE CHEROKEE SPEAKERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCES By SAMANTHA SANDERS BENN-DUKE Bachelor of Arts in English Education Northeastern State University Tahlequah, OK 1991 Master of Arts in Administration Northeastern State University Tahlequah, OK 2002 Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate College of the Oklahoma State University in partial fulfillment of provided by SHAREOK repository View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk CORE the requirements for brought to you by the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY December, 2016 FIRST-LANGUAGE CHEROKEE SPEAKERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCES Dissertation Approved: Dr. Hongyu Wang Dissertation Adviser Dr. Pamela Brown Dr. Shanedra Nowell Dr. Mary Larson . ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the support and assistance I have received throughout the process of researching and writing, I owe thanks to many. First and foremost, without my four participants, there would be no project. I offer my heartfelt thanks to Gil, Shirley, Pauline, and John, from whom I’ve learned so much and have grown to appreciate more and more on this journey. I offer special thanks to Gil and to our mutual friend Dr. Trey Adcock, who always make time for me when I visit them in North Carolina and ensure that I get a work out from hiking and visiting waterfalls, and to Shirley, who always makes sure that I am well fed and treated like family. When I began this journey, I had no intention of it being as lengthy a process as it has become. Dr. Wang and Dr. Brown have been with me from the beginning, and I have greatly appreciated their guidance. Dr. Wang agreed to become my advisor after my previous one retired, and has spent countless hours encouraging and guiding me. After I had learned about oral history and considered making that my cognate area and later my dissertation methodology, Dr. Mary Larson became my steadfast ally, ensuring that I stayed on the right track while sharing her own stories and expertise with me, inspiring me to look more deeply. Dr. Shanedra Nowell, whom I had known as a classmate before she completed her doctorate, agreed to become a committee member after my previous advisor retired, thus completing my committee. I appreciate their unique contributions and perspectives and all that each has done to help me accomplish this project. iii Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. I convey gratitude to the Native researchers who have become before me, those who contributed to changes in perceptions to more positive ones, and those who catalogued the often difficult and painful stories of our ancestors. My friends at OSU, whom I have long referred to as my PhD buddies, have provided ongoing support without which I would not have finished this project. Thank you to Kelli Carney, Sherri Been, Valarie Farrow, LaKrisa Walker, and others who have been there for suggestions, as sounding boards, and for the occasional kick in the butt when needed. I also appreciate Oklahoma State University for providing me with a summer fellowship, assisting me so that I could make one last trip to North Carolina for data collection and allowing me time to focus on this project. While many other friends have been supportive, and I thank them, I would like to express my particular gratitude to Rita Bunch, who was my wonderful boss during much of the doctoral journey, and Sherry Holcomb, my friend upon whom I could always depend to answer any questions related to Cherokee language or tradition. My colleagues with whom I now work have also provided much-needed support and encouragement; I am fortunate to work with such amazing and dedicated educators. Although there are many more whom I should show appreciation, I conclude with my family. My husband, Brian, has been incredibly patient throughout this lengthy process, and my kids, Cassandra, Alysa, and Colton, did not give up on me. My mother expressed her pride and support for what I was doing. I love and appreciate them all, as iv Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. well as my many other family members, both via blood and via marriage, who have supported me throughout my educational odyssey. v Acknowledgements reflect the views of the author and are not endorsed by committee members or Oklahoma State University. Name: SAMANTHA SANDERS BENN-DUKE Date of Degree: DECEMBER, 2016 Title of Study: FIRST-LANGUAGE CHEROKEE SPEAKERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCES Major Field: EDUCATION Abstract: In this dissertation I examine the perceptions of the experiences that first- language Cherokee speakers had of their school experiences, and of the higher education or career choices that they made beyond high school, in relation to their lack of English skills when they began school. While much research has been conducted on Native people who were sent to far-off boarding schools, a need to capture perceptions of those who attended English-speaking schools close to home was evident. This oral history methodology captures the stories and perceptions of four Cherokee speakers and examines their elementary school experiences in context with their careers and their progeny. Through lenses of transculturation theory and hermeneutic phenomenology, the essences of each are described and examined, challenging previous notions that Native children who succeed do so in spite of their cultural identity rather than because of it. Implications are determined for educators, administrators, and policy makers and how these perceptions of experiences can inform more culturally considerate teaching and school experiences for Native and other minority children. vi vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................1 Statement of the Problem .........................................................................................7 Purpose of the Study ..............................................................................................11 Research Question .................................................................................................12 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................12 Hermeneutic Phenomenology ............................................................................13 Transculturation Theory .....................................................................................15 Methodology ..........................................................................................................17 Positionality ...........................................................................................................19 Limitations of the Study.........................................................................................21 Significance of the Study .......................................................................................22 Definition of Terms................................................................................................23 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE..................................................................................26 Overview of Education of Native Children ...........................................................28 U.S. Government Act and Treaty Impacting Indian Education .........................29 The Boarding School Era ...................................................................................33 Boarding School Conditions and Curriculum ....................................................35 A Shift to More Localized Boarding Schools ....................................................38 Education of Cherokee Children ............................................................................40 Formal Education of Cherokee Children ...........................................................44 Cherokee National Males and Female Seminaries ............................................47 North Carolina Cherokees..................................................................................49 Native Perceptions of Education ............................................................................51 Education of Native Students Today .....................................................................55 III. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................59 Theoretical Framework ..........................................................................................60 Hermeneutic Phenomenology ............................................................................61 Transculturation Theory .....................................................................................64 Qualitative Methodology .......................................................................................67 Participant Selection ..............................................................................................73 viii Participants .............................................................................................................75 Data Collection ......................................................................................................76 Data Analysis .........................................................................................................79 Permissions ............................................................................................................81
Recommended publications
  • Creating a Sense of Communityamong the Capital City Cherokees
    CREATING A SENSE OF COMMUNITYAMONG THE CAPITAL CITY CHEROKEES by Pamela Parks Tinker A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of George Mason University in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies Committee: ____________________________________ Director ____________________________________ ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Program Director ____________________________________ Dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences Date:________________________________ Spring 2016 George Mason University Fairfax, VA Creating a Sense Of Community Among Capital City Cherokees A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Interdisciplinary Studies at George Mason University By Pamela Parks Tinker Bachelor of Science Medical College of Virginia/Virginia Commonwealth University 1975 Director: Meredith H. Lair, Professor Department of History Spring Semester 2016 George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia Copyright 2016 Pamela Parks Tinker All Rights Reserved ii Acknowledgements Thanks to the Capital City Cherokee Community for allowing me to study the formation of the community and for making time for personal interviews. I am grateful for the guidance offered by my Thesis Committee of three professors. Thesis Committee Chair, Professor Maria Dakake, also served as my advisor over a period of years in planning a course of study that truly has been interdisciplinary. It has been a joyful situation to be admitted to a variety of history, religion and spirituality, folklore, ethnographic writing, and research courses under the umbrella of one Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies program. Much of the inspiration for this thesis occurred at George Mason University in Professor Debra Lattanzi Shutika’s Folklore class on “Sense of Place” in which the world of Ethnography opened up for me.
    [Show full text]
  • Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War'
    H-CivWar Eyman on Hauptman, 'Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War' Review published on Monday, April 1, 1996 Laurence M. Hauptman. Between Two Fires: American Indians in the Civil War. New York: The Free Press, 1995. xv + 304 pp. $25.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-02-914180-9. Reviewed by David Eyman (History Department, Skidmore College) Published on H-CivWar (April, 1996) The last chapter of Hauptman's book opens with a description of a scene from the 1976 motion picture, The Outlaw Josey Wales, in which Chief Dan George, playing the part of a Cherokee Indian named Lone Watie, explains what it meant to be a "civilized" Indian. Every time he appealed to the government for relief from problems visited on him as an Indian, he was told to "endeavor to persevere." When he eventually grew tired of hearing that, he joined up with the Confederacy. Hauptman goes on to suggest that Native Americans from a variety of tribes joined in a fight that was not really theirs for many reasons. Indian participation in the American Civil War, on both sides, was more extensive than most people realize, involving some 20,000 American Indians. Laurence Hauptman, a professor of history at the State University of New York at New Paltz and the author of a number of works on American Indians, has provided an interesting examination of Indians who participated in the Civil War. By following the service of selected tribes and individuals, he recounts a number of stories, ranging from such relatively well-known personalities as Stand Watie-- the principal chief of the southern-allied branch of the Cherokee Nation and brigadier general of the Confederate States of America--and Ely Samuel Parker--a Seneca and reigning chief of the Six Nations and a colonel on General Ulysses S.
    [Show full text]
  • Cherokee Genealogy Resource Presentation
    FindingFinding youryour CherokeeCherokee AncestorsAncestors ““MyMy GrandmotherGrandmother waswas aa CherokeeCherokee Princess!Princess! ”” WhereWhere toto begin?begin? Information to collect: Names (including maiden names of females) Date and place of birth Date and place of marriage Date and place of death Names of siblings (i.e., brothers and sisters) and Rolls and Roll Numbers SampleSample IndividualIndividual InformationInformation Name:Name: WilliamWilliam CoxCox Born:Born: 77--JuneJune --18941894 inin DelawareDelaware Dist,Dist, CherokeeCherokee NationNation Married:Married: 1515 --OctoberOctober --19191919 inin BlountBlount County,County, TennesseeTennessee toto PollyPolly MorrisMorris Died:Died: 33--AprilApril --19731973 inin Nashville,Nashville, TennesseeTennessee RollRoll // CensusCensus Information:Information: 18961896 CensusCensus // DelawareDelaware DistDist -- RollRoll #517#517 BirthBirth RecordsRecords Oklahoma birth records have been kept since 1925 and are availab le from: Division of Vital Records Oklahoma State Dept. of Health 100 NE 10th Ave PO Box 53551 Oklahoma City, OK 73152 -3551 NOTE: Before 1947, all birth records are filed under the father' s name. After 1947, all birth records are filed under the child's name. Birth Affidavits for Minor Cherokees born (1902 to 1906) were in cluded in the Dawes Applications, and are available from: Oklahoma Historical Society 2401 N Laird Oklahoma City, OK 73105 -4997 Guion Miller Applications also include birthdates and proof of family relationships. These are available
    [Show full text]
  • Challenge Bowl 2020
    Notice: study guide will be updated after the December general election. Sponsored by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Challenge Bowl 2020 High School Study Guide Sponsored by the Challenge Bowl 2020 Muscogee (Creek) Nation Table of Contents A Struggle To Survive ................................................................................................................................ 3-4 1. Muscogee History ......................................................................................................... 5-30 2. Muscogee Forced Removal ........................................................................................... 31-50 3. Muscogee Customs & Traditions .................................................................................. 51-62 4. Branches of Government .............................................................................................. 63-76 5. Muscogee Royalty ........................................................................................................ 77-79 6. Muscogee (Creek) Nation Seal ...................................................................................... 80-81 7. Belvin Hill Scholarship .................................................................................................. 82-83 8. Wilbur Chebon Gouge Honors Team ............................................................................. 84-85 9. Chronicles of Oklahoma ............................................................................................... 86-97 10. Legends & Stories ......................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Spatial and Elemental Analyses of the Ceramic Assemblage at Mialoquo (40Mr3), an Overhill Cherokee Town in Monroe County, Tennessee
    University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Masters Theses Graduate School 12-2019 COALESCED CHEROKEE COMMUNITIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A SPATIAL AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSES OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE AT MIALOQUO (40MR3), AN OVERHILL CHEROKEE TOWN IN MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE Christian Allen University of Tennessee, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes Recommended Citation Allen, Christian, "COALESCED CHEROKEE COMMUNITIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A SPATIAL AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSES OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE AT MIALOQUO (40MR3), AN OVERHILL CHEROKEE TOWN IN MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE. " Master's Thesis, University of Tennessee, 2019. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_gradthes/5572 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a thesis written by Christian Allen entitled "COALESCED CHEROKEE COMMUNITIES IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: A SPATIAL AND ELEMENTAL ANALYSES OF THE CERAMIC ASSEMBLAGE AT MIALOQUO (40MR3), AN OVERHILL CHEROKEE TOWN IN MONROE COUNTY, TENNESSEE." I have examined the final electronic copy of this thesis for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. Kandace Hollenbach, Major Professor We have read this thesis and recommend its acceptance: Gerald Schroedl, Julie Reed Accepted for the Council: Dixie L.
    [Show full text]
  • Chickamauga Names
    Chickamaugas / Dragging Canoe Submitted by Nonie Webb CHICKAMAUGAS Associated with Dragging Canoe ARCHIE, John Running Water Town – trader in 1777. BADGER “Occunna” Said to be Attakullakullas son. BENGE, Bob “Bench” b. 1760 Overhills. D. 1794 Virginia. Son of John Benge. Said to be Old Tassels nephew. Worked with Shawnees, and Dragging Canoe. BENGE, John Father of Bob Benge. White trader. Friend of Dragging Canoe. BENGE, Lucy 1776-1848 Wife of George Lowry. BIG FELLOW Worked with John Watts ca. 1792. BIG FOOL One of the head men of Chicamauga Town. BLACK FOX “Enola” Principal Headman of Cherokee Nation in 1819. Nephew to Dragging Canoe. BLOODY FELLOW “Nentooyah” Worked with Dragging Canoe BOB Slave Owner part of Chicamaugas. (Friend of Istillicha and Cat) BOOT “Chulcoah” Chickamauga. BOWL “Bold Hunter” or “Duwali” Running Water Town. b. 1756l- Red hair – blue eyes. Father was Scott. Mother was Cherokee.1768 d, Texas. (3 wives) Jennie, Oolootsa, & Ootiya. Headman Chickamaugas. BREATH “Untita” or Long Winded. Headman of Nickajack Town. d. Ore’s raid in 1794. 1 Chickamaugas / Dragging Canoe Submitted by Nonie Webb BROOM. (see Renatus Hicks) BROWN, James Killed by Chickamaugas on [Murder of Brown Family]….Tennessee River in 1788. Wife captured. Some of Sons and Son in Laws Killed. Joseph Brown captured. Later Joseph led Ore’s raid on Nickajack & Running Water Town in 1794. (Brown family from Pendleton District, S. C.) BROWN, Thomas Recruited Tories to join Chickamaugas. Friend of John McDonald. CAMERON, Alexander. “Scotchee” Dragging Canoe adopted him as his “brother”. Organized band of Torries to Work with the Chicamaugas. CAMPBELL, Alexander.
    [Show full text]
  • The Life and Work of Sophia Sawyer, 19Th Century Missionary and Teacher Among the Cherokees Teri L
    Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 "Behold Me and This Great Babylon I Have Built": The Life and Work of Sophia Sawyer, 19th Century Missionary and Teacher Among the Cherokees Teri L. Castelow Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION "BEHOLD ME AND THIS GREAT BABYLON I HAVE BUILT": THE LIFE AND WORK OF SOPHIA SAWYER, 19TH CENTURY MISSIONARY AND TEACHER AMONG THE CHEROKEES By TERI L. CASTELOW A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Summer Semester, 2005 The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Teri L. Castelow defended on August 12, 2004. ______________________________ Victoria Maria MacDonald Professor Directing Dissertation ______________________________ Elna Green Outside Committee Member ______________________________ Sande Milton Committee Member ______________________________ Emanuel Shargel Committee Member Approved: ___________________________________ Carolyn Herrington, Chair, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies ___________________________________ Richard Kunkel, Dean, College of Education The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge the assistance of several people for their support over the extended period it took to complete the degree requirements and dissertation for my Doctor of Philosophy degree. I would like to thank the many friends and family who have offered encouragement along the way and who did not criticize me for being a perpetual student. My parents, Paul and Nora Peasley, provided moral support and encouragement, as well as occasional child-care so I could complete research and dissertation chapters.
    [Show full text]
  • UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT for the DISTRICT of COLUMBIA the CHEROKEE NATION, Plaintiff
    Case 1:13-cv-01313-TFH Document 248 Filed 08/30/17 Page 1 of 78 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA THE CHEROKEE NATION, Plaintiff/ Counter Defendant, v. RAYMOND NASH, et al., Defendants/ Counter Claimants/ Cross Claimants, --and-- Civil Action No. 13-01313 (TFH) MARILYN VANN, et al., Intervenor Defendants/ Counter Claimants/ Cross Claimants, --and-- RYAN ZINKE, SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, AND THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Counter Claimants/ Cross Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Although it is a grievous axiom of American history that the Cherokee Nation’s narrative is steeped in sorrow as a result of United States governmental policies that marginalized Native American Case 1:13-cv-01313-TFH Document 248 Filed 08/30/17 Page 2 of 78 Indians and removed them from their lands,1 it is, perhaps, lesser known that both nations’ chronicles share the shameful taint of African slavery.2 This lawsuit harkens back a century-and-a-half ago to a treaty entered into between the United States and the Cherokee Nation in the aftermath of the Civil War. In that treaty, the Cherokee Nation promised that “never here-after shall either slavery or involuntary servitude exist in their nation” and “all freedmen who have been liberated by voluntary act of their former owners or by law, as well as all free colored persons who were in the country at the commencement of the rebellion, and are now residents therein, or who may return within six months, and their descendants, shall have all the rights of native Cherokees .
    [Show full text]
  • From Scouts to Soldiers: the Evolution of Indian Roles in the U.S
    Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Summer 2013 From Scouts to Soldiers: The Evolution of Indian Roles in the U.S. Military, 1860-1945 James C. Walker Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Indigenous Studies Commons, and the Military History Commons Recommended Citation Walker, James C., "From Scouts to Soldiers: The Evolution of Indian Roles in the U.S. Military, 1860-1945" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 860. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/860 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FROM SCOUTS TO SOLDIERS: THE EVOLUTION OF INDIAN ROLES IN THE U.S. MILITARY, 1860-1945 by JAMES C. WALKER ABSTRACT The eighty-six years from 1860-1945 was a momentous one in American Indian history. During this period, the United States fully settled the western portion of the continent. As time went on, the United States ceased its wars against Indian tribes and began to deal with them as potential parts of American society. Within the military, this can be seen in the gradual change in Indian roles from mostly ad hoc forces of scouts and home guards to regular soldiers whose recruitment was as much a part of the United States’ war plans as that of any other group.
    [Show full text]
  • Proquest Dissertations
    Recalling Cahokia: Indigenous influences on English commercial expansion and imperial ascendancy in proprietary South Carolina, 1663-1721 Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Wall, William Kevin 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 10/10/2021 06:16:12 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/298767 RECALLING CAHOKIA: INDIGENOUS INFLUENCES ON ENGLISH COMMERCIAL EXPANSION AND IMPERIAL ASCENDANCY IN PROPRIETARY SOUTH CAROLINA, 1663-1721. by William kevin wall A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES PROGRAM In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2005 UMI Number: 3205471 INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3205471 Copyright 2006 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O.
    [Show full text]
  • Curriculum and Resources for First Nations Language Programs in BC First Nations Schools
    Curriculum and Resources for First Nations Language Programs in BC First Nations Schools Resource Directory Curriculum and Resources for First Nations Language Programs in BC First Nations Schools Resource Directory: Table of Contents and Section Descriptions 1. Linguistic Resources Academic linguistics articles, reference materials, and online language resources for each BC First Nations language. 2. Language-Specific Resources Practical teaching resources and curriculum identified for each BC First Nations language. 3. Adaptable Resources General curriculum and teaching resources which can be adapted for teaching BC First Nations languages: books, curriculum documents, online and multimedia resources. Includes copies of many documents in PDF format. 4. Language Revitalization Resources This section includes general resources on language revitalization, as well as resources on awakening languages, teaching methods for language revitalization, materials and activities for language teaching, assessing the state of a language, envisioning and planning a language program, teacher training, curriculum design, language acquisition, and the role of technology in language revitalization. 5. Language Teaching Journals A list of journals relevant to teachers of BC First Nations languages. 6. Further Education This section highlights opportunities for further education, training, certification, and professional development. It includes a list of conferences and workshops relevant to BC First Nations language teachers, and a spreadsheet of post‐ secondary programs relevant to Aboriginal Education and Teacher Training - in BC, across Canada, in the USA, and around the world. 7. Funding This section includes a list of funding sources for Indigenous language revitalization programs, as well as a list of scholarships and bursaries available for Aboriginal students and students in the field of Education, in BC, across Canada, and at specific institutions.
    [Show full text]
  • These Hills, This Trail: Cherokee Outdoor Historical Drama and The
    THESE HILLS, THIS TRAIL: CHEROKEE OUTDOOR HISTORICAL DRAMA AND THE POWER OF CHANGE/CHANGE OF POWER by CHARLES ADRON FARRIS III (Under the Direction of Marla Carlson and Jace Weaver) ABSTRACT This dissertation compares the historical development of the Cherokee Historical Association’s (CHA) Unto These Hills (1950) in Cherokee, North Carolina, and the Cherokee Heritage Center’s (CHC) The Trail of Tears (1968) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Unto These Hills and The Trail of Tears were originally commissioned to commemorate the survivability of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and the Cherokee Nation (CN) in light of nineteenth- century Euramerican acts of deracination and transculturation. Kermit Hunter, a white southern American playwright, wrote both dramas to attract tourists to the locations of two of America’s greatest events. Hunter’s scripts are littered, however, with misleading historical narratives that tend to indulge Euramerican jingoistic sympathies rather than commemorate the Cherokees’ survivability. It wasn’t until 2006/1995 that the CHA in North Carolina and the CHC in Oklahoma proactively shelved Hunter’s dramas, replacing them with historically “accurate” and culturally sensitive versions. Since the initial shelving of Hunter’s scripts, Unto These Hills and The Trail of Tears have undergone substantial changes, almost on a yearly basis. Artists have worked to correct the romanticized notions of Cherokee-Euramerican history in the dramas, replacing problematic information with more accurate and culturally specific material. Such modification has been and continues to be a tricky endeavor: the process of improvement has triggered mixed reviews from touristic audiences and from within Cherokee communities themselves.
    [Show full text]