Dr. Ken Barger
Anthropology, IUPUI
August 16 2001

E320 North American Indians

TEXTS

Red Cloud, a Lakota Chief, led one of the most successful Indian campaigns against the U.S. Army. In 1852, the Ft. Laramie treaty guaranteed Sioux lands in the Northern Plains, but, when gold was discovered in Montana, the Army began constructing a road across Indian territory. Red Cloud resisted this effort and eventually forced the Army to respect the treaty and withdraw. He later attempted to lead the Lakota in developing constructive relations with the U.S. government and EuroAmericans, with mixed results.

Four books are assigned for readings in the course, to give us an in-depth perspective of the tremendious variations among American Indians across North America and across time:

Marriott, The Ten Grandmothers (1983). This is an account of the life stories of several Kiowa Indians from traditional "horse culture times to contemporary times. It lets us see and feel life events through their eyes, and gives us a sense of differences among men and women, adults and children, and other variations. While there are important cultural differences among Plains tribes, the Kiowa shared many cultural features with other groups in the region, including horse-mounted mobility, sun dances, and the force of EuroAmerican domination. The Plains Indians serve as the stereotype of "the" American Indian, so this account will help us dispel that stereotype with a greater depth in understanding their life experience.

Simmons, Sun Chief (1963). This is the life story of a Hopi Indian from the early part of the century to contemporary times. A more appropriate title for the book might be Sun Priest, as the Hopi did not have "chiefs" in the common sense of this term.) The Hopi represent the Pueblo (and prehistoric Anasazi) cultural styles fairly well in subsistence, community structure, and religious activities, but vary from the eastern Rio Grande pueblos in such areas as arid land farming and kinship. Following on the Kiowa/Plains account, we immediately see the tremendous cultural diversity among American Indians in critical areas like subsistence, kinship, and religion, and also in cultural changes as a result of EuroAmerican domination.

Spradley, Guests Never Leave Hungry (1969). This the life story of a Kwakwaka'kwa (Kwakiutl or Kwagul) Indian in the Northwest Coast culture area during contemporary times. Some people may first wonder if this man is really an "Indian," since he does not live off the land, is involved in contemporary commerce and technology, is educated and fluent in English, and is a devout Christian. But if we read his account carefully, we can see that he holds important values that are different from Western perspectives, belongs to a community that is structured socially very differently from EuroAmerican society, and even follows certain religious practices that are based in a more traditional heritage. These traits are actually fairly representative of traditional Northwest Coast Indians, and, if we compare them to the Kiowa/Plains and the Hopi/Pueblos, we can see that the diversity among North American Indians is far greater than the pitiful stereotype acknowledges.

Deloria, Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties (1985). This book presents a legal argument by an American Indian for what he believes is a valid and meaningful status for Indians in American society today. We do not necessarily have to agree with his views, and we should recognize that there are many variations among American Indians as to what their individual, tribal, and collective status should be. But the important point to recognize here is that it is an Indian viewpoint, when the common stereotype does not even acknowledge that Native Americans might have a comprehensive, well-grounded, and well-argued perspective on their status in American society. Again, this account moves us to a more realistic understanding of the diversity and contemporary setting of American Indians.

The books we will review in the course are only a very small introduction to American Indians. There are many, many works by and about Native Americans, some of which are valid and many more misleading. But the books we will consider help us at least to gain some important understandings about the diversity and contemporary setting of American Indians, and, perhaps more important, to help us understand what we do not know. Thus, by the end of the course, we should at least be able to ask better questions about Native Americans that can lead to more grounded understandings.

One of the most comprehensive works on Native Americans is the Handbook of North American Indians, published by the Smithsonian Institution. Those volumes which have been currently published are available in the Reference Room of the University Library.