Dr. Ken Barger
Anthropology, IUPUI
November 3 2001
E320 North American Indians
A group of Lakota Indians celebrate the " Ghost Dance" in the late 1800s. By this time, Plains Indian life style had been suppressed by eradication of the bison herds upon which they subsisted, containment on reservations, and the devastation of many people by European diseases. A revitalization movement caught up many Indians in an effort to bring back the old ways, return lost relatives from the dead, restore the bison, and take away the EuroAmericans.
There are a number of Web sites that I have come across on the Internet which provide useful information for understanding the experience of Native Americans. There is also a lot of misinformation on the web!
Sites that give general backgound and list other useful sites include:
Evaluating American Indian Web Sites A useful summary of criteria for
evaluating the validity and usefulness of a site for learning about American
Indians. If a site does not meet these criteria, be
wary!
Federally Recognized Tribes in the contiguous lower 48 states, a list
maintained by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Federally Recognized Native Entities of Alaska, a list maintained by the
BIA
Federally Recognized and Nonrecognized Tribes
Statistics on American Indians, maintained by the BIA
Indian Data Center, a site that provides a lot of basic information
on American Indians, including Indian lands over historical periods, federally
recognized tribes, and debates on issues like quantum blood requirements
Maps of Indian Lands, maintained by the BIA
GIS Maps on Native Lands
Critical Bibliography on North American Indians A bibliography produced
by the Smithsonian Insitution, primarily for school teachers... but also useful
for the general public
Native Languages, a list of sources by Lisa Mitten
Native American Languages
What Do You Want to Be Called?, from Indian Country Today
American Indians, a list of web sites and other information on
Native Americans prepared by Lisa Mitten, an Indian librarian at the University of
Pittsburgh, which includes information on Native Americans, indigenous languages,
native organizations, native news and media, powwows and festivals, native
performers and activists, native businesses, and literature... a good place to
start browsing the Web about Native Americans
Sites by Indian tribes and organizations, which give their perspective, include:
Federally Recognized Tribes Web Links, maintained by the Seminoles of
Florida
Indian Tribes Web Links, maintained by Lisa Mitten
Native Nations of the U.S. and Canada Web Links
Sites concerning specific Indian tribes (or closely related groups) that we will be discussing in class include:
Miami Nation of Indiana
Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
Wea Tribe of Indiana
Citizens Band of Potawatomi (Oklahoma)
Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma
Oneida Indian Nation, one of the six nations in the Iroquois
Confederacy
Iroquois Indian Museum
Great Lakes Regional American Indian Network
Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Great Sioux Nation, produced by the South Dakota state office of
tourism
Hopi Tribal Cultural Preservation Office
Hopi Information Center
Acoma Pueblo of New Mexico
Zuni Pueblo of New Mexico
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, sponsored by the New Mexico pueblos,
acts as an information and demonstration center on pueblo culture
Navajo Nation, located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (Flathead) of Montana
Tlingit-Haida Tribes of Alaska
Northern Crees of Québec
Organizations of Native Americans and those in which Indians are heavily involved include:
American Indian Center of Indiana, the only Native American
organization in the state (aside from the Maimi and Potawatomi tribes)
Native American Rights Fund, which advocates legal rights of Native
Americans
Midwest Treaty Network, to support the rights of Indians in the Midwest
Plains Indians Cultural Survival School of Canada
Indigenous Environmental Network, an international group concerned
with environmental justice issues
Native Net, several listservs and newsgroups concerned with native
peoples and issues
Native Web, a resource site for indigenous cultures around the world,
with search capabilities and links
Tribal Law, a listserv, part of the Native Web
NativeLit, a listserv concerned with Native literature
American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES)
News sources by Indians and those which focus on particular Indian issues include:
Indian Country Today, the leading national weekly newspaper produced
by American Indians
Native American Journalists Association
Tribal College Journal, the journal of the American Indian Higher
Education Consortium (AIHEC)
Native Voices, a PBS production of the University of Montana
Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, a group of First Nations news sources
in Canada
First Perspective, a news site about First Nations of Canada
Nunatsiaq News, which covers the new all-Inuit (Eskimo) province of
Canada (though not native-owned)
Other sites of interest concerning American Indians include:
Bureau of Indian Affairs, the primary federal government agency that
oversees Native American affairs
Native American Issues, provided by the Department of Anthropology at
the University of South Dakota
A Line In the Sand, a summary of sovereignty, cultural property,
stereotypes, and other issues
National Indian Policy Center, an academic institution that studies
and advises on governmental policies regarding Native Americans
Legislative Impact on Indian Issues, which monitors legislation concerning
Native Americans
American Indian Gambling and Casino Information Center of the National
Indian Gaming Association
Teaching Native American Religions, a site that offers critical review
of what is valid and not in the strong popular interest in "Indian religion"
Miracle, a site devoted to the white buffalo calf, which is considered
sacred by some Indians
Native American Resources on the Internet, a listing a wide variety
of sites about Indians
Native American Video Resources on the Internet
Scholarly and historical sites about American Indians include:
American Indian Quarterly, an interdisciplinary academic journal on
Native American Studies.
National Museum of the American Indian, which includes information on
exhibitions, performances, and archaeological and historical sites
Smithsonian Institution Native American History and Culture, which
includes information on exhibitions, and archaeological and historical sites
Heard Museum, on of the leading museums with a focus on American Indians
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, located here in
Indianapolis
Sites for general works about American Indians include:
North American Native Authors Catalogue
And, two sites which focus on specific Indian figures are:
Russel Means, a web site devoted to one of the founders of the American
Indian Movement (AIM)
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Northern Cheyenne and U.S. Senator
from Colorado
Look for the many other Internet sources on Native American tribes and languages, organizations, and issues. Once you get started cruising the Net about American Indians, it is hard to stop!
If you find an interesting site relevant to the class focus, please let me know, so I can consider it for adding to this list.
Keep a critical mind about what you see and hear. There are also many misinformed and misleading sources on American Indians, as well as a number of wanabi Indians!! Two site dealing with this issue are:
Stereotypes of American Indians
Bad Stereotypes of American Indians
Check out the following Web sites and see if you can figure out What's wrong with this picture ??
Two of my favorite sites along these lines have been taken off the web. One was called The Wanabi Tribe, by a Sioux at the University of Arizona, which listed great examples of sites of people who had "become" Indians by various dubious means. I'm sorry to see this site no longer available to us. The other was called Burning Feather, by one of these people who had "become" an Indian. It's perhaps a positive sign that this is no longer online... did Burning Feather realize that he may not have been Indian after all?
There are lots more of these out there!! How can you tell what is a
valid perspective about American Indians, and what is
not? Again, check out
Evaluating American Indian Web Sites
Some general sites that contain a lot of information about Anthropology and comprehensive links to other sites of interest are:
The University Library: Anthropology provides a number of important resources in Anthropology, including:
The American Anthropological Association is the organization that
covers all fields of the discipline, and includes many units on a wide
variety of subjects from topical interests like the Society for Medical
Anthropology and the National Association of Practicing Anthropologists
to regional interests like Latin American Studies, and also student groups.
The site includes extensive information on many aspects of Anthropology,
including the journals American Anthropologist and American
Ethnologist, annual meetings, graduate programs in Anthropology, job
listings, and related Web sites.
The Society for Applied Anthropology is the primary organization
for professionals in Anthropology and other disciplines who are committed
to using their professional knowledge and skills to address
contemporary issues ranging from health care services and education for
particular cultural groups to socioeconomic development in societies
around the world. This site includes information on the association's
activities, the journals Human Organization and Practicing
Anthropology, special publications like Indigenous Intellectual
Property Rights, annual meetings, and related Web sites.
ANTHAP: Applied Anthropology, prepared by James Dow, Oakland U.
This site is dedicated specifically to information and discussion of
applied anthropology on the Internet, including postings
about applied issues and job postings.
Cultural Survival is an organization dedicated to the human and
cultural rights of indigenous groups around the world. The group is active
in advocating preservation of tribal land base areas and in developing
strategies for economic independence of tribal groups.
Anthropology and Archaeology Sites, prepared by Lisa Mitten, librarian
for Anthropology and Native American Studies at U. Pittsburgh. This is one
of the best sources for anthropological resources on the Internet. She
includes links about interesting cultural and archaeological locations. She
has also compiled an extensive source of information on Native Americans,
indigenous languages, and related literature.
Nicole's AnthroPage, prepared by Nicole Noonan, graduate student at
Washington State U. This is also one of the best sources for anthropological
resources on the Internet, and includes a wealth of links about all areas
of Anthropology, financial aid, study abroad, and a host of other topics.
AnthroTech Resources, prepared by Eliot Lee. This site provides
information and links on all subfields of Anthropology, organizations,
listservs, and web sites related to Anthropology.
I hope these prove useful in your search for Native American interests.
If you find other relevant web sites, please let me know, so I can consider adding them to these lists.
© WK Barger 2001