Tag Archives: guest speakers

Surrounded by Wisconsin? TLAM discusses American Indian Law with Larry Nesper

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Larry Nesper, Associate Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies

Eleven autonomous Tribal Nations surrounded by the state of Wisconsin?

According to Larry Nesper a recent guest lecturer in the Tribal Libraries Archives and Museums class, “when you’re on a reservation you’re in a different kind of place.” He talked to us about American Indian Law. Nesper explained that American Indian Tribes are sovereign, self-ruled governments. He emphasized the importance of what that really means:

  • Essentially, Tribes entered into treaty relationships with the United States government back in the middle 1800’s  (some unofficial de-facto agreements occurred in the 1700’s)
  • Tribes have the right of occupancy within the United States
  • Tribes have a unique situation in that they are considered a domestic nation within the body politic of the United States yet, they are dependent upon the federal government for protection

Nesper says that “Tribes have curtailed some of their treaty rights because the United States invented this notion of rights of dominion.” This means that the federal government states that Indians cannot sell their land UNLESS they sell it to the United States.

Native people have a long and complicated relationship with the United States. However, Native people are strong, proud, and determined to live their lives on their own terms.

In addition to listening to our distinguished guest speaker, I visited the Wisconsin State Law Library online and found an excellent Tribal Law resource http://wilawlibrary.gov/topics/triballaw.php Please click on the link provided for a wealth of information about Wisconsin’s eleven Tribal courts. You can also learn about codes, constitutions, legal opinions and treaties. I personally enjoyed reading about the Oneida Tribal Judicial System and well as the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council that includes the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

- Jeanetta Pegues

Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums – Spring 2012

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Week 1 – Welcome!

We are kicking off the new semester with the opening class of TLAM.  Seated around the beautiful wood circle table of 4246, ten classmates introduced themselves and the interests they are pursuing while enrolled in SLIS. Travis, Phillip, Rachel, Robin, Dorothy, Dawn, Jeanetta, and Tammy are all eager to begin what is sure to be an exciting, informative and inspirational semester.  Jeanetta will be our intrepid photographer for the semester, coaxing smiles from the unwilling, documenting guest lecturers, and preserving forever the record of our interaction with Wisconsin tribal communities.  Omar gave us an overview of the upcoming semester, the history of TLAM and updated everyone on the project partnerships.

Week 2 – Native Languages and Storytelling

This week TLAM focused on Wisconsin’s Native languages and storytelling.  Through an interactive online guide, we learned of the fragile state of Wisconsin’s Indigenous  languages.  Menominee elder John Teller has a long tradition of teaching his heritage language to Menominee students and is one of the storytellers participating in the 15th Annual Evening of American Indian Storytelling.  Andrew Thundercloud, a Ho-Chunk elder, is a first-language speaker who develops language curriculum for his tribe.  Lisa LaRonge is a second-language speaker of Ojibwe who started Waadookodaading ‘the ones who help each other’ or ‘they help each other’ an Ojibwe immersion charter school located at Hayward, WI.

At this time, there are approximately 175-200 indigenous languages in North America, with just a few that have  several thousand speakers; Na-Diné (in brick red), Ojibwe, and Cree (both in clay) .   The rest of the languages are either endangered or will be endangered as the elders who speak the languages pass on.  The map shows the immense linguistic diversity of North American indigenous languages.

Guest Speaker – Rand Valentine
Rand Valentine is the university’s resident expert on the Ojibwe and Odawa languages and TLAM was lucky enough to visit our class.  Rand has worked with Algonquian languages for over thirty years in Canada and Wisconsin and is dedicated to promoting and preserving endangered Native languages.  Every year he teaches Ojibwe and Odawa instructors on learning their heritage language and they, in turn, will pass along their knowledge to their students.   Language activists work to revive their heritage languages that boarding schools and assimilation policies have interrupted.  Rand is instrumental in passing along his knowledge not only to future language instructors, but UW students as well.   Additionally, Rand emphasized the importance of libraries and librarians in Native American communities and becoming a hero “…just like Julian…”.

Guest Speakers – Baraboo Project
Janice  Rice and Kelly Kraemer visited the class to give us updates on the Ho-Chunk Learning Center project.  Even though the project is in its nascence, there has already been an immense amount of work completed.  There is a large collection of good quality books, most of which have been catalogued by students.   Rather than purchasing a cataloguing package, the Baraboo library group decided to use Library Thing (librarything.com) to organize the center’s books.  Not only is this a free and easy way to catalogue books, it is also a creative way for small libraries to check out books to patrons, using the notes feature. When funds are limited, imaginations soar and come up with creative solutions.  More information will be available in the upcoming weeks for students who wish to participate in this project.

For those who are interested in more information on endangered Native American languages, there are the following references:

Texts

  • Goddard, Ives ed. (2006).  Handbook of North American Indians , vol. 17.  Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
  • Campbell, Lyle (1997). American Indian languages: the historical linguistics of Native America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Mithun, Marianne. (1999). The languages of Native North America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

UW Courses

  • LING371 – Survey of North American Indian Languages – Dr. Monica Macaulay
  • Various # – Ojibwe I, II, III, IV – Dr. Rand Valentine
  • Various # – Ho-çak – Henning Garvin

Free online language information

-Tammy Goss

Tribal Sovereignty – TLAM Week 6

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Although the controversy has waned, white sportsmen’s anger toward American Indian fishermen reached a boiling point in the late 1980s and early ’90s. White protesters hurled verbal — and occasionally physical — assaults at American Indians who exercised their treaty rights by spearfishing during the spring spawn in northern Wisconsin lakes.

Dr. Larry Nesper, an assistant professor in American Indian studies program at the University of Wisconsin, was a guest speaker Feb. 24 in the Tribal Libraries, Archives, and Museums class. During a PowerPoint presentation, Nesper, author of The Walleye War, chronicled government documents, treaties, and court decisions that eventually enabled American Indians to fish and hunt on ceded land.

In the 1800s, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld sovereignty for American Indians, Nesper explained. In the following century, that sovereignty was eroded in another series of laws and treaties. Treaties of 1837 and 1842 were central documents regarding American Indian hunting and fishing rights. In those treaties, the Ojibwe ceded land in Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan but retained rights to hunt, fish, and gather off-reservation. When the Ojibwe attempted to exercise those rights in the 1950s, it set off another round of litigation. However, the 1983 watershed decision in Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Voigt reaffirmed American Indians’ rights to hunt, fish, and gather off-reservation. Federal Judge Barbara Crabb ruled in 1991 that the state could not interfere with Ojibwe hunting, fishing, and trapping on public lands within the ceded territory in Wisconsin. These rulings set off racist protests at boat landings during the walleye harvest.

Spearfishing continues today. However, the tradition is allowed only on certain lakes, and bag limits are enforced. State game wardens monitor the harvest, and every fish is measured and identified. The number of fish harvested during the spawn is a tiny fraction of the overall haul taken during the standard fishing season.

Mike Cross, director of public library development for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, also spoke to the class Feb. 24. He explained how state library law affects public libraries, including Wisconsin’s five tribal libraries. The law mandates that library directors attain certification, that libraries are open at least 20 hours per week, and that they spend at least $2,500 annually on materials. In return, libraries receive state services and are eligible for federal funding.

The department is considering establishing less restrictive rules for tribal libraries, but such action would require passage of legislation. These rules will be important as the class tries to help build a public library on the Red Cliff Reservation.

Indigenous Epistemology. What’s that you ask? – TLAM Week 4

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Indigenous Epistemology. What’s that you ask?

This week in class we spent a 2 hour and 30 minute session going over just this. There is no short answer in sight, but rather an overview of the engaging discussion that my classmates and I experienced through the insight of guest lecturer Ryan Comfort from the American Indian Curriculum Services, School of Education.  As he began his presentation, it became apparent that it would be theme based, integrative, and interactive. The skillful address of the number four as the main theme connected everyday life with the epistemology if indigenous practice.  We did four exercises, related those exercises to four elements, and explored the hidden connection that this concept of four has to our everyday lives.

The first exercise required each individual to channel a raw and unexposed part of their inner connection to a place or thing and further express this connection in the format of an ‘I Am’ poem. The poem was not limited to a scheme or a meter preference, but rather to a channeling of the senses. It went something like this:

I am the mist on a brisk autumn day
I am the sunshine peeking through the fray
I am the crisp scent of morning after a wee rain storm
I am the craggy rock beneath your feet after the dew is gone
I am the dampness on your cheeks and the salt from your tears
I am the last harvest of heather, home of the Scottish hills.

My motives for sharing this poem do not stem from vanity, but rather to express a key element of Ryan’s presentation. “Think, pair, share.” All of the exercises that we engaged in held this requirement, which was both beneficial and at times uncomfortable.

Now for the unveiling of the magic number four. Ladies and gentleman I present to you the medicine wheel!

The attributes of beliefs, values, the physical, and mental are all embodied through the medicine wheel to demonstrate the importance of connection. With the progression of Ryan’s exercises, it became clear that he was aiming to demonstrate this connection through the focused intent behind each activity. For example, where the second exercise focused on listing what we individually knew about Native Americans and where we got this information, the third exercise forced us to discern if our information came from a credible source. Of course, then the question became, what is a credible source? But this is yet another example of something that cannot be answered in a generic way as it differs greatly with each discipline.

Now we move forward to yet another connection that Ryan wove into his presentation. Being that he was catering to an audience of library school graduate students, he modified his last and fourth exercise to fit nicely with the other requirements of the TLAM course. Through this exercise, we were asked to brainstorm on ways the process of learning about indigenous culture could be incorporated in the public library setting. Sounds like an easy task, but it was full of unexpected challenges. Concerns about budget, appropriateness, receptiveness from the respective population the library serves, and accuracy of information all warred for dominance. Thankfully, this was not an answer that we needed to have that same day. However, it is an exercise that I feel Ryan hoped we would carry with us during our journey as library, archive, and possibly museum professionals.

By: Sarah Morris

Week 4: 2/10/11

History, Media, and Stories – TLAM Week 3

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For the third week of TLAM, we looked at the topics of Wisconsin tribal histories, media, and storytelling. Class began with a continuation of the discussion from the panel at last week’s screening of “Reel Injun.” Like the panelists, many of us were concerned with the issue of how to present depictions of Native Americans in Hollywood movies and TV to children in a way that can create a positive learning experience. We liked that the documentary ended on a positive note by showing that more Native actors and filmmakers were beginning to tell their own stories, using media as a positive force. This discussion provided a good set-up for our guest of the week, Patty Loew, whose book Indian Nations of Wisconsin we had just finished reading.

Patty had just recently returned from a trip to Mozambique, where she been helping to train community-based journalists. She made an insightful parallel between Native American cultures and the people of Mozambique regarding challenges they face not only in acquiring and transmitting information because of the widening digital divide, but also in how to educate the next generation in traditional culture.

For the rest of the class we learned about how the Tribal Youth Media camp at Lac Courte Orielles, which Patty helped to create, helps Ojibwe children learn about science in ways that integrates with their culture’s traditional methods of learning. A major problem that Patty sees is the tremendous disconnect between Native children and the field of science, partly due to the fact that the way science is taught in ways that aren’t compatible with traditional Native American culture and worldviews. The lack of Native people with a scientific background is especially problematic because today there is a great need for tribes to have scientists that can help them protect their natural resources. At the camp Patty told us about, Native culture leads science, including ethics and values with the other information the kids learned.

The Tribal Youth Media program linked well to the chapter from Donald Lee Fixico’s The American Indian Mind in a Linear World that we read for class this week. Fixico explains the important role of oral tradition and traditional knowledge in teaching Native American history and culture. Storytelling conveys “values, ideas, beliefs [and] insights about the community,” and also serves a relational purpose, connecting people and places. I could easily see how this idea of storytelling and traditional knowledge was integrated into the experience of the science camp at LCO.

Finally, the class went to the Tribal Youth Media website where we watched one of the videos created by the kids, which incorporated both scientific research and interviews with tribal elders. They did an amazing job! Thanks again to Patty Loew for sharing this with us.

- Kelly

Language, History, and Reel Injuns – TLAM 2011 Week 2

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We began our classroom journey this week in the company of Rand Valentine, associate professor of American Indian studies and linguistics, here at UW-Madison. Valentine came to speak to us about the ever-present need to fight a battle to save Native cultures, not only in our own country but all around the world. Although many languages have already been lost, there are a few that are involved in efforts towards revival here in our region. One of our teachers, Omar Poler has been learning his own beautiful and complex language, Ojibwe, with Valentine. We had a chance to read many insightful articles on Native languages and began reading Patty Loew’s book, Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal. Rand Valentine enthusiastically taught us about the many ways in which Ojibwe is one of the most sophisticated languages that he has ever encountered. We all listened intently, captivated with Valentine’s highly contagious exuberance and moved by his thoughtful presentation.

We also had the opportunity to watch a movie at the Chazen Museum of Art, here on the UW-Madison campus, called Reel Injun. We were presented first with a short film produced by the Screen Actors Guild, and its President’s National Task Force for American Indians which is chaired by the immensely charming, intelligent and talented actress, Delanna Studi, who is a member of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma. We were lucky enough to be joined by Delanna as one of the three accomplished presenters who were asked to lead a panel discussion after the film was shown.

We all sat in a theatre full of people from all different places, and cultures. My husband and I, a white couple of German-American descent, could have felt very uncomfortable sitting in the front row; instead, we were made to feel incredibly warm, and welcomed into the conversation. J.D. , our emcee for the evening and a graduate student here, asked us to think of what we knew or thought we knew about Native American people before the film began. He asked us to think about all of the images we had held in our minds up until that point and then after the film, he would ask us to come together and discuss what had changed.

Reel Injun is a film by the Cree documentarian, Neil Diamond. Diamond steps us through a long and complicated history of Native American actors in films, or the lack of them, from the first days in the silent era through today; when many indigenous film makers are getting recognition for their contributions to this important and far-reaching art form. What we see in the film, is that there has been a lot of ground lost along the way. Despite early positive representation in silent film, Hollywood began to stereotype the Native American in popular westerns, and even children’s cartoons. This created a dangerously skewed image and this negative depiction unfortunately still exists in the minds of the masses today. Furthermore, the film shows us through true journeys into the heart of the American West, just how much this image has damaged views of Native people’s around the world. Instead of being thought of as distinct and sovereign nations living in a contemporary world, many indigenous peoples are seen as caricatures from the past, lost in the dust and forever suspended in some daguerreotype image.  His film shows us how, through Hollywood’s lens, many people around the world view all native Americans as being Plains Indians in dress and having the same histories and cultures despite being in actuality, very distinct. Most of these films take place in the American Southwest. Movies like John Ford’s, The Searchers, create sub-human images which are then projected onto all the distict cultures of Native Americans at once—as a whole. The filmmaker travels across the country to speak with some of our real-life heroes about how they became activists who have lived to tell the real stories of many Native cultures.

After the film, we concluded with a thoughtful panel discussion by our three presenters, J.D., Delanna Studi, and Richie Plass. Plass, a member of the Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee Nations and an educator and musician, seems to me to be one of the funniest and most sincere people on the planet. He informed us of his work, trying to fight the depiction of  American Indians as used in mascots and logos. These unfair depictions further perpetuate the stereotypes which may have been begun by Hollywood in an attempt to erase a part of American history which reflects badly on us as a nation. This history, as we all know, needs to be discussed fully and openly amongst all people and not left for Hollywood to decide. Just like our meeting at the Chazen, people need to talk about the issues to begin resolve some of these wrongs.

One of the most important parts of our discussions during this evening centered around Native actors and filmmakers increasing presence both in front of and behind the camera; writing, directing and producing these films to try and undo some of this damage. Delanna Studi is working to improve the quality of acting by making sure that Native American actors are seen by casting directors. These directors and writers can no longer say that there are no Native actors to take these roles, or to write stories for. She says that it is our duty to encourage talented writers of any age to provide good stories for the world which will help to represent Native voices in this business.

As the evening wrapped up, I looked around the room of people all chatting happily with one another and felt grateful for being invited to participate in this truly enriching event.
-Jessica Miesner
1. PBS.org website for Reel Injun
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/reel-injun/

2. Reel Injun at the Chazen Museum advertisement
http://mcdsocst.wikispaces.com/file/view/Reel+Injun+uw+mad+jan+28.pdf

3. Richie Plass’s Native Voices website and also his STAR page
http://www.nativevoices.net/richieplass.html

http://www.racismagainstindians.org/Indian101/

and you can watch a little video of him here
http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4896&Itemid=131

4. Rand Valentine’s AIS faculty page
http://amindian.wisc.edu/Valentine.html

5. Website on the first 8-minute film, American Indian Actors
http://blog.theautry.org/2010/11/16/starring-native-american-actors/

6. Delanna Studi IMDB
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1130669/bio

Week 3: Tribal Histories

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In last week’s class, we learned about Indigenous languages and came away feeling that they’re something priceless to preserve.  This week, TLAM focused on American Indian history.  Or, as our guests emphasized, tribal histories.  Maybe a little like Indigenous languages and dialects, each community has their own unique history to document, preserve, and share.  This is just one reason why tribal libraries, archives, and museums are so important.  There’s so much to remember.

One of this week's readingsTo help us learn more about tribal histories–and the history of history–we were joined by two friends from the UW-Madison History Department.  Doug Kiel and Skott Vigil are graduate students pursuing PhDs.  Doug is studying the 20th century revitalization of the Wisconsin Oneida; Skott is studying Indian/non-Indian relations in Colorado in the 19th century.  Both provided a great overview of American Indian history, which was a great addition to one of this week’s readings, Patty Loew’s Indian Nations of Wisconsin: Histories of Endurance and Renewal.

We also talked about historiography.  Skott and Doug noted that much of American Indian history has been produced by scholars who conduct research through primary and secondary written sources, yet rarely reach out to Indian communities as a part of their study.  As a result, the published histories of tribes and Indian/white relations have often reflected non-Indian perceptions of the past.  With a new generation of scholars, this is changing.  But the history of history needs to be remembered.

Larry Nesper's bookFor the second half of class, Larry Nesper, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and American Indian Studies, provided an overview of Indian/non-Indian relations, especially legal relations with the United States government.  He focused on the treaty making process, tracing its origins from the United States Constitution through present day court cases.  The author of Walley War: the Struggle for Ojibwe Spearfishing and Treaty Rights, Larry also discussed the violent reaction to a 1983 court decision that restored reserved Ojibwe treaty rights to hunt, fish, and gather in northern Wisconsin’s ceded territories.

TLAMers visit LAMPers in Champaign, Illinois

TLAMers visit UIUC LAMPers. Left to right: Timothy Kaneshiro, Amani Ayad, Omar Poler, Christina Johnson, Nathan Fredrickson, Catherine Phan, and Pang Xiong

It was a great week for another reason, too!  Right after class on Wednesday (February 3), four TLAMers traveled to participate in the 5th Annual iSchools Conference at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  It was such a fun trip.  We hung out with our friends from LAMP (LIS Access Midwest Program); presented as a roundtable at the conference discussing our experience developing TLAM at UW-Madison; and were excited to met Miranda, Marisa, and Ally from the University of Washington’s Indigenous Information Research Group.  We learned so much visiting with them and especially listening to their amazing, early-Saturday morning presentation on Native Systems of Knowledge: Indigenous Methodologies in Information Science.  We are also very appreciative to have visited with Cheryl Metoyer again, also from the University of Washington.

Miranda, Marisa, Ally, and Cheryl… your work is so important!  And your advice so very appreciated!

TLAM Week 2 – Language

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This year’s TLAM begins with language.  There are many Indigenous languages still spoken in Wisconsin and thinking about their significance, survival, and revitalization seems like a good place to start our semester-long journey.

TLAM Spring 2010

2010 TLAM with Rand

To help us understand the importance of language, we invited Rand Valentine, the director of the American Indian Studies Program and a Professor of Linguistics at UW-Madison, to speak with us.  Rand has been a Anishinaabemowin learner, teacher, and researcher for over 20 years and has worked with communities in the US and Canada.  He has also participated for many years in the Native Language Instructors’ Program (NLIP), a summer program taught at Lakehead University, in Thunder Bay, Ontario, which certifies Ojibwe and Cree language teachers to teach in the province of Ontario.

Rand was really memorable.  He began the discussion by noting our  location on the 4th floor of Helen C. White Hall.  We have an amazing view of Lake Mendota, but we’re separated from the Earth by four floors of concrete.  And this is our contemporary norm.  Native languages, however, are the sum of thousands of years of close relationships with the land — an experience they may never happen again in human history.  Languages express the collective knowledge of countless human lives.  They reflect a deep connection to the Earth and are impossible to replace.

We also learned about language revitalization efforts.  From the Potawatomi Cultural Center Library & Museum’s impressive website and online language materials to the Ho-Chunk Immersion Daycare that’s teaching young children to be first language speakers (the first in over 50 years!), there’s a lot of important work going on in Wisconsin for language maintenance and revitalization.

From left to right: Omar Poler, Joey Awonohopay, Stephanie Dodge, Nancy Jones, Mary Louise Defender-Wilson

Speaking of revitalization, on Friday (January 29) we also had the great fortune to meet and listen to three amazing storytellers who are themselves leaders in language revitalization.  As part of the 13th Annual Evening of American Indian Storytelling event, Nancy Jones (Ojibwe), Mary Louise Defender-Wilson (Dakota-Hidatsa), and Joey Awonohopay (Menominee), each shared stories with the UW-Madison community which were first told in both their first language and English.

What’s more, four TLAM students were involved in either organizing the event or introducing the speakers!  Great job Stephanie, Josie, Christina, and Omar!

Loriene Roy visits

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Loriene Roy the past president of the ALA and reowned Native American librarian, author, and professor came to visit and present to the SLIS community. Her presentation in the SLIS commons was an explanation of her past experiences in the ALA, IFLA, and many other oraganizations. She shared with us her understanding, knowledge and sense of humor concerning working with Native Americans as well as with indigenous communities all over the world.
In our personal class discussion with Loriene she conveyed to us more stories concerning indigenous librarianship around the world, but especially in New Zealand. This discussion was a fantastic opportunity for the class to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of Loriene’s wealth of insight and experience.
To find out about all that Loriene is working on, please visit her website:

http://www.ischool.utexas.edu/~loriene/

Janice Rice presents Loriene Roy with a jingle.

Janice Rice presents Loriene Roy with a jingle at her talk at SLIS.

 

 

Past ALA President Loriene Roy addresses the audience gathered in the SLIS Commons for her address.

Past ALA President Loriene Roy addresses the audience gathered in the SLIS Commons for her address.

Outside class

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A preview of the PBS American Experience “We Shall Remain” series was shown Tuesday, March 31, at the Wisconsin Historical Society. Episode 5, “Wounded Knee,” which will be broadcast May 11, was shown. The plan was to show most but not all of it. As Patty Loew began the discussion, however, audience members wanted to know more about the outcome of the events at Pine Ridge Reservation 1973. A gentleman who was at Wounded Knee was in the audience, and he was able to answer questions. Patty also decided to take a vote, and the audience voted to see the entire episode. Afterward, audience members discussed the events of Wounded Knee and spoke of their own experiences of boarding schools (also addressed in this episode). I wish I had a transcript of the remarks. They were quite moving. If there are more opportunities to watch these episodes in a group setting, I urge class members and others to do so.
For more on the series: www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/weshallremain

Wednesday night assistant professor of art Tom Jones and College Library outreach librarian Janice Rice joined author Steven Hoelscher at the Chazen Museum for a panel discussion following Hoelscher’s lecture on his book “Picturing Indians.” Tom has photos included in the book, and Janice assisted with the book.

The two events were reminders of the connections this class has enabled.