Research Guides: Indigenous Appalachia: Complexities

Curating Indigenous Appalachia

Indigenous Appalachia: readings informing the complexities of curating the exhibit

Indigenous people have always created what colonial language labels art. Yet there is no Native word for “art” as defined in a Euro-American sense. Art, as the dominant culture envisions, is mostly ornamental. This is in sharp juxtaposition to a Native perspective, which sees art as integrative, inclusive, practical, and constantly evolving.
~ Barbara Ellen Sorenson. Beyond Tradition: Culture, Symbolism, and Practicality in American Indian Art

"Savage People" definition from Principles of geography and North America historic textbook Historic context and teachings about race.
Changing the Narrative about Native Americans: A Guide for Allies from First Nations Development Institute
Cherokee Nation from Tribalpedia Native American Indians / U.S. Tribes at Tribalpedia
Declaration of Independence: A Transcription [U.S. National Archives and Records Administration] a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.
Fort Loudoun, Tennessee history In the course of the fort’s four-year existence, relations between South Carolina and the Cherokee Nation broke down. In August, 1760, the Cherokee captured Fort Loudoun and its garrison.
Manifesting Destiny: Re/presentations of Indigenous Peoples in K–12 U.S. History Standards Sarah B. Shear, et al. State standards tell a traditional, Euro-American narrative of immigration in the United States that largely ignores historical and current acts of xenophobia and discrimination across the country. Theory & Research in Social Education, 43: 68–101, 2015.
Portraits of Appalachia: The Identification of Stereotype in Publishers’ Bookbindings, 1850 - 1915. Plein, S. (2009). Journal of Appalachian Studies, 15(1/2), 99–115. Much of the literature from this time period focused on the Appalachian region and its people. A taste for literature reflecting local color was interpreted by the binding designer; an artist commissioned by the publisher, to create the book's cover art. It is the work of the binding designer; in combination with the text, which helped to forge the stereotypes and misconceptions of Appalachians and the Appalachian region. It is through the lens of publishers' bindings that we seek to understand the cultural viewpoints of the day and the legacy of the interpretations of the Appalachian region by the publishers, designers, and writers of the time.
Sitting Bull - Chief, Tribe, and Death at History.com By the editors Oct. 23, 2019. Sitting Bull was shot and killed by Indian police officers on Standing Rock Indian Reservation in 1890, but is remembered for his courage in defending native lands.

Notable Native People by Adrienne Keene; Ciara Sana (Illustrator) An accessible and educational illustrated book profiling 50 notable American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people, from NBA star Kyrie Irving of the Standing Rock Lakota to Wilma Mankiller, the first female principal chief of the Cherokee Nation Celebrate the lives, stories, and contributions of Indigenous artists, activists, scientists, athletes, and other changemakers in this beautifully illustrated collection. From luminaries of the past, like nineteenth-century sculptor Edmonia Lewis-the first Black and Native American female artist to achieve international fame-to contemporary figures like linguist jessie little doe baird, who revived the Wampanoag language, Notable Native People highlights the vital impact Indigenous dreamers and leaders have made on the world. This powerful and informative collection also offers accessible primers on important Indigenous issues, from the legacy of colonialism and cultural appropriation to food sovereignty, land and water rights, and more. An indispensable read for people of all backgrounds seeking to learn about Native American heritage, histories, and cultures, Notable Native People will educate and inspire readers of all ages.
ISBN: 9781984857941
Publication Date: 2021

Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty

Support for Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty

Local Contexts from Local Contexts on Vimeo.

ENRICH: Equity for Indigenous Research and Innovation Coordinating Hub ENRICH supports the development of Indigenous based protocols, Indigenous centered standard setting mechanisms, and machine-focused technology that inform policy, transform institutional and research practices, and reform relationships between Indigenous communities and wider society. ENRICH integrates four disciplines – Indigenous Rights, Law, Policy, and Data Science.
Local Contexts Local Contexts supports Indigenous communities to manage their intellectual and cultural property, cultural heritage, environmental data and genetic resources within digital environments. Local Contexts recognizes the inherent sovereignty that Indigenous communities have over knowledge and data that comes from their lands, territories, and waters.

Approaches to Native American Studies in higher education

Native American Pedagogies From the Inclusive Teaching Practices website, Office of Teaching and Learning, University of Denver. Iturbe La-Grave, V., Eagle, V., Jordon, S., & Johnson, J. (2020). Native American Pedagogies Module.
Peoplehood: A Model for the Extension of Sovereignty in American Indian Studies Holm, T., Pearson, J. D., & Chavis, B. (2003). Wicazo Sa Review, 18(1), 7–24.
Pulling together: A guide for curriculum developers A guide for Indigenization of post-secondary institutions by Asma-na-hi Antoine; Rachel Mason; Roberta Mason; Sophia Palahicky; and Carmen Rodriguez de France, Creative Commons Non-Commercial Use

Building a University that Deserves Indigenous Students: A Participatory Design Approach
Scott W. H. Young & Connie Brownotter, Montana State University. April 29, 2021. Recording: Building a University that Deserves Indigenous Students: A Participatory Design Approach (Video, 44:28) Slides (PDF) Indigenous Participatory Design Toolkit “How do we build a university that deserves Indigenous people?” Learn the tools and techniques of Participatory Design for supporting Indigenous students in higher education.

Libraries

Outdated language is used in the Library of Congress Subject Headings and is slow to change.

Examples of old headings include Indians of North America and American Indians. To locate library materials, it is important to use these AND newer headings like Native Americans and First nations of North America.

Decolonizing the Way Libraries Organize Hollie C. White. Library, Archives, Records and Information Science in the School of Media, Creative Arts and Social Inquiry, Curtin University, Perth, Australia. 2018. Many of the systems used in libraries throughout the world originated in the United States or Europe. It is time to consider the impact that these systems have outside of their designated contexts and how to integrate other perspectives.
The Language of Cataloguing: Deconstructing and Decolonizing Systems of Organization in Libraries Crystal Vaughan. 11 April 2018. Computer Science. DOI:10.5931/DJIM.V14I0.7853. Dalhousie Journal of Interdisciplinary Management. This paper analyzes the language of cataloguing because the information that librarians and other information professionals provide to others has a huge impact both on how others are viewed and how others view themselves. This ultimately comes down to the way in which words are given meaning and interpreted according to the socio-political climate of the time. As society, politics, and economies change, so too does the language of representation.
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Therefore, the Library of Congress subject headings (LCSH) as a system of categorization is only as effective as the language that is used to define what is and what is not. Moreover, those who control the language of categorization control access to the information categorized within that system. Consequently, librarians must always be critical of the language they are using in their information organization systems. Language is continuously evolving according to societal discourse and politics; therefore, if libraries are to maintain their social responsibility to provide information to all, including socially disadvantaged and marginalized peoples, then librarians must continuously advocate for changes to subject headings. Librarians must also recognize and reflect on their own internal biases when cataloguing and make it their job to deconstruct language and decolonize the systems that perpetuate the continued marginalization of others. To remain neutral about these systems is the very opposite of what it means to be a librarian in the twenty-first century.
Library of Congress Subject Headings Related to Indigenous Peoples: a Project Changing LCSH for use in a Canadian Archival Context The Association for Manitoba Archives has created a database where their members can deposit archival descriptions, in order to provide a central search mechanism for users. The Library ofCongress Subject Headings were also added, to provide the members with a controlled subject vocabulary to use in their descriptions. The AMA was quickly notified that the LCSH terminology relating to Indigenous peoples is antiquated and inappropriate in a Canadian and Manitoban context.
Modifications to the Library of Congress Subject Headings for use by Manitoba archives Christine Bone. University of Manitoba Libraries, Winnipeg, Canada. 2016. The Association for Manitoba Archives has created a database where their members can deposit archival descriptions, in order to provide a central search mechanism for users. The Library of Congress Subject Headings were also added, to provide the members with a controlled subject vocabulary to use in their descriptions. The AMA was quickly notified that the LCSH terminology relating to Indigenous peoples is antiquated and inappropriate in a Canadian and Manitoban context. The final document contains 1093 changed or deleted headings and 120 new headings.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Follow links to these subject headings to retrieve lists of related library materials

American fiction--Indian authors

American Indians--Culture

American Indians--History

American literature--Indian authors

American poetry--Indian authors

Appalachia--Antiquities

First nations of North America

Indian arts

Indian arts--United States--Pictorial works

Indian philosophy--North America

Indian reservations--Fiction

Indian women

Indian women poets

Indians, Treatment of

Indians, Treatment of--Appalachia

Indians--Literary collections

Indians--Material culture

Indians--Religion

Indians--Social life and customs

Indians in literature

Indians of North America

Indians of North America--Appalachia

Indians of North America--Authors

Indians of North America--Civil rights History

Indians of North America--Fiction

Indians of North America--Folklore

Indians of North America--Intellectual life

Indigenous peoples

Native American novelists

Native American oral histories

Native Americans

Native Americans--Material culture

Native Americans--Social life and customs

Oral tradition--North America

Decolonizing Appalachia

Selected places to explore ways to locate, learn about, and implement methods of decolonizing museum, library, classroom and other institutional spaces

Liberatory v. Decolonized Digital Library Collections Libraries have been instruments of the political and legal dominance of one culture over others. Alternative or mitigative models to this colonization include: decolonizing, postcolonial, postcustodial, and slow archives. This presentation discusses an alternative model based on the Digital Library of the Caribbean (dLOC), which incorporates tenants of shared governance, mutual aid, generous thinking, community building, polycentrism, collaborative pluralism, and mutual dependency. dLOC is an open access digital library of Caribbean and circum-Caribbean resources, providing access, preservation and discovery as part of a socio-technical community platform.
Toward slow archives Christen, K., Anderson, J. Toward slow archives. Arch Sci 19, 87–116 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10502-019-09307-x
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This article examines the structures, practices, and processes of collection, cataloging, and curation to expose where current cultural authority is placed, valued, and organized within archival workflows. The long arc of collecting is not just rooted in colonial paradigms; it relies on and continually remakes those structures of injustice through the seemingly benign practices and processes of the profession. Our emphasis is on one mode of decolonizing processes that insist on a different temporal framework: the slow archives. Slowing down creates a necessary space for emphasizing how knowledge is produced, circulated, and exchanged through a series of relationships. Slowing down is about focusing differently, listening carefully, and acting ethically. It opens the possibility of seeing the intricate web of relationships formed and forged through attention to collaborative curation processes that do not default to normative structures of attribution, access, or scale.

Indigenous Appalachia