Internet Activities

  1. Watch photographer Aaron Hughey’s TED Talk, America's Native Prisoners of War at http://www.ted.com/talks/aaron_huey?language=en. Then answer the following questions:
    1. What was most interesting or useful? What questions did Hughey’s talk raise?
    2. Hughey says that the Lakota word wasichu means “non-Indian.” Another interpretation means, “the one who takes the best meat for himself.” Why do you think he mentions this early in the talk? Which meaning fits best? Give three examples from the talk or the chapter to support your answer.
    3. Hughey asks: “How should you feel about the statistics of today? What is the connection between these images of suffering and the history that I just read to you? And how much of this history do you need to own, even? Is any of this your responsibility today?” How would you answer him?
    4. What did you know about indigenous history, AIM (the American Indian Movement), the stand-off at Oglala, the mass execution of the Santee Sioux, Wounded Knee, life on reservations, or any of the other information Hughey presents? How did you become aware of this history? Or, how do you sociologically explain your lack of awareness?
    5. Hughey says, “The United States continues on a daily basis to violate the terms of the 1851 and 1868 Fort Laramie treaties with the Lakota. The call to action I offer? . . . is this: Honor the treaties. Give back the Black Hills.” Should the U.S. government give back the Black Hills? Why or why not? What other issues complicate this matter? Find two websites that discuss the issue and use them to inform your opinion.
    6. How does prior treatment of Native peoples, including the contact situation, impact their current experiences, including those in Hughey’s talk? 
  2. Mount Rushmore is a massive monument of four U.S. presidents, carved into a mountain on Native land taken by the U.S. Government. Learn more at PBS’s American Experience page (“Rushmore,” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/rushmore/. Then, learn about the Crazy Horse monument, an even bigger mountain monument of Sioux leader, Tashunka Witko at https://crazyhorsememorial.org/. This 2-min video is another good starting point: “Crazy Horse Memorial bigger than Mount Rushmore” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLFB1Ic1PMk) Consider this L.A. Times piece which compares the monuments (Faceoff: Mount Rushmore vs. the Crazy Horse Memorial; https://www.latimes.com/travel/la-trw-dakota12aug12-story.html). What do these monuments symbolize about American society? What do they represent to you? Why might it be important to people to build them? How does what you learned relate to the chapter?
  3. Watch this 2-min video by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI):?http://www.ncai.org/proudtobe. Then, watch this short, satirical clip from The Daily Show about the controversy about the name of the Washington Redskins football team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loK2DRBnk24. Take notes about the key points, then answer the following questions, connecting to what you’ve learned so far.
    1. Are team mascot names (like “Redskins”) a “real” issue, or should offended people “just get over it?” Is it “a racial slur” that “impair[s], disable[s], and disenfranchise[s]” the Native population as Stewart’s guests suggest? Or, do the names (and images) “honor” Native Americans? If so, what is being honored?
    2. How might these names/images reinforce or perpetuate stereotypes? Based on what you’ve learned so far, why might that be problematic?
    3. Who “owns” these images? Who should decide if they are offensive to indigenous people?
    4. If it’s wrong for the “Washington Redskins” to use this, is it OK for the University of Notre Dame to use “Fighting Irish?” Why or why not?
    5. What gender dimensions can you identify in this debate? Is it okay for universities to refer to women’s sports teams as “Lady ______?” Why or why not? What does the term lady suggest?
    6. What other mascot names/images might be problematic and why? For example, you could discuss the recent retirement of the Cleveland Indians mascot “Chief Wahoo.”
  4. For more in-depth understanding of American Indian stereotypes in sport mascots, watch this talk by Smithsonian Indian Museum Director Kevin Gover: http://www.c-span.org/video/?323984-1/american-indian-stereotypes-sports.
  5. Review photos and records about the Carlisle Indian School at http://carlisleindian.dickinson.edu/ or http://www.carlisleindianschoolproject.com/history/. Additional photos can be found at http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/erdrich/boarding/index.htm. What’s most important, relevant, or surprising and why? How does it relate to what you’ve learned in this chapter?
  6. Explore “The Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky” exhibit (http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2015/plains-indians-artists-of-earth-and-sky/about-the-exhibition). Or, visit the National Museum of the American Indian (https://americanindian.si.edu/). Identify three items that seem culturally significant or interesting and explain why. How they relate to chapter ideas?
  7. Use the Internet to find photographs that build on what you’ve learned. For example, you could research American Indian life during a certain time frame, particular Native American leaders, or current challenges facing Native Americans such as poverty, unemployment, and mountaintop removal at sacred sites. One place to start is https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2014/12/09/in-1867-alexander-gardner-captured-a-native-life-now-lost/. What did you find at this site, how does it relate to the chapter, and why is it relevant or important?
  8. Learn about Native American “code talkers” who were crucial to the U.S. victories in World War I and especially, World War II. See Native Words, Native Warriors (http://nmai.si.edu/education/codetalkers/).
    1. Start with the introduction and scroll through the links such as “Protecting the Homelands.” Then, examine the Boarding School section. What do you make of the United States and its different positions on indigenous language at different times?
    2. Watch interviews with code talkers at http://navajocodetalkers.org/. What had you learned about code talkers before now? What other Native contributions have been important to the United States? Use the Internet to do some research that expands your knowledge and understanding. Write a few paragraphs about what you learned through this activity.