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The Chumash: Seafarers of Southern California, 2007.
A study of the Chumash, a seafaring Native American tribe of Southern California and their possible connection with ancient Polynesian seafarers.
1,760 words (approx. 7.0 pages), 10 sources, APA, $ 56.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the Native American tribe of Southern California, the Chumash, one of the few New World peoples who regularly navigated the ocean. The paper points out that they built plank canoes, unlike most other North American native tribes whose canoes were of an unsophisticated hollowed-out tree trunk design. Only Polynesian seafarers from the distant South Pacific were thought to use similar plank boats to explore and colonize the various islands of the Pacific over a thousand or more years ago. The paper draws a possible connection between the two peoples according to both linguistic and archaeological evidence. From a purely linguistic standpoint, the Chumash word for plank canoe, "tomolo", may be derived from the Polynesian word "tumu-raa'au", referring to the wooden plank boats used by Polynesian explorers. The paper concludes that these findings regarding the Chumash wood plank canoe may open the door to seeing Native American culture in a whole new light, and even call into question old orthodoxies about migration patterns.
From the Paper
"Due to the vast size of the area that eventually became known as California, there were at one time or another dozens of small Native American tribes who inhabited the region, differing widely in language, culture and lifestyle, due to the great variety of environmental conditions they found themselves in (desert, mountain, seacoast, etc.) The Chumash are a Native American tribe who historically made their home along the southern coastal regions of California, stretching roughly from the vicinity of what is now Santa Barbara in the north down to Ventura in the south, but (to a lesser degree) even extending as far south as what is now Malibu ("Chumash.") They also lived on the three largest of the Channel Islands: Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, and San Miguel. The Channel Islands, located about 20 miles off the coast near present day Santa Barbara, are the largest offshore islands on the West Coast of North America ("Channel Islands.") This offshore presence was unique to the Chumash among California Indian tribes and will have a central place in the subsequent examination of their seafaring abilities and possible trans-Pacific origins."
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The Navajo Nation, 2008.
A review of the book "Navajo" by James F. Downs.
1,356 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 45.95
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Abstract
The paper describes how the book "Navajo" by James F. Downs offers a history of the Navajo nation and considers many aspects of the Navajo culture and social order. The paper relates that the book gives much attention to the society the Navajo had when the first Europeans arrived in North America and to the complexities of the Navajo civilization. The paper discusses how Downs notes the forces that have brought change even as Navajo culture itself persists in some communities. The paper concludes that this book is a good introduction to the Navajo people and their traditions.
From the Paper
"Downs first considers the development of the Navajo as a separate entity, beginning however with the original Nadene people from Siberia from which all the rest of the Native American population would spring. What is known of the Nadene people shows that they probably brought "the hard-soled moccasin and the strong, complex bow" (Downs 6). These people divided over time into various groups from Alaska down the coast into the rest of North America. One such groups was the Athapaskans, hunters rather than gatherers, and they entered the Southwest, formed different groups with different languages and styles of life, and interacted in some way with the Pueblo people of the Southwest, in time becoming known by a new name, the Apache. Around the start of the seventeenth century, the Apaches were a wild, hunting people, while the Navajo Apaches were the "apaches of the big fields" (Downs 10)."
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Language and Culture, 2008.
This paper compares two articles on the cultural significance of language; "Decolonizing the Mind" by N'gugi wa Thiong'o and the "Intellectual Savage" by Jamake Highwater.
1,088 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 0 sources, $ 37.95
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Abstract
The paper examines two articles, "Decolonizing the Mind" by N'gugi wa Thiong'o and the "Intellectual Savage" by Jamake Highwater. The paper explains how the articles discuss how language becomes the means through which a cultural reality is transmitted, thus controlling language is one means by which colonial usurpers can control self-imagery and self-awareness. The paper is of the opinion that both articles do a commendable job of highlighting the inter-relationship between language and culture.
From the Paper
"In her article, "Decolonizing the Mind," N'gugi wa Thiong'o writes about her childhood speaking Gikuyu in her native Africa. In particular, she devotes time to recollecting how, as a small child, she listened to tales about how the weak hare could outwit the beasts of prey - the lion, the leopard, and the hyena - and stay alive in a hostile world. Not to be overlooked, she comments at length upon the different types of human beings who emerged in anthropocentric tales and how some were cruel, selfish and opposed to all that might foster a stronger community, and how others were kind, giving and individualistic; in assessing the narrative, it is evident that Ngugi wa Thiong'o is comparing the beasts of prey with colonizers eager to take over her native land. More than that, those stories impressed upon her the power of language - its cadence, rhythm, inflection, its suggestive power - and how language could bind a community together. Later though, this harmony would be broken when Englishmen took over the school system and made it a serious penalty for any child to be speaking the native Gikuyu language instead of the alien, oppressive English of the colonizers."
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History of Coffeeville, 2008.
This paper looks at the history of Coffeeville in Mississippi.
1,569 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 51.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that the history of the region surrounding Coffeeville, Mississippi in the north central portion of the state is long and varied. The writer points out that though the region has what some might consider an ideal climate, European settlement of the region was quite slow, and the Native American tribes that were already established there--such as the Choctaw and the Chickasaw--remained unmolested well into the 18th century. The writer discusses that subsequent treaties and elimination of these tribes from the region hastened the formation of Mississippi as a state and the incorporation of Coffeeville as an important urban center in the development of Mississippi.
From the Paper
"But the early growth and development of the Coffeeville region would be truncated by the beginning of the Civil War, which had disastrous results for the separatist Confederacy. Union armies ultimately marched through the South and destroyed much of the railroad infrastructure that had been built. Nonetheless, there were some victories for the Confederacy in the region. The Battle of Coffeeville, an ambush of Grant's forces, was a decisive turning point in the advance of Grant's forces through the South, dramatically altering Grant's plans to advance on Vicksburg and had a major impact on the outcome of the Civil War. All of these major historical developments--from native inhabitants to early settlement to the Civil War--have had a significant effect on the character of Coffeeville, Mississippi and its surrounding environs."
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Indian Child Welfare, 2007.
An analysis of the problems associated with the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and possible solutions to the problems.
1,534 words (approx. 6.1 pages), 7 sources, MLA, $ 50.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes Indian child welfare in Oregon in the United States. It particularly discusses the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which regulates placement proceedings involving Native-American children. It looks at the benefits of the law, as well as the problems associated with it, such as the lack of proper enforcement. The paper then discusses how these problems can be remedied.
From the Paper
"In conclusion, the Indian Child Welfare Act was passed into law in 1978 because the federal government recognized that it was necessary to reestablish tribal authority in Oregon and other states in cases involving the adoption or removal of Native American children from their homes. The ICWA was considered necessary because a very high percentage of Indian families had been broken up by non-tribal agencies because state officials did not understand or accept Indian culture."
"In order to remedy this, the ICWA established minimum standards for the removal of Native American children from their homes and assured tribal participation in court proceedings. But in Oregon and many other states, establishing clearer guidelines is necessary so caseworkers can formulate plans that conform to federal ICWA standards and thus ensure that the intent of the federal Act is fulfilled, and the rights of Native American children and their families are protected."
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Tecumseh and Tribal Unity, 2007.
A look at Indian leader Tecumseh and what tribal unity under his leadership would have meant for American expansionism.
975 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 34.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the Indian leader, Tecumseh, and his goal of uniting the Indian tribes into a powerful Indian nation capable of ending American expansion westwards. The paper discusses how the focus of American policy makers, on Canada and Royal Navy seizure of American sailors on the high seas on the eve of the War of 1812, prevented most of them from realizing that the Indian tribes on the frontier were the greatest threat to future American expansion.
From the Paper
"Ultimately, the potential path of the United States in regard to this Indian Nation may have been similar to how we dealt with Spanish Florida, or it may have resembled our approach to dealing with British Canada, or it may have been patterned after our policies in the Mexican Southwest. Spanish Florida had been incorporated into the United States through treaty and purchase, British Canada had not been acquired at all, and the Mexican Southwest had been taken by winning the Mexican War and demanding territorial concessions."
"In dealing with Tecumseh's tribal nation, the United States would have had the option in coming decades of expanding through brute military force as it had against Mexico, of seeking new territorial acquisitions through treaty negotiations and purchase agreements with Tecumseh as had been the case with Spanish Florida, or of conceding that expansion would be stopped, as had been the case with British Canada. Which option would have ultimately been pursued would have depended primarily upon Tecumseh's ability to keep the tribes united under his leadership."
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