INSTRUCTOR
Dr. Robin L. Smith smithr@wou.edu
Phone: 838-8357
Office: HSS 209
Office Hours: M,W 1600-1700; T 1400-1500; R 1400-1600
and by appointment. |
Note: If
you have a disability that might require assistance or accomodations for
any aspect of this course, please come and discuss this with me. You may
also contact the Office of Disability Services, at 838-8250 V/TTY, for information
about accessibility and accomodations. |
DESCRIPTION
This course introduces native
cultures of the Northwestern part of North America. We focus on how adaptations
to particular environments and interactions with neighboring cultures have shaped
each nation. Case studies from the three major culture areas--the Northwest Coast,
the Columbia-Fraser Plateau, and the Great Basin--are discussed in class. Students
conduct and present individual research on other cultures. Although the postcontact
period is our primary focus, the importance of varied data sources, including
archaeology, ethnohistory, history, ethnology, and oral history, and indigenous
knowledge is emphasized. As this is a senior level course, a basic familiarity
with anthropological methods of study and the ability to write a documented research
paper are assumed; students are expected to lead and contribute regularly to class
discussions. Designed for juniors and seniors.
TEXTS
- ADDITIONAL READINGS:
- Ramsey, Jarold
- 1977 Coyote Was Going
There: Indian Literature of the Oregon Country. Seattle: University of Washington
Press. (handout)
- Fowler, Catherine S.
and Sven Liljeblad
- 1986 Northern Paiute.
In Great Basin. Edited by W. L. D'Azevedo. pp. 435-465. Volume 11 of
Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. {in
reference room}
- Wheat, Margaret M.
- 1967 Survival Arts of
the Primitive Paiutes. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press.
- Walker, Jr., Deward E.
- 1998 Nez Perce. In
Plateau. Edited by D. E. Walerk, Jr. pp. 420-438. Volume 12 of Handbook of
North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. {in reference
room}
- Josphey, Alvin M.
- 1984 The Great Northwest
Fishing War. Chapter 6 In Now That the Buffalo's Gone. Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press.
- Ackerman, Lillian A.
- 1988 Sexual Equality
on the Colville Indian Reservation in Traditional and Contemporary Contexts.
In Women in Pacific Northwest History: An Anthology. Edited by K. J.
Blair, pp.152-169. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
- Hunn, Eugene S.
- 1990 Nch'i-wana: "The
Big River" Mid-Columbia Indians and Their Land. Seattle: University of Washington
Press.
- Suttles, Wayne
- 1990 Introduction,Environment.
In Northwest Coast. Edited by W. Suttles, pp. 1-15 and 16-29. Volume
7 of Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
{in reference room}
- Blackman, Margaret B.
- 1990 Haida: Traditional
Culture. In
Northwest Coast. Edited by W. Suttles, pp. 240-260. Volume 7 of Handbook of
North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. {in reference
room}
- Stearns, Mary Lee
- 1990 Haida: Since 1960.
In Northwest Coast. Edited by W. Suttles, pp. 261-266. Volume 7 of Handbook
of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. {in reference
room}
- Codere, Helen
- 1990 Kwakiutl: Traditional
Culture. In Northwest Coast. Edited by W. Suttles, pp. 359-377. Volume
7 of Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
{in reference room}
- Holm, Bill
- 1990 Kwakiutl: Winter
Ceremonies. In Northwest Coast. Edited by W. Suttles, pp. 378-386.
Volume 7 of Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.
{in reference room}
- Webster, Gloria Cranmer
- 1990 Kwakiutl Since 1980.
In Northwest Coast. Edited by W. Suttles, pp. 387-390. Volume 7 of
Handbook of North American Indians. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. {in
reference room}
EVALUATION
1. PARTICIPATION: 30%
BRING TO EACH CLASS your written comments, favorite quotes, and insightful questions
on the reading assignment for that meeting. You may be chosen to lead the
discussion. Resolve to share your thoughts, listen intently, and respond to others'
ideas in every meeting.
2. RESEARCH PAPER: 40% (10%
process, 30% product):
The research paper will be an original study (10-12 pages), conducted during
winter term 2010 for this class, of a topic you select and I approve;
more detailed instructions on format and content are provided
separately. THE FOLLOWING TOPICS ARE NOT AVAILABLE: Kwakiutl culture, Nez Perce
culture, Northern Paiute culture, and "totem poles." To earn credit for process,
meet deadlines in the schedule, submitting the requested items TYPED and EDITED.
3. MIDTERM: 20% Identify/essay
format.
4. FINAL: 10% Illustrated
presentation of your research.
Grades are assigned according
using the following scale: A = 93-100, A- = 90-92; B+ = 87-89; B = 83-86; B-
= 80-82; C+ = 77-79; C = 73-76; C- = 70-72; D+ = 67-69; D = 63-66; D- = 60-62;
< 60 = F.
ACADEMIC
CULTURE GUIDE
- You are responsible for
a grade if your name remains on the Registrar's role past the last drop date,
at the end of week 6. The "Incomplete" grade is reserved for the rare
case in which the student was making satisfactory progress when documented
circumstances beyond the student's control caused a significant but discrete
portion of the course to remain unfinished at the end of dead week.
- I place a high value on
academic honesty and expect my students to do the same. Please ensure
you understand the definition of academic dishonesty in the Code
of Student Responsibility. I refer apparent cases of academic dishonesty
to the Coordinator of Campus Judicial Affairs for ajudication. If you
have any questions or concerns about how you have quoted, paraphrased or cited
sources, seek my assistance before you submit your
work.
- Please make wise use of
email. Use the subject line to identify the course and yourself:
"ANTH 494 Last Name". Do not send written assignments by email; submit
them in hard copy. Avoid sending email messages (to anyone) when angry
or upset. Requests for special accomodations are best made in person
during office hours.
- Please turn off and put
away cell phones at the beginning of class.
GOALS
Participation in this course
will strengthen your skills as a reader, researcher, writer, speaker, and listener
and you will enhance your knowledge and appreciation of:
- What is distinctive about
the way anthropologists look at Native American cultures (i.e. in contrast
to sociologists, historians, psychologists, etc.)?
- What are some of the ways
in which we can begin to know another culture?
- What are the different
theoretical emphases that have colored anthropological studies of Northwest
Indian peoples?
- What are the culture areas
of the Northwest and what sets them apart from each other and from the rest
of North America?
- How have native peoples
adapted to the distinctive environmental opportunities and strictures of each
of the culture areas in the Northwest?
- How did different native
cultures of the Northwest see themselves in relation to the natural world?
What were their social and spiritual worlds like?
- How did different native
cultures of the Northwest interact with each other before the intervention
of EuroAmericans?
- What historical circumstances
affected Indian-White relationships in the Northwest?
- What was the process of
culture contact and acculturation like for native peoples of the Northwest?
- How did native Northwestern
peoples affect the culture of the immigrants who settled among them?
- How do Northwestern native
peoples see themselves today? What are their hopes & fears for the future?
SCHEDULE
WEEK 1
INTRODUCTIONS & ANTHROPOLOGY
January 5 Welcome! Warm Springs Country [60 min]
January 7 Read: Ramsey Introduction (handout).
WEEK 2 THE GREAT
BASIN CULTURE AREA
January 12 The Land
January 14 Read: Life Among the Piutes 2-75
WEEK 3 KINSHIP
AND SOCIETY
January 19 The People.
January 21 Read: Life Among the Piutes 76-136.
Research topic due Thursday.
WEEK 4 ARTS AND
BELIEFS
January 26 The Spirits. Read: Life Among the Piutes 137-248 & appendix
January 28 Arctic Symposium -- Please attend at least one session.
WEEK 5 INTERLUDE and a
MOVE TO THE PLATEAU
February 2 MIDTERM
February 4 The Land. Read: Little Bit of Wisdom 1-67
WEEK 6 Subsistence and
Social Structure
February 9 The People. Outline, thesis and sources due Tuesday
February 11 Read: Little Bit of Wisdom 68-149
<Research
conferences Thursday this week through Thursday next week>
WEEK 7 Politics and
Belief Systems
February 16 The Spirits.
February 18 Read: Little Bit of Wisdom 150-217
WEEK 8 THE NORTHWEST COAST
CULTURE AREA
February 23 The Land.
February 25 Read: Paddling to Where I Stand Intro, Chapters 1 & 2
WEEK 9 SOCIAL ORGANIZATION
AND POTLATCHES
March 2 The People. Bring 2 copies of your rough draft to class.
March 4 Read: Paddling to Where I Stand
Chapters 3, 4, 5
WEEK 10 RANK AND BELIEF
SYSTEMS
March 9 The Spirits. Read: Paddling to Where I Stand Chapters 6, 7, Eulogy, Epilogue.
March 11 10 minute research presentations.
Completed paper due Thursday
in class.
EXAM WEEK
March 16 Tuesday 1000-1150: 10 minute
research
presentations.
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