The History and Importance of Decolonizing Native American Ethnography - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1528 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/06/24 Category Culture Essay Level High school Tags: Ethnographic Essay Did you like this example? Ranco, Darren J. Toward a Native Anthropology: Hermeneutics, Hunting Stories, and Theorizing from Within. Wica Saw Review 21, no. 2 (Autumn, 2006): 61-78. University Minnesota Press. Darren Ranco is currently an Associate Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Research at the University of Maine. In his essay; Toward a Native Anthropology: Hermeneutics, Hunting Stories, and Theorizing from Within, Ranco discusses the topic of Native American representation by non-native Anthropologists. He brings up the idea of anthropologists searching for the Other and this search as a colonial desire. The tendency for the anthropologists to think of the Other as having to be something that is extremely Other is also brought up. Ranco discusses his own challenges as a Native American anthropologist and the backlash he received from his professors in graduate school when he wanted to focus on his own people as he described it. Ranco argues for anthropology which will fight for the rights of Native communities and give back some of the control to Natives over what is said to be their history and their culture. Ranco also argues his point through the words of Bea Medicine when explaining the necessity of the role of Native American anthropologists. Medicine believed that Native American anthropologists could educate other anthropologists on how to be respectful of the communities where they do research and show the importance of relationships among the anthropologist and the subjects. I plan to use this essay to show the argument for more Native Anthropologists to study in their own communities as well as the need for all anthropologists to not only see Native communities they are studying as objects of ethnographic research, but partners in their writings and projects. By viewing Native Americans as partners in ethnographic research instead of simply the objects of the research, an attempt can be made to give some control back to Native Americans as to how their cultures and histories are presented as well as working towards more collaborative efforts among the two. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The History and Importance of Decolonizing Native American Ethnography" essay for you Create order Simpson, Audra. Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler States. Durham and London: Duke University Press, 2014. Audra Simpsons book, Mohawk Interruptus: Political Life Across the Borders of Settler States, focuses on ethnographic work conducted on the reserve community of the Mohawks of Kahnaw?  :ke. Located in the southwestern region of Quebec, the Kahnaw?  :ke Mohawks struggle for their own political sovereignty from the settle state. A major point of conflict is the Kahnaw?  :ke Mohawks fight for the validity of their own government. Being part of the Haudenosaunee, commonly known as the Iroquois Confederacy, the Kahnaw?  :ke Mohawks deny Canadian or American citizenship to help prove the validity and power of their own Haudenosaunee governance. Another step many have taken is traveling with Haudenosaunee issued passports rather than American or Canadian. Simpson describes how the Iroquois National Lacrosse Team (INLT) did not participate in the World Lacrosse League Championship tournament to be held in Manchester, England due to the refusal of the United Kingdom to recognize their Haudenosaunee issued passports. By doing this, Simpson brings up the idea of refusal to play the game. This meaning that the lacrosse players refused to play the game of being either American or Canadian and rather stayed by their Iroquois claim of belonging. Simpson also discusses the complicated issues of what defines Native American citizen. The question of blood quantum and intermarriage are brought up in relation to who should be added to the Iroquois membership rolls. I plan to use Simpsons work to showcase both the work of Native American anthropologists to decolonize Native anthropology by reclaiming their own history and culture. Starn, Ori. Ishis Brain: In Search of Americas Last Wild Indian. New York: W. W. Norton Company, 2005. In Starns book, Ishis Brain: In Search of Americas Last Wild Indian, the story of Ishi is unfolded. After wandering out of the San Francisco hills in 1911, Ishi was considered the last of his tribe, the Yahi which Alfred Kroeber would later name them. Throughout the book, Starn not only discusses the problematic treatment of Ishi, but he also describes his own search for the controversial missing brain of Ishi. Starn not only combats the issues of representation but also that of a non-Native anthropologist working with very deeply rooted cultural issues for the Indigenous people of California. Throughout the novel, Starn points out the multiple occasions in which Alfred Kroebers wife, Theodora Kroeber, misrepresented Ishi as well as the circumstances in which he lived in her novel Ishi in Two Worlds: A Biography of the Last Wild Indian in North America. I plan to use this source in order to point out some of the issues of representation and the rights of Indigenous peoples in the pas t. Not only through the eyes of the government, but by anthropologists themselves. An example I plan to use is the frequency of Theodora Kroeber to misrepresent the circumstances in which Ishi lived his life in San Francisco. Many of the alterations she made to his story were sometimes leaving out what some people would have considered injustices which her husband committed against Ishi as well as her tendency to romanticize him as a shaman or healer of some sorts. Another topic of interest in which I plan to use from this source is the thoughts of how Alfred Kroeber treated Ishi as a specimen in most cases, although claiming to consider Ishi to be a good friend. Who has the right to represent Indigenous populations and how they are represented are questions that I will be using Starns novel to address in my paper. I will also use Starns respect as an outsider in regard to cultural practices where he knows that, despite his desire to attend, he is respectful of the invitation, or th e lack of, from the Indigenous people involved. Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. Decolonization Is Not A Metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education, Society 1, no.1 (2012): 1â€Å"40. In Decolonization Is Not A Metaphor, Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Yang discuss the increasing occurrence of decolonization to be turned into a metaphor, discrediting the meaning and power behind the word. In an attempt to remind readers what is unsettling about decolonization, Eve and Tuck explain the different forms of colonialism and how it is present within North America. One of the main characteristics of colonization in North America which made it different from others was that in settler colonialism, the colonizer is coming to stay. This desire to stay then leads to the inevitable desire to eliminate the Indigenous for the acquisition of their land. Another large portion of the essay is dedicated to five actions which the authors name as settler moves to innocence. These five moves are settler nativism, fantasizing adoption, colonial equivocation, conscientization, at risk-ing/ asterisk-ing Indigenous peoples, and re-occupation and urban homesteading. According to Eve and Tuck, to tru ly decolonize, there must be a break of the settler colonialism structure. This would then call for the reparation of lands to the Indigenous is decolonization is to even begin. I plan to use this article to discuss the true meaning of decolonization. If decolonization has lost much of its potency due to its use as a metaphor, is it even possible for many to understand the true meaning. Is the sympathy many settlers feel for the Indigenous who they have affected truly enough to bring them to the conclusion that to make up for these wrongs, they must return dispossessed land to those who originally lived on them? I will use the information I have found in this article to lay out the meaning of decolonization and if the settlers will ever make an attempt to decolonize. Wolfe, Patrick. Settler colonialism and the elimination of the native. Journal of Genocide Research 8, no. 4 (December 2006): 387-409. In this piece, Patrick Wolfe discusses the inherently eliminatory nature of settler colonialism and how it is still seen today. One point that Wolfe makes is that Black people and Native Americans have both been racialized in the United States, but in opposite ways. For Black people enslaved by those in the US, their reproduction only brought more wealth to their owner. No matter how little blood they had of African descent, they were still considered Black and a slave. Native Americans on the other hand created an issue when their numbers rose, limiting access to lands. This led to the restriction of who was classified as Native American and who was not. Wolfe talk about how settler colonialism does not have the primary reason for colonization be race, but that of taking land. Settlers have come to stay. The Doctrine of Discovery is also explored in this piece. In European understanding, the first to discover the land then had the right to buy land from the natives who lived there. Even though it seems as if this gave the Indigenous population a choice on the matter, it did not always work that way. Wolfe quotes Harvey Rosenthal as saying, The American right to buy always supersede the Indian right to sell. I will use Wolfes piece to demonstrate the past and present practice of eliminating the Native American in a post-colonial state.

The United Nations and Human Rights Has the United...

I. Introduction The supporting and advocating on behalf of human rights has been one of the primary principles of the United Nations. Since its founding in 1945, the United Nations has worked to preserve the basic human rights and fundamental freedoms it believes to be deserved of by every man, woman, and child on the planet. Throughout the near seventy years of the United Nations’ existence, it has been challenged with an array of questions, events, and claims regarding the possible violation of human rights. In order to combat these claims, the body has established two organizations to deal with matters of human rights. The first being the Commission Human Rights, was the original organization, founded in 1946. The Commission existed†¦show more content†¦This, in turn, helps to advance the freedoms of all persons, generating improvements in the overall quality of life that each person may receive as a result from having these international rights and freedoms. In order for a complete analysis, the structure of the United Nations itself will be analyzed. In addition to this, the protocol for the intervention of the United Nations on behalf of human rights will be investigated, as will a series of issues regarding human rights violations in China and Burma (now Myanmar), and whether or not the United Nations, if involved, was able to support and advocate for human rights. II. A Summary and Description of the United Nations Purpose, Functions, and Structure of the United Nations Before we are able to determine the success or failure of the United Nations in its determination to advocate and support human rights on an international scale, it is imperative that we come to an understanding of the purpose, functions, and structure of the United Nations. Founded in 1945, the function and principles of the United Nations are determined in the United Nations Charter which was ratified on 24 October of the same year. One of the primary principles of the United Nations, as outlined in Article 1 of the United Nations Charter is: â€Å"†¦To achieve internationalShow MoreRelatedFighting Terrorism without Infringing on Human Rights Essay826 Words   |  4 Pageswithout infringing upon human rights. Prominent advocate for this assumption is obviously Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who urged states to â€Å"adhere to their international obligations to uphold human rights and fundamental freedoms when conducting counterterrorism†. This has become a key component of UN-endorsed Global Counterterrorism strategy. Another key leader, supporter of this assumption former US President Jimmy Carter in his remarks on Human Rights Defenders conferenceRead MoreNato s Justification Of The Security Council2815 Words   |  12 PagesMilosevic regime to accept NATO’s demands regarding the future political status of Kosovo (Wippman 2001: 129). 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Stretching The Sociological Imagination -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Stretching The Sociological Imagination? Answer: Introducation The essay is a personal review on the riveting documentary Obit: Life on Deadline, by Vanessa Gould is stark and beautiful portrayal of the life of obituary writers.Gould provides us through her art with a livid picture about the different layers of journalism. The structure will include a brief discussion on some of the essential aspects of the documentary like the picture of journalism that it slowly creates in front of our eyes. Impression Of Journalism From The Film The documentary is 1 hour 33 minutes long, providing the audience with a glimpse of the typical crudities of a job that requires writing obituaries on public figures. Writers professionally strive to give birth to artistically shaped, inventive obituaries that would capture the attention of readers. The astounding phenomenon of earning a living by gripping and tackling death on a daily basis is bound to captivate the audience giving them a quick introduction to the first paced world of journalism. The film leaves the audience to grapple with the inventive idea of running after deadlines and consulting journals to scribble some of the finest obits. The film is an absolute treat as it progresses and delivers the unthinkable by mocking the tacit Victorian idea circumscribing the fashion of writing obituaries. Gould is brave enough to challenge the old and tattered notion of writing obituaries as something gloomy and bland in tone, a strict blend of respect and regard for the person deceased. This is where the film plays with the audiences preconceived notion regarding writing obituaries and to consider a kaleidoscopic view, the world of journalism. What I Liked About The Film What I liked most about the film is the cinematography which centralizes audiences attention on the media desk and the charming David Carr, to steal the frame. The art of making motion picture plays a role in ensuring that the final product is not just a mere amalgamation of ideas and information. On the very surface, Obit: Life on Deadlines appears nothing more than a tedious documentary on death which involves the accumulation of facts and data, arranging them in a synchronized manner is a matter ofemotional roller-coaster ride for the writers themselves. However, the director has invested the film with an artists perspective, which is nevertheless, not disparate from the real life. The intrigue lies as the camera zooms into the panic stricken faces of the writers struggling to come up with engrossing leads to make the obituary attractive to its readers. This is exactly where the narrative jolts the audiences as they witness the whole affair with a rather sadistic pleasure of seein g the writers crumbling under the burden of writing obits. Do I agree with the film? I agree with what the film shows and the documentary never had a dull moment as it gives a colorful view in a collage form, often in an inoffensive and humorous way of depicting the lives of the writers. Bruce and Margalit Fox have scribbled around thousand obituaries for The New York Times, with subjects spanning from celebrities to politicians brings a whiff of fresh air in the documentary. Interestingly, the document is not centered round fun and frolic that might be intertwined with the job profile of an obit writer. Gould has infused it with taint of melancholy and despair as well, the mind-boggling stress that every writer of the department. What Vanessa Gould does is it provides with a different perspective on print journalism. It is massively reminiscent of Thackerays Pendennis, the great engine that printing press is. Also it is a stark reality how the readers are decidedly uninterested to even spare a passing glance to the obituaries until and unless they are related to somebody of grand and imposing stature. Somehow, I felt the all pervasive question of mortality hanging high over the living characters, thriving on resources stained by the dead. Personally, I have never considered obituary to be a part of print journalism till I Goulds documentary that clenched onto my attention for the entire span. According to me, far from being loud or disrespectful towards the art of writing obituary or the deceased, the documentary has gifted me with a subtle humor and wit which refused to fade away long after the documentary had finished. Obituary writing is a character in itself, the driving force behind the narrative of the film, taking the audiences into the very depth of it. Every little aspect involved with the profession of obituary writing including how much space a deceased personality should occupy in the paper is an instance of a true artists observational skills. The talent of magnifying the trivialities of everyday nothings into art and projecting them in front the audience is nothing less than a blessing. I struggled to imbibe the idea within myself that the total space on the paper is proportionate to space the world is w illing to allocate for a deceased person. I am thankful to the documentary for not expanding the heap of frustration and gloom that one associates with the profession of obit writing in a newspaper. Instead it turned out to be a very personal creation of Gould, a child beautiful and invested with lively spirit. References Bordwell, D., Thompson, K., Smith, J. (2016).Film art: An introduction. McGraw-Hill Education. Chambers, D. (2017). Journalism. InThe History of British Womens Writing, 19451975(pp. 71-88). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Fowler, B. (2015). The Media and Collective Memory: The Obituaries of Academics. InStretching the Sociological Imagination(pp. 120-140). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Heynderickx, P. C., Dieltjens, S. M. (2016). An analysis of obituaries in staff magazines.Death studies,40(1), 11-21. Landy, M. (2015). A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film. Martin, C., Campbell, R., Harmsen, S. (2014).Media essentials: A brief introduction. Bedford/St. Martin's.