SS 140 NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

                                                 PROFESSOR LAGANA

                                       FALL 2009: BOOK ANALYSIS PROJECT

      There are five books (besides the textbook) listed on the course outline;

you have to read one of them, no exceptions.  Each book presents a different perspective

on the history and cultures of native North America, both before and after the European invasion.

A.  Asen Balikci: The Netsilik Eskimo.

B.  Frances Berdan: The Aztecs of Central Mexico: An Imperial Society.

C.  Robert Berkhofer: The White Man’s Indian: Images of the American Indian from Columbus to the Present.

D.  Alice Kehoe: The Ghost Dance: Revitalization and Renewal.

E.  Stuart Streuver and Felicia Antonelli Holton. Koster: Americans in Search of  Their Prehistoric Past.

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     You have to write an analysis of the book you’ve chosen to read.

This paper must be at least three pages long (it can be longer if you think you

have something to say). That means three typed and doubled spaced

(on standard sized paper) pages. A paper that’s less that three pages long will

be returned to you without a grade. Please be sure that the pages are stapled

together and numbered; please also make sure that you have a separate title

page with the title of your paper and your name on it (this title page does not

count as one of your three pages). I would be happy to look at a rough draft of

your paper before you hand it in.

     Your papers will be judged on the basis of content, organization and the proper

use of written English (that means pay attention to spelling, grammar, and

punctuation). The general appearance of your paper is also important so please

hand in a paper that looks neat. This paper will count for about 25% of your final

grade. I expect you to at least make an effort to write an intelligent, college-level paper.

     This paper will be due on Tuesday October 13 at the very latest. If you hand your paper

in a day late it will be penalized one-half of a grade. More than one day late and it

will be penalized one full grade. A paper that’s more than a week late will get an “F”;

no papers will be accepted after October 20. You can also hand in your paper in earlier

if you like.  Depending on which book you’ve chosen to read, here are some questions that I’d

like you to try to answer in your paper. When writing your paper, remember that you’re

writing it for someone who has never read the book and who knows absolutely nothing

about the topic of the book.

1. Koster: Americans in Search of Their Prehistoric Past: the Koster site,located in what’s now the

southern part of Illinois, is one of the mostinteresting and important sites ever discovered by archaeologists

in the United States. If you write a paper on this book, there are three mainquestions I’d like you to focus on.

First of all, what did archaeologistslearn during their research at the site? Secondly, how did archaeologists

learn about the past at Koster?  In  other words, what kinds of information and what kinds of methods do

archaeologists use when they try to reconstruct the past. Finally, based on what you’ve read,

what was life like at Koster over the several thousand years that it was occupied by people?

2.  The Netsilik: these people, one example of the people we generally call Eskimos (even though

most Eskimos today, at least in Canada,  prefer to be known as “Inuit”), live in what is one of the

harshest, most inhospitable environments on our planet: the North American arctic. Yet for thousands

of years these people survived and they continue to survive. In your paper, I’d like you to focus on the

main characteristics of the Arctic environment, and the kinds of problems people faced trying to survive

in this environment? What kinds of solutions did the Netsilik develop for these various problems? In

other words, I’d like you to focus on the interaction between people and their environment. If you decide

to read this book, please keep in mind that this gives you a picture of what Netsilik life was like at a

particular moment in time, not what Netsilik life is like today.

3.  The Aztecs of Central Mexico: based on what you’ve read in this book, what would your life have been

like had you been born in the Aztec capital city of Tenochtitlan in the late 15th century (just a couple of

decades before the Spanish conquest)? How would your life have changed after the conquest? In writing

about this, please be sure to talk about such things as family life, work, religion, warfare, politics, and

whatever else you feel were important parts of Aztec life.

4.  The Ghost Dance: please discuss this important 19th century Native American religious movement.

I’d like you to talk about its origins (how did it begin), its development (how did it spread?), its ideology

(what did Ghost Dancers believe), and its consequences, both short term and long-term, for native

peoples.

5.  The White Man’s Indian:  the premise of this book is fairly straightforward: over the past 500 years

people of European descent have created a variety of images, stereotypes, and myths, often very

contradictory ones,  about the native peoples of North America. These various ideas had (and still have)

little or no relevance to the realities of American Indian life and history here in North America (at one

time for example, many people of European descent firmly believed that American Indians were actually

the descendants of ancient Hebrews; many members of the Mormon Church here in the United States

still believe that.). Furthermore, these ideas were constructed at various times in history to suit the

needs of people of European descent.  If you’ve chosen this book to write about, I’d like you to discuss

a few basic questions:

a). what have been, as the author sees it, the most important of the various images and myths

     that have been constructed by people of European descent? How have these images been presented

     over the centuries, in literature, film, and other forms? Please make sure that you discuss the idea

     of savages versus noble savages here.        

b). what were the various historical, political, and economic factors that led to the creation of these

     ideas about native peoples? For example, did defining native peoples are savages give Europeans

     a convenient rationalization for conquering them?

c). how much relevance do these ideas actually have to the realities of Native America life here,

     both before and after 1492?

d). what have been the effects, both short-term and long-term, of these images and myth on the

     native peoples of North America, and on the rest of us?

REMEMBER:

1 This paper is due no later that Tuesday, October 13. If your paper is late, the   grade on it will

be reduced. If it’s one day late, the grade is reduced by one-half (a B paper becomes a B- paper).

If it’s more than one day late, the grade gets reduced even more; a B paper becomes a C paper.

If the paper is more than a week late, the grade for the paper will be an “F”. No paper will be

accepted after Tuesday, October 20. No extensions and no excuses. 

2. This paper must be your own work andnot the work of anyone else. I want it to be entirely in

your own words; don’t just copy from the book  and please don’t even think about googling the

title of the book and copying a review of it.  I (and most of your other professors as well) know

how to use Google too. Any paper that shows evidence of dishonesty will result in a failing grade

for the semester: no excuses and no second chances.

3. Your paper mustbe typed and it must have a separate title page.

4. Your paper has to look neat, with the pages stapled together and numbered.

5.  Spelling and grammar count so please pay attention.