Native American Resource Center

(This picture is described only as “Native American Family, 1910) 
Retrieved from one of the exhibits from this museum

The source that I chose to look into for this blog post was the Native American Resource Center at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. “The mission of the Native American Resource Center is to educate the public about the prehistory, history, culture, art and contemporary issues of American Indians, with special emphasis on the Robeson County Native American community” (Native American Resource Center) The museum has Native American artifacts, crafts, art, literature, spoken stories and so many other kinds of history to learn from. From viewing the pictures of the homes and schools from the early 1900’s it amazes me how much detail must of gone in to each and every piece to create it by hand to work perfectly. The perspective to this page is definitely from an educational stand point. The university is trying to share its great wealth of knowledge and history through the use of pictures and stories of Native American life. This museum site explores many aspects of any everyday life for Native Americans from their music and art to their beliefs and culture that they are striving to still protest and preserve.

I believe this web source was selected because of its authenticity and rich history with many different types of artifacts and history. I think this sight was selected not only for its academic caliber but for the fact that it was research and compiled by not only history experts but also students of Native American studies. “The University of North Carolina at Pembroke was established in 1887 as an institution for Native Americans. Since 1953, it has had a multi-racial student body. Because of its heritage, the University, through this Department, offers a program to educate students about the rich diversity of American Indian history and culture, to promote research and scholarship concerning American Indian issues, and to prepare students for professional or scholarly careers.” (Native American Resource Center) Not only was the school once for Native Americans but it continues to teach and support the Native American traditions with their students.

The more I continue to learn about Native Americans and life in the time the more I am amazed by the complexities of tasks that they did by hand. Their levels of ingenuity and resourcefulness in a time with no Walmart’s or grocery stores are something that could not be matched by the lazier generation of today. I am awed by their levels of resourcefulness and making the best of and eventually thriving in lands and locations that many people would find unsuitable and undesirable today.

References

Native American Resource Center. (n.d.). University of North Carolina Pembroke. Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://www.uncp.edu/academics/opportunities-programs-resources/opportunities-programs/native-american-resource-center

Alice Fletcher Module 2

Alice

Fletcher

              For this piece I would like to examine the biography of Alice Fletcher as written by the Smithsonian Institute, National Museum of Natural History. Alice Fletcher was interesting because she was one of the first that chose to live among Native Americans in a Native American lifestyle and would gain nothing from it but knowledge of the people and their culture.

              Alice Fletcher seemed to have a privileged upbringing which makes it ever more surprising that she would chose to live a Native American lifestyle which is very basic and natural. As a young child Alice and her family moved to Cuba because her father was sick and they hoped that a change to a warmer climate would cure him. Unfortunately they were wrong and her father passed away shortly after. “After her father passed away, Fletcher’s mother, whom she recalled as a "highly educated lady of Boston," moved the family back to the East Coast so that her daughter might attend the "best schools" available.” (Camping with the Sioux) This shows the status her family held if they were able to send Alice to the best school despite no longer having the income of her lawyer father. This shows me that it must have been very unexpected by the ones around her that she would give up life as she knew it to move into the Sioux tribe and live as one of them. I think the high economic status on her family might also be part of the reason she was chosen to examine for this course, she is rare in what she did. A privileged white woman in that time would not often give up everything to give with, learn from and help native American’s that many in her economic group looked down on greatly.

               “She resolved to reform Congressional legislation regarding Native American affairs and to help Native Americans become Americanized. Fletcher felt, as did many Americans in the late nineteenth century, that the only way Native Americans could avoid extermination caused by civilization was by adapting to the "civilized" mannerisms of white Americans. “ (Camping with the Sioux) This quote conveys Alice’s perspective on the Native Americans and what they would need to do to survive the westward coming of the white man. Alice Fletcher is unique because she entered the group in hopes of helping them to assimilated, but unlike many before her she tried to Americanize them to protect them from being killed instead of trying to Americanize them for the benefit for the white man. I think this shows a different side of interactions between Native Americans and white because Fletcher acted as an advocate for the tribes people.

          After reading the Smithsonian article and passage in Alice Fletcher’s journal my views of Native American’s continue to change greatly from the stories of savages I remember hearing as a child. “They stopped and greeted each other, in a few moments further Indians had driven ahead of us. The wagon stopped and the Indians jumped out and came, saying, "How!" and taking off their hats shook hands with Mr. T. Wajapa rode through the new town with them and after a mile or two, Wajapa left them and joined us, our ways parting. Wajapa retailed the conversation. "What are you all doing?" asked the Indian. "Going to visit". "What is that woman doing?" "Going to visit the Indians". "Who is the man?" "The one who helped the Poncas". "Ah, he is the only good man, I’ve wanted to see him", and then it was that the Indian, a Sioux jumped out and came to us.” (Camping with the Sioux) This passage shows a different side of the Native Americans. The tribes people that approached were friendly and curious and were happy and almost excited once they received the answers to the questions. This shows a very different side of Native Americans than I can many others have been taught about

References

"Camping With the Sioux: Fildwork Diary of Alice Cunningham Fletcher." Smithsonian Institue National Museum of Natural History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nmnh.si.edu/naa/fletcher/foreword.htm>.