Communicate Ideas
Sand Creek Massacre Presentation
History-January In History at the beginning of the second semester, we did presentations on historical events involving Native Americans during Reconstruction and the American Indian Wars. In a small group, we created a slide show presentation of the Sand Creek Massacre and the atrocities that occurred to the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes. This assignment fits under the pillar of Communicate Ideas because we presented to the class the information we learned about this event. Each group had a different topic, so as a class we were able to learn about a number of different events involving Native Americans during this time period. This assignment works to answer my question about the undermining of Native culture and their self-determination by showing a key example of how white settlers in the United State's had no regard for the Natives and treated them as mere objects prohibiting their own prosperity. |
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Education of Little Tree
English-March
Carter, Forrest. The Education of Little Tree. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1986.
In English we read and discussed portions of the novel The Education of Little Tree, a coming of age story of a young Native American boy growing up with his grandparents. The story was regarded as an accurate portrayal of Native American life as it was broadcasted as an autobiography, but we discussed how the author's identity was misleading. In actuality, the author was a former KKK member with white supremacist ties writing a very lose narrative of his childhood. This fits under the pillar of Communicate Ideas because as a class we discussed the meaning in the chapters prior to discovering the true identity of the author, and then how the author's identity was not who we thought. This works to answer my overarching question by showing how Native American culture is often appropriated and misinterpreted in the media and used as a way to gain profit.
English-March
Carter, Forrest. The Education of Little Tree. Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1986.
In English we read and discussed portions of the novel The Education of Little Tree, a coming of age story of a young Native American boy growing up with his grandparents. The story was regarded as an accurate portrayal of Native American life as it was broadcasted as an autobiography, but we discussed how the author's identity was misleading. In actuality, the author was a former KKK member with white supremacist ties writing a very lose narrative of his childhood. This fits under the pillar of Communicate Ideas because as a class we discussed the meaning in the chapters prior to discovering the true identity of the author, and then how the author's identity was not who we thought. This works to answer my overarching question by showing how Native American culture is often appropriated and misinterpreted in the media and used as a way to gain profit.
Smoke Signals
English- March
Smoke Signals. Directed by Chris Eyre, performances by Evan Adams, Adam Beach, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, and Tantoo Cardinal, Miramax, 1998.
In English, we watched, analyzed, and discussed the film Smoke Signals, a Native American produced comedy about two Native American men living on a reservation in the United States. The humor used is very self deprecating and points out the common misrepresentations and stereotypes of Native Americans in the media. This fits under the pillar of Communicate Ideas because the film revealed how Native American's portrayal in films and other media is compared to the reality of life on a reservation. The film served as a medium to communicate these ideas of inaccurate representation to people outside reservations being influenced by misleading information about Native Americans. This film and accompanying film guide also can be used to address my question regarding how the assimilation of Native Americans has undermined their culture and self determination by showing how Natives are making an effort to keep their true culture and identity from being washed away by mainstream American media.
English- March
Smoke Signals. Directed by Chris Eyre, performances by Evan Adams, Adam Beach, Irene Bedard, Gary Farmer, and Tantoo Cardinal, Miramax, 1998.
In English, we watched, analyzed, and discussed the film Smoke Signals, a Native American produced comedy about two Native American men living on a reservation in the United States. The humor used is very self deprecating and points out the common misrepresentations and stereotypes of Native Americans in the media. This fits under the pillar of Communicate Ideas because the film revealed how Native American's portrayal in films and other media is compared to the reality of life on a reservation. The film served as a medium to communicate these ideas of inaccurate representation to people outside reservations being influenced by misleading information about Native Americans. This film and accompanying film guide also can be used to address my question regarding how the assimilation of Native Americans has undermined their culture and self determination by showing how Natives are making an effort to keep their true culture and identity from being washed away by mainstream American media.
Inquiry Based Learning Project Research (IBL)
History- January For this project, we (myself and a group of 3 others) drafted the question "How does the oppressive nature of the United States lead to detrimental health effects to Native American populations?" To answer this question, my group and I researched various sources to be able to answer the whole question from an accurate unbiased perspective. We discovered the harsh conditions faced by Native Americans living on reservations and their lack of adequate resources. We learned of the lack of proper health care has resulted in some of the poorest health conditions in the entirety of the United States. This project and accompanying research fits under the pillar of Communicate Ideas because we compiled the research we gathered into informative info graphics that we shared during a presentation to the class, as well as on the social media accounts we created for a social media campaign. The information we found can also be used to answer my overarching question because the affect of Native Americans being forced onto reservations without proper government support, the overall self determination of Natives has been negatively impacted by a higher susceptibility to life threatening diseases, a lower quality of life and shorter life expectancy. |