Doctoral Dissertation Research: Cultural Revitalization among Diasporic Native American Communities

印第安人在当代美国文化中的代表性是美国人意识中日益明显的问题。当今社会对土著人民的认识有了很大的提高，但消极和积极的陈规定型观念继续阻碍联邦承认的部落与全国其他地区之间的文化间对话。与此同时，越来越多的印第安人正在参与文化复兴活动，这些活动有助于重申他们各自主权国家的文化，并提高当代印第安人在公众面前的知名度。一个特别受欢迎的振兴途径是通过物质文化，特别是对重新安置的部落来说，这一过程是追踪与祖先土地和价值观联系的关键机制。这个项目训练一名研究生收集和分析科学数据的方法，探索奥奈达散居社区的种族保护，奥奈达人从美国东北部迁移到今天威斯康星州的遗址。该项目与奥奈达社区合作，包括为K-12学生提供课程、博物馆展览和社区中心示范。该项目结合了民族志、民族历史和考古学的方法，调查威斯康星州奥奈达人在离开纽约地区的本土之前和之后，受到广泛的部落间和国际影响，如何通过手工艺来表达物质文化。将威斯康星奥奈达制作的当代作品与他们祖先的家乡和他们的姐妹国家豪德诺桑（易洛魁）联盟制作的作品进行比较，可以让我们了解哪些文化元素在他们的物质文化中被优先考虑，哪些文化元素在某种程度上被改变了，这反映了他们独特的散居和文化互动的历史。通过讨论不同传统的流行程度以及它们从公认的易洛魁形式变化的程度，调查人员可以评论将外部文化影响纳入文化复兴过程的潜在优势和/或劣势。该项目的研究结果将有助于更好地了解散居社区和土著群体如何维持和保护文化特性。此外，为K-12教育工作者编写的课程材料将增加当代印第安人观点的可见度。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Representation of Native Americans in contemporary American culture is an increasingly visible issue in the American consciousness. Social awareness of present-day Native peoples has grown considerably, but stereotypes, both negative and positive, continue to impede intercultural dialog between the federally-recognized tribes and the rest of the nation. At the same time, an ever-growing number of Native Americans are participating in acts of cultural revitalization that serve to reaffirm the culture of their respective sovereign nations and increase visibility of contemporary Native Americans to the general public. One particularly popular avenue for revitalization is through material culture, particularly for relocated tribes, where this process serves as a critical mechanism for tracing connections to ancestral lands and values. This project, which trains a graduate student in methods of scientific data collection and analysis, explores ethnic preservation among diasporic communities of the Oneida, who migrated from the northeastern United States to present-day sites in Wisconsin. The project engages with Oneida communities, including contributions to curricula for K-12 students, museum exhibits, and community center demonstrations.This project uses a combination of ethnographic, ethnohistoric, and archaeological methods to investigate how material culture, as expressed in craftwork, has been impacted by the Wisconsin Oneida’s exposure to a wide range of intertribal and international influences both before and after removal from their native territory in the New York area. Comparing contemporary works produced by Wisconsin Oneida to those crafted in their ancestral homelands and among their sister nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy provides insights into which cultural elements have been prioritized in their material culture and which have been altered in a manner that reflects their unique history of diaspora and cultural interaction. By addressing the popularity of different traditions and the degree to which they have been changed from recognized Iroquoian forms, the investigators can comment on the potential advantages and/or disadvantages of incorporating external cultural influences into the cultural revitalization process. The findings of this project will aid in developing a greater understanding of how cultural identity is maintained and protected by diaspora communities and Indigenous groups. Further, the development of curricular materials for K-12 educators will increase visibility of the perspectives of contemporary Native Americans.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.