Land Acknowledgement? Decolonization?: �Best Practices in Indigenous Studies for Davidson College Classrooms

DR. ROSE STREMLAU

ROSTREMLAU@DAVIDSON.EDU

@ROSESTREMLAU

This session is being recorded!

Goals

Before we begin…

• The college was founded during an era of legally-mandated American Indian disappearance. We have never had and do not now have a formal commitment to recruit Native students, faculty, and staff, or work reciprocally with Native communities.
• At the same time…
• Lots of people – students, faculty, staff, and alum – want to this to change. I recognize the need for information to move forward together.
• And so…
• I am a non-Native scholar trained in History and Indigenous Studies, who taught in an American Studies Department for a decade, and who studies Native histories and strives to teach them ethically. I bring that experience to this, but I am not a replacement for Native people whose perspectives should be heard and central to this work.
• We need to ask ourselves…
• Why are Native faculty and staff not here at Davidson College speaking for themselves? Have we become accustomed to their absence? What are we able and willing to do to make different choices moving forward about who we include and where we allocate resources?

Gregg Deal (Pyramid Lake Paiute) @greggdeal

Terms

• Currently 574 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native groups, also called tribes, bands, pueblos, rancherias, and villages, and approximately 60 more recognized by state governments some of which are contested by other groups
• About 9.7 million today and 2.9% of the US population (US Bureau of Census 2020)
• Umbrella terms:
• American Indian is a legal term rooted in colonization and the founding of the US
• Native American was popularized mid-20^th century by several constituencies for distinct several reasons
• Indigenous became widespread through activism, diplomacy, and in the academy beginning in the early 2000s
• Best practices:
• Be specific to nation, clan, etc.
• Ask. That’s ok!

Before Here Was Here by Bunky Echo-Hawk (Pawnee and Yakama) @BunkHaus

Should I include a land acknowledgement in my syllabus? If so, what should it say?

• History
• Disagreement
• Best practices
• Avoid symbolic annihilation by being specific, accurate, and current
• Be accountable
• My take

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My land �acknowledgement

• I want to begin by acknowledging our presence on the historic homeland of the Catawba Indian Nation. It is with respect for their ancestors and the living culture keepers who maintain systems of knowledge older than Davidson College that I make this statement.
• With appreciation for the history of colonization, I recognize with contrition that the founders of Davidson College and those subsequently affiliated with this institution have benefitted from the dispossession of the Catawba, which was accomplished with the complicity of the Presbyterian church.
• Aware of the ongoing nature of settler colonialism, I give thanks for the contributions of Indigenous people from around the world to our intellectual communities, and I commit to learning from Indigenous scholars and our Native neighbors at Catawba, the urban Indian community in Charlotte, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.
• I ask that members of our community who descend from settlers commit themselves to listening to Indigenous people and working to make Davidson College a place where Native students, faculty, and staff can thrive. Let us prioritize the nurturing of relationships that are characterized by trust, reciprocity, the sharing of resources with hospitality and gratitude, and a shared commitment to this land and all beings who call Davidson home.

How can I decolonize my syllabi?

You can’t. ��Decolonization does not mean

• DEI. It is not adding Native authors to a course reading list or including content about Native people
• Emphasizing Native victimhood without explanation of the causes of suffering
• Characterizing settler colonialism as happening somewhere else or in the past
• Assuming Native erasure without attention to Native resilience, survival, and presence

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Equestrian Statue of Theodore Roosevelt by James Earle Fraser (1939) in front of the American Museum of Natural History in NYC (for now)

What does decolonization mean in Indigenous Studies?

• A specific term that comes out of political and spiritual resistance movements before being incorporated into academic discourse.
• 1) Recognition that settler colonialism is ongoing and happening here now
• 2) The return of land and resources to Native communities
• 3) The restoration of Native sovereignty and decision-making authority

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�So….what can we do?�Prepare for the work of decolonization.

• Recognize the existence of Indigenous alternatives to all systems of knowledge and that our ignorance of them is a component of settler colonialism. Include traditional and contemporary Indigenous perspectives.
• Normalize the presence of Indigenous people by teaching about information that impacts their communities and including Indigenous experts.
• Attend events featuring Indigenous speakers on this campus, in our region, and in your field.
• Organize an event featuring Indigenous experts in your field.
• Recruit Indigenous scholars and staff to Davidson College

I’m ALWAYS glad to discuss disciplinary-specific additions to courses!

I’m glad to collaborate!

What could decolonization look like at Davidson College?

• An invitation to Native leaders in the region to dialogue about potential collaboration in scholarship and service
• The return of land
• Hiring a Catawba cultural advisor to address faculty, student, and staff questions
• The appointment of a Catawba elder/official to our Board of Trustees
• Investment in Native communities in ways that are wanted, which could include research collaborations, symposiums, etc.
• A commitment to hire and retain Native faculty and staff
• A commitment to recruit and graduate Native students
• Further research into the potential role of college founders in warfare against and the dispossession of the Catawba and other Native people in the region
• A land acknowledgement and inclusion of information about the history and ongoing presence of Native people in the region on college materials

Preview! A Native History of Davidson…Coming Spring 2022!

• The Catawba are the descendants of the Native people who lived here at contact, but they didn’t always call themselves Catawba.
• This region was shaped by the slave trade. Some American Indian people participated in that, but they were not its architects or primary beneficiaries.
• The college did not seize land directly from the Catawba. Some of our founding families probably did.
• Presbyterians were directly involved in implementing Civilization through Assimilation policies, including child separation.

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Top: Space Invaders (2013) by Nicholas Galanin (Tlingit/Unangax̂) and Bottom: Catawba Deerskin Map (1721)

Native Firsts*

• First Native graduate: 1969*
• First Catawba graduate: none yet/none known
• First Eastern Band graduate: Blythe S. Winchester, class of 1999

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• First Native faculty member: Courtney Lewis (Cherokee Nation), Anthropology, spring 2020
• First TT Native faculty member: none yet
• First Native staff member: none yet/known

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• First Catawba scholar to give a talk here: Brooke Bauer, fall 2016
• First event co-organized with the Catawba: Chef Sean Sherman (Oglala), fall 2018