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Plateau Indians 

ANTH 422/522 - Fall 2006

Course Requirements

This is a course in participation. You can not assume a passive observer's role, viewing the Indian world from afar.   To successfully engage these activities, attendance at all class sessions is critical.   If you can not attend a session, please notify the instructor for make-up work.   Repeated absences will lower your grade.  You will be expected to complete the following learning activities.

  1. Story

  2. Paper

  3. Exams

  4. Reflective Writes

  5. Field Trips

  6. Graduate Presentations

1.  Story  The first activity is the telling of one "authentic" story using "appropriate" techniques of telling. In order to better appreciate Indian culture from the perspective of the Indian, you should participate in one of its critical cultural expressions: storytelling. If Indian culture is to be appreciated, how the Indian himself acquires that cultural world must also be appreciated. In particular, the stories, as expressed in narrative, artistic and ceremonial activity, have been and continue to be the critical means for the dissemination, perpetuation, affirmation, and creation of the Indian world. Issues of oral literature performance, techniques of storytelling, re-membering, and translation will be considered in this course and are discussed during class (and in Frey 1995 Stories That Make the World). But if we are to truly gain access to Indian culture, students must, to some extent, become experientially involved. Given the pivotal role of the stories, you will be asked to personally participate in becoming the storyteller and in "re-membering" an oral tradition. You can not simply read your story aloud from the pages of a book.

Adhering the practice followed by many tribes, Coyote stories (as either a central or peripheral character) are to be shared aloud only after the "first frost" in the fall, but before the "first thunder is heard" in the spring. Coyote's voice should not to be heard during the summer! Select your story appropriately.

Your starting point is selecting a story from The World of the Schitsu'umsh, Salmon and His People, or Stories That Make the World (copies available in the library or from the instructor). These are stories that have been previously reviewed by elders for public sharing. Some stories are not meant to be shared publicly. While accessing these oral traditions through the medium of a literacy-based format is certainly not the ideal approach, in The World of the Schitsu'umsh and Stories That Make the World a concerted effort was made to retain some of the oral nuances of these stories. In attempting to tell a story from an Indian perspective, it is essential that you engage the story as close as possible to its original oral presentation by the Indian storyteller. So much of the oral literature, when published in a literacy format, has been modified to fit Euro-American sensibilities.  For tribally-enrolled students, please select a cultural tradition you are not associated with.

If you consult Stories That Make the World, please select from the following narratives: "Four Smokes," "Coyote and the Swallows," "Coyote and the Swallowing Monster," "Seal Boy," "Coyote and the Rock," "Coyote and the Woman," or "The Animals and the Sea Monster (Coyote)."  The instructor can suggest additional sources to consider.

After you have "re-membered" and presented your story, reflect on any meanings or significances that you may have "discovered" or were "revealed" to you in the story's landscape during the act of telling. This is "reflective" opportunity, and not an analytical exercise. Limit your written comments to no more than one page of text.

The telling of your story and reflecting on it are worth 10% of your grade.

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2. Paper  The second activity is for you to write a participatory-interpretative paper. There are two distinctive parts to this paper.

Part A.  The first part of this assignment is for you to "participate" (through your imagination) in a cultural expression, such as a setting up a lodge, a rite of passage ceremony, a basket-making endeavor, a deer or salmon "hunt," camas digging, a family give away, or a day-in-the-life. I prefer that you do not attempt to write on a ceremonial tradition that is particularly spiritually sensitive, such as the Jump Dance.  You can select a topic identified and discussed in the assigned readings, e.g., Coeur d'Alene camas digging, or a topic not covered in the course readings and presentations, for example, researching an aspect of Thompson or Klamath culture.  For tribally-enrolled students, please select a cultural tradition you are not associated with.  In any case, you are not to actually participate in the cultural expression, but to imagine yourself a "participant" within it. Actual personal participation can entail critical ethical issues, e.g., it is unethical to participate in someone else's traditions without proper guidance and permission, and such participation can be "harmful."

For our assignment, you will need to first thoroughly research the cultural expression you have selected, including its symbolism, structural process, and underlying values.  This segment of the assignment will entail extensive library research.  Begin early.  To assist you in your research, consult the bibliography in Walker (1998),  Starting Place Guide, and the course bibliography.  In addition to published sources and if the opportunity arises, you can base your research on primary sources, such as an interview with an elder.  In any case, you must include in your research the key published sources that address your particular topic, and you must list at least five (5) primary sources (published and interview).    Internet sources are to be used cautiously and only relied upon in a very limited fashion, with URL sites fully documented as to their academic and/or tribal authenticity and accuracy. 

You will then write a narrative text, developing scenarios which illustrate the meaning and significance of the cultural expression, all seeking to do so from the perspective of the Indian. Embedded within this text should be consideration and presentation of one or more of the key cultural values identified and discussed in the course.  While a fictitious account, the narrative should be fully grounded in solid ethnographic scholarship, thus an example of "creative non-fiction." This descriptive write-up is known as a "text." In developing a text try to isolate a specific event in time and space that is representative and significant of the larger cultural context. Then with as much detail as possible, describe the rich texture of that setting, e.g., who, what, where, when, etc. Pay attention to the "little things," as well as the "big picture." But don't attempt to a too board and general. The detail of a cultural text often reveals what is most meaningful. You can write either in the first person, as if you are the protagonist of the story, chronicling the event or scene, or you can write your text in the third person, as if you are viewing the story unfold before your eyes, passively describing the events as they are occurring to someone else. You are also encouraged to provide illustrations or artwork that might help convey the character and nature of that which you are describing.  The artwork can involve photo copied materials or original work you have created.  If you make reference to an oral tradition or story (from another published source), rephrase the story in your own words, not quoting it verbatim, as if you are "re-membering" the story.   Do not include citation references, footnotes or other formal stylistic notations in the narrative text section of your paper.   

Please keep in mind that I do not expect you to be ultimately and completely successful in your attempt to "see from the perspective of the Indian."  But in your attempt to do so you can reveal to yourself some of the challenges in attempting to do so and also reveal your own biases and constraints in attempting to know and understand your neighbors.  The effort is worth the journey.

Part B. Having laid out the cultural territory in your descriptive text, such as its social kinship setting (e.g., the Nez Perce family), you are now in a position to add a more formal interpretation. The second part of your assignment is to reflect on the meaning of the text you have just written, interpreting its significance as best you can from an Indian perspective.  What might the event you just described mean to an Indian participant?  Acknowledging the enormous challenge and perhaps elusive goal before you, it is nevertheless a goal worth striving for. As part of your interpretation, ground your text in its historical and cultural context.  For example, provide when the event typically takes place, who are the primary actors, under what circumstances does the event occur, and a brief history.  In order to conduct good interpretative research, the context of a text must be fully appreciated.

The focus of the second part of this assignment is, however, on your actual formal interpretation. To interpret is not to summarize, but to seriously contemplate and consider the cultural assumptions of a particular text. The interpretation should focus on the meaning and significance, and/or the role and function of the event described in the text.  An interpretation should always seek to represent the perspective of the participants being described and avoid being overtly biased and ethnocentric.  In this sense, there can be no "correct" or "incorrect" interpretation of a text.  It is as if you are traveling a landscape (the descriptive text), are you carefully listening to the call of the hawk and whisper of the wind as it rushes through the trees, or wearing darkened sunglasses with the volume of your boom box cranked up?  It's a matter of how and where you position yourself in the landscape.

For undergraduates, the length of your paper should be a minimum of fifteen (15), double-spaced, typed pages of text (in addition to a bibliography and any appendixes), inclusive of any graphics and photos.   For graduate students, the paper should be a minimum of twenty (20) typed pages of text.    The formal interpretative section of your paper must conform to either APA (American Psychological Association), AAA (American Anthropological Association and required for anthropology majors), or MLA style of parenthetical documentation, including proper use of citation references, footnotes, other formal stylistic notations, and a bibliography/references cited.   A complete bibliography/references cited section of sources used should be included.  Typically your descriptive text will take up to two-thirds of your entire paper, with your interpretation the remainder of the twelve to eighteen pages.  Keep a copy of the submitted paper. You need to "okay" a "proposed topic" with the instructor prior to doing your research.  The proposal should include a paragraph outlining the topic and at least three key sources you will rely upon for your research.  The proposal of your project is due at midterm, with a outline draft of your paper due during the twelfth week of the semester.   The final paper is due during the last week of classes.

The entire project is worth 20% of your grade.

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3. Exams  The third activity involves three exams, covering lecture presentations and textbook readings. The exams will be essay in nature, with some short-answer questions. In each exam, a series of short and long essay questions will be posed.  The exams are cumulative, as questions draw upon materials considered and discussed in previous sections of the course. Exams must be taken at their assigned times and dates. In the event of a documented emergency, a make-up essay exam must be take within one week of returning to class. The student must notify the instructor prior to an absence from an exam date (by phone or e-mail, or in person).

For undergraduate students, the three exams are worth 45% of your grade. For graduate students, the three exams are worth 30% of your grade.

    Grading criteria:

Please note that a Study Guide has been prepared to assist you in your preparations for the exams.

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4.  In-class Discussion and Reflective Writes.  In order to more fully explore and, in turn, understand the rich meanings offered in the assigned readings, you will be expected to have the assigned readings completed before class sessions.  Come to class prepared.  There will be two opportunities for you to share your interpretations and questions on the assigned readings, one verbal and one written.

In-Class Discussion: At various times throughout the semester you will be called upon to add your voice to the class discussion, responding to questions posed by the instructor or other students, as well as contributing your own questions to the class dialogue, all relating to the assigned readings.   

Reflective Writes: In addition, you will be periodically asked  to respond in writing to a specific question posed by the instructor on a given assigned reading.  These responses will ask you to reflect on the significance and meaning of a specific passage or idea conveyed in the readings or lectures.  The reflective writes will be a timed exercise, lasting no more than ten minutes.  To reflect is not to summarize, but to seriously contemplate and consider the cultural meanings, assumptions and implications of a specific from our textbook readings, guest speakers, or videos.  Your goals are Two-fold: 1. articulate an appreciation of the topic from a Plateau Indian perspective.  2. articulate an understanding of the larger implications and significances of a specific idea or text.

The discussion and reflective writes are worth 15% of your grade.

    Grading criteria:

    • For the Class Discussion:  Respond with clarity and relevance, as well as an informed position to any class questions asked of you.   Pose your own poignant questions and effectively contribute to the entire class in discussion of the reading assignments.

    • For the Reflective Writes:  Reflect on the implications of the points posed in the text of the reading assignment, both from the perspective of an Indian and with the larger implications in mind.

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5. Field Trips. You are required to participate on two of the three to four scheduled field trips.  The trips could include tours to Cataldo and the Coeur d’Alene Reservation; Tamastslikt and the Umatilla Reservation; Spaulding and the Nez Perce Reservation; Water Potato digging with the Coeur d’Alene; and a host-family visit on the Warm Springs Reservation.

        The field trips are worth 10% of your grade.

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6.  Presentations.  For graduate students, you will be assigned a particular Plateau people, e.g., Kalispel or Shuswap, or topical area, e.g., fishing or basketry, to research. On the scheduled date(s), you will present to your fellow class participants an over-view of that people's culture or topic. In presenting a particular people, your presentation should include consideration of the oral and ceremonial traditions (mythology and ritual life), the ways of relating to Animal Peoples and the landscape (subsistence activities and material culture), as well as Human Peoples (kinship and family, leadership and political institutions), and key historic events and processes. Depending on the number of graduate participants, you may be asked to present on more than one people. As a starting point, consult the Handbook for your initial research and then use the accompanying bibliography to continue your study. You should present a short outline of your lectures for class dissemination. During the first section of the course, the instructor will present his research on the Coeur d'Alene people, helping establish an orientation to the ethnography of the Plateau peoples and allowing you time to research your assigned people.

    Your presentations are worth 15% of your grade.

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