LIL 420 Capstone Project: Revisiting Indigenous Film and Literature
Reasons for Revisiting:
- Very interesting subjects that as a first-year student I don’t think I fully appreciated
- One of my favorite English classes subject wise
- Enjoyed reflecting back on my midterm and final exam papers
- Works read still remember and thoroughly enjoyed
- “Whale Rider” by Witi Ihimaera
- “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven” by Sherman Alexie
- “Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence” by Doris Pilkington Garimara
- Final Project involved using the library achieve and the Maine Women Writers Collection- something I have not used since then, really unique
Ideas for Potential Expansion of Project/Paper:
- Combining literary knowledge from this course of how Indigenous peoples have been represented, with knowledge of the historical discrimination of minority groups, while using a sociological lens to examine this topic (institutional systems of racism and oppression)
- Creating either an e-portfolio site dedicated to the idea of the need and value of remembering and respecting the stories and voices of Indigenous peoples, maybe placing a focus on Native American groups
- Mixed media project combining this e-portfolio site and a paper of some kind
- Returning back to the Donna M. Loring archive, highlighting her involvement in creating a voice for Native Americans in government
Any Ideas/Additional Resources/Feedback:
- lots of things to think about
- 3 possible paths
- Marine Affairs connection with Native American Tribes- research on marine policy issues and cases, how they are seen in local state government, access to resources, focus on a specific tribe, connection back to the need to respect native tribes cultures and traditions
- Tribes in Maine rely on marine resources throughout history and today, how the access has changed with colonization and how that has impacted these groups, why do white people get to make these decisions? Relevant cases discussing this. The element of silencing and erasing tribes culture. How this is still happening today
- Women in Tribal nations- Women elected as ambassador of Penobscot nation in Maine, what does this mean? The impact of this, tie in Donna Loring and her work for the Penobscot tribe, contact Cathleen Miller for more information
- Education of Tribes- focus on the state of Maine and the Penobscot tribe, again connection with Donna Loring and her role in gaining educational rights for her tribe, the historical implications of white assimilation and the damage this has caused
- really excited that I chose this class as my starting point, so much that I can do, just need to tease out what that is specifically
- still would like to create a space for whichever topic that I choose that is engaging and teaches people something
- Next Steps
- research these three topics and find which one speaks to me the most
- contact relevant people for more information
- create a plan of what and how the information will be displayed
Chosen Topic:
- I’ve identified that the issue I would like to focus on is the connection between Native American tribes and marine resources
- to narrow this in, specifically focus on the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribal nations in Maine- the tribes in which I focused on in my project paper in connection with Donna Loring and her work in providing representation for these tribal nations
- The issue being highlighted constantly is the argument over who gets to decide who controls the distribution and access to those marine resources
- One article (42 pages long of great information) I found highlighted in depth the issue of water in relation to Maine tribes culture and traditions, it really helped me to understand this complex issue. It was published in the Connecticut Law Review and is titled “Water Quality and (In) Equality: The Continuing Struggle to Protect Penobscot Sustenance Fishing Rights in Maine” by Allison M. Dussias
- This article connects well to the content I wrote for my IF+L course and how it links back to the theme I highlighted in my essays of the need to value and respect the voices of indigenous peoples such as the tribes in Maine
- I am currently working on finding additional resources apart from this one very detailed resource, more information about the historical journey that tribes in Maine have had to undergo to keep these rights and voice their opinion on this subject
- I believe that this topic does a good job at taking my course work in IF+L and making it even more interdisciplinary by connecting to my major of Marine Affairs
- I hope to have the time to be able to access the library archives in addition to my online research of this topic
- Again I feel as though a paper component would be useful to demonstrate how I have expanded my knowledge gained from my past coursework I am also still interested in an e-portfolio site where that information could be displayed in a more interactive format
Current Update/Plan:
- Identification of using my final project for IF+L- the paper with the focus on the need to respect and listen to indigenous voices in government
- Penobscot Tribal Nation- fight for the protection of their rights, focus on water and the importance of that marine resource to their tribe, fishing rights and the Penobscot River, who has control over the river and who gets to do what with it?
- Importance of how the Penobscot People rely directly on the Penobscot River to survive but the state government still believes that the usage of the river should be limited to the boundaries of their reservation- The belief that people think that they want to control everything that happens on the river which isn’t true
- Donna M. Loring Lecture Series- https://dune.une.edu/loring_lectures/2018/lecture/1/
- will help to further understand this complex issue and how it pertains to the tribe, why does this issue matter?
- Highlight the history and oppression that the Penobscot Nation has had to deal with
- Answer the question of why a decision in favor of the tribes would matter so much to the tribal nation- answer what can be done
- Tie back in how this issue is very much the same types of struggles that other indigenous tribes go through to maintain their culture and traditions
- Draft an outline of how I want to create my paper- format it similarly to other capstone paper? With categories- probably the best option
