Sovereignty, Memory, and Ritual

• Read:
  • “Tribal Sovereignty Movements Compared: The Plains Region” in Beyond Red Power: American Indian Politics and Activism Since 1900 — Analyzes sovereignty movements across the Plains region.
  • “Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee,” Paul Chaat Smith — Chronicles key moments in the American Indian Movement.
• Watch: “The Battle at Standing Rock” (The Atlantic) — A documentary on resistance against the Dakota Access Pipeline.
• Listen:
  • "This Land" Podcast, Rebecca Nagle — On legal battles that shape Indigenous rights.
  • “Finding new relevance in the history of tribal governance” (Native America Calling Podcast)

 💬 Reflection Prompts:

• How do contemporary sovereignty issues reflect historical challenges Indigenous communities have faced?
• What acts of remembrance or documentation might communities use to assert sovereignty across generations?
• How does sovereignty intersect with community well-being and resilience?

• Experience:  Thursdays, 6-8pm, CNAIR House (515 Clark St. Evanston, IL) | Attend the Ojibwe Language Circle. Come hang out and practice Ojibwe in a casual, friendly environment. Food is served. Open to all ages and skill levels. Email:ForrestBruce2024@u.northwestern.edu for more details
• Read:
  • “War Against Children” — Interactive exploration on the impact of boarding schools.
  • “Learning from the land: Indigenous land based pedagogy and decolonization” — On Indigenous educational practices rooted in land.
  • Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928, David Wallace Adams
• Watch:
  • “Native American Reservations, Explained” (A People’s History, PBS)
  • Our Spirits Don’t Speak English (dir. Chip Richie) — Documentary on the legacy of boarding schools.
• Listen:
  • “Star Wars Anangong Miigaading: A new hope for language revitalization” (Unreserved, CBC Radio)
  • “Decolonizing the Classroom” (Unreserved, CBC Radio)
• Make: Create Language Learning Resources
  • Design flashcards with basic words and phrases in the Indigenous language you're learning.
  • Include pronunciation guides and contextual meanings.
  • Use these flashcards to practice daily or share them at the language table.
  • Consider: How might your learning materials become part of a larger effort to document and preserve linguistic knowledge?

 💬 Reflection Prompts:

• In what ways does language preservation act as both cultural archive and assertion of sovereignty?
• What are the effects of past educational policies on contemporary Indigenous education?
• Who decides which languages, stories, and knowledge systems are worth preserving? What responsibilities come with that power?

• Read:
  • “Acre by acre, the Prairie Band Potawatomi bought back their land” — Details the Prairie Band Potawatomi’s land reclamation.
  • “Land as a Social Relationship” (Briarpatch Magazine) — Discusses relational views of land beyond ownership.
  • As Long as Grass Grows, Dina Gilio-Whitaker — On Indigenous environmental justice.
• Attend: November 21, 6 pm, Ruggles Hall or Zoom | “Indigenous People and the Chicago Portage” – Historian John William Nelson discusses Indigenous histories of Chicago waterways.
• Explore: NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power
• Make: Design a Digital or Physical Map
  1. Use online tools like Google Maps or a graphic design software to create a map.
  2. Highlight Indigenous territories, historical sites, and land back initiatives local to where you are now or a place you feel connected to.
  3. Include a brief description and significance of each marked location.
  4. Reflect: What stories does your map tell? What stories might it leave out? How might this map become a tool for collective memory?
  5. Share with a friend
• Listen:
  • “The latest on the Land Back movement, in which Native American tribes reclaim land” (All Things Considered, NPR)
  • "Land Back w/ Nickita Longman, Emily Riddle, & Lindsay Nixon” (The Red Nation Podcast)

 💬 Reflection Prompts:

• How does the Land Back movement challenge traditional views of ownership and stewardship?
• What does it mean to remember and reclaim relationships with land? How are these relationships documented and preserved?
• What role do relationships with land play in your understanding of community and belonging?

• Attend: Wednesday, November 6 @ 4pm Sand Creek Commemoration Film Screening at the Women's Center (Evanston)
• Make: Monday, November 11th @ 4:30pm | Sand Creek Commemoration Making Activity, University Library Book Nook (Level 1)
• Read:
  • This Land Is Their Land: The Wampanoag Indians, Plymouth Colony, and the Troubled History of Thanksgiving, David J. Silverman
  • Our Hearts Fell to the Ground: Plains Indian Views of How the West Was Lost, Colin G. Calloway
• Explore: Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
• Watch: "We Shall Remain" — PBS documentary series on Native history and resistance.
• Listen:
  • “Lies Your Teacher Taught You” (All My Relations Podcast)

💬 Reflection Prompts:

• How has learning about these events changed your perspective on whose histories are centered and whose are marginalized?
• How do commemorations function as acts of archiving—and what do they preserve beyond facts?
• What responsibilities come with historical knowledge?
• How might commemoration support healing and shape collective memory for future generations?

• Read:
  • "From Warriors to Soldiers: A History of American Indian Service in the United States Military,” Pamela D. Bennett
• Watch:
  • “Chester Nez: One of the Original 29 Navajo Code Talkers, World War II”
  • "Way of the Warrior" documentary (PBS) — On Native service members and their stories.
• Listen:
  • “Remembering Native American World War II Veterans” (Native American Calling Podcast)

💬 Reflection Prompts:

• How have Native veterans' contributions influenced perceptions of Indigenous sovereignty and identity—and how are these stories preserved?
• What can the legacy of service reveal about Indigenous resilience and commitment to community?
• What does it mean when certain narratives of service are celebrated while others are overlooked?

• Read:
  • "'All the Real Indians Died Off': And 20 Other Myths About Native Americans" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
• Watch:
  • Gather (dir. Sanjay Rawal)— A documentary on Indigenous food sovereignty.
  • *More Than a Word* (dir. John Little)— On Native mascots and representation.
• Listen:
  • "ThanksTaking or ThanksGiving?" (All My Relations Podcast) — Reflects on Thanksgiving from an Indigenous perspective.
• Experience:
  • Attend Indigenous Peoples' Day celebrations
• Make:
  • Ritual serves an important purpose for all of us. Now that you have been thinking about “Thanksgiving” and Indigenous People’s Day, try to create an alternative celebration that honor this new knowledge.
    • Document your ritual: What elements will you preserve? What stories will guide it? How might it evolve over time?

💬 Reflection Prompts:

• How can ritual be reimagined as a form of living archive—honoring Indigenous resilience and knowledge while creating new traditions?
• What would an inclusive, decolonized celebration look like to you?
• Who decides which rituals are preserved and which are forgotten?