AMERICAN INDIANS STUDIES 141
SPRING SEMESTER 2015
MONDAY AND WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS, AND MONDAY EVENINGS
&TUESDAY/THURSDAY AFTERNOONS
RICHARD L. CARRICO
Some say, the past is where one learns a lesson. The future is where one applies such lessons. I say,
Really??
When I was a boy, the Sioux owned the world.
Sitting Bull
History …is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.
Edward Gibbon
The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.
Harry S. Truman
So long as the hoop remained unbroken, the people flourished
Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk)
I saw my evil day at hand.
Black Hawk
History is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more a history
than a heap of stones is a house.
With apologies to Jules Henri Poincaré
History is more or less bunk.
Henry Ford
History is made of carefully selected facts, as a fine bottle of wine is made of grapes. But the best
collection of facts is no more a history than a fine wine is simply a rendering of grapes.
Richard Carrico with apologies to Jules Henri Poincaré
It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.
Voltaire
There is no death. Only a change of worlds.
Chief Sleath (Otherwise incorrectly know as Chief Seattle)
American Indian Studies 141
Spring Semester 2015
Instructor: Richard L. Carrico
Office: Arts and Letters AL323
Office Hours: By appointment (this is preferred) and Mondays at 1:00-1:45 and 6:30
and Tuesday and Thursday at 1:00-1:45.
e-Mail: rbrujo@sbcglobal.net Class web site : rockhilllearning.com
Voice/Mail Telephone: 760-518-1471 (cell)
INTRODUCTION
A new year with new possibilities. Greetings and welcome to the spring 2015 semester at SDSU. This
syllabus provides you with an overview to the AIS 141 class and its requirements. Please read this
document carefully, you will be held responsible for following the instructions and requirements
offered here. If you do not understand something in this syllabus, please ask for clarification.
This class is one requirement for the American Indian Studies major as well as fulfilling other general
academic requirements. As described more fully in the SDSU catalog, AIS 141 is designed to provide the
student with a fuller, better understanding of the history of Native American peoples who have inhabited
what is now the United States for more than 12,000 years. We will examine a variety of topics to include
legal history, history, economics, philosophy, culture history, political systems, religion, intra/intertribal
relations, Indian responses to American society and government, resistance, and persistence. The time
period to be covered is from the Jacksonian Period (1830 A. D.) to the present day.
This class is broad and extensive; there were more than 500 separate cultures or tribes who occupied this
land when Europeans arrived. Given the cultural, historic, and geographic variance of these peoples, we
cannot take a comprehensive look at them all. The class might better be called United States History,
Indian Perspectives: A Selective View from 1830 to 2013. We will be taking a focused view of the
history of perhaps twenty tribes and through them, gain an understanding of the role and place of
American Indians in the post-Jacksonian era and modern American history.
America history when viewed from an Indian perspective often varies from the traditional views and
approaches. The heroes may differ, the objectives of both Indian and non-Indian can be seen in different
light, and in many cases laws and regulations that apply to Indian people are unique to them. I think that
you will be pleasantly surprised, sometimes shocked, often enlightened, and frequently disappointed at
the treatment accorded the native peoples of the United States. This class may be unlike any other history
class that you have ever taken. In the context of American Indian history, you will be asked to discard a
little cultural baggage, and take a culturally relative stance in this class. My philosophy is certainly not to
“missionize” you, nor to present a one-sided view of either the Indians or non-Indians. In fact I view the
study of history in a prismatic, almost cubist context--we will discuss this.
STRUCTURE OF THE CLASS
History can be taught in many ways and there are several methods used to engage you the student. Unlike
many history classes, this class is not structured in a linear, progressive fashion—while history is often
presented that way, it is not the only way to understand and observe the past. Please note that I rarely
lecture or instruct directly from the required reading sources for this course. We will rarely touch
specifically on the text material itself, those materials are for you to read and absorb on your own—they
will, however often be on the exams. Most of the material that I present in lecture form in this class is
drawn from a variety of sources and is NOT designed to lock into textual materials with any great
precision and unity or pattern of instruction. It is your obligation to ask questions if the text or my
information is unclear.
History can, and does, mean many things to many people. For me, history is not about arcane dates or a
panorama of passing events, instead history is an interpretive subject, a series of sometimes interrelated
stories about the human condition, about tribal pride, oral tradition, the views of people inside and outside
a given culture, and so on. History is most certainly not a collection of perfectly formed blocks made
of immutable facts and dates to be stacked in such a way as to form the absolutely true or ideal
history. Your critical facilities, creative processes, and analytical capacities must be used in this class,
not just your memory banks. Class discussions of books, readings, and course topics are requested.
Audio-visual material will be used. As you will notice, I rarely lecture from notes, so please, even for
excused absences, do not ask me if you can borrow my lecture materials. They are largely in my head but
I will be glad to meet with you and discuss what you may have missed.
OBJECTIVES
Please keep in mind that as with most comprehensive classes that cover a broad historical field, this
semester's course will delve into several interrelated disciplines and avenues of research. In teaching the
class I have several concrete goals and other objectives that are somewhat more fluid. A primary
objective of the course is to expose you to the biases, the controversies, and the historical facts that
form our idea of American Indian History. A basic objective that I pursue in this class and one to
which I am committed, is the goal of exposing students to the many and varied experiences of the time
period being studied as well as the conflicting views as to what happened, and how it happened. History
is being made every day—right now as you read this. The current administration in Washington has an
Indian policy and that policy, for better or worse, will become part a future historical debate.
As I see it, history cannot be easily encapsulated in some simplistic ideological or patriotic synthesis.
This is certainly true for the history of Indian-White relations in North America. Truth is out there, but it
is surrounded by distortions and often told through a haze of out-right lies.
A basic purpose or goal for History 141 is to expose students to a variety of historical-cultural experiences
and to hope that this might add to your understanding of life. If you become more aware of the rich
history of the Indian people of American, and develop a need to recognize, and maybe even maintain,
cultural pluralism in American life by this class experience, I will be content.
BASIC MATERIALS FOR THE COURSE
Suit you own preferences, study habits, talents, and finances in the purchase or renting of the required
books for this course, but get them soon, they may not be available later. The Aztec Bookshop, as well as
several off campus stores including KB stock copies for purchase. Amazon.com is of course a great
source for the books. You should buy the books as soon as possible to avoid possible shortages later in
the semester.
A.
Required Materials:
I. There are two texts and a collection of handouts that you must read and understand.
A reading list will be provided to you. The text books are:
First Peoples (4th Edition), Colin G. Calloway; Strangers in a Stolen Land (3nd Edition 2014) by
Richard L. Carrico (Note: The reading assignments in Calloway are geared to the 4 th edition and
the 3rd edition does not cover the later material in this class.)
I.
The readings in the class are drawn from these three books; you must complete the readings to
succeed in this class. You will be reading approximately 300 pages for this class--if this is too
much for you because your personal life or work schedule will not allow such a load, please-do not take the class. Your work load or outside activities are not an excuse for nonattendance or poor performance.
II.
Several audio-visual presentations may also be used in this class. You are responsible for
major ideas, events and impressions you may glean from these materials. Take home
assignments, and exams may ask you to evaluate your comprehension of these audio-visual
resources. In the event of an unscheduled absence on the part of your professor, there will be a
video presentation and you will be responsible to complete a brief analysis of the video using a
hand out that will be provided via the web site..
III.
Reminder: Readings from the texts are designed to supplement and add to themes and topics
covered in this class. You should not expect that it is possible to be evaluated on
everything assigned, viewed or discussed in this course. Your commitment to the subject
means that you are responsible for doing as much as is possible to absorb and use information
covered in the course.
IV.
Other Information:
A. Course Format: Lecture, discussion and slides, video-tapes. Your participation in class activities is
expected. Student questions and responses are welcome as long as they are germane to the subject matter
we are covering in the course.
B. Absenteeism and Bad Behavior: Absenteeism at any time reflects your decision to not take part in
that particular stage of the learning process—it is not simply missing class. While I do not take roll;
absenteeism is discouraged at any time, it is likely to hurt your grade (especially on pop quizzes and if and
when I give out “attendance points) and during examination periods, it is especially frowned upon. Please
avoid the need to take a make-up exam. Examinations and quizzes missed without an advance excuse
will be made up during the last week of the semester. This not apply to pop quizzes, they cannot be
made up.
Rudeness is not a luxury that you will be allowed to indulge in while in this class. Checking your
Facebook account in class is rude. Cell phone use in class is rude; doing homework on your lab top is
rude, talking in the midst of a lecture is rude. Particularly disruptive behavior will be dealt with as
specified in the student handbook and through the procedures approved by the University.
C. Grades
I have developed an evaluation system that will guide your studies and at the same time allow me to
gauge how well you have absorbed and integrated these materials. The grading system is simple and
straightforward; this is by design. There will be two large exams (a midterm and 1 final, noncomprehensive) worth 100 points each for a total of 200 points. These exams are scheduled for the
midterm (duh) and at finals time. The exams will be 80% multiple choice/true false, map completion, and
20% short answer using forms that I will provide to you--no Scantron will ever be required. In the course
of the semester there will also be three scheduled quizzes. These quizzes will approximately every five
weeks and will be worth 50 points each for a total of 150 points. There will be pop quiz given randomly
during the course of the semester. It will cover whatever material we are studying at that time. So the
total points possible will be 400 and an A grade will be 90% of that or about 360 points; a B grade will be
320 points and so on.
There are no extra credits or bonus points (unless I assign them to the whole class as positive
attendance points in which case you can receive 10 points per session and those will be added to the total
so in the eent of one attendance extra credit the total points possible will move to 410 and thus an A
would be 90% of 410 or about 369 and so on) and no make-up should you miss a quiz or suddenly
realize at the end of the semester that you are below an acceptable level of achievement.
D. Office Hours and Consultation
First, I would like to stress that I am interested in assisting you in any way that I can to ensure that you
succeed in this class and in college generally. Typically students do not interact enough with their
professors; they wait until a minor problem has become unresolveable, or otherwise hurt
themselves by not stepping forward. Part of my role as an instructor, as an educator, is to help you as a
person and to ensure that we have both tried to maximize your educational process over the next three
months. Having said all of that, I hold regular office hours based on the hours noted above. I often do
not, however, sit in my office and wait for students to drop in. If these times are not convenient for you,
we can make other arrangements by appointment—I am highly accessible. Make an appointment for my
office hours or other times that we can meet.
E. Reading List
The readings cover approximately 300 pages. A reading list provided below covers the first five weeks of
study and testing. If you plan on about 4 hours a week plus 4-5 hours the week before the exams, I believe
that you will do well in this class, at least in terms of reading and knowing the assigned materials. I
would strongly recommend that you give this class at least 4 hours a week; that is far less time than most
Americans spend watching so-called reality television, sports, Facebook, and other images from the vast
wasteland. You give me 3 hours of your time in class and 4 hours through reading and I guarantee that I
will make you a better-informed, more intelligent American.
F. Tentative Schedule of Events
Event
Date
Last day to add/drop classes
First Quiz
Feb. 3th
Feb. 2nd for Monday night class
Feb 5th for Tues/Thurs class
Feb 4th for the Mon/Wed class
Second Quiz
Mar 2nd for Monday night class
Mar 5th for Tues/Thurs class
Mar 2nd for Mon/Wed class
Midterm Exam
Mar 23th for Monday class
March 26th for Tues/Thurs
March 25th for Mon/Wed class
Spring Break
March 29-April 5th
Third Quiz
April 20th for Monday class
April 21th for Tues/Thurs class
April 20th for Mon/Wed class
Finals Week Second [Final] Exam
May 11th
May 11
May 14
May 12
Monday night class 7:00 p.m.
M/W 2:00 class at 1:00
Tues/Thurs 9:30 class at 8:00!!!!
Tues/Thurs 2:00 class at 1:00
All final dates and times can also be on the Web Portal under Academic Calendar.
Reading List for first quiz and first exam: Subject to slight changes
First Peoples: Chp 5 pp. 286-298; 304-307. Chp 6 pp. 332-358; pp. 366-376, 385-396.
Strangers Chp 4 & 5
A Study Guide will be posted on the rockhilllearning.com web site by the second week of class.