A-ANTH 3331
Native Americans
Spring 2014
Office: HCH 206
Phone: 448-8705
Fax: 448-8767
EMAIL: josephon@stedwards.edu
Office: Holy Cross Hall 206
Office Hours: Tu 5-6, W 4-6
Course Description
This course examines the peoples and cultures of native North America. Archaeological, ethnographic and historical
information constitute the bulk of the course, which also examines Native Americans today.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the course, the student will be able to:
1. Describe the prehistory of Native North America, including Mexico.
2. Describe each culture area of Native America, including geography and languages.
3. Discuss the cultural ecology of each culture area (environment, subsistence, technology, social organization).
4. Analyze the links between the cultural ecology and social and cultural complexity in each culture area.
5. Discuss trade, warfare, and other elements of social relations among Native American groups.
6. Describe and compare and contrast the history and effects of contact with European-Americans.
7. Explain the effects on Native Americans of U.S., Mexican, and Canadian "Indian policies".
8. Analyze the American Indian Movement and other civil rights organizations and their effects on Native Americans.
9. Describe and discuss the lives of Native Americans today.
10. Discuss the maintenance of identity among Native Americans, using the Kiowa as an example.Mesquakie.
Course Materials
The student will read:
Wendell Oswalt, This Land Was Theirs: A Study of Native North Americans. 9th ed. Oxford University Press, 2009.
E. Adamson Hoebel. The Cheyennes: Indians of the Great Plains. 2nd. ed. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1978.
(Students are also encouraged to examine the DVDs in the American Indian Tribal Histories Project and the booklet,
“Coming Home: The Northern Cheyenne Odyssey.” )
Doug Foley, The Heartland Chronicles. Philadelphia: U. of Pennsylvania Press, 1997.
Mary Crow Dog, Lakota Woman. New York Harper, 1991.
The student will view eight videocassettes:
"Mystery of The First Americans"
"Mystery of The Ancient Ones"
"Nanook af the North"
"Geronimo and the Apache Resistance"
"Winds of Change" (Two Parts)
"Seasons of the Navajo"
"In the Spirit of Crazy Horse"
Students can feel free to substitute other appropriate films or videocassettes for those listed above. Good theatrical films will work, for
example: Smoke Signals, The Fast Runner, Black Robe. Some TV series will work, for example: We Shall Remain, Bury My Heart at
Wounded Knee, 200 Nations. Check for films available from the Austin Public Library, on YouTube, and on the PBS web site. The
SEU library has a streaming video collection that includes some title appropriate for this course. Some of these films are linked on
the Blackboard web site.
Attendance at the AISD Powwow will count for three films.
Course Requirements
You will write and submit short (1 screen) viewing notes on the videocassettes.
There are five tests on the assigned readings. These are take-home essay tests, due at the following meeting.
Grading
The point distribution is as follows:
Tests---- 75%
Film notes-----15%
Attendance and Participation----10%
Grades of A on tests are given for scores of 90-100, B for 80-89, etc.
Academic Integrity Policy
Per the Student Handbook, “St. Edward’s University expects academic honesty from all members of the
community, and it is our policy that academic integrity be fostered to the highest degree possible.
Consequently, all work submitted for grading in a course must be created as a result of your own thought
and effort. Representing work as your own when it is not a result of such thought and effort is a violation
of our code of academic integrity. Whenever it is established that academic dishonesty has occurred, the
course instructor shall impose a penalty on the offending individual(s). The maximum penalty for a first
offense is failure in the course, and if that penalty is imposed, the student does not have the option of
withdrawing from the course.”
http://think.stedwards.edu/deanofstudents/studenthandbook/academicintegrity
Dropping/ Withdrawing Policy
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
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It is the student’s responsibility to be aware of add/drop/withdraw and refund deadlines. See web
link: http://think.stedwards.edu/registrar/datesanddeadlines
Students should also communicate with their instructor, academic advisor, and financial aid advisor.
State policy on “WAs” (withdrawal due to absences). Some instructors choose to WA a student after
a specified number of absences; other instructors never issues WAs. If you choose to, you may
include this language:
An instructor has the option, but is not required, to request the registrar to assign a grade of WA
(Withdrawal Due to Absences) to a student who has excessive absences from a class by the last day
to withdraw from the specific course. The determination of what constitutes excessive absences is
the prerogative of the instructor.
Incomplete Grades Policy
The grade of I (Incomplete) is given at the sole discretion of the instructor and with the approval of the
dean. A grade of I must always be requested by the student; it is not automatically earned. To qualify for
an Incomplete, students must have completed no less than one-half of the work in a course and have
attended no fewer than one-half of the scheduled class meetings. The student must be able to document
that the situation qualifies as exceptional. Exceptional circumstances include but are not restricted to a
death in the immediate family; the onset of a serious medical condition; or an unexpected change in job
or family circumstances. Exceptional circumstances do not include situations that can be considered a
normal part of living. Course work must be completed and a grade submitted by the instructor to the
Office of the Registrar no later than October 1 for summer courses, March 1 for fall courses and July 1 for
spring courses, or a grade of F will be entered on the transcript.
Disability Services/Special Circumstances
St. Edward’s University complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act in making reasonable
accommodation for qualified students with a disability. If you have an established disability as defined in
the Americans with Disability Act and would like to request accommodation, please let me know early in
the semester or as soon as you are eligible. Students will need to present documentation of their
disability to the disability coordinator in Academic Planning and Support Services located in Moody Hall.
Documentation guide:
http://think.stedwards.edu/apss/requirementsproperdocumentation
Time Needed to Complete Course
Each of 7 meetings requires about 12 hrs. for reading, 6 hrs. for writing, and 2 hrs. for viewing.
Computer Competencies
All Undergraduate and New College students are required to satisfy the Computer Competency
Requirement. New College students will not be allowed to register for Moral Reasoning, a CGI class, or
Capstone until all competencies are completed. For more information:
http://academic.stedwards.edu/competency/
Calendar and Assignments
January 14
Class: Post Introductions
Assignments: Oswalt chs. 1-2
Discussion Questions, First Set of Readings: Prehistory, Native American
relations with non-Native Americans
1. Assess the evidence for the origins of Native Americans.
2. Identify the Clovis and Folsom tool traditions.
3. Describe the lifestyles of the Paleo-Indian and Archaic periods.
4. Identify Native Americans and their current status.
5. Identify Native American languages and culture areas.
6. Outline the early prehistory of Native Americans.
7. Describe the major events in the later history of Native Americans and their relations
with the U.S. and Canada.
January 21
Class: Prehistory, Native American-non Native American
Assignments: Oswalt, chs. 3-4; film, Mystery of the
Ancient Ones
Discussion Questions, Second Set of Readings: Netsilik, Chippewayan
For the Netsilik Eskimo and the Chipewayas and all succeeding ethnographic chapters:
1, Describe the culture of the group.
2. Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
3. Explain the group’s kinship system.
4. Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
5. Describe the political structure of the group.
6. Outline the major events in the group’s history.
7. Analyze the status of the group today.
January 28
Class: Netsilik, Chippewayan
Assignments: Oswalt, chs. 5-6; film, Mystery of the First
Americans
Discussion Questions, Third Set of Readings: Kootenai, Western Shoshone
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
Analyze the status of the group today.
February 4
Class: Kootenai, Western Shoshone
Assignments: Oswalt, ch. 7; 1st half of Hoebel; film,
Geronimo and the Apache Resistance
Discussion Questions, Fourth Set of Readings: Crow, Cheyenne
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
Analyze the status of the group today.
For the Cheyenne:
1. Explain how the Cheyennes maintained social cohesion.
2.Evaluate Hoebel’s Culture and Personality chapter.
3.Discuss Hoebel’s fieldwork among the Cheyenne.
February 11
Class: Crow, Cheyennes
Assignments: Oswalt, chs. 8; 2nd half of Hoebel; films,
Seasons of the Navaho, Winds of Change pt. 1
Discussion Questions, Fifth Set of Readings: Cahuilla
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
Analyze the status of the group today.
For the Cheyenne:
1. Explain how the Cheyennes maintained social cohesion.
2.Evaluate Hoebel’s Culture and Personality chapter.
3.Discuss Hoebel’s fieldwork among the Cheyenne.
February 18
Class: Cahuilla
Assignments: Oswalt, chs. 10; 1st half of Foley; Winds of
Change pt. 2
Discussion Questions, Sixth Set of Readings: Hopi
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
For Foley:
1.
2.
3.
Describe the lifestyle of the Mesquakie.
Analyze the relations between the Mesquakie and Tama.
Contrast Foley’s fieldwork with that of Hoebel.
February 25
Class: Eastern Cherokee, Mequakie
Assignments: Oswalt, ch. 11; 2nd half of Foley
Discussion Questions, Seventh Set of Assignments: Navaho, Mesquakie
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
For Foley:
4.
5.
6.
Describe the lifestyle of the Mesquakie.
Analyze the relations between the Mesquakie and Tama.
Contrast Foley’s fieldwork with that of Hoebel.
March 4
Class: Navaho, Mesquakie
Assignment: Oswalt, ch. 12
Discussion Questions, Eighth Set of Assignments: Iroquois
Discussion Questions, Sixth Set of Assignments: Native Americans today, Crow Dog
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Discuss Indian gaming.
Describe relations with the BIA.
Identify some unrecognized tribes and their travails.
Explain how groups maintain their identity and discuss language loss.
Analyze the limited sovereignty enjoyed by Native Americans.
Describe Mary Crow Dog’s early reservation life.
Discuss AIM and its effects of Mary Crow Dog and other Indians.
Describe the main events in the Indian civil rights movement.
Discuss
the
revival
of
Native
American
ceremonies.
March 11
Spring Break
March 18
Class: Iroquois
Assignments: Oswalt, ch. 13; 1st half Crow-Dog
Discussion Questions, Ninth Set of Assignments: Iroquois
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
For Crow-Dog:
1. Discuss Mary Crow-Dog’s background.
2. Describe her life on the reservation.
3. Explain why the arrival of AIM was so important.
March 25
Class: Iroquois, 1st half Crow-Dog
Assignments: Oswalt, ch. 14
Discussion Questions, Tenth Set of Assignments: Natchez
1, Describe the culture of the group.
2. Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
3. Explain the group’s kinship system.
4. Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
5. Describe the political structure of the group.
6. Outline the major events in the group’s history.
April 1
Class: Natchez, Lakota
Assignments: Oswalt ch. 9: Tlingit, 2nd half Crow-Dog
1,
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Describe the culture of the group.
Describe the group’s environment and their adaptations to it, including subsistence.
Explain the group’s kinship system.
Discuss the group’s religious beliefs.
Describe the political structure of the group.
Outline the major events in the group’s history.
April 8
Class: Tlingit
Assignment: Oswalt, ch. 15
Assignments: Crow-Dog; film In the Spirit of Crazy
Horse
Discussion Questions for Twelfth Set of Assignments: Indians Today
10. Discuss Indian gaming.
11. Describe relations with the BIA.
12. Identify some unrecognized tribes and their travails.
13. Explain how groups maintain their identity and discuss language loss.
14. Analyze the limited sovereignty enjoyed by Native Americans.
15. Describe Mary Crow Dog’s early reservation life.
16. Discuss AIM and its effects of Mary Crow Dog and other Indians.
17. Describe the main events in the Indian civil rights movement.
Discuss the revival of Native American ceremonies.
April 15
April 22
Class: Indians Today