My pilot study this past fall semester looked at the roles and cultural practices of contemporary Ho-Chunk women and the results were amazing. The women viewed themselves as defenders, mothers, teachers, providers, spiritual, disciplined and carriers of vital knowledge. They saw themselves as hard workers and resourceful, willing to do whatever was asked of them for the sake of their people, their clan and family.
This is amazing because I expected them to state "roles" such as teacher, mother, cook, or at least state their professional roles, but they didn't. Instead they listed those things that are at the core of one's identity, their character. As I pondered these preliminary results I couldn't help but think of the Ho-Chunk women that I observed over the years and this fits so many of them so well.
Also, none of them felt GOM could have been a chief in the real sense of the word by today's standards nor did they hear about her through oral tradition. The study asked about their knowledge of GOM too.
What does this study have to do with GOM? GOM was rumored to have been a chief of the early Ho-Chunk and there are those within the tribe who vehemently disagree with this story and there are those who quietly agree with the story. Some say that this goes against all tribal teachings regarding the roles of men and women, there was a female leader of the modern day Ho-Chunk who was elected to be the President of the Nation. Though she wasn't a "chief" she certainly was an elected leader possibly similar to GOM. Therefore, given the story of GOM (1700s') through oral tradition, it begged the question, "how do Ho-Chunk women view themselves?" While it is difficult to directly ascertain how the Ho-Chunk women of the 1700s' viewed themselves, our cultural is steeped in oral tradition and those teachings vital to our Nation's survival have been passed down from generation to generation. Therefore, how women view their roles and their knowledge of GOM might give valuable insight to my thesis question: GOM: Ho-Chunk woman or Chieftess?
I am anxious to do the actual study in the spring of 2012!
Let's hope the Mayan Calendar holds out for me to do the study and write it up.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
SACRED DAKOTA burial site...
Today a long battle has come to a close and a new beginning has ensued.
For me, it was the courage that I have gained by studying about GOM and being raised by a full-blood Dakota grandmother. Indian Heights Park in Rochester was finally recognized as a sacred site of the Dakota peoples in a unanimous vote today by the Park Board of Rochester. It has been a long arduous road to travel these past two, nearly three years. In the critical last few months, I, through my studies and upbringing, was able to defend oral tradition and use historical data to show that Indian Heights Park was used by the Dakota people as late as the 1860s' through two presentations to the Park Board and Steering Committee. Also, through my studies and support I have received from my advisor, program director, thesis team members, and the Minnesota Dakota Hereditary Chief, and my "academic mother" I was able to write an op-ed piece that compared and contrasted oral tradition versus history of the dominant society as to how each viewed "burial sites." This op-ed piece stirred a lot of feelings, both good and bad, in Rochester. I received both praise and criticism. One man, a leader of a small local organization threatened me after I wrote the article because I did not share his views of a homogenous Native American culture and singled out the Dakota Nation.
To be sure, this much wanted outcome was NOT due to my efforts alone. The Friends of Indian Heights, a grassroots neighborhood organization helped GREATLY!! Though I did not always agree with their methodologies, namely they did not tenaciously go to the source (the Dakota people) and instead went to non-natives for their information, yet despite this faux pas Indian Heights Park will be recognized as a sacred site. Though we ethically disagreed at many junctures during this process, I am still desirous and free to join their ranks as someone who wants to preserve the park and restore it to its proper dignity. FOIH here I come.
I do believe my gram and GOM would be proud.
For me, it was the courage that I have gained by studying about GOM and being raised by a full-blood Dakota grandmother. Indian Heights Park in Rochester was finally recognized as a sacred site of the Dakota peoples in a unanimous vote today by the Park Board of Rochester. It has been a long arduous road to travel these past two, nearly three years. In the critical last few months, I, through my studies and upbringing, was able to defend oral tradition and use historical data to show that Indian Heights Park was used by the Dakota people as late as the 1860s' through two presentations to the Park Board and Steering Committee. Also, through my studies and support I have received from my advisor, program director, thesis team members, and the Minnesota Dakota Hereditary Chief, and my "academic mother" I was able to write an op-ed piece that compared and contrasted oral tradition versus history of the dominant society as to how each viewed "burial sites." This op-ed piece stirred a lot of feelings, both good and bad, in Rochester. I received both praise and criticism. One man, a leader of a small local organization threatened me after I wrote the article because I did not share his views of a homogenous Native American culture and singled out the Dakota Nation.
To be sure, this much wanted outcome was NOT due to my efforts alone. The Friends of Indian Heights, a grassroots neighborhood organization helped GREATLY!! Though I did not always agree with their methodologies, namely they did not tenaciously go to the source (the Dakota people) and instead went to non-natives for their information, yet despite this faux pas Indian Heights Park will be recognized as a sacred site. Though we ethically disagreed at many junctures during this process, I am still desirous and free to join their ranks as someone who wants to preserve the park and restore it to its proper dignity. FOIH here I come.
I do believe my gram and GOM would be proud.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)