My Research Process

When I went to begin my research, my topic was how Native American culture and western culture impacted one another. I expected their exchange of culture to be reciprocal. When I began looking at objects in several different archives, however, I quickly found that overwhelmingly the United States had an enormous impact on the culture on Native Americans that was not reciprocated. Therefore, my topic changed to “Native American Culture: Loss and Reclamation.” Through my research through the archives, I saw people from all over North America with completely different cultural traditions tied together by hundreds of years of tragedy; they are in the process of rebuilding and reclaiming what they have lost.

Object 1: “Pawpaws are America’s hidden edible treasure. Here’s how to pick them.” (2022)

Source: National Geographic

This article is what started all of my research. I had never heard of a pawpaw before I came across this article, so I was curious. The article explained that pawpaws are often not in our grocery stores because of their short shelf life. However, they grow all over the United States! they are best when picked straight off the tree. The article also explained that their disappearance from society was linked to mistreatment and displacement of Native Americans. Pawpaw fruit was popular in their diet and when they were forcibly removed from their land, their influence in making the pawpaw known disappeared as well.

Research Questions:

1. How have Native Americans impacted culture and geographical aspects of the United States over time?
2. has Native American influence stayed relatively similar throughout the centuries, or has it grown and decline during certain periods of history?

Object 2: The Dawes Act (1887)

Source: National Archives

The Dawes Act of 1887

The second object is the Dawes Act and it was found in the National Archives. the Dawes Act was a federally funded law used as an attempt to assimilate Native Americans into American culture and society. It worked by dividing tribal lands into individual plots where Native Americans could become individual landowners. By accepting the division of tribal lands and ownership of individual plots, only then could they become United States citizens. Individual land ownership is something that goes against central beliefs in Native American culture. Native Americans think of land as a gift to be taken care of and do not think of it in the way many Americans traditionally do with land ownership.

Research Questions:

1. How did Native American culture change as a result of federal intervention?
2. What other actions did the federal government take to diminish Native American culture?

Object 3: Apache Children – Before (1886)

Source: Carlisle Indian Historical Society

The photographs from Object 3 and Object 4 go together and were found in the Carlisle photograph archive. This photograph is from a federally funded boarding school, Carlisle Indian School, that was created to strip Native Americans of their culture, identity, and language. It shows a group of Apache children brought into the school at an estimated year of 1886. It was part of a series of pictures taken to increase the support and funding for federally funding boarding schools such as Carlisle by showing a group of children before they arrived to the school and after a short period time staying there. By doing this, the school hoped to show how “effective” they were at rooting out Native American culture and creating “respectable” children.

Object 4: Apache Children – After (1886)

Source: Carlisle Indian Historical Society

This photograph is the second in the series, taken approximately four months after the photograph shown as the previous object. As mentioned previously, this series of photos were used to gain support and funding for the school by showing its “effectiveness.” As soon as the children arrived at the school, their hair was cut and their clothes were taken. While they stayed there, the children were under an extremely strict schedule from the time they woke up to the time they went to sleep. There were extremely strict punishments for speaking in native languages and heritage tongues, which is one of the primary reasons so many Native American languages are endangered. Carlisle Indian School most famous for its slogan, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” The school’s purpose was to “kill” any and all Native American culture in order to “save” them. In reality, this issue was much more complicated. This slogan was more of a cover or excuse for the federal government to solve what they deemed “The Indian Problem.”

Research Questions:

1. Where are Native Americans now?

Object 5: “We Are Here” (2022)

Source: National Geographic

National Geographic cover: “We Are Here”

This object is from the National Geographic archive and is the main article in a magazine called “We Are Here.” This article answered many questions I had about what Native Americans are doing now. It discusses how Native Americans are regaining their sovereignty, culture, language, and traditions. It shows families growing traditional varieties of corn, sculptures making ginormous totem poles, and gaining ownership of casinos to make money. It was truly a modern picture of where Native Americans are now in their long process of culture reclamation.