American Indian / Native American Studies – Comprehensive Exam Notes

CHAPTER 4 AT-A-GLANCE

• Discipline: American Indian / Native American Studies (AIS/NAS).

• Central aims:

  • Analyze & articulate enduring issues of sovereignty (inherent right to self-governance), self-determination (practical application of sovereignty), decolonization (undoing colonial structures), imperialism (extension of power via domination), and settler-colonialism (a distinct form involving permanent occupation and elimination of Indigenous peoples).

  • Elevate Indigenous Ways of Knowing (IWK) and agency, acknowledging Indigenous peoples as active subjects with unique knowledge systems, not merely objects of study.

  • Critically examine complex intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and language with tribal citizenship, recognizing diverse Indigenous experiences.

  • Engage anti-racist / anti-colonial practices to build a more equitable, just, and sustainable society.

• Chapter sections: 4.1 Intro • 4.2 IWK • 4.3 Core Concepts • 4.4 Invasion & Hegemony • 4.5 Perspectives & Futures • 4.6 Summary/Review.

4.1 INTRODUCTION

• Power of Storytelling (Frank Waln quote): Storytelling is fundamental to Indigenous cultures, serving as a pedagogical tool, a means to transmit history, values, and knowledge, and a powerful instrument for building empathy and bridging divides constructed by colonial narratives. It fosters understanding and connection between diverse communities.

• Terminology note: Indian, American Indian, Native, and Native American are used interchangeably, acknowledging the complex and evolving nature of Indigenous identity and self-naming. While "Native American" is often preferred for its specificity, many Indigenous individuals and communities continue to use "Indian" or "Native" interchangeably.

• Land Acknowledgement - An essential first step in the ongoing process of decolonizing campuses and institutions. It must be drafted with local sovereign nations, reflecting their history, ongoing presence, and relationship to the land. Land acknowledgments are read at events, included on syllabi, and displayed on websites to recognize Indigenous stewardship and rightful claims to ancestral territories. Authors note their writing from unceded California (home to approximately 200 tribal nations), specifically honoring Miwok peoples.

• Discipline Origins (late 1960s) - Founded by Native student activists, notably the SKINS group at San Francisco State University, alongside concurrent movements at institutions like UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Davis. This emergence was part of a broader Indigenous rights movement globally. The student movements formed a powerful coalition with Asian-American, Chicanx, Puerto Rican, and Black students, leading to the Third-World Strike, which resulted in the establishment of the first Ethnic Studies programs nationwide. Influential figures like Vine Deloria Jr. (author of “Custer Died for Your Sins”) critically critiqued outsider research that often misrepresented or exploited Indigenous communities.

• AIS/NAS versus traditional disciplines: Unlike traditional academic disciplines that often study Indigenous peoples as exotic subjects or historical relics, AIS/NAS centers lived experience, Indigenous agency, and community-driven research conducted in service of tribal nations. This approach emphasizes reciprocity, relevance, and respect for Indigenous self-determination.

• Pre-1960s precedent: Long before the formal establishment of AIS/NAS, there were continuous Indigenous discourses on justice, governance, and sustainability practiced “since time immemorial,” demonstrating inherent intellectual traditions and resistance to colonial encroachment.

4.2 INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING (IWK)

Core Principles

• Relational worldview – A fundamental principle asserting that land, water, plants, animals, and all elements of the natural world are not mere resources but are considered sacred kin, interconnected in a holistic web of relationships. The Yakima quote on salmon and deer as siblings exemplifies this profound kinship, where reciprocity and respect are paramount.

• Creation Stories provide comprehensive frameworks encompassing science (e.g., geological formations, ecological cycles), geography (e.g., sacred sites, migration routes), ethics (e.g., proper conduct, responsibilities), and ecology (e.g., sustainable practices). The Maidu story, where Turtle dives and four white feathered ropes create the world, illustrates a complex cosmological understanding that also names the seasons: extit{kummini}, extit{yominni}, extit{ilaknom}, extit{matminni}. These narratives are living forms of knowledge that continue to guide Indigenous life.

• Temporal Protocols – Some sacred stories and ceremonies are told or performed only in specific seasons, demonstrating respect for the knowledge itself, its spiritual power, and its connection to natural cycles. This ensures proper transmission and reception.

• Counter-science – Indigenous oral histories and traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) often provide evidence that predates or challenges dominant scientific theories, such as the Bering-Strait theory of migration. Oral records, often passed down for thousands of years, describe Ice-Age landmarks and events, indicating deep historical memory and sophisticated observational knowledge.

• Phrase “since time immemorial” signals a profound, place-based origin and continuous occupation of ancestral lands, asserting Indigenous presence and sovereignty from the deepest past.

Federal Landscape

• There are currently 574 federally-recognized entities in the U.S., but many more Indigenous nations and communities remain un-recognized. This lack of recognition can be due to historical false extinction claims, genocidal policies, or stringent, often insurmountable, federal acknowledgement processes that require extensive documentation, often from Western perspectives, to prove continuous existence.

• This recognition establishes a “unique political relationship,” confirming the U.S. government's nation-to-nation obligation and trust responsibility to tribal nations, stemming from treaties and federal law.

Place-Based California Focus

• Pre-colonial CA: Indigenous peoples in California practiced sophisticated land management techniques that resulted in managed abundance. This included acorn economies (staple food managed through specific harvesting and processing), seasonal burning (cultural burns to manage landscapes, promote biodiversity, and reduce wildfire risk), and complex water management systems, all contributing to sustainable resource use.

• PBS “Tending the Wild” documents Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and sustainable practices, highlighting how Indigenous land management shaped California's landscapes and ecosystems.

• Timeline highlights (1800s) – Key events include Mission secularization in 1834, which led to the displacement of Indigenous peoples from missions but often left them without land or resources; the 1849 Gold Rush, which ignited widespread genocidal violence, massacres, and land dispossession as settlers invaded Indigenous territories; the un-ratified treaties of 1851-52 (18 total), which were negotiated to secure vast Indigenous lands but were secretly refused ratification by the Senate, enabling systematic land theft; and the Dawes Act of 1887, which further fragmented tribal lands (detailed below).

Women’s Resistance & Voices

• Toypurina (Tongva healer) – A powerful symbol of Indigenous resistance, she led a significant revolt against Mission San Gabriel in 1784, defying colonial authority and the imposition of Spanish religion and law. Her subsequent exile did not diminish her legacy.

• Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy – An influential scholar whose writings illuminate the profound impacts of land grief (the emotional and spiritual pain associated with land dispossession), inter-generational trauma, and the MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women) crisis, advocating for healing and justice.

• Deborah A. Miranda – Her seminal work “Bad Indians” and broader scholarship critically examine rape as a deliberate weapon of colonial violence and emphasize healing through the powerful act of storytelling and reclaiming narratives.

• Melissa Leal poem “Something Inside is Broken” – Articulates the deep, inter-generational trauma experienced by Indigenous bodies and lands, while simultaneously affirming Indigenous resilience and the enduring spirit of survival.

20th-Century CA Timeline (sample)

• 1905 Kelsey census: Documented more than 11,755 non-reservation Indians, highlighting the displacement and varied living conditions of California Indigenous peoples.

• 1924 U.S. citizenship to all Indians: While seemingly a right, this was controversial, as many Indigenous peoples already viewed themselves as citizens of their own sovereign nations and feared it would undermine their distinct political status and treaty rights.

• 1953 Public Law 280 – Transferred criminal and, in some cases, civil jurisdiction over reservations from the federal government to state governments (mandatory in California), often without tribal consent. This significantly eroded tribal sovereignty and subjected Indigenous peoples to state laws and courts they had no part in creating. The state of California gained jurisdiction over reservations.

• 1958 Rancheria Termination Act – Terminated the federal recognition of 41 rancherias (small reservations or land parcels), ending federal services, selling off communal lands, and attempting to assimilate Indigenous communities. This policy aimed to sever the federal-tribal relationship.

• 1969 Occupation of Alcatraz; This landmark protest by the Indians of All Tribes group brought international attention to Indigenous rights and land claims. It sparked subsequent impactful California land-back actions, including the occupation of Rattlesnake Island, the establishment of D-Q University (the only intertribal university in California), and the founding of the Ya-Ka-Ama Center, all advocating for self-determination and reclamation of traditional lands.

4.3 CORE CONCEPTS & THEORIES

Sovereignty

• Cohen’s principles (1941): Felix Cohen, a leading scholar of federal Indian law, articulated that tribes retain ext{all powers of any sovereign} nation unless explicitly limited by Congress. This principle affirms the inherent, pre-existing sovereignty of tribal nations that predates the formation of the United States.

• Defense of nationhood = raison d’être of NAS (Cook-Lynn): Elizabeth Cook-Lynn argued that the fundamental purpose and reason for being of Native American Studies is to assert, defend, and empower Indigenous nationhood against ongoing colonial pressures.

• Red Power & Civil Rights cross-pollination; Vine Deloria Jr. → sovereignty as liberation framework for all oppressed peoples: The Red Power movement of the 1960s-70s drew inspiration from and collaborated with the Civil Rights movement. Deloria Jr. conceptualized tribal sovereignty not merely as a legal concept for Indigenous peoples but as a foundational framework for liberation applicable to all marginalized and oppressed groups seeking self-determination and justice.

Self-Determination

• Practical sovereignty: Self-determination refers to the practical application of tribal sovereignty, enabling Indigenous nations to control their own institutions, such as tribal courts, police forces, schools, and colleges, thereby shaping their own futures and communities.

Colonization & Colonialism

• Violent takeover, forced imposition of religion/law: Colonization is the process by which a foreign power establishes control over another territory and its people, often through violent military conquest, leading to the economic exploitation, political subjugation, and cultural imposition (e.g., forced conversion to Christianity, imposition of foreign legal systems, suppression of Indigenous languages) of the Indigenous population. Europe’s 15th-century invasion introduced a systematic genocide paradigm, characterized by widespread depopulation and destruction of Indigenous societies.

Settler Colonialism

1. Permanent occupation: Unlike classic colonialism which focuses on extraction of resources and labor from a distant colony, settler colonialism involves the permanent occupation and restructuring of Indigenous lands for the benefit of the settler society.

2. Ongoing elimination of Natives: This elimination is not solely through direct violence but also through policies and practices that undermine Indigenous existence, culture, and connection to land, such as assimilation, land dispossession, and denial of political rights.

3. Fabricates “terra nullius/Manifest Destiny”: Settler colonial states justify their occupation by fabricating ideas like “terra nullius” (empty land, despite Indigenous presence) and “Manifest Destiny” (a divinely ordained right to expand), which erase Indigenous land claims and legitimize settler presence.

Racist Nativism

• A political ideology where white settlers recast themselves as the “true natives” or original inhabitants of the land, while simultaneously labeling People of Color (POC) as “foreign threats” or invaders. This narrative serves to reinforce white supremacy and justify exclusionary policies tied to land, citizenship, and national identity.

Genocide – UN 1948 criteria

• The 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as any of five acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. These acts include killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction, imposing measures intended to prevent births, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group. The latter is particularly relevant to Indigenous experiences, such as through boarding schools and adoption policies.

Identity & Law

• Political status ≠ mere ethnicity (Morton v Mancari 1974: Indian classification political): The Supreme Court case Morton v Mancari affirmed that the classification of Indians is primarily political, based on their unique relationship with the federal government as members of sovereign tribal nations, rather than merely racial or ethnic. This is crucial for upholding treaty rights and special programs.

• Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCRT – Brayboy 2006) – A theoretical framework developed by Bryan Brayboy that builds upon Critical Race Theory but centers Indigenous experiences in the context of colonialism. Its 9 tenets include:

  1. Colonization is endemic to American society.

  2. U.S. policies toward Indigenous peoples are rooted in white supremacy.

  3. Indigenous peoples exist in a liminal space of both political and racial identity.

  4. Tribal sovereignty is the ultimate goal in the pursuit of social justice.

  5. Indigenous stories and narratives are valid and powerful forms of theory.

  6. Praxis (the integration of theory and practice) is essential for social change.

  7. Indigenous peoples' knowledge is invaluable.

  8. The importance of intellectual and philosophical traditions from Indigenous worldviews.

  9. The significance of resistance and survivance.

Blood Quantum

• Introduced 1705 VA “Indian Blood Law”: A colonial legal concept designed to define and control Indigenous identity based on percentages of “Indian blood.” It effectively halves a person's recognized Native ancestry with each successive mixed-race generation (q ext{n} = q ext{0}/2 ext{n}), actively designed to erase Native identity over time and thereby reduce the U.S. government's treaty obligations (“blood-quantum out”).

• Comparison: It operates as the inverse of the anti-Black “one-drop rule,” which historically designated anyone with any African ancestry as Black, illustrating the distinct racialization strategies applied to different groups for colonial control.

Federal Recognition & Trust

• Treaties (supreme law) guarantee resources in perpetuity: Treaties between tribal nations and the U.S. government are considered the supreme law of the land, establishing a nation-to-nation relationship and guaranteeing specific rights and resources for tribal nations indefinitely. However, the U.S. has a pervasive history of breaking every treaty, leading to massive land loss and broken promises.

• “Trust doctrine” = paternal federal control + obligation: This legal doctrine defines the U.S. government’s fiduciary responsibility to protect tribal lands, assets, and resources. While it implies a protective obligation, it has often functioned as paternalistic federal control over tribal affairs. Congress can unilaterally abrogate (nullify) treaties and tribal rights, as demonstrated by Lone Wolf v Hitchcock 1903, which affirmed Congress's plenary power over tribal lands, further undermining tribal sovereignty.

• California: The 18 un-ratified treaties, kept secret until 1905, led to widespread Indigenous homelessness and the subsequent establishment of the rancheria system (small, often inadequate land parcels). The 1958 Termination policy, which aimed to dissolve federal tribal relations, has been reversed piecemeal, largely due to successful litigation like the Tillie Hardwick case, which led to the re-recognition of numerous California tribes.

4.4 INVASION, OCCUPATION, IMPERIALISM, HEGEMONY

Genocide & Imperial Timelines

• Key federal milestones (sample):

  • 1778 first treaty (Delaware): The Treaty with the Delaware was the first formal treaty between the newly formed United States and a Native American nation, setting a precedent for nation-to-nation relations, though often violated.

  • 1830 Indian Removal Act: Authorized the forced removal of thousands of Native Americans from their ancestral lands in the southeastern U.S. to Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma).

  • 1838 Trail of Tears: The forced relocation of approximately 60{,}000 Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Seminole peoples, resulting in the deaths of thousands due to exposure, disease, and starvation.

  • 1885 Major Crimes Act: Extended U.S. federal criminal jurisdiction over major crimes committed by Native Americans on tribal lands, significantly eroding tribal judicial sovereignty.

  • 1934 Indian Reorganization Act: Halted the damaging allotment policy introduced by the Dawes Act, aimed to preserve tribal governments, and promoted self-governance and land reacquisition.

  • 1953 Termination & Relocation (H.Res 108, PL-280): Policies aimed at severing the federal relationship with tribes, ending federal services, and coercing Native peoples into urban areas for assimilation, leading to significant social and economic disruption.

Doctrine of Discovery → Manifest Destiny

• Papal bulls “Romanus Pontifex” 1455 & “Inter Caetera” 1493: These proclamations from the Catholic Church authorized Christian European powers to claim lands not inhabited by Christians, subjugate non-Christian peoples, and seize their wealth, laying the religious and legal groundwork for colonialism and the dispossession of Indigenous lands worldwide.

• Johnson v M’Intosh 1823: This landmark U.S. Supreme Court case legally embedded the Doctrine of Discovery into U.S. law, asserting that European “discovery” gave the discovering nation exclusive right to extinguish the Indigenous title of occupancy, thereby severely limiting Indigenous land rights and validating U.S. sovereignty over Indigenous Nations.

• John O’Sullivan 1845 coinage rationalizes Western expansion & genocide: O'Sullivan coined the term “Manifest Destiny,” articulating the belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand across the North American continent. This ideology provided a moral and religious justification for aggressive territorial expansion, land theft, and the genocide of Indigenous peoples.

3 R’s Policies

1. Removal: The forced displacement of Indigenous peoples from their ancestral homelands to designated territories, often with devastating consequences. Example: The Concow Maidu Nome Cult Trail in 1863, a forced march where 461 people were marched, resulting in only 277 survivors, epitomizing the brutality of removal policies.

2. Reservations / Rancherias – Originally conceived as segregated prison-camp origins where Indigenous peoples were confined to consolidate land for settler expansion and control. Today, these lands comprise approximately 56.2 million acres, a drastic reduction from 156 million acres in 1881, illustrating the immense land loss sustained by tribal nations.

3. Relocation (1950s Urban Relocation Program): A federal program designed to encourage Indigenous peoples to move from reservations to urban centers, promising jobs and housing, but often leading to poverty, cultural alienation, and loss of tribal connections. This program resulted in over 50-60% of Natives living in urban areas by 1980 and inadvertently sparked the growth of inter-tribal pow-wow culture in cities, as Indigenous peoples from various nations came together.

Dawes Act (1887)

• The General Allotment Act, aimed to break up tribal communal landholdings into individual parcels. Allotment sizes were standardized (160 acres for heads of household, 80 acres for single persons, 40 acres for minors, and 10 acres for orphans). This policy led to a catastrophic decline in the Native land base by over 60 ext{ percent}, as surplus lands were sold to non-Natives and many allotments were lost through fraud or taxes, undermining collective sovereignty and self-sufficiency.

Assimilation Mechanisms

• Boarding Schools (“Kill the Indian, save the man” – Pratt; 367 schools; corporal punishment; gendered servitude training): These coercive institutions, epitomized by Richard Henry Pratt's philosophy, aimed to forcibly assimilate Indigenous children into white American society by stripping them of their language, culture, and traditional ways. Children were subjected to severe corporal punishment, forced labor, and gendered servitude training (e.g., girls taught domestic skills, boys agricultural or industrial trades). There were over 367 such schools across the U.S., inflicting profound intergenerational trauma.

• Adoption/Foster – State welfare agencies often paid for the removal of Native children from their families and placement into non-Native homes, contributing to cultural loss and family fragmentation. The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) 1978 was enacted to address this crisis by establishing placement preferences: first with kin, then with other members of the child's tribe, and finally with other Native families, to ensure the preservation of tribal connections.

Stereotype Complex (Brian Baker 4-part model)

1. Roaming Indian (terra nullius): Perpetuates the myth of Indigenous peoples as nomadic, untamed, and un-civilized, thereby justifying their displacement from lands argued to be “empty” or undeveloped.

2. Child-like ward: Portrays Indigenous peoples as needing benevolent paternalistic guidance from the federal government, undermining their capacity for self-governance and rational decision-making.

3. Wild & dancing / savage drunk: Represents Indigenous peoples as either exotic, hyper-spiritual beings distant from modernity, or as pathological, violent, and addicted, dehumanizing and discrediting them.

4. Redskins & warriors (mascots): Reduces complex Indigenous identities to simplistic, often violent, caricatures for entertainment, trivializing their cultures and history, and preventing understanding of contemporary Indigenous issues.

• Frank Waln track “What Makes the Red Man Red?” deconstructs trope: The provocative song directly challenges and exposes the racism embedded in these stereotypes, particularly focusing on the harmful and reductive nature of the "Red Man" trope.

4.5 PERSPECTIVES & FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Land/Water/Mineral Rights

• “Reserved rights” doctrine – A legal principle stating that rights not explicitly ceded by tribes in treaties or agreements are retained by the tribal nation. This principle is crucial for defending tribal sovereignty over natural resources.

• 1934 IRA authorizes land reacquisition in trust; tribes adopt corporations, preference hiring: The Indian Reorganization Act enabled tribes to reacquire lands and place them into federal trust status. This encouraged economic development through the formation of tribal corporations and the implementation of preference hiring policies for tribal citizens, bolstering self-sufficiency.

• Key litigations: Important court cases have affirmed tribal rights, such as Arizona v California (1952–present) concerning water rights to the Colorado River and the Fishing Vessel case in 1979, which affirmed tribal rights to up to 50 ext{ percent} of the fish harvest, based on treaty rights.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) & 7-Generation ethic

• Oren Lyons: A chief of the Onondaga Nation, who emphasizes that policy decisions must consider their impact at least seven generations into the future, ensuring sustainability and well-being for descendants.

Economic Development

• 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) → NIGC; “restored lands” exception (post-1988 trust): This act provided a regulatory framework for tribal gaming, leading to the creation of the National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) to oversee operations. It includes a “restored lands” exception for lands taken into trust after 1988, allowing gaming on these lands under certain conditions, significantly boosting tribal economies and funding essential services.

Cultural Protection

• NAGPRA 1990; CalNAGPRA 2001 (+AB-275 2020): The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) requires federal agencies and museums to return human remains, grave goods, sacred objects, and cultural patrimony to lineal descendants and culturally affiliated Native American tribes. CalNAGPRA (California Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act) is the state-level law, further strengthened by AB-275 in 2020, providing stronger pathways for repatriation and protection of cultural resources in California.

Health & Historical Trauma

• The staggering statistic that 84 ext{ percent} of Native women experience violence in their lifetime, coupled with elevated rates of suicide and cardiovascular disease, highlights the severe health disparities faced by Indigenous communities. These are often rooted in historical trauma, the cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over generations resulting from massive group trauma like colonization, genocide, and forced assimilation.

• Indian Health Service serves ≈2.6 ext{ million} citizens / 574 tribes: The IHS is the primary federal health care provider for American Indians and Alaska Natives. However, it is chronically underfunded compared to other federal health services, leading to significant gaps in healthcare access and quality for its approximately 2.6 million eligible citizens from 574 federally recognized tribes.

Activism Timeline Snapshots

• 1955 Indian Long-Term Leasing Act: Allowed tribes to lease trust lands for longer periods (up to 99 years), fostering economic development.

• 1968 Founding of AIM, NIYC: The American Indian Movement (AIM) and the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC) emerged as powerful advocacy groups, employing direct action and protest to demand civil rights, treaty rights, and self-determination for Indigenous peoples.

• 1969-71 Occupation of Alcatraz → D-Q University, UC Ethnic Studies: The occupation of Alcatraz Island by Indigenous activists drew global attention to treaty violations and Indigenous land claims, inspiring broader land-back movements and contributing to the establishment of Indigenous-focused higher education institutions and Ethnic Studies programs across the University of California system.

• 1972 Trail of Broken Treaties; 1973 Wounded Knee II siege (71 days); 1975 Self-Determination Act: The Trail of Broken Treaties was a cross-country protest culminating in the occupation of the BIA headquarters in Washington, D.C., demanding treaty rights. The Wounded Knee II siege involved AIM and Oglala Lakota activists in a 71-day standoff with federal agents, protesting tribal government corruption and treaty violations. The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975 allowed tribes to assume control over federal programs and services previously administered by the BIA and IHS.

• 2016-17 Standing Rock #NoDAPL – multinational Water Protector camps; pipeline operational May 2017; litigation ongoing (leak April 2022 84 gal): The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and multinational Water Protector alliance protested the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) over concerns about water contamination and desecration of sacred sites. Despite massive public attention and large-scale activist camps, the pipeline became operational. Litigation continues, highlighting ongoing environmental justice struggles, with a notable leak of 84 gallons of crude oil in April 2022.

• Shasta Dam raise opposed by Winnemem Wintu; sacred sites, salmon: The Winnemem Wintu Tribe actively opposes the proposed raising of the Shasta Dam, arguing it would inundate vital sacred sites and further endanger the already struggling Chinook salmon population, which is central to their cultural and traditional practices.

• LANDBACK campaign – reclaim Black Hills/Mt. Rushmore & public lands; framework for “everything stolen”: A growing movement advocating for the return of Indigenous lands to tribal nations. It specifically targets the Black Hills/Mt. Rushmore, which were illegally taken, and other public lands, framing land reclamation as essential to decolonization and justice for “everything stolen” from Indigenous peoples.

• MMIWG2S crisis: murder 3rd-leading cause of death; 86 ext{ percent} assaults by non-Native men; DOI 2021 Missing & Murdered Unit: The crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people is a severe issue, with murder being the 3rd-leading cause of death for Native women. A shocking 86 percent of assaults against Native women are perpetrated by non-Native men, often operating with impunity due to jurisdictional complexities. In response, the Department of the Interior established a Missing & Murdered Unit in 2021 to address this epidemic.

Education & Revitalization

• Indian Education Act 1972; Self-Determination & Education Assistance 1975 (PL 93-638): These acts marked a shift from assimilationist policies towards greater tribal control over Indigenous education, providing funding and mechanisms for tribes to develop culturally relevant educational programs.

• NASSSP 2022 CA Community Colleges – recruitment/retention model: The Native American Student Success Plan (NASSSP) implemented in California Community Colleges in 2022 focuses on creating effective recruitment and retention models to better support and serve Indigenous students in higher education.

• Boarding-School-to-Suspension pipeline: CA Native boys expelled 4.2 ext{ times} state avg: This tragic pipeline highlights the ongoing systemic issues in education, where historical trauma and discriminatory practices, reminiscent of the boarding school era, contribute to disproportionately high expulsion rates for Native male students in California.

• Language renewal – AICLS “Breath of Life” workshops; Yocha Dehe Patwin dictionary, 8{,}000 iTunes entries: Indigenous language revitalization efforts are crucial for cultural survival. Programs like the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival (AICLS) “Breath of Life” workshops train tribal members to revive dormant languages. Achievements include the publication of the Yocha Dehe Patwin dictionary and the availability of 8,000 Indigenous language entries on iTunes, demonstrating significant progress in digital preservation and access.

• Hip Hop as survivance – Tall Paul language rap, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Frank Waln (“Oil for Blood”), Richie Ledreagle: Hip hop has emerged as a powerful medium for Indigenous artists to express sovereignty, resilience, and cultural identity. Artists like Tall Paul (who raps in Anishinaabemowin), Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Frank Waln (whose track “Oil for Blood” addresses environmental injustice), and Richie Ledreagle use their music to reclaim narratives, protest injustices, and celebrate Indigenous survivance (survival + resistance).

4.6 KEY TAKE-AWAYS & TERMS

• All treaties = broken by the U.S. government, highlighting systemic betrayal and ongoing Indigenous struggles for justice.

• Sovereignty = inherent (pre-existing and not granted by the U.S.), political (a nation-to-nation status), not racial (distinct from mere ethnicity).

• Genocide is ongoing (per UN criteria #3 “conditions of life…”), emphasizing that policies like inadequate healthcare, environmental exploitation, and cultural suppression continue to threaten Indigenous group survival.

• Decolonization = event and continual process (Yellow Bird model), signifying both the foundational dismantling of colonial structures and the daily, ongoing work of reclaiming Indigenous knowledge, practices, and self-determination.

• Core vocabulary:

  • Boarding Schools: Coercive institutions designed to assimilate Indigenous children.

  • Dawes Act: Legislation that privatized communal tribal lands, leading to massive land loss.

  • PL-280: Public Law 280, transferred criminal jurisdiction over reservations to states.

  • Termination: Federal policy aimed at ending tribal recognition and services.

  • ICWA: Indian Child Welfare Act, aimed at keeping Native children with Native families.

  • NAGPRA: Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

  • TEK: Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Indigenous sustainable land management practices.

  • LANDBACK: Movement advocating for the return of Indigenous lands.

  • IWK: Indigenous Ways of Knowing, holistic knowledge systems.

  • TribalCRT: Tribal Critical Race Theory, analyzes law through tribal-specific lenses.

  • Blood Quantum: Colonial method of defining Indigenous identity based on ancestry percentage.

  • Racist Nativism: Ideology claiming white indigeneity and demonizing non-white immigrants.

  • Reserved Rights: Rights not explicitly ceded by tribes in treaties.

  • Self-Governance: Practical application of tribal sovereignty.

  • Historical Trauma: Cumulative, intergenerational trauma from colonization and systemic oppression.

SAMPLE FORMULAS / NUMERIC FACTS

• Blood quantum reduction each mixed generation: The formula q{n}= rac{q{0}}{2^{n}} illustrates how a person's initial Native blood quantum (q_{0}) is halved with each subsequent generation (n) of mixed ancestry, leading to the intended eventual disappearance of recognized Native identity.

• Treaty fishing allocation: Tribal fishing rights, as affirmed by legal rulings like the Fishing Vessel case, can guarantee Indigenous tribes up to a 50 ext{ percent} total harvest share, based on a “moderate living” standard to ensure their economic and cultural well-being.

• Land loss: The drastic reduction of Indigenous communal land from around 156 ext{ M acres} in 1881 to approximately 50 ext{ M acres} by 1934 (following the Dawes Act) highlights the immense impact of U.S. land policies.

• MMIWG stats: Alarmingly, 86 ext{ percent} of assaults against Native women are perpetrated by non-Native individuals, and Native women face a 1/3 lifetime rape prevalence. Homicide is the 3rd-leading cause of death for Indigenous women.

EXEMPLAR DISCUSSION PROMPTS

1. Guardian–ward paradigm: Analyze its historical origins and ongoing impact on tribal sovereignty, land, and resource negotiations, specifically in relation to the trust doctrine and reserved rights.

2. Apply Yellow Bird’s “Conceptual Model of Decolonization” to a contemporary campus initiative or policy.

3. Deconstruct the process of “othering” Indigenous peoples via mascots and media portrayals; link these representations to structural invisibility and ongoing racism.

4. Distinguish between political citizenship (as members of sovereign tribal nations) and ethnic classification (as a racial group) in understanding Indigenous identity and its legal implications.

SUGGESTED CLASS ACTIVITIES

• Land Recognition Research – Use online resources like Native-Land.ca to locate tribal homelands, languages, and treaties for a specific region; then present 3 current facts about the challenges or achievements of that nation.

• Hip-Hop Social Justice Verse – Study the lyrics and themes of Frank Waln’s “Stand N Rock” and compose an additional verse addressing current issues of sovereignty, environmental justice, or the MMIW crisis from an Indigenous perspective.

• Reflective Journal – Watch the banned documentary film “The Canary Effect,” which explores the impact of U.S. policies on Indigenous peoples. Connect the film’s content to the UN genocide criteria and