PROPOSAL TYPE
Roundtable
SEEKING
- Seeking Chair/moderator
- Seeking Additional Presenters
RELATED TOPICS
- Memory
- Place
- Environment
ABSTRACT
Public dialogue about Indigenous history in the South is overwhelmingly dominated by “Trails of Tears” narratives, particularly as experienced by the Cherokee Nation. Despite more recent scholarly acknowledgement of Native communities who evaded forced removal and continue to live in the South today, many monuments and historic sites continue to present the impression the Native Southern history terminated in the 1830s. In the aftermath of Indian Removal, Indigenous stories and landscapes were appropriated by white Southerners who used such stories to boost their own settler claims to the land. This roundtable will feature an informal discussion about the relationship between settler colonialism and the built environment. It will highlight where traditional interpretations have been challenged to center Indigenous perspectives. Attendees are invited to contribute to the conversation on how narratives of erasure can be rebutted at historic sites and monuments.
DESCRIPTION
I am looking for additional panelists who have studied and/or worked with sites of memory (Indigenous panelists preferred but not exclusive). I am proposing this panel as a “roundtable” but I’m also open to other format ideas (e.g., Pecha Kucha since providing visuals of historic sites is important for this conversation).
My own research has explored former mission school sites and memorials, so I’m glad to serve as a panelist, but I am also happy to be the moderator. I also imagine this panel to be very participatory with attendees who are likely to have studied or worked with similar subjects at historic sites in the South.
If you have a direct offer of assistance, sensitive criticism, or wish to pass along someone’s contact information confidentially, please get in contact directly: Sean Jacobson, University of North Alabama, [email protected]
ALL FEEDBACK AND OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE SUBMITTED BY JULY 7, 2022. If you have general ideas or feedback to share, please feel free to use the comments feature below.
Hi Sean,
This is a promising topic. Have you looked at NPS tribal liaisons from the Southeast region? Not all of the liaisons are indigenous, but there may be someone there who is and could add to your panel. Also, were any Southern cities among the metropolitan areas targeted for the American Indian Relocation Program? This is such an understudied and important topic and fits with your desire to expand understanding on indigenous history in the South.
Donna
Dear Donna,
Thanks so much for your recommendation! I’ve reached out to Amanda Griffis, who is the Region 2 Cultural Anthropologist for NPS’s Office of Native American Affairs. Hopefully I can get a response! I’m also meeting with the president of the Alabama Trail of Tears Association to see what else might be possible.
Hello Sean, would you like to join a panel with Emma John and myself about white settler colonialism and memorialization? Emma focuses on the DAR in California and I work on the Daughters of Utah Pioneers (similar to DAR), so could have an interesting panel… I submitted my topic proposal for feedback as well so you could look at that but please feel free to email me at [email protected] and we can work something out.