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Following the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, the Potawatomis, once concentrated around southern Lake Michigan, increasingly dispersed into nine bands across four states, two countries, and a thousand miles. How is it, author Christopher Wetzel asks, that these scattered people, with different characteristics and traditions cultivated over two centuries, have reclaimed their common cultural heritage in recent years as the Potawatomi Nation? And why a “nation”—not a band or a tribe—in an age when nations seem increasingly impermanent? Gathering the Potawatomi Nation explores the recent invigoration of Potawatomi nationhood, looks at how marginalized communities adapt to social change, and reveals the critical role that culture plays in connecting the two. Wetzel’s perspective on recent developments in the struggle for indigenous sovereignty goes far beyond current political, legal, and economic explanations. Focusing on the specific mechanisms through which the Potawatomi Nation has been reimagined, “national brokers,” he finds, are keys to the process, traveling between the bands, sharing information, and encouraging tribal members to work together as a nation. Language revitalization programs are critical because they promote the exchange of specific cultural knowledge, affirm the value of collective enterprise, and remind people of their place in a larger national community. At the annual Gathering of the Potawatomi Nation, participants draw on this common cultural knowledge to integrate the multiple meanings of being Potawatomi. Fittingly, the Potawatomis themselves have the last word in this book: members respond directly to Wetzel’s study, providing readers with a unique opportunity to witness the conversations that shape the ever-evolving Potawatomi Nation. Combining social and cultural history with firsthand observations, Gathering the Potawatomi Nation advances both scholarly and popular dialogues about Native nationhood. Published through the Recovering Languages and Literacies of the Americas initiative, supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Native American Contest Powwow introduces Cultural Tethering Theory to convey the importance of the contest powwow in the celebration and preservation of Native American culture. The book addresses the concepts of culture, cultural change, acculturation, assimilation, and illustrates how competitive powwows align with and differ from competitive sporting events. Authors Steven Aicinena and Sebahattin Ziyanak go on to explain how the modern intertribal contest powwow evolved and why modern Native American cultures are experiencing an erosion of traditional values, a rapid loss of traditional languages, dysfunctional changes in social organization, limited opportunity to transmit culturally valued knowledge, and reduced opportunities for youths to observe culturally appropriate behavior. The authors also examine Native American identity and explore who can legitimately claim to be a Native American under current laws and customs. Additional topics addressed include blood quantum, cultural knowledge, cultural participation, being Indian, and playing Indian. Finally, the authors describe the difference between being Native American and playing Indian in powwow and pseudo-cultural powwow environments.
This work presents a new perspective on the International Exhibitions one, that is, from the standpoint of a writer who had witnessed the first-ever World Fair held in 1851 and was writing about it right before the Exhibit that was going to be held in 1862. The author writes about how the purpose of that Exhibition was to establish what progress the various countries have made in the industrial, functional, and ornamental arts since the first comparison of national skill. The author also considers the Great London Exposition a promising opportunity to showcase the moral impact of true Christianity. The Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition was an international exhibition that took place in Hyde Park, London, in 1851. It was the first in a series of World's Fairs, exhibitions of culture and industry that became famous in the 19th century. And the International Exhibition of 1862, or the Great London Exposition, was held from 1 May to 1 November 1862, beside the gardens of the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington, London.