1. HIST 1658: Lecture 1 Introduction to Native American History

2. What do we learn from Native history? the assumptions on which American identity (and history) are based –idea of a “virgin land” –Ideas of freedom and individualism Changes the standard narrative from linear expansion from east to west, to a multi- centered and multi-national history The relationship between “myth” and “history”

3. How do we study Native history? Prior to the 1960s, Indian history was a narrative of government efforts to solve the “Indian problem.” Ethnohistory (anthropology+history) Sources: written and oral, historical and anthropological

4. Themes of Native history Importance of place Importance of migration Importance of family Importance of tribal diversity

5. Myth and History God works in “history” God works in “people” and “places” Native and Western histories have spiritual functions

6. Common Themes Explain migration Explain relationship of people to place Reveal belief systems that ensure harmony and subsistence

7. Ways of understanding Kinds of Time –Myth age –Era of transformation –Era of true happenings

8. Ways of understanding Language and Belief Systems –Belief systems function to heal the sick, gain power, assure subsistence, and maintain harmony –Language reflects cultural values