Literatures of Indigenous Peoples

FAIN: ES-50588-14

University of Montana (Missoula, MT 59801-4494)
Kathryn Shanley (Project Director: March 2014 to September 2016)

A four-week institute for twenty-five school teachers on the literatures of indigenous peoples in North America and Europe.

The proposed institute seeks to provide teachers with increased knowledge of Indigenous peoples from those peoples’ perspectives. Through exploring situated Indigenous knowledge, participants will first study the Salish people of Montana and then broaden their inquiry to include Kiowas of Oklahoma, Samis of Norway, and Alaska Natives. Our overarching question will be: what does it mean to be Indigenous in the 21st century? The institute will promote respectful and critical discussions of divergent points of view regarding who Indigenous peoples are, what their roles are/should be in the societies or nations within which they live, and what will their future roles and rights be, given the pressing environmental issues facing the world. Such discussions will bring to light diverse Indigenous cultures and will stimulate reflection on the cross-cultural intersections among them. The expected interchanges between humanities scholars and teachers promise to enhance education.