Dispatches from the Institute

July 16, 2013
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It is exciting to see the NEH Summer Scholars make associations between their historical readings and current events. Tuesday’s lecture by Guest Presenter Amy Den Ouden, “Reservations, ‘Race,’ Resistance: Indigenous Histories and Colonialism in 18th Century Southern New England,” gave the Scholars a chance to discuss Native American activism and resistance in New England and across the continent. Den Ouden began her presentation by asking why it’s important to study Native histories. Her answers include:

  • Understanding the multifaceted experience of Native resistance can help us to understand the power dynamics that exist in colonial settings.
  • Indigenous histories underscore the relationship between geopolitical space and the creation and reinforcement of racial,... read more
July 17, 2013
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For centuries, New England has loved to celebrate “firsts”: the first Thanksgiving, the first university in America (Harvard), the first wood-frame home, and even “first Indians” such as Samoset, Squanto, and Massasoit. In Wednesday’s lecture by Guest Presenter Jean O’Brien (White Earth Ojibwe), New England commemoration was deconstructed to reveal a pattern of erasing Native Americans from history. O’Brien provided chapter summaries from her book Firsting and Lasting: Writing Indians out of Existence in New England as a way to explore this process. Some key points from her discussion of the chapters, titled “Firsting,” “Replacing,” “Lasting,” and “Resisting” include:

  • the portrayal of “first Indians” as projections of pacifist colonialism – facilitators of their own erasure... read more
July 18, 2013

On July 18, the NEH Summer Scholars were warmly welcomed to the Mohegan Tribal Offices in Uncasville, Connecticut, where Scholars were amazed by the beauty of the facility and the surrounding landscape. Scholars were greeted by tribal elders and members of the Tribal Council and given a tour of the building, including the Council of Elders’ offices, the children’s recreational facilities, the library, the supreme court, and a museum exhibit on Mohegan history and the 1994 Federal recognition. The visit culminated with an hour-long conversation with the Mohegan Chief, Marilynn Malerba, and the Mohegan Medicine Woman and Tribal Historian, Melissa Tantaquidgeon Zobel.

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