Topics in Native American and Indigenous Literatures (374-0-20)
Topic
Indigenous Chicago
Instructors
Kelly E Wisecup
Meeting Info
University Hall 101: Mon, Wed 3:30PM - 4:50PM
Overview of class
In the summer of 2021, the Ojibwe artist Andrea Carlson mounted a huge public art exhibit along the Chicago River that read: "Bodéwadmikik ėthë yéyék/You are on Potawatomi Land." The banners rebuked a nearby monument depicting "brave…pioneers" who were "defending" Chicago from Indigenous peoples. The banners might also have generated questions for tourists on river boat tours that purport to tell the city's history but make no mention of Indigenous peoples. This course takes as its point of departure this tension between the city's long and vibrant history of Indigenous literature and art and its pervasive erasure of Indigenous peoples. We'll examine the city as a site for Indigenous literary creation and collaboration, as well as a place where public art, world's fairs, and everyday things like street names encourage people to actively forget about Indigenous peoples' sovereignty and about settler colonialism. We'll read Indigenous-authored short stories, pamphlets, poems, and plays from and about Chicago alongside Native American and Indigenous Studies scholarship that will help us to examine how Native writers "remap" Chicago and the very idea of the city within Indigenous literary, artistic, and political histories. Readings/artworks include works by Simon Pokagon, Susan Power, Mark Turcotte, Leanne Howe, Carlos Montezuma, Natalie Diaz, Tommy Orange, X, Debra Yepa-Pappan, Andrea Carlson, and others.
Teaching Method
Discussion; short lectures; archive workshops; visits to place-based artwork.
Evaluation Method
Papers; preparation for and participation in discussion.
Class Materials (Required)
Please purchase the following texts. Additional readings will be available on Canvas.
Susan Power, Roofwalker (2002), 9781571310415
Mark Turcotte, Exploding Chippewas (2002), 9780810151239
Black Hawk, Autobiography (first published 1833), 9780143105398
LeAnne Howe, Savage Conversations (2019), 978-1566895316
Texts will be available at: Norris. Bookshop.org supports local bookstores and is a good alternative to Amazon, if you prefer to order online. Native-owned and independent bookstores also carry these books. See Louise Erdrich's store Birchbark Books, which will ship books from Minneapolis (be sure to order well in advance): https://birchbarkbooks.com/ or for independent Evanston/Chicago bookstores, check out Bookends & Beginnings (Evanston); Women and Children First (Andersonville); or Unabridged (Lakeview).
Class Attributes
Literature & Fine Arts Distro Area
SDG Reduced Inequality
SDG Peace & Justice
SDG Gender Equality