Remember This!

Angela Wilson Waziyatawin, Carolyn Schommer Wahpetunwin

Description

Situating Dakota language and oral tradition within the framework of decolonization, Remember This! Dakota Decolonization and the Eli Taylor Narratives makes a radical departure from other works in Indigenous history because it relies solely on Indigenous oral tradition for its primary sources and privileges Dakota language in the text.

 

Waziyatawin Angela Wilson, both a historian and a member of the Dakota Nation, demonstrates the value of oral history in this bilingual presentation and skillful analysis of the stories told by the Dakota elder Eli Taylor (1908–99). Taylor lived on the Sioux Valley Reserve in Manitoba, Canada, and was adopted into Wilson’s family in 1988. He agreed to tell her his story and to share his accounts of the origins, history, and life ways of the Dakotas. In these pages he tells of Dakota history, the United States–Dakota Conflict of 1862, Dakota values, and the mysterious powers of the world. Wilson gracefully contextualizes and complements Taylor''s stories with a careful analysis and distillation of the narratives. Additionally, she provides an overview of Dakota history and a substantial critique of the use of oral accounts by mainstream historians.

 

By placing Dakota oral tradition within the academic discipline of history, this powerful book illuminates the essential connections among Dakota language, history, and contemporary identity.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• América del Norte
• Indigenous peoples
• North America
• History of the Americas
• États-Unis
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Nebraska Paperback
• Date de parution: 01 mai 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780803204928
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Remember This!

Acknowledgments for the use of previously published material appear on page 269, which constitutes an extension

of the copyright page.

© 2005 by WaziyatawinAngela Wilson All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Wilson, Angela Cavender. Remember this! : Dakota decolonization and the Eli Taylor narratives / Waziyatawin Angela Wilson ; with translations from the Dakota text by Wahpetunwin Carolynn Schommer. p. cm. — (Contemporary indigenous issues) English and Dakota. Revision of the author’s thesis (Ph. D.)— Cornell University, 2000. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn0-8032-4814-8 (cloth : alk. paper) —isbn0-8032-9844-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Dakota Indians —Folklore. 2. Dakota Indians —History. 3. Dakota language — Texts. 4. Dakota literature —History and criticism. 5. Tales — Great Plains. 6. Oral tradition — Great Plains. I. Taylor, Eli, 1908 –1999. II. Title. III. Series. e99.d1w832005 398.20892004058826975243 — dc22

The 1992 paintingThe Crossing, by Marian Anderson, was created for the Treaty Site History Center in St. Peter, Minnesota, to reflect the impact of the breaking of the Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, negotiated between the Sisitunwan and Wahpetunwan bands of Dakota and the U.S. government at this site in 1851. Unkanna Eli Taylor’s image was used to embody the elder

in the painting whose “wisdom makes him aware of the future.”

For further information contact Marian Anderson,

20101 Horseshoe Lane, Mankatomn

56001 / [phone],

www.mariananderson.com.

Set in Minion and MinDakota by G & S Typesetters, Inc. Designed by R. W. Boeche. Printed by Edwards Brothers, Inc.

Unkanna, Ohinni Dakota wicoh’antewahinda kte. Nitakoza, Waziyatawin

Contents

List of Illustrations viii Acknowledgments ix Introduction:Daunkotapi!(We Are Dakota!) 1 1.Okiciyaka Unyanpi(Oral Tradition) 23 2.Owotanna Wohdakapo(Tell It Straight) 37 3.De Iapi Unk’upi(We Were Given This Language) 51 4.Dena Nah’unWaun(These I Heard Growing Up) The First Historical Narrative68 5.Taku Ociciyake Wacin92(I Want to Tell You Something) 6.Toked Imacage(How I Grew Up) The Second, Third, and Fourth Historical Narratives102 7.DakotakHena Wicawada(I Believe in Those Dakota Ways)

126

8.Wahokunkiyapi(They Provide Guidance) The Fifth through the Tenth Historical Narratives137 9.Taku Wakan(That Which Is Mysterious) 169 10.Akicitapi(They Are Warriors) The Eleventh Historical Narrative and the First War Story184 11.WicotawacinYuwaste(It Makes for Good Thoughts) 197 12.TokedKapi Oyakapi(Commentary) The First through the Fourth Commentaries204 13.TakuToktokca Iwohdakapi(A Discussion of Different Things) Conclusion:Oyate Nipi Kte(The People Shall Live) 236 Appendix A: Explanation of Dakot243a Orthography Appendix B: Upper Sioux Resolution 246

Notes 249 Works Cited 263 Source Acknowledgments Index 273

271

221

Following page 116

Illustrations

1. Unkanna Eli at Chris Mato Nunpa’s adoption ceremony 2. Unkanna Eli during 1992 interviews

3. Unkanna Eli and Kunsi Edna during 1992 visit 4. Kunsi Wahpetunwin(Carolynn Schommer) during 1992 interviews 5. Unkanna Eli receiving honorary degree from Brandon University (1998) 6. Frances Maza Wasicuna, Unkanna Eli, and Kunsi Edna 7. Unkanna Eli and Kunsi Edna at birthday-anniversary celebration 8. Unkanna Eli speaking to children at the Mahkato Powwow

Acknowledgments

From the very beginning this project has been blessed with incredible support from those who believed in its significance. It has also been a lengthy project, years in the making, and I owe many for their kindness and support. In 1991, when the planning for this oral-history work began, I had just started my senior year at the University of Minnesota. As an undergraduate try- ing to organize a major research trip for six people, I could have been discour- aged by many. Instead, supporters rallied behind the project and helped get it off the ground. Financial contributions for the actual recording of Unkanna Eli’s stories and some of the translations came from the University of Min- nesota’s Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, an honors thesis grant, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community, the Prairie Island Tribal Council, the Minnesota Historical Society, and Ron Libertus. In addition I had the faculty mentorship and enthusiastic support of Jean O-Brien, Joel Samaha, and Carol Miller at the University of Minnesota. Tim Dunnigan, the linguist from the University of Minnesota assisting with the Dakota-English Dictionary project, has also shown tremendous interest in and support for this project. He was the person I called when I had questions about the written representations of the Dakota language or linguistic terminology. I continued work on this project throughout my graduate career, and it formed the basis of my dissertation. Though many considered my historical re- search radical because it was based on oral rather than written history, I had sev- eral wonderful people comprising my graduate committee who were both chal- lenging and encouraging: Dan Usner, Mary Roldan, Sherene Baugher, and Robert Venables. All of them recognized the importance of the inclusion of In- digenous voices in history and ardently explored with me the implications of my work. Dr. Bob, as he was affectionately called, was particularly influential during my years at Cornell, modeling a stance toward historical scholarship that began, first and foremost, with a commitment to Indigenous Peoples. Bob and Sherry offered their home and their classrooms as a safe haven to me, and they remain avid supporters and good friends. I am very pleased that Bob has also begun some treaty research for the Dakota Oyate since the formation of the Eastern Dakota Bands Treaty Council. There are several other individuals I would like to recognize and thank for their special contributions. Alan Ominsky used his early days of retirement to help create a computer font for our written language, which many of us are now using. His efforts are obvious in the production of this book, and I hope there will be many more! Also, I would like to thank Bill Johnston, who first intro- duced me to Linda Tuhiwai Smith’s work on one of his site visits to our Dakota