Current events and PAES/PATE Seminars

XXX Seminar of the Polish American Ethnological Society PAES /PATE  in memory of Bronislaw Malinowski titled:  Rediscovering Native America

was organized jointly by  The Polish American Ethnological Society PAES /PATE in memory of Bronislaw Malinowski  and University of Warsaw/American Studies Center with partnership  of Polskie Stowarzyszenie Przyjaciół Indian (Polish Association of the Friends of Indians)

The conference took place on October 24-25, 2024 in Warsaw at University of Warsaw Center for American Studies, on Dobra 55, room 3.110

Conference Program – October 24  2024

Prof. dr hab. Aleksander Posern Zieliński

Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu,  PAN (Warszawa) – PAU (Kraków)

Decolonization of the Indigenous Worldview as an Ideological Invention Composed of Neo-nativism and Anti-liberal Utopia: Reflections from South America (and beyond)

The process of indigenous decolonization should be considered in the context of three basic trends of ethnic emancipation, complementing and reinforcing each other. These are: 1) the efforts to decolonize the existing social structures to replace them with an autonomous network of ethnic organizations; 2) the efforts to decolonize ethnic activities to liquidate the subaltern status of indigenous peoples, and 3) the efforts to decolonize the native mind by elimination of epistemological violence and introducing a new perception of the reality based on values considered as aboriginal.

The core element of the indigenous activism is an ideology of emancipation applied for   struggle for native rights, defense of ethnic territories, and protection of heritage. The inventors of these ideas are representatives of the emerging indigenous elite (leaders, intellectuals, artists, politicians). They develop the complex of new ideas shaping the hybrid world outlook as part of the new indigenous identity.

The ideology disseminated by leaders is a creative combination of different traits.  Among them four  components are of special significance: a) ethnic ideas rooted in the native culture, b) invented traits, c) concepts borrowed  from the global discourse,  and d) ideas taken  from different contemporary Western thought. Many of these traits are present in the indigenous political symbolism, the vision of the past, the patterns of intercultural education, the native ecology, the revival of ancient beliefs, and the formation of etnonationalism. This heterogeneous set of ideas of different origins creates a new indigenous worldview (cosmovision) in which neo-nativistic content (considered original and traditional) intertwines with utopian ideas based on an anti-neoliberal, anti-capitalist, and leftist profiles.

The reflections on the process, in which way all these different elements have been put together, and how such final product is used by different groups of indigenous peoples is the main topic of the paper, based on fieldworks carried out in four Andean countries. (Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile) as well as on comparative studies on indigenous activism worldwide.

Dr hab. Prof. UJ Radosław Palonka/Mgr Katarzyna Ciomek/

Mgr Bolesław Zych/Polly Schaafsma

Uniwersytet Jagielloński

New Findings and Interpretation of Rock Art in the Lower Sand Canyon Locality, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, Southwestern Colorado

Castle Rock settlement community dates to the 13th century A.D. and is located in Sand Canyon and Rock Creek Canyon within the Canyons of the Ancient National Monument (CANM), in southwestern Colorado. The sites have been investigated since 2011, among other things focusing on the studies of relations between settlement, rock art, and landscape. A few tips from CANM ar­chaeologists and volunteers and archival research suggested we check the upper parts of these two canyons, almost unexplored previously. During the 2023 field season, our team revealed poorly known or previously unknown spectacular rock art panels and associated architecture in a few cases. We recorded about twenty panels located in difficult-to-access places. Particular panels have been documented with hand tracings complimented by digital photography and partly 3D terrestrial and airborne laser scanning. Initial documentation and preliminary analyses led us to change our perception of this Ancestral Pueblo commu­nity, including reassessment of its size, demography, and social and religious life of indigenous people once inhabited this area. Some of the analyzes are conducted with consultations with American rock art scholars and representatives of the Pueblo tribes.

Dr Adam Piekarski

PAES/PATE Polska

Indians Between Two Worlds: reflections from Museum Exhibitions in the United States and Europe

For many years, Native Americans and their artifacts were treated and exhibited as curiosities. In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, many museums sponsored archaeological expeditions for scientific purposes, but their success was measured in terms of recovered objects suitable for display with little interpretive context. In the early 20^th century, anthropologists and collectors collected objects and memories, but the methods of collection made them easy to include only in natural history museums. As late as the 1960s and 1970s, American museums commonly displayed human remains, and living people were also exhibited (Minik, Ishi). Despite the potential benefits, for much of the 20^th century, museums were viewed by Native Americans not as educational institutions but as storehouses for pawned heirlooms and stolen grave goods. The collecting practices of early museums showed little respect for Native ethics or cultural sensitivity, and the objects were alienated through theft, sale, or gift.

The development of tribal museums, varying in scope and scale, began in the 1960s, with significant growth in the 70s and again in the 90s. Native Americans began to be interested in museums as a way to tell tribal history and to preserve and perpetuate tribal culture. Museums also serve as centers for Native communities, offering workshops and educational programs with an emphasis on explaining tribal traditions. As centers for the revival of tribal communities, museums have become an important part of the process of preserving Native American heritage. The purpose of this presentation is to provide an ethnohistorical and anthropological interpretation of selected pieces of material heritage from North American history from American and European museums, viewed through the lens of historical Native-European relations, based on my own field research.

Dr Michał Żerkowski

Uniwersytet Łódzki

The Klamath Geomyth about the Formation of Crater Lake: Current State of Anthropological Knowledge

The Klamaths, constituting together with the Modocs and Yahooskin Paiutes the federally recognized Native American Nation of the Klamath Tribes in present-day southern Oregon (US), have preserved in their oral tradition the story of the formation of Crater Lake resulting from the struggle between mythological figures. The narrative, which was first written down in the 19th century, has become a foundational case study for geomythology – an interdisciplinary research field focusing on traditions of pre-scientific cultures where, apart from folk explanations concerning specific landforms, geomythologists look for mythologized descriptions of actual (often catastrophic) geological events from the past. The version of the Klamath geomyth used by modern researchers was presented in a 1953 anthology and is a summary of the 19th-century text. The paper focuses on the ethnographic sources on which the geomythological interpretation is founded, in which the beginning of the cultural transmission of Klamath’s narrative dates back to about 7,600 years ago, when a volcanic crater lake was created as a result of the Mount Mazama eruption. The presentation aims to outline a modern anthropological interpretation of the Klamath geomyth and the related cultural and religious importance of Crater Lake based on the analysis of original historical ethnographic materials and field research

Dr Przemysław Górecki

Uniwersytet Warszawski/Ośrodek Studiów Amerykańskich

Minority Experience in the Contemporary Poetry of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada

My paper will focus on contemporary poetry of the Indigenous peoples of Canada – mainly First Nations. I aim to select several representative poems showing racial, sexual and identity exclusion and discuss the sociological and historical background in the context of Canada as a country formed by numerous nations fighting for their voice and marking their presence in poetry. The authors I am going to talk about are, among others: Joshua Whitehead and Daniel David Moses.

Mgr Ewa Dżurak

College of Staten Island/CUNY, New York; PAES/PATE USA

Storyteller from Laguna Pueblo: Autobiographical Collage of Leslie Marmon Silko

Leslie Marmon Silko published Storyteller in 1981 (2^nd ed. 2012). This is Silko’s first work translated into Polish, Opowiadaczka z Puebla Laguna was published in May 2024 by Tipi Publishers. The format of this unusual selection of texts easily escapes the genre classification. It seems that the name autobiographical collage closely reflects the character of the book. The selection contains 8 short stories, more than 20 poems, above 20 short prose texts and 26 black and white photos. The elements are tied together strongly, but not explicitly. The structure resembles the spider web, with radials coming out of the center connected to and by concentric spiral threads. The book is a homage to the storytelling tradition of Laguna Pueblo and its culture.

This article aims to familiarize the reader with Leslie Marmon Silko since she is the author translated into Polish for the first time. Also to present the book and its possible readings, and to show some of the translating issues.

Mgr Gabriela Jeleńska

Uniwersytet Warszawski/Ośrodek Studiów Amerykańskich

I Look Back to Look Forward – New Native American Poetry

The presentation takes a look at chosen poems by Native American poets, written in the last decade mostly by debuting writers. It looks at the way they engage the topics of identity, history, cultural heritage, (intergenerational) trauma, and survivance, and ways they depart from the beaten track of their predecessors. Given the clearly pro-social tone of the poems, the aim of the presentation is to read the poems through the concept of tribalography coined by Choctaw writer LeAnne Howe. One of the assumptions of tribalography stipulates that the means of reasserting native identity and of symbolic reconciliation is through constant renegotiation of the past, as well as acknowledgement of oral tradition as an equally valid historical source.

Mgr Cezary Cieślak

PAES/PATE Polska

Is Contemporary (post-2014) Polish-language Literature on Native Americans Rediscovering Native America?

The Polish publishing market provides readers with a large number of Polish-language publications on Native Americans. In this presentation, I will try to present whether they fulfill the basic purpose of learning about the entire world of Native Americans, while also touching on other tasks of literature. I will try to answer the question of whether books and articles that fulfill the basic purpose are noticed by readers to a sufficient degree. In terms of science, history will dominate. Three conclusions emerge from my presentation. Polish-language publications on Natives are not equal. Alongside excellent texts, we have average and weak ones. Secondly, a thorough review of all literature, an attempt to evaluate it and, in the case of historical publications, their verification, is a task for many people. And finally, due to constant publishing novelties (and discoveries), considerations will never be completed.

 

Conference Program – October 245 2024 

John Beheler

(Mahed Wayanka, Widzi Wewnątrz), Ihanktonwan Dakota Oyate, Yankton Sioux, Dakota Południowa, Gość PAES/PATE

Power and Place: Being Dakota in America

I have recently completed the manuscript for my book which elaborates on boarding school abuse and the healing power that is reflected through Native American Art and spirituality. I’m hopeful that it will be printed in time for the conference. I am an enrolled member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and am affiliated with the Dakota Indian Foundation in South Dakota however, I will be representing myself.

Please note that I appreciate any publicity of my art at: Wayanka-arts.com

 

 

Dr Hector Calleros

Uniwersytet Warszawski/Ośrodek Studiów Amerykańskich

Leonard Peltier: the American Indian and American Democracy

The paper examines the relationship between Democracy and Indigenous Peoples departing from the notion of Homo Sacer (Homines Sacri) as coined by Giorgio Agamben (1998). The paper claims that acts of power committed and perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples can be interpreted as the targets of permanent structures of inequality and exclusion. To illustrate the discussion, the paper presents the case of Leonard Peltier (12 September 1944) – an Anishinabe-Lakota Indian (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, North Dakota).  Native American activist Leonard Peltier has been imprisoned in the United States since 1977 serving two consecutive life sentences for an incident on June 26, 1975 on the Pine Ridge Reservation (South Dakota) in which two FBI officers died. Peltier has always maintained his innocence. There have been serious concerns about the fairness of his trial. Once again eligible for parole in 2024, there is an ongoing campaign calling on President Joseph Biden to grant him clemency as a matter of justice and on humanitarian grounds.

Dr Marcin Jacek Kozłowski

PAES/PATE Polska

Lekil kuxlejal: Between Eudaimonia and Ideology. The Emergence of Indigenous Philosophy in Chiapas

Lekil kuxlejal can be interpreted through a multifaceted lens, as analyzed by indigenous scholars and social scientists. For many, it represents an effort to decolonize knowledge by foregrounding an indigenous epistemology that challenges Western paradigms. This concept is often intertwined with the broader struggle for equitable treatment, serving as a potential framework for resistance against colonial legacies. In some interpretations, lekil kuxlejal is presented as an alternative to conventional development models, including those that emphasize sustainability. However, this vision is not universally accepted. Critics argue that the notion of progress, deeply rooted in Western evaluative frameworks, risks positioning indigenous peoples as mere passive recipients of external ideas. In contrast, there are proponents who advocate for a path shaped by indigenous experiences and traditions, independent of Western influence. Moreover, some scholars conceptualize lekil kuxlejal as an “epistemology of the heart,” emphasizing a life characterized by justice and harmony. These interpretations often draw upon indigenous languages and practices, highlighting the intricate and holistic nature of this knowledge system, while also acknowledging its inherent ambiguities. It is crucial to recognize, however, that the term has gained considerable popularity, sometimes to the point of overuse. Its association with the broader “buen vivir” movement has facilitated alliances between indigenous leaders, thinkers, and activists across various cultures. This widespread adoption has led to a dilution of its meanings, as the concept is applied across diverse contexts—ranging from cosmology and community life to emancipatory and political discourse.

 Mgr Marek Kupiec

PAES/PATE Polska

Is it Still Possible to Save the Lakota Language?

Before the arrival of Europeans, there were hundreds of different languages in both Americas. Unfortunately, since the beginning of colonization in the New World these languages started declining gradually, and currently there isn’t even a trace left after many of them. There is also quite a number of languages with only a few or a dozen speakers left, as is in the case of such languages as Huron, Arikara or Kiowa.

The Lakota language belongs to the Siouan family and is still used in the United States by approximately 2000 speakers and shares the fate of many severely endangered languages. Among the native languages, it is most certainly notable for having the largest number of learning materials available, such as a modern dictionary, a grammar handbook, a collection of texts, an online platform, an organized curriculum, and many other valuable publications. Furthermore, there have been various language academies and institutes dedicated to rebuilding the role and functionality of this language. Why is it then that it’s future is still uncertain? Are the social media helpful in learning and revitalizing it?

In my paper, I would like to refer to the most important pros and cons of the undertaken revitalization efforts and also describe from my own experience how difficult can the work with the Lakota language be. First and foremost, however, I would like to answer the following question: “Is it still possible to save the Lakota language?”.

Mgr Mirosław Sprenger

PAES/PATE Polska

Indigenization of History in the Postcolonial Era: The Case of the United States of America

The paper aims to demonstrate the impact of the Indigenous Peoples’ perspective on history through the decades, starting from the early reservation era. The Native American perspective significantly contributes to the revision of the history of North American colonization. This paper explores new research areas within the framework of unconventional history, examining worldviews and the adoption or rejection of outdated scientific paradigms linked to Eurocentric perceptions of the past.

Listening to the voices of Indigenous People today is essential for global history. This paper will present theories related to the practices of the Indian way among modern Native Americans and their impact on translating traditional knowledge, perceptions of time, and history, all of which are crucial to decolonization efforts. A significant aspect of this conference paper will be the presentation of Indigenous history, which has influenced and shaped U.S. policy and American society and is an integral part of world heritage.

From the vision of the end of the frontier of western settlement in the late 19th century, which weighed heavily on Indigenous perceptions and influenced the colonial rhetoric of Euro-Americans, there has been a progression that has led to the indigenization of history and a rejection of the previous colonial rhetoric. The voice of Native peoples has been heard by many historians who learn and popularize the real history of conquered peoples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

26th^h seminar  of  the Polish American Ethnological Society was  held on October 26^th, 2019

at the Trustees Conference Room in the Central Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library

at 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, NY 11238.