Native Space: Geographic Strategies to Unsettle Settler Colonialism

193 Pages·2017·4.929 MB·English

by  Natchee Blu Barnd

Native Space
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Native Space

Geographic Strategies to Unsettle
Settler Colonialism
Natchee Blu Barnd
oregon state university press corvallis
Cataloging-in-Publication Data information is available
from the Library of Congress
∞ This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992
(Permanence of Paper).
© 2017 Natchee Blu Barnd
All rights reserved.
First published in 2017 by Oregon State University Press
Printed in the United States of America
Oregon State University Press
121 The Valley Library
Corvallis OR 97331-4501
541-737-3166 • fax [phone]
www.osupress.oregonstate.edu
Contents
List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
1 Inhabiting Tribal Communities 18
2 Inhabiting Indianness in White Communities 54
3 The Meaning of Set-tainte; or, Making and Unmaking
Indigenous Geographies 76
4 The Art of Native Space 101
5 The Space of Native Art 124
Afterword: Reclaiming Indigenous Geographies 149
Bibliography 153

Index 165

Illustrations
tables
1.1 Street name and sign choices in five tribal communities 27
2.1 Percentage of White residents in selected Indian-themed super-clusters,
1980–2010 63
figures
1.1 Sample sheet for street signs in Lame Deer, Montana 31
1.2 Musqueam (Reserve 2) street sign 35
1.3 Chinuk Wawa and English street signs at Grand Ronde,
Oregon 39
1.4 Street sign in Cherokee, North Carolina 41
1.5 Intersection of Pba’ul Street and Patdul’Negeeh Way street signs in
Dresslerville, Nevada 43
1.6 Wa She Shu Way street sign in Dresslerville, Nevada 44
1.7 Dresslerville map 45
1.8 Street signs on the Musqueam Indian Reserve, Vancouver BC 48
1.9 Northern Cheyenne license plate design 52
2.1 Detail map of Cherokee Village, Arkansas 61
2.2 Street signs in Clairemont Mesa (San Diego), California 68
3.1 A women-only scalp dance in Satanta, Kansas 81
3.2 Detail of Satanta town plot, 1912 85
3.3 Incoming Chief and Princess Satanta receiving gifts 88
Following page 100
4.1 Occupied Territory (2013), Chris Pappan
4.2 Free Homes in Kansas (1872), Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Railroad Company
vii
viii illustrations
4.3 Kanza tribal member Jason Murray, April 25, 2015
4.4 The Browning of America I (2000), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
4.5 State Names II (2000), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
4.6 Tribal Map (2001), Jaune Quick-to-See Smith
4.7 Mountain Chief, Blackfeet War Leader (2008), Terrance Guardipee
5.1 Spirit Warriors (2003), Colleen Cutshall
5.2 American Leagues (1996), Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds
5.3 Today/Your Host is/Unangaxˆ (1988), Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds
5.4 Reclaim (1996), Hachivi Edgar Heap of Birds
5.5 Gate/Negate (2000), Bob Haozous
5.6 Cultural Crossroads of the Americas (1996) [sans barbed wire],
Bob Haozous
5.7 Detail of upper “gate” portion of Gate/Negate (2000), Bob Haozous
5.8 Felix River Ranch gate sign
Acknowledgments
I want to offer some brief words of thanks to all who helped bring this proj-
ect to reality. I start with my many colleagues for their encouragement, inspi-
ration, mentorship, and friendship. At Oregon State University, Juan Herrera
and Bradley Boovy read my manuscript in various forms and deserve special
attention for helping it reach final form, and not enough can be said of their
efforts. Bradley also contributed a much needed photo! Ron Mize and Juan
Antonio Trujillo graciously offered up spaces in their homes for me to use as
writing retreat spaces, and provided the crucial time and distance needed to get
my writing completed. A wide variety of support came from my Ethnic Studies
faculty colleagues Patti Sakurai, Marta Maldonado, Daniel López-Cevallos, and
Robert Thompson. Hours of support and fun came from our office manager
Leonora Rianda. Likewise from the staff of the School of Language, Culture,
and Society, Loretta Wardrip and Karen Mills. Amanda Green provided many
valuable research hours while a graduate student, helped me hone portions of
this project, and also obtained a needed photo. Big thanks to Kenny and Carrie
Maes for watching my children enough times to help us feel sane and thus allow
me to continue my work.
Other research assistance came from generous librarians, scholars, and staff
from across the country, including: Margaret Bender at Wake Forest University,
Julie Monroe in Special Collections and Archives at the University of Idaho
Library, staff at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth University, the Kansas State
Historical Society, and Deborah Carroll from Oregon State University Valley
Library Inter-Library Loan.
The Center for the Humanities at Oregon State University granted much-
needed release time and a welcome, collegial atmosphere when I needed to
change directions and generate new lines of research. Big thanks to Angie
ix