SURVIVAL: To remain alive or in existence*

ADAPTATION: To become adjusted to a circumstance*

RESISTANCE: To strive against, to refrain from*

PERSISTENCE: To continue firmly in some course despite opposition or difficulty*

*Funk and Wagnalls. New Comprehensive International Dictionary of the English Language, Deluxe Edition. Publishers International Press: New York, 1980.

SARP relates to the motives, actions, agency, and epistemologies of indigenous communities. ARP are themes that have been used in varying degrees in order for indigenous communities, individuals, and lifeways to survive. Each may work in conjunction with each other in order for survival.

Examples:

  1. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was employed in order to resist Spanish colonial domination in order for the pueblo cultural lifeways to persist.
  2. Resistance to storing radioactive waste is employed to protect the environment, and to maintain the physical health and safety of living entities of that environment.
  3. Despite the aftermath of colonization and the loss of an indigenous land base, culture, identity, and lifeways, many tribes have adapted to western social institutions of education in order to survive into the 21st century.

Questions:

  1. How can indigenous communities employ SARP in order to maintain tribal sovereignty while simultaneously interacting with western social institutions?
  2. How have indigenous communities employed SARP in the past and what is the relationship between that past and contemporary times?
  3. How have tribes employed SARP in pre-Columbian times and what are these practices that have persisted over time in order fro tribes to have survived into contemporary times?

The fact of the existence of tribal communities and lifeways is a direct result of the successful nature of how SARP has been employed by the communities from the past, and how SARP has persisted and results in the continuous vitalities of contemporary indigenous communities.

Definition and exemplification activity

SURVIVAL: One who or that which lives longer than others; to live or continue beyond the death of another; remain alive or in existence.

The idea of survival is the mainstay of indigenous life. In order to survive, we use different modes of survival. The following are examples.

 Persist: To continue firmly in some course, state, etc, especially despite opposition or difficulties; to be insistent; to continue to exist.

 Resist: To strive against; act counter to for the purpose of stopping, preventing, defeating; to refrain from.

 Adapt: To modify (oneself) to conform to a situation or environment; to become adjusted to a circumstance or environment.

 

For today’s activity, we will come up with some specific examples of persistence, resistance, and adaptation and illustrate how these three terms have contributed to indigenous survival. We are trying to exemplify an understanding of the terms, how each term needs to be CONTEXTUALIZED, and how these were used in order to survive.

As well, we will start to add dimensions to our ideas in order to APPLY them to the world of Native American History. I hope this helps to UNDERSTAND how the THEMES can be APPLIED to a wide variety of CONTEXTS and be UTILIZED for ANALYSIS of different FORMS of Native American History.

Field trip activities

 

For each presentation, panel or talk you attend, pay particular attention to how SARP. LHA, and the State of Native America are intertwined, intersected, highlighted, complimentary, and reflected in each of these attended sessions. Critically listen to each presentation and take notes for each one you attend, paying attention to the following:

 

  1. How is SARP, or any aspect of this is part of the presentation?
  2. How is LHA addressed in each presentation? You may consider what kinds of authoritativeness are used; western? Indigenous? Both?
  3. How does each presentation reflect an aspect of the State of Native America? Does the presentation involve education? Law? Arts?

 

This does not have to be written in an essay form, but be sure to take notes and we will discuss this along with your current events from Indian Country Today.