Unit information: Red Power and Beyond: American Indian activism since 1944 in 2020/21

Unit name	Red Power and Beyond: American Indian activism since 1944
Unit code	HIST30128
Credit points	20
Level of study	H/6
Teaching block(s)	Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12)
Unit director	Dr. Sam Hitchmough
Open unit status	Not open
Pre-requisites	none
Co-requisites	none
School/department	Department of History (Historical Studies)
Faculty	Faculty of Arts

Description including Unit Aims

Red Power emerged in the 1960s, informing a powerful protest movement that is often associated with the occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969) and the siege at Wounded Knee (1973). It was underpinned by important ideological issues concerning the status and identity of American Indians in the United States. This unit explores the development of the Red Power movement in, firstly, the immediate post-war landscape of Termination and Relocation policies, the Cold War, de-colonisation and self-determination. It will then focus on the ‘classic’ Red Power movement through the 1970s (rhetoric, symbolism, strategies) setting it within a variety of historical contexts (civil rights, Black Power, Vietnam, decolonisation). Finally, the unit moves to engage with the multi-layered legacies of Red Power.

Themes and case-studies will be used to discuss a number of key issues since 1960 and include: the position of American Indians in the American cultural imagination and representation of American Indians in popular culture (film, television, sporting mascots, museums), repatriation, American Indian cultural resistance, the rise of ‘white shamanism’, the rise of gaming and casinos, land rights, and violence against indigenous communities.

Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of the forms and ideologies underpinning American Indian protest since 1944, particularly the Red Power movement and the diversity of issue-based activism;
2. demonstrate a critical interpretation of key historical events, issues and ideologies, and their effects on both American Indian and American popular culture more broadly.
3. reflect critically and sensitively upon a variety of theoretical and ideological perspectives related to an understanding of changing Native-settler race relations in the US
4. Critically assess and interpret primary sources and select pertinent evidence in order to illustrate specific and more general historical points
5. Present their research and judgements in written forms and styles appropriate to the discipline and to level H/6

Teaching Information

Classes will involve a combination of class discussion, investigative activities, and practical activities. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.

Assessment Information

1 x 3500-word Essay (50%) [ILOs 1-5]; 1 x Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5]

Reading and References

Robert Berkhofer, The White Man's Indian: Images of the American Indian from 'Colombus' to the Present (1978)

Kevin Bruyneel, The Third Space of Sovereignty: The Postcolonial Politics of US-Indigenous Relations (2007)

Daniel Cobb (ed.) Say We Are Nations: Documents of Politics and Protest in Indigenous America since 1887 (2015)

C. Richard King, Unsettling America: The Uses of 'Indianness' in the 21st Century (2013)

Sherry Smith, Hippies, Indians and the Fight for Red Power (2012)

Pauline Turner Strong, American Indians and the American Imaginary: Cultural Representation Across the Centuries (2013)