American Indian and Native Studies is a course which has multiple disciplinary paths. Besides American Indian studies is viewed as a circle with lines which spreads outward to various disciplinary like political science, creative writing, history, literature, law, natural resources, geography, education, economics, business and anthropology. This study is centred in an intellectual approach which is holistic. Moreover, American Indian studies concentrate on various perspectives and native voice to understand contemporary and historical issues on Indian country, both off and reservations. Additionally, anthropology is the study of the human being global, how they adapt to various environments, how they socialise and communicate with each other, how they behave and their evolutionary history. Also, anthropology studies are concerned with social aspects such as religion, culture, family, politics, language and biological feature which, makes human such as evolution, nutritional history, genetic makeup and physiology. The difference between anthropology and American Indian studies is that American Indian studies knowledge base is emerging from the indigenous communities within.[1]
The important role that race, settler colonialism, and gender and sexuality play within this interdisciplinary field
Race plays an important role within American Indian studies because the Native American and American Indian are the most common ethnic and racial labels used in the identification of the general population of American Indians in the United States. In the US, Native Americans is an evolving topic in American Indian studies based on the struggle to define American Indians or Native American for those who consider themselves Native American and for those who do not consider themselves as native America. Additionally, some individuals seek an identity that will provide for them a stable definition for personal, social and legal purposes. Race in American culture has become more nuanced, and racial self-definition right has become more ingrained. It is difficult to understand what people want to communicate when they answer official or formal questions about their race. Only a few people report a tribe when asked on the United States census. For instance, in the census of 200, about 33% of American Indians multiple races and 17% of American Indians single race omitted this critical information. This means that American Indians appear to have racial identities but lack ethnic identities. The race is also expected to have personal meaning in the American Indian studies. On the other hand, the race is recognized is enforced and imposed by outsiders and recognized by physical criteria. Racial minority group members are usually seen as having specific knowledge of ethnicity that they look upon as they navigate the social landscape in America. Most single race American Indians has a salient tribal identity. This is because the salient tribal identity coincides with their racial identity.[2]
Conversely, settler colonialism also plays an important role in American Indian studies because it is a distinctive type of colonialism which played an essential role through the replacement of indigenous population in America. Settler colonial states include Australia, the United States, and Canada. Genocide question is never far from settler colonialism discussion. The land is necessary for life or, at least it is life. In some of the US settler colonial states, American Indians were able to accommodate when the socioeconomic systems and invaders got introduced. Furthermore, there was genocide in the settler colonialism absence. Settler colonialism is not invariably genocidal but it was inherently eliminatory. Settler colonialism in the US was a form of colonialism which replaced the indigenous US population with a society of settlers which was new. Settler colonialism in the US was also based on exogenous domination and recognition of indigenous identity within the colonial framework. Americas European colonization began in the early 10th century. [3]
The early colonial powers in the US respected political and territorial sovereignty of indigenous tribe to forge a local alliance against other colonial powers. The form of colonialism that Native American people experienced was due to the growth of European establishment supported by management militaries into alien places. Native communities and nations collectively struggled to maintain fundamental values in the US. The US colonist’s authority main objective was to terminate the existence of Native Americans. Besides, the US political and socioeconomic entity is a result of the colonial process. The Native America communities formed resistance to colonialism, but they were defeated. Settler colonialism used threats and violence to attain their goal of replacing American Indians. The colonizing regime institutionalized violence to accomplish its expansionist goals. Black people and Indians in the US were radicalized in opposing ways which reflected their rightful role of forming US society. However, American Indians obstructed colonial settler’s access to land to have counterproductive increase.[4]
Furthermore, gender and sexuality play an important role within American Indian studies because anthropology and sociology have long used the third sex experience such as the two-spirit people native America in the American Indian studies to teach about the social construction of gender and sex. Gender and sexuality in the American Indian studies are very different to everyday understandings. Sex refers to the bodily or biological trait that distinguishes women and men. Besides, gender describes the values, norms and social experiences that various people use to define and describe their Feminity and masculinity. People are allowed to live beyond conventional binaries in many cultures around the world for them to adhere to the biological sex which they were born into. This group of people includes Native American through the use of transgender, bisexual, gay and lesbian sociology issue. On the other hand, social science needs to move forward to help us understand gender and sexuality roles within American Indian studies. American Indian studies also equip learners with various ways on how to best communicate the social construction of sexuality and gender to the public. [5]
Overall, American Indian and Indigenous Studies is a course which has a various disciplinary path. Additionally, it is viewed as a circle with lines which spreads outward to various disciplinary like political science, creative writing, history, literature, law, natural resources, geography, education, economics, business and anthropology. American Indian studies are centred in an intellectual approach which is holistic and concentrates on various perspectives and native voice to understand contemporary and historical issues on Indian country, both off and reservations. On the other hand, Race plays an essential role in American Indian studies. This is so because the Native American is the most common ethnic and racial labels used in the identification of the general population of American Indians in the United States. Also, Native Americans in the US is an evolving topic in American Indian studies based on the struggle to define American Indians or Native American for those who consider themselves Native American and for those who do not consider themselves as native America. According to various studies, a small number of people reports a tribe when asked on the United States census. For example, in the census of 200, about 33% of American Indians multiple races and 17% of American Indians single race omitted this critical information meaning that American Indians appear to have racial identities but lack ethnic identities. Settler colonialism also plays an important role within American Indian studies. This is because of settler colonialism act as a distinctive type of colonialism which played an essential role through the replacement of indigenous population in America. Moreover, in some of the US settler colonial states, American Indians were able to accommodate when the socioeconomic systems and invaders got introduced. Finally, early colonial powers in the US respected political and territorial sovereignty of indigenous tribe to forge a local alliance against other colonial powers and the form of colonialism that Native American people experienced was due to the development of European organization sponsored by administration soldiers into external regions. Thus, this made native communities to demonstrate against settler colonialism.
Bibliography
Ramirez, Renya K. "Learning across differences: Native and ethnic studies feminisms." American Quarterly 60, no. 2 (2008): 303-307.
Sharon P. Holland, Tiya Miles. 22 Dec 2014, Afro-Native Realities from: The World of Indigenous North America Routledge.
Warrior, Robert. "2010 NAISA presidential address: practicing Native American and Indigenous studies." Journal of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association 1, no. 1 (2014): 3-24.
Wolfe, Patrick. "Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native." Journal of genocide research 8, no. 4 (2006): 387-409.
[1] Sharon P. Holland, Tiya Miles. 22 Dec 2014 ,Afro-Native Realities from: The World
of Indigenous North America Routledge.
[2] Warrior, Robert. "2010 NAISA presidential address: practicing Native American and Indigenous studies." Journal of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association 1, no. 1 (2014): 3-24.
[3] Wolfe, Patrick. "Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native." Journal of genocide research 8, no. 4 (2006): 387-409.
[4] Wolfe, Patrick. "Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native." Journal of genocide research 8, no. 4 (2006): 387-409.
[5] Ramirez, Renya K. "Learning across differences: Native and ethnic studies feminisms." American Quarterly 60, no. 2 (2008): 303-307.
