Oral History, Indigenous Oral Histories, and Decolonization
As we have been planning this past month to deepen and continue our work to challenge white supremacy in our oral history work and our field, we have also been thinking about the relationships between white supremacy and settler colonialism. The dispossession and genocide of Indigenous people in the Americas and globally are based in white supremacy and structural racism. They continue to impact Native American and First Nations people. As we seek to dismantle white supremacy and settler colonialism, it is imperative that we listen to and learn from the Indigenous people who were on this land first, who know how to live here, and who have been directly affected by racialized oppression in North America for over 500 years. It is not enough to decolonize - we must also engage in and support the work of indigenization and resurgence.
OHMA has been working for several years to increasingly center Indigenous peoples and practices in our work and challenge professional oral history’s exclusion of Indigenous oral history practices from the legitimacy of oral history. This is work that we are excited to build on and strengthen.
As academic institutions and our field continue to confront the manifestations of white supremacy and take a decolonial stance towards our work, we would like to share some of the books, projects, films, and articles that we have been learning from, and that our students and alumni have been creating:
Books
How We Go Home
Edited by Sara Sinclair
What is it like to be a citizen of a nation within another nation whose dominant social, political, and economic interests are fundamentally at odds with your own?…
Rethinking Oral History and Tradition
By Nepia Mahuika
Redefines the disciplinary boundaries of oral history by reframing understandings of oral histories and traditions through an indigenous Maori tribal perspective…
Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence
By Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
In Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence activist, editor, and educator Leanne Simpson asserts reconciliation must be grounded in political resurgence and must support the regeneration of Indigenous languages, oral cultures, and traditions of governance…
There, There
By Tommy Orange
Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize…
The Lumbee Indians An American Struggle
By Malinda Maynor Lowery
As the largest tribe east of the Mississippi and one of the largest in the country, the Lumbees have survived in their original homelands, maintaining a distinct identity as Indians in a biracial South….
Also follow Malinda Maynor Lowery on Twitter
Readings
Winona Wheeler
Lorina Baker
”Yarning up oral history: An Indigenous feminist analysis” in Beyond Women’s Words
Farina’ King
Dr. Kahente Horn-Miller
“Standing With Sky Woman: A conversation in cultural fluency” in Performing Turtle Island: New Essays on Indigenous Theatre and Performance. University of Regina Press.
Projects
The Restoration and Resurgence of the Pablo-Allard Bison Herd: Becoming Wild Again in America
By Francine D. Spang-Willis
In this virtual exhibit, you will have an opportunity to journey with the Pablo-Allard bison herd through Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives. You will also have an opportunity to learn about some of the processes of colonialism and their impacts on the bison and land….
Hogar de la Distancia: Memory Transmission Containers
By Fernanda Espinosa
By using oral history as a primary source and medium for the construction of these “Memory Transmission Containers,” Espinosa’s creative exploration challenges and expands traditional Western ideas of the archive…
Pachamama Oral History Project
By Anahí Naranjo Jara
What is the cultural impact of climate change on agrarian communities like mine in the Andes?…
He Lei Wahine: Oral History Through a Hawaiian Lens
By Kim-Hee Wong
Contact Kim-Hee for more details at khkwong14@gmail.com.