Native American Women’s Studies: A Pathfinder
<www.gslis.utexas.edu/~vlibrary/edres/pathfinders/potter>.
This pathfinder was produced to help students and educators at the Northwest Indian College find information about and examples of Native American women’s studies. The following sites can all be accessed free of charge on the World Wide Web and cover several different subject areas, including literature, politics and health issues.
I would like to know what a typical Native American women’s studies course teaches and what texts are used for the course.
· To find a sample syllabus for a Native American women’s studies course see <http://www.csubak.edu/~awaters/NativeAmericanWomenCourse.htx>. In this syllabus prepared by Dr. Anne Waters at California State University Bakersfield, you will see the topics she covers in the class and a list of required texts.
Where can I find information about Native American women authors and poets?
· There is a lot of information about Native American women authors on the Internet. To begin, try looking at <http://www.ipl.org/ref/native/>. This website, produced by the Internet Public Library, has a listing of influential authors such as Louise Erdrich and Paula Gunn Allen with links to additional information.
· For more information, go to <http://falcon.jmu.edu/~ramseyil/natauth.htm>. This website is a teacher resource and has bibliographies, lesson plans and more pertaining to Native American authors.
· A website that focuses on Native American women poets can be found at <http://www.berea.edu/ENG/womenpoets/nativepoets.html>. Here you will get resources on six contemporary women poets.
Are there any websites that discuss Native American women and
reproductive health issues?
· Are you curious about the history of forced sterilization among Native women? Read <http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/9118/mike2.html>.
for a good general overview of the topic.
· To explore the state of reproductive health among Native women today you can look at <http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/lillithsrealm/myhomepage/Sterilization/BrokenTreaties.htm>. This website discusses issues such as the use of Depo-Provera among Native women and ways that Native American women can protect their reproductive rights.
What sites contain information about Native American women artists?
· Do you want information about Native American women photographers? Try <http://www.sla.purdue.edu/WAAW/Jensen/NAW.html>. It illustrates the themes explored in the works of several Native women authors.
· <http://www.heard.org/exhibits/watchfuleyes/> is the online site of the Watchful Eyes exhibit at the Heard Museum. Here you will find biographies of many Native women artists and a listing of their works.
I would like to know if there are any resources on Native American women politicians.
· For a biography of Wilma Mankiller see:<http://www.powersource.com/gallery/people/wilma.html>.
· For a biography of Winona LaDuke see: <http://www.uwec.edu/Academic/Curric/greidebe/Indigenous/Student.Web.Pages/Contemporary.issues/spirit_of_winona_laduke.htm>.
Where can I find information about the preservation of traditions among today’s youth?
· The Apache Female Sunrise Ceremony is still being performed among Apache girls. To find out more about this ceremony go to <http://www.geocities.com/tmartiac//yupanqui/apachesunrise.htm
· Grandmother’s Wisdom Keepers is an organization similar to Girl Scouts that promotes the preservation of cultural traditions to young girls. If you would like to see more information about this organization visit <http://www.wisdomkeepers.org/gwk/>.
I hope that you will find this pathfinder useful in your exploration of Native American women’s studies. It is meant to introduce you to the themes and issues that are represented in this field. Please feel free to contact me, Anbolyn Potter, if you would like to add any websites or report any dead links. Good luck on your search!
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