Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir

Description

Follow the essay assignment guidelines posted for this class. Make use of the handout “Factors to Consider When Writing and Revising Essays and Paragraphs” and the essay grading rubric. Remember to integrate material from the course readings in your essay, including citations. From San Diego to Sonoma, twenty-one Roman Catholic missions dot the California coastline. Many of these missions serve not only as churches for contemporary Catholic parishes but also as vacation destinations for tourists interested in California’s quaint Spanish heritage. The missions also feature prominently in California’s fourth-grade curriculum, with children until very recently making replica missions out of sugar cubes and popsicle sticks (or even pre-packaged kits available for purchase!). Many of California’s Indigenous Peoples have different perspectives on the missions however. One wellknown critic of the mission replica assignment is Deborah Miranda, an Ohlone/Costanoan-Esselen Indian. She discusses the problematic curriculum in her 2013 book Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir. Miranda has also posted her criticism online, “Lying the Children About the California Missions and the Indians” (https://zinnedproject.org/2015/03/california-missions-and-indians/), which is adapted from Bad Indians. The California curriculum is beginning to change however. In July 2016 the California State Board of Education adopted new History-Social Science Framework to guide education in California’s schools (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/documents/hssfwchapter7.pdf). New guidelines for Grade Four’s curriculum, “California: A Changing State,” specifically instruct teachers on the practice of building replica missions: In selecting sources and directing students’ investigations, teachers should focus on the daily experience of missions rather than on the building structures themselves. Building missions from sugar cubes or popsicle sticks does not help students understand the period and is offensive to many. Instead, students should have access to multiple sources to help them understand the lives of different groups of people who lived in and around missions, so that students can place them in a comparative context. (76) The Grade Four curriculum on teaching about California Indians and the Spanish, particularly pages 71- 77, is especially illuminating (https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/documents/hssfwchapter7.pdf). In this assignment write a four-page essay (typed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins) discussing how you would teach about the Indigenous Peoples of California and the Spanish missions to a California fourth-grade class. What would you consider important for fourth graders to know about California Indians and the missions? What considerations would be important to you in how you approached the material you would present to the students? Use Miranda’s Bad Indians in support of your arguments and make sure to demonstrate knowledge of the book. How would you complicate the story of the missions? Many of my college students say they wish they had been introduced to issues of oppression and privilege at an earlier age. How might the mission curriculum be a place where some these ideas might be introduced? You might reflect on your own grade school education about the missions and the Indigenous Peoples of California. In light of your precious education on these subjects, what did you find surprising about Miranda’s work? These are the general characteristics of papers in these grade ranges. For suggestions on how to improve your next papers, make sure to emulate the characteristics of the A papers and remedy problems characteristic of the B-F papers. You are always welcome to meet with the professor in office hours or by appointment to address your specific questions and concerns. A paper in the 91-100 (A-, A-/A, A) range: Reflects strong knowledge of the class content, especially the readings Participates in the conversation in class on the course material Contains clear and thoughtful thesis statement and topic sentences Gives specific examples to support the thesis and topic sentences Integrates significant details from readings, lectures, discussions, and films (including titles of sources and names of relevant people) Provides an insightful analysis of the specific information given to support points Uses quotation, paraphrasing, and summarization to integrate information from texts and films Contains well-developed paragraphs Contributes relevant insights not discussed in class Leads into quotations in the writer’s own words Gives citations to sources, especially readings Demonstrates an appropriate level of formality (no use of contractions, slang expressions, or the terms you and your) Uses correct grammar, punctuation, spelling, and citation forms and is free of typographical errors SHORT ESSAY ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES For each of the short essays this semester, follow the guidelines given below. Specific instructions for the research paper or project have been given separately. Due dates for the essays appear in the Course Schedule. A habit of turning papers in late will lead to grade reduction. 1. Identify the essay assignment number and question number answered at the top of the paper (E.g. Essay Assignment 1, Question 1). It also helps to include the name of the book being discussed. 2. If more than one set of questions is offered (for example, Questions 1-5), answer only one set of questions (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5), unless specific instructions direct you otherwise. Make sure, however, that you answer all of the questions completely in that one set. Incomplete responses will result in a lower grade. 3. Each essay should be no shorter than four full pages in length (excluding the title page if you use one). The essay should be typed or word-processed, double-spaced, with one-inch margins all around. Please staple your pages together–no report covers, please. 4. Formal documentation (footnotes, end notes, bibliographies) is not necessary for the essays if you are using course texts. Simply put the author’s name and page number(s) cited at the end of the sentence in parentheses. If you do choose to use footnotes or end notes, these pages are in addition to the four pages of text that are required. Remember that if you use someone else’s words, you must use quotation marks around the borrowed material and give the citation in parentheses. If you borrow an idea from or paraphrase an author, you still need to include the author’s name and page number(s) at the end of the sentence. 5. Each essay should consist of an analysis and synthesis of the course material (reading, lecture, discussion, exercises, videos, etc.). Make sure that you use the reading explicitly in the essay and cite it to support your points. Insightful and interesting analyses are expected: Go beyond the points raised in class; dig for original insight. You may wish to address, in the conclusion, the ways in which the material does (or does not) challenge your thinking, shift your attention, complicate your worldview. 6. Rely primarily on our course readings, films, and lectures in your essays. Information from additional sources can be used to supplement your arguments, but the assignment is testing your knowledge of the course materials, so demonstrate your knowledge of them first and in full. If you do include information from the internet, these sources must be documented with complete and correct citations, web addresses, and page numbers. In no case will material taken from the internet substitute for knowledge of the course materials. Question the reliability of online sources; when in doubt, do not use them. 7. Include a thesis statement in your essay that suggests the argument you are making. Organization, logical development, coherence, etc., as well as grammar, punctuation, and spelling will be considered in evaluating the paper. 8. Give an informative but interesting title to your essay.