americanwest

Blog Post 4: Thesis

The history of the American West involves the interactions of many types of people. Before white people came, there were already a vast variety of Native American tribes, who were then pushed back. The legacy of this encroachment has lasted to this very day, and has affected many parts of western culture. The Crazy Horse Memorial, honoring the Sioux leader, is a direct response to a white man’s monument, Mount Rushmore. Why did the Sioux decide to do this, and why did they pick a white man to sculpt the monument to the Lakota’s greatest leader? This is what I intend to explore, as well as the controversy this has caused within Native American tribes.

For sources, there is a wide array of material available. My father founded a society that has in recent years worked closely with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation, and has formed a friendship with the sculptor’s widow and children. He believes that he may be able to obtain for me some of Korczak Ziolkowski’s papers. I have also found a lengthy essay that talks about Mount Rushmore as a symbol of white patriarchy, and the reaction of many Native Americans to that monument, that will back up my argument. There is also a newsgroup and archive especially for the memorial

Blog Post 3: Crazy Horse Monument

Download ProQuest_118621960.pdf

Primary Source: This is an article about the death of the sculptor who started the Crazy Horse project, and discusses a little bit about the project itself.

Korczak Ziolkowski, Sculptor Who Portrayed Crazy Horse
New York Times (1857-Current file); Oct 22, 1982; ProQuest Historical Newspapers The New York Times (1851 - 2003)
pg. B10

Download 0-150-1.pdf

Secondary Source: This is a review of a book called "Common Ground: The Struggle for Ownership of the Black Hills National Forest. The review has a couple of tidbits, but I feel like the book itself might be helpful in underscoring the tensions that led to the creation of the Crazy Horse Monument as a reaction to Mount Rushmore.

I'm unable to get the citation at the moment, because J-Stor is "temporarily unavailable."

Download 0-150.pdf

This article is just wonderful for my topic. It's about Mount Rushmore as a symbol of white patriarchy, and talks about all the things that Native Americans did to vandalize it, and includes a really great quotation about everything that Mount Rushmore says to Native Americans. I think this will be really useful in backing up my claim.

I'm still looking for more sources, but I wanted to get something up this morning.

Happy Valentine's AND snow day, everyone!

Maybe some new inspiration?

My parents have both spent a lot of time out west, and they brought up the idea of writing a paper about the Crazy Horse Monument. They didn't have any ideas about a thesis, but the chief who asked the sculptor to do it said "We have our heroes too." It was in reference to Mount Rushmore. So I thought maybe I could write a paper about Crazy Horse as a response to Mount Rushmore and why certain choices were made as a result. My dad knows the wife and children of the sculptor, and thinks he might be able to get me an interview with them, and maybe some of the sculptors papers.

If I have sources, I will post them soon!

Topics

I have to admit, I'm really struggling with topics, so that's why I haven't written my third official blog post yet. It seems like I can come up with topics that would be good, but aren't interesting to me, like banks in San Francisco, and I'm having trouble finding sources on things that interest me.

I did find out the name of my ancestor, Bessie Cummins, who married Robert Harper, and I know she taught for the DOI in Oklahoma. I also have an idea of her taste in books, as I have inherited several of her books. But I have no idea where my grandfather found the information for our geneology, or if he just remembered her peronally. So, I'm trying various things. My step-mother's great-aunt was a similar figure, and her name was Allace Seaver. I would really like to write about these women, but not sure how can I can create a thesis, or find enough information.

It seems like plenty is known about San Francisco counter-culture, so that idea flies right out the window too.

Is anyone as frustrated as I am? I'm feeling completely unoriginal and uninspired.

Blog Post #2

I'm really finding that I'm interested in a lot of things that aren't in the book. I'm already writing two papers on strong women this semester (British radical suffragettes and Catherine the Great), and I have an idea that I might want to write a third.

In that vein, I found an article about suffragettes in San Francisco. And it got me thinking. Women out west seemed to be much more successful with their attempts to gain the right to vote. Why?

There's also a woman in my own background that I'd be interested in finding more about. I don't have the information handy because it will require a visit to my grandmother, but I know there was a great-great aunt or something that taught on Indian reservations. I think she might be an interesting person to analyze, if I can find more information her. I think she might have written a book, even. If I can't find enough information on her, just something about teaching for the Bureau of Indian Affairs might be interesting.

As I mentioned before, I'm interested particuarly in writing about San Francisco since my sister lives there and it's where I'm going for Spring Break. So, I looked at Wikipedia to see if I could glean any ideas, and came across something interesting. During the stock market crash of 1929, not a single San Francisco bank failed. All wiki says is that "the city solidified its standing as a financial capital." It would be interesting to answer the question: What made San Francisco's banks different?

Why did San Francisco become "a magnet for counterculture" during the 1950s and 60s?

Due to my sister's many complaints, I have to wonder, what influence has weather had on the development of San Francisco's unique flavor and personality?

If only tea played a major role in San Francisco history, or even western history, I'd have my topic made, but alas!

Comments

I haven't written my entry yet, sorry to the people who have checked!  I have however commented on two other journals:

One
Two
Look for my Blog Post #2 coming soon.  (Tomorrow)