Having just come back to Wooster from break, I am now closing out the first semester. As I’ve discussed in my earlier blog posts, the process of creating web content is iterative. As with many points in the semester, I’m starting to write and outline the third and final section of my website while also putting the finishing touches on my essay and first two sections, including my StoryMap (which I will be receiving more comments on this week). My third section will revolve around Benjamin Douglass, who influenced his writing and how he in turn influenced more contemporary local historians. Even though the December due date for the chapter drafts is more of a formality for senior IS students, it will also be an important benchmark to reflect on my progress.
Right before I left campus, I also had the pleasure of sitting down and speaking with Jeremy Johnson, the director of cultural education for the Delaware Tribe of Indians. I was able to outline my project and my communication goals, and we discussed the importance of featuring the activities of Indigenous nations today when discussing tribal history. He told me about some of the great work that the Delaware Tribe of Indians is doing right now, such as running a food bank for residents of the local area that serves 400-700 families per month, organizing language revitalization activities, and even running their own company, Teton Trade Cloth by Lenape, which sells blankets, beads, jingle cones, and other culturally significant accessories.
Discussing these things dismisses any myths about Indigenous people no longer existing or not being capable of taking care of their own. Activities like running a food bank also connect to Lenape cultural values like community and generosity. I want to especially highlight these activities to show folks that what we say, even in our local communities, impacts real people. In my essay, I discuss the idea of post-coloniality, or the ways that Indigenous people imagine a future beyond colonialism. Highlighting the ways that Indigenous communities continue to operate and expand gets to the core of post-coloniality, as it shows how Indigenous people and cultures have survived The United States’ efforts at removal and assimilation.
In the upcoming weeks, I want to incorporate contemporary examples from the Delaware Tribe of Indians as well as the Wyandotte, Shawnee, and Delaware Nation into my exhibit to show folks that they are not just static characters on a page, but real groups that still operate today.